I just wanted to poll some of you who are either selling or have a sold a home. What is typically expected of your agent? Mine has done the following over 4 months:
1. 2 open houses w/sign in yard & newspaper advertisement
2. posted listing on website w/10 photos
3. posted listing on realtor.com w/1 photo

My agent has NOT done the following:
1. Shown the house other during the 2 open houses
2. Taken good quality photos. I had to take new photos myself & sent to him to post.
3. Provided feedback after other realtors have shown the house
4. Added more photos to realtor.com
5. Return phone calls (this has only happened 1-2 times).

Am I getting a raw deal? I honestly don't know since I've never sold a house before. I think it's odd that he's never showed the house himself. It also really bugs me that we never get any feedback after showings even though we've only had 5 since we listed. Is it not common to get some type of feedback? I offered to do my own flyer for an info tube which I'm currently working on b/c I was afraid he would do a lousy job.

What do you all think? Am I getting typical service or should I start shopping for a new agent/company? Thanks!

One thing to remember is that the agent you hire is normally not the one that will actually get your house sold.

With that said

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1. Shown the house other during the 2 open houses

we were on the market or 8 months and averaged 1 showing a week but I think OUR agent only showed maybe 10 times??

We had 2 open houses with MAYBE a total of 10 lookers! Waste of time.

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2. Taken good quality photos.

I took all the photos - agents are not photographers that know the best lighting at the best times for you home.

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3. Provided feedback after other realtor's have shown the house

This was always a problem with OTHER agents not putting out the effort to tell OUR agent, even when she tried to contact them.

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4. Added more photos to realtor.com

We gave her photos at times

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5. Return phone calls (this has only happened 1-2 times).

no problem here but we normally emailed - any GOOD agent spends a lot of time online I feel.

Your agent should do the info tube but in reality they can actually hurt you more then do you good. If somebody is interested they should call your agent so she can do a sell job. I think our tube was used more the kids using it as scratch paper. We would put out 20 sheets and in 2 days they were all gone - this is a common phenomena.

I bet we went through 300 fliers. More people just curious and not really "looking".

Feedback - yea - hard to get and pretty useless wit comments like "we do not like the area" but normally - "LOVED the house - still looking".

Just keep telling yourself - it only takes ONE.

Keep things clean and uncluttered.

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I think it's odd that he's never showed the house himself.

Ditto to everything Rod said.
Having my own house on the market, I was not getting feedback until I started e-mailing for feedback, now most of the showings get me feedback.

I have not had one call for my own house, with so many agents (3,500?), the chance in this market for me to get the buyer is almost zero.

From what I've gleaned reading these boards, and from my own personal experience, what you're getting is typical. I think anymore, the listing agreement should set out, item by item, exactly what the realtor is going to do in order to earn their X%. Then, if they don't live up to their end of the bargain you can cancel the agreement and find a new realtor.

By the way, only about 3% of houses are sold through an open house, it benefits your realtor more than you by bringing them potential business.

If you expect nothing, you won't be disappointed when that's what you get...

IMHO, your Realtor is NOT doing enough. However, he/she may only be doing what they "normally" do. Did you set out your expectations ahead of time? My Realtor told me inadvance what she will do, and I will make darn sure she follows thru with it....her marketing plan is one of the reasons I hired her.

That being said, sit down with your realtor and TELL them what you expect and want. If they refuse or agree, then dont follow thru, go to their boss and complain or ask to terminate the agreement. Then find a new Realtor who will work harder for you.

Some people may disagree with me, but right now Realtors are a dime a dozen. And those who are truly worth their salt will do what they need to do (within reason) to get your home sold.

Did you take your agents advice when it came to pricing your home? Real estate is like any other commodity. Right now, in most areas the supply is high and the demand is low. Many homes in my area are selling for less than they did 3-4 years ago. If you've only had 5 showings in 4 months then you may be priced too high for the current market conditions in your area. Having said that, it sounds like you put your house on the market in October which is a slow time. Things should start picking up in the next month or so. If showings don't pick up pretty soon, then you really need to try a price reduction if you want to get it sold.

The previous poster was correct regarding open houses. When gas costs $3 a gallon and you can see photos online 24/7, open houses just don't bring the traffic they once did.

Additional photos on Realtor.com costs the agent money...usually several hundred dollars.

Regarding feedback, again the previous poster was right. Some showing agents just don't cooperate.
But your agent should be letting you know that he has at least called and/or emailed for feedback.

Good luck!

With what you said - I'd have a problem with one thing - the not returning calls. To me, that's a deal breaker. I would set up a meeting and speak with him face to face, and offer the suggestion of following up with the emails to realtors of people that came by, and I would let him know what I expect of him when it comes to returning my calls (now, if you're calling him 3 times a day, that's too much)... I know I require communication - and I think that is the least they can do. As for him showing the house - it doesn't matter who shows it, as long as it gets sold. That wouldn't matter to me. I would also, while in the meeting, have him pull new comps and see where your market is now. The market does change quickly - so it is appropriate to recheck your pricing.... Good luck!!

Thanks for the advice everyone. Interestingly, last night my agent called & scheduled 2 showings for today. I wonder if he reads this board! I've come to terms with the fact that the problem is that I am a bit of a control freak. I'm 'type A' and expect the same from others. I went w/my current agent because he's a friend of my husband's. I have learned the valuable lesson, that hiring a friend is not the best idea!

I'm hopeful that things will pick up soon & am aware that I listed my house at a bad time of the year. The current plan is to drop the price by ~10K in a couple of weeks when hopefully our new house will be ready to move in to. I was also considering additional incentives such as lawn service for 1 yr. & a 1-2K bonus to the buyer's agent.

I would say that the biggest prob is the lack of returned phone calls. I ALWAYS return my client's calls. Very important.

The realtor.com thing is not a biggie. Most houses listed there only have one pic. In my area, most people go to our local mls website for searches, and that is where we upload additional pics. Although I did upload a virtual tour on my latest listing on realtor.com.

Open houses are 50/50. Depends on the area where you live. If you're out in the boonies, you won't get much traffic, if any. I have sold a few listings off the open house, but it doesn't happen often. I do 1 OH per month for my listings.

Your agent should have a flyer box. I'm thinking you might be kinda fussy regarding the quality of the photos..lol. They don't need to be works of art, just let the buyer see what it looks like. I'm no professional photog, so I get one to take my pics for me most of the time. It depends on the listing.

How long is your listing contract for? Once it expires, you're free to find another realtor. If you do, ask them to put in writing what their marketing plan is, and hold them to it. Also, you can ask to see examples of flyers/pics they have done for past clients.

I think great pictures help the sale of a home. We just sold our home and I think the great pictures that were taken and the virtual tour helped 100%!! I have been looking for a new home for us for a few months now and I know that as a buyer looking online, I want lots of pictures to look at. I am sure a lot of people start the looking process online and I think if your home has plenty of pictures for them to see, they will be interested in seeing more of your house in person if they like what they see online. Good luck!

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Originally posted by 1116lexi:
I think great pictures help the sale of a home. We just sold our home and I think the great pictures that were taken and the virtual tour helped 100%!! I have been looking for a new home for us for a few months now and I know that as a buyer looking online, I want lots of pictures to look at. I am sure a lot of people start the looking process online and I think if your home has plenty of pictures for them to see, they will be interested in seeing more of your house in person if they like what they see online. Good luck!

I agree with you and I have read posts and other blogs that say the same. Many buyers simply pass up houses online with only one or a few photos. They could reason that the house must be ugly or there would be photos. In my area, I believe that I read somewhere that the MLS charges the same for 1-20 photos. If that's true for you, then that's a sign of agent laziness. If it's not true, then I think it is penny wise pound foolish. Saving a few dollars or even a few hundred dollars is nothing compared to what you lose if you can't sell in a timely way and have two mortgages.

I would be much less concerned about feedback and communications with me (though I agree you should get these) than with inadequate marketing to prospective buyers or bad judgment on pricing. I once had an agent who just loved to send me emails, for example, from buyers who pointed out that the house had no basement (they didn't know that before seeing it?) but refused MY suggestions about price drops, offering sizable bonuses to the selling agent - wouldn't hold open houses or show the house himself and had no other ideas to sell it. This was a personal "friend" also, and he knew I was paying two house prices (including rent in another city- had to sell the house due to job change) that I could not afford. He was obviously interested only in listing as many houses as possible and hoping that a certain % would be sold by someone else. I would never make this mistake again.

Our MLS does not charge extra for additional photos, however the agent does have to pay Realtor.com a "premium" amount of money (based on the number of listings they had the previous year)to show more than one photo in their listings.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: real estate lady,

I am finding that what a realtor does varies from place to place. In the city that I live in- near Philadelphia- the realtors I have worked with do a lot to advocate for the buyer or seller, give advice and help- with of course your few bad apples. But 50 miles away in the coal regions, I am trying to buy a home in a small town, and the realtor has now completely screwed up on 2 houses, and I have had to guide her- which didn't help because she just kept bucking me. Now me and the broker are having a "discussion" about what realtors should do, and I'm banging my head against the wall. In my opinion, I don't think your realtor is marketing your house enough. I had a realtor for my one home who gave no feedback, minimal marketing, and didn't give me advice on what to do to make the house more marketable- until it had been on the market for 3 months- and we were paying 2 mortgages. he was fired.