My experience with nearly every FISBO and why I would not bother.

Once had a guy spend 15 minutes extolling the virtues of a light switch at both ends of a long hallway.:(

Yeah on the rare occasion I show a FSBO, it's only if the seller will vacate while we're there. Most won't agree to it, so most don't get shown.

The agent I settled on was excellent. An older lady who knew the ropes and was honest with me about what to do, etc.
She worked for a discount broker (4% total) and when I first called she answered and I was a little taken aback because of her older-sounding voice.
I asked her a few questions about her style and for how long she'd been in the business, etc.
She said, "There are younger agents here, would you like to speak with one of them?"
That was my first sense of her integrity and I liked it. She dropped by and what she said about what other agents had wrongly suggested made sense.
Most agents told me that they could get well over $200,000 what this lady said...and she told me why.- which jibed with my local research & gut sense.
Went with me to Bed, Bath, & Beyond to pick out a nice bed & pillow case set. I told her that I didn't want to stage the joint and didn't want to rent a hotel room which was suggested by most other agents. "No need.", she said. "We'll clear out most of your "stuff" and it will present well."
She sold my place within three weeks.
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Working w/her was when I bought my first cell phone - 2008. She'd call me to get lost because she was heading over w/clients.
Also, in the beginning, we'd sit at my place, drink coffee, and talk about investments, etc. She almost became a life coach.
A wise and honest agent/woman, which was what I needed and searched for.
Oh, and also, she was a smart dresser - always a professional physical presentation.
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My living room w/my furniture "staging" - bare minimum >
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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1458919353.jpg

update.

i am gonna punt my buying agent. she is not good. i get the jump on houses before her. she would call and tell me about a house..and i would say something witty like, "yea, i was at the open house this past weekend"
"well, how did it look?"

hahah.. i gave her three tries..i got into the hunt all three times, but only on my offer..not her saavy.

my selling agent..should wear a super hero cape. she got me so much more money for my home. it was so much more, i felt guilty. seriously. (for the record, i was pulling for the pregnant lady..but my wife and agent ranked her #3) i had 10 offers that met the deadline..3 more trickled in after the final boom. it was nuts.

i'm interviewing new buying agents..now.. i admit it is a fantastic job. i wish i could do it. it must be a challenge to juggle the clients best interest with making a sale.

Glad to hear you sold for good $$$. The first home my former wife & I bought with my CalVet loan years ago set us on the path for being able to upgrade to a much nicer home. We sold our house for twice what we purchased it for four years before.

i do not understand why the selling agent does not show the homes.
we do not want people we do not even know lurking around our home.
is this standard procedure? who is doing the actual "selling"? no one?
our agent wants 20-30 grand for presenting an offer? does not compute for us.
we probably gonna fire him.

Yeah, there are plenty of agents that have no qualms with suggesting their sellers spend a fortune with unnecessary improvements. However, there is always a flip-side to the coin. With a LOT of sellers, it can be like pulling teeth just to get them to keep the place clean, let alone make any improvements or have it "staged". That is usually in addition to several other hurdles they put in front of themselves, yet blame the agent in the end.

"Oh sorry, we forgot to put the dog outside, can you show it another time?"
"Sorry, we have company over this weekend, can you show it another time?"
"Yeah, I know we agreed to get the carpet cleaned, but just haven't had time to schedule it."
"There was dog chit on the floor when you showed it? Oh, sorry `bout that."
"The house up the street just went on the market for $20k more, so we need to increase the price."
"Yeah, I called a couple of the landscapers you recommended, but their prices seemed a bit high. We'll just pull all the weeds and trim the trees ourselves (never happens)."


The point being that there are just as many (if not more) uncooperative/unrealistic sellers as there are d-bag listing agents. Strangely, they tend to attract each other.

+1

If there is no real incentive to buy a FSBO, there is typically no real incentive to look at them (with or without a buyer's agent). Most FSBO sellers think they are smarter than the average bear, and never are. That is why the VAST majority of them end up with at least one agent in the mix before their house actually sells. If/when a FSBO seller agrees to a deal with a buyer's agent, that agent usually does the seller's job for them anyway, basically putting themselves in a "dual-agency" situation.

We just sold our home and are in escrow. Our agents were great but did not want to take/show pics of the garage. I insisted that we not only have pics of the garage but list it as a "car lovers" garage. The house sold in 11 days to a couple in another state.....sight unseen....based on the pics. The wife loved the kitchen and the husband loved the garage!

Now we are shopping for the next house. Can't believe when we walk into a house for sale and there are dirty pots&pans and dishes in the kitchen sink!! Wet towels hanging over the shower door!! Bathroom counter with all the owners prescription drugs lined up for the public to see....or take!!

Curb appeal is still rule #1. If the front yard is clean and taken care of, likely that the inside will be too.

If you have a listing agent that won't show the place, I would fire them post-haste (hopefully there is a unilateral cancellation provision in your listing agreement).
Typically, a listing agent has a lot more incentive to procure a buyer themselves, as they would "double-end" the deal (more money in their pocket).
However, there are a lot of lazy agents that secure listings and then simply rely on other agents to show the property and present offers.

That said, there are places and/or brokerages that do not allow "dual representation" so you should confirm that it's not an issue on those levels first.

Also, I think it would be mistake to limit the exposure and availability to only the listing agent (exclusive listing, etc.). YMMV...

You obviously give real estate agents a great deal more respect than i do.
A GREAT deal more.

I think you'd find that most competent, successful agents struggle with how low the bar is set in the industry, and get tired of having to work with lazy or unprofessional peers. It reflects poorly on all of us.

However, I bristle at the way I am often spoken to by people who are just oozing contempt at showings, open houses etc. People may have had bad experiences with agents in the past, and I don't mind proving my value as a listing or buying agent, but when someone makes a point of being disrespectful I shut things down pretty damn quick

The comission check to a very competent agent is the happiest check that I'll ever write.

thanks for the advice..
it turns out our contract has just expired. no renewal. seems easy enough. :)

This.

It's the primary reason I transitioned to the commercial side years ago.

Agree Completely Notfarnow and with Eric.

The better the economy the worse it gets with agent behavior. I see it from a Brokers perspective more now than ever.

A competent Agent / Broker with solid experience is worth their weight in gold. Learned this way before I every got into the business.

Choose wisely grasshopper!

well. again, my Wife let me do the dirty work.

i severed ties with my buying agent. she was not happy but said she understood.

i'm looking for a carbon copy of the lady that sold my house.

i think those that have a sour taste in agents only can blame themselves..there are thousands of them..they cant ALL be good. find the good ones and have a pleasant positive experience.

house sale stuff sucks enough.

my sellng agent admitted that hosting an open house is the worst part for her. but it is needed. mine even hosted a sandwich party for her entire office of agents just so her counter-parts can see it in case some of their clients shopping something similar.

then she had some secret agents tour thing..dunno. my neighbor was selling also. she got a jump on me and put her house to market first. mainly because i spent time doing things to my house..mine sold first :) my neighbor (retired) told me my agent rocked. she was always at the house, motivating my gardeners and repair guys. she even supervised the placement of the for sale signs..right down to the last detail. i loved her.