Hi all,

I have a major gripe and if anyone can offer me any advise, please feel free to do so.

We put our house on the market before my dad was diagnosed with cancer. In spite of that, we decided to keep the house on the market and if we sell the house, we would hire professional movers to do the work if we had to.

We put our house on the market since mid-July and it is still on the market. We hired my cousin who works for Century 21 and has been a realtor for a little over a year. I am a loyalty oriented person and we wanted to help her out. Besides, she has been doing really good and selling houses, except for ours.

I just left her a message and finally told her I am not happy with her results. I was hoping to tell her in person, and I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. I hesitated because I am close to her mom and I don't want a rift between us. A couple of years ago my aunt and I made amends after not speaking to each other for 5 years. But I have no choice now. This is business.

We have wanted to downsize and move to a condo and have a smaller mortgage. We have so many expenses right now with hospital bills and now trying to get help for Sofia with a tutor (not cheap) and both of us going to therapy. Sofia once a week and me every two weeks. Granted we have insurance but the co-pays add up. Besides, Richard commutes an hour and a half a day in order to make the kind of money to afford our current mortgage. He is really tired and would like to find a job closer to home. Unfortunately, the jobs in this area do not pay nearly enough. So you can imagine, we are a slave to our mortgage.

A little background, this is the first house we ever bought because we lived overseas for many years. We would've made some different decisions at that time had we had any kind of experience. We've had this house for 8 years now.

I don't know what to do anymore. We have lowered the price of our home at least 5 times and have added that we will pay the closing cost.

Here are some things I noticed with my cousin.

She never brings any clients to look at the house. She seems to depend on other realtors to do that. I know she has clients and is selling because she has stated several times she has to go to a closing.

We asked her for a list on homes that have been sold in our area. There were 7 homes that have been sold within a 3 months time or less since we listed. About 4 of them listed after we did. Their prices were higher and their houses were bigger by about a couple of 100 square feet. Needless to say, I am really embarrassed by this. I mean the sign has been out in our yard for about 5 months now. I know the real estate boom has passed us. But we are not asking for as much as we would've if the boom was still on. Evidently houses are selling.

We seem to get maybe 2 people a week to come and see the house. Sometimes no one comes or maybe 1 person.

I am getting frustrated because before we listed I packed up so many things in order to declutter. I watch Tonya and Roger and have followed much of their advise. It takes us about an hour to straighten up before anyone comes to see the house. Many times that means we have to stop what we are doing because we get a call at the last minute. I didn't expect it to be easy as far as that was concerned. But I didn't expect this to be our way of living for at least more than 3 months.

We haven't even come close to a sale or any interested parties. I feel like we are wasting our time putting on a dog and pony show.

I can't help but feel that we would've sold our house by now if we used another agent.

Has anyone ever been a real estate agent? Is it normal for an agent to list a house and not bring any clients? I know she has them because she is selling.

I am really stressed about this. My poor parents have been getting an earful and their conclusion is the same as ours. It's who we have as an agent. I don't understand it. Could she just be taking advantage of us and waiting until things slow down for her and then take a bigger interest in showing our house to clients? Is she thinking that we would feel too obligated to keep her and she has us wrapped around her finger?

Thanks for letting me vent ladies. Now I have to go and dig through some boxes and get some warmer clothes out for Sofia. She packed them thinking we would've moved by now.

Any kind of input is appreciated!

Cheers,
Cathi

Cathi, I guess this is why they say you shouldn't do business with family. Urg! If you really want this to sell quickly, I say give another realtor a try. I would get someone from another realty company who has more years of experience.

There are a couple realtors in here. Let's see what they have to say...

Cathi, our realtor rarely showed our home but advertised it and other realtors showed it like crazy. Don't you hate having to always keep everything in it's place and spotless?

Has your cousin advertised your house? Has she had an open house? If not, I would make her do it. Also, you might consider hiring a "stager." They know how to arrange furniture and decorate a house to get it sold.

Hi Cathi,

Hope I can help you out. I run my own real-estate company, and have been practicing this business now for the last 16 years. I work in Germany, but I'm sure the principal of selling real-estate doesn't differ between the two countries.

You are right in thinking that it is VERY odd that your cousin doesn't personally bring the customers to your house to do the showings (at least 5 per week). You gave her the contract and she is supposed to be your "partner"; not some stranger, who hasn't gone through all the details with you.

I've learned (the hard way) that business and family or friendship just don't mix well. I never accept a house from any neighbor, friend or relative.

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Needless to say, I am really embarrassed by this. I mean the sign has been out in our yard for about 5 months now.

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Remove the sign, and if possible wait a month.

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We haven't even come close to a sale or any interested parties.

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Now this is not a good sign. Of course it depends on how many house showings there were. If you have had a lot of showings, and not one offer, then it usually means you are in the wrong price league. Of course if the showings were few and far between, then you can't go by that.

My suggestion is to terminate your contract with your cousin. Do it with as few words as possible. She'll know why. Then just try to sell your house without a realtor. There are a lot of buyers out there that want to avoid those high commissions. So you are one step ahead of the others. Is your house listed in internet portals? Advertise in the local newspaper, and don't forget to add the website or blog address for your house. Most people first check out the internet. It's so easy for them. Better fewer pictures then too many. When taking pictures inside…get more floor than ceiling in the picture…it makes the rooms look larger. The floor plan is utmost important, so make sure you have that listed. Get the customer curious…you want them to come and see for themselves…The selling you do when they go through your door.

Before a potential buyer arrives, brew some coffee for the sense of smell. Then put on some low key coffee house music. Make sure all lamps are on, just incase it should be a gray day. Be pleasant and charming. Allow the customer to feel the aura of the rooms, without talking them to pieces. Offer a cup of coffee, and just answer questions right to the point without adding anything more.

In case you don't want to try to sell "from private", then look for a local realestate agency. Before you decide, check out their website. That is their calling card...and it better be a good one.

Hope this has been some help to you. Best of luck to you...Remember everything is sellable!

Wow, great responses I really appreciate them.

Dianne, I have my house staged which is why it is frustrating because I am walking on eggshells in my house. It isn't feeling like home. The hour I talk about putting away stuff, it is toothbrushes, razors, creams hiding laundry that hasn't been done, etc.... I am not sloppy, but it's frustrating not to have a home, if that makes sense. Anyway, when I start back at work, I am going to need an extra hour than usual just incase someone comes and looks at the house while we are out.

I had asked her to do some open houses. Her response was that we would be lucky to have 2 people show and the others are mostly neighbors that want to check out your house. I didn't want to waste the time. But on the other hand, I see open house signs everywhere on Sundays. It must work if many realtors are doing it.

Hannelore, I don't have the kind of time to try to sell this myself. I am back and forth in N. VA trying to take care of my dad and help my mom out. Then in November I start to work again. But I understand about the smell. I haven't tried the brewing coffee. I have been chopping apples, putting them in a small casserole dish. Adding cinnamon, brown sugar, etc...and putting it in the oven. Trying to give the home type apple pie smell, LOL. I have the plug in air freshners. Thanks for the tips on leaving the lamps on when it is cloudy outside. I hadn't thought of that. The pictures are a good tip as well.

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......just answer questions right to the point without adding anything more.

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Good point. I am not always at home when the house is being shown. When I at home, the only thing I ever add, if the client has children, is the fact that the school district is one of the best in VA Beach. The realtors are not allowed to do that, but I can. I do this because I remember when we were looking, Sofia was 8 years old. That was a very big factor in where we bought. In fact, there was another house we really liked and were considering buying. When we found out the school she would go to (not a safe one), we turn it down without hesitation. Maybe I am wrong.

I have experience in sales, not RE. I use to sell cosmetics and one of them was Color Me Beautiful. I mention that brand because they require you to go out and approach customers. Something I felt uncomfortable about at first, until I found a way to do it without being a "pushy salesperson". It was a numbers game and the purpose was to show as many customers as possible. That way your chances of selling increases. I have to say, I wouldn't have sold as much as I did if I hadn't done that. RE shouldn't be different in that respect and I can't help but think if at least 5-10 people came and saw the house in a weeks time, our chances of selling would've been better.

Thanks everyone for your input. I did get a call from my cousin not too long after I posted this. She is going to come over later and we are going to talk about it. In the meantime, we have had realtors approaching us because the listing time has expired. Some have told us they have buyers for our area. Our price is lower than the others in our area. Of course, I wasn't born yesterday either, so I really need to be a little more cautious.

Thanks again.

Cheers,
Cathi

If they had buyers for your area, why haven't they shown it? Yeah, be cautious. I hated it when our house was on the market. So did my dog and bird. I always left the house and sometimes, it was shown three times a day. I feel for you!

Dianne, that was the first thing that came to my mind. If they had buyers, they would've showed the house right?

Unless, and this is a stretch, but they may have figured out that the house wasn't selling and they waited for the listing to expire. This way they get the full commission. That's the only reason I can think of as to why they haven't shown it to their so called buyers.

Cheers,
Cathi

Cathi, One of my best friends is going through the identical situation with her broker. We live in NY and the market is terrible at the moment. She had 2 open houses. The first one no one showed. The second showed 2 other agencies. Only 4 people have looked since Sept. 11th. She is into contract on a new house and stands to lose thousands! The house is immaculate at all times, looks like a house in Home and Gardens. Only 2 of them live there, kids are grown and gone. If only they could get potential buyers we are sure it would sell. They had 2 low-ball offers, even after they reduced the house by 50 thousand. Let's face it, they can't give it away. According to our local news, they say things should change in the market by January. Good Luck!

Cathi, I agree with Dotsie, that you should never do business with family! When purchasing my present home, I used my cousin (also w/ Century 21) and all he did was gripe that he was too busy and showed me homes that were either not affordable or needed too many repairs (or near railroad tracks!). Perhaps you could locate a realtor that only charges a 4 percent commission fee and promises to advertise. Do you have color flyers posted along with the 4-sale sign? Since my realtor did not advertise my home on their web-site w/in 2 weeks of signing the sales contract, I purchased my own tube and made color flyers and faxed copies to local military housing offices, this is how a realtor from another city was able to give information to her client. I did all the work and the realtor got the 5%commission!

Oh my, I remember my cousin recommended we sell the house first then buy a house afterward. I agreed because we didn't want to get stuck with two mortgages. We have been keeping our eye out at a particular community with really nice condos. I don't think we will have a problem buying one. I know that there is an association attached, but so far that doesn't bother us. We have lived overseas most of our lives in apartments. To live in an apartment in Germany is equal to living in a house here in America, as far as status is concerned. We have been beating ourselves in the head for not buying one while we were there.

I am explaining this, because we are not yard people at all. We have a 1/3 acre of land and it is a peice of work. The only one that benefitted from that was our dog when we had her. So having a small area and someone else taking care of it is fine with us. I would like to have some herbal and tomato plants on the patio. So I won't miss out on that.

Anyway, I had a feeling once I started griping, perhaps something would happen. There is good news. The people that saw the house last night are interested and want to come back tomorrow to see it again. I wasn't home when they were there, but Richard was and he said the Realtor seemed very experienced and she was doing a good job showing the clients where they can benefit with buying our house.

Tomorrow, we have some people coming at between 11A-1P, I am going to be at my chiropractors at that time.

My cousin came over tonight and we were brain storming as far as what we need to do. We are going to have an open house on the last weekend of Oct. I am going to be away at my parents and Richard and Sofia are going to make plans to go out somewhere.

Hannelore, I made the suggestion of having some coffee brewing. She thought that was a great idea, I am going to buy a pumpkin flavored candle. She is going to bring some finger food and some toys for the kids to keep them occupied so the parents can look around in peace and not be in a hurry to leave.

We have some wallpaper and we are going to add an allowance for changing the wallpaper. Personally, I don't like wallpaper anymore, I prefer paint.

Okay, didn't mean to make a mini series out of this situation. I felt for a long time I needed to speak up, and I am glad I did. I am glad I followed up by starting this thread. It certainly worked well together with trying to find some solution.

I have another question though. My cousin told me that a broker she works with had said that the fall and winter are actually good times to have the house on the market. He said that those who are looking are more serious about buying a house and not just browsing. Does that make sense? Basically, her recommendation is to keep it on the market.

Alright ladies, my eyes are getting crossed right now because I am getting sleepy. It's been an exhausting emotional day for me.

Dianne, thanks for jumping in, I know you have so much on your mind and I really pray that all will work out.

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they say things should change in the market by January. Good Luck!

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Hopefully Virginia Beach will be included, LOL. Thanks for your input here as well. I know that we are not alone. We really try to keep this place clean, in spite of a messy 17 year old.

I love you all alot!

Good night and Cheers,
Cathi

Will be keeping those fingers crossed for you Cathi ! Isn't it usually that way, when you throw up all arms in desperation, something breaks through.
You are right about the sales thing...it's all the same principal. so you know what you're doing. I'm glad you could have that talk with your cousin.
Hannelore

Okay, here's a superstition If I've ever heard one! Have any of your realtors heard of burying a statue of Joseph upside down on the property to sell it quickly? I'm not kidding. People in Maryland do it. They buy a cheap little statue and stick it in the ground. They swear it helps sell houses. Isn't that funny?

Here's a link to an article so you all don't think I'm crazy:

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060916/NEWS02/609160359/-1/WEBHEAD01

and here's another:

http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/stjoe.html

Hmmmm! Never heard of that one, LOL. But hey, who knows!

Cheers,
Cathi

Absolutely Dotsie, go to: stjosephstatue.com for another retailer. It is becoming common knowledge here in NY and elsewhere. However, it is NOT sanctioned by the Catholic Church. Seems a bit sacreligious to me to bury poor St. Joseph...especially upside down, but when we are desperate I don't think he would be too mad at us!

That reminds me of cutting a potatoe in half and rubbing it on a wart on my son's hand and burying the potatoe during a full moon. Of course, it didn't work.

When our house was on the market in TN, I had a site I could go to and read the feedback from the realtors who showed it. I thought it was great but my hub said it would be until someone said something negative and I'd go bullistic. I would ask what the realtors had to say that have shown it to get an idea.

The market has slowed but the interest rates haven't really gone up and people are still buying. You just haven't found the right one...unless this couple that is returning is the right one.

I feel for you. It was just awful when we put our house on the market. I busted my buns keeping it clean and then, my realtor tells me that she wants to have an open house and I should have home baked cookies and bottled water for the people who came. To my mind, she was making the commission so I told her to bake the cookies herself! Give me a break! I was exhausted. I decided no open houses until I had moved. We left our furniture in the house because they always look better furnished, and after I moved to MN, told her she could have an open house as often as she wanted. Really, it's usually just a way for realtor to find a new client or the neighbors to nose through your house.

Cathi,

Do you already have a place that you want to move to? What I have found in selling houses is that when I've already found something else that I'm excited about the current house sells quickly but when I did't know where I want to go...I just knew I that I wanted out of where I was, nothing happened.

The fastest I ever sold one was in 3 days when I decided to move back to my home town following a divorce. Oh, and I got more than the asking price and there were other houses in my neighbor hood that had been on the market for months.

Good luck!

Believe it or not Jane, the condo community we are interested in do not do contingency plans. You have to have a contract first. The good part is, there is always something available there. We are constantly checking that out. So I don't know if that would be the same thing. We didn't want to be stuck with two mortgages.

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The fastest I ever sold one was in 3 days when I decided to move back to my home town following a divorce. Oh, and I got more than the asking price and there were other houses in my neighbor hood that had been on the market for months.
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Was that during the Real Estate Boom? During that time, houses in our area were selling within a weeks time. For the asking price! I just think we are a day late and a dollar short.

As for the people that wanted to come and see it again, they had to work late last night and reschuled for tonight. Oh and I was so looking forward to the apple pie, LOL.

I'll definitely let you all know what happens!

Cheers,
Cathi

Cathi,

It was back in 1989...Good luck tonight!

Cathi, apple pie? What about cheesecake? Cathi and I met at The Cheesecake Factory for lunch. After eating all of our lunch, we proceeded to eat all of our own cheesecake too. What fun!

I pray things go well tonight.

Oh YES, I have heard of that- when we lived in Ct it was THE thing to do if you were trying to sell a home! And you know what, EVERYONE that did it were pleased with the response and offers. Maybe it is because St. Joseph was a carpenter....who can figure? Anyhoo, next time we try to sell our home, (and I wish I'd known about this in the past!!) I am going to get one and bury it asap. I wonder if it aspects "full moon" like planting potatoes? LOL for that thought!

Actually Dotsie, I thought of cheesecake, which is what I prefer. Just incase you didn't notice, LOL. Unfortunately, cheesecake wouldn't have given the aroma of a homey atmosphere.

I think it went well, they are nice people and they were asking many questions about the neighborhood and such. I was impressed with the realtor, she was really good!

I'll let you guys know.

Cheers,
Cathi

Waiting to hear...

My fingers are crossed Cathi. I know how frustrating selling a home can be. I always uded apple/cinnamon potpurri to give my home a comfortable cozy scent.

At last, our house sold a few days ago. Now what is left is the home inspection, I am praying all will go well with that and then I will feel secure about the sale. We had to lower the price drastically, but it didn't hurt us either. I felt bad for feeling anger to my cousin, I had heard other realtors commenting on what a slow time this is.

Anyway, we have two condos we are considering. The one I really want is so cozy. It has two master bedrooms, one downstairs and one upstairs and a loft. I don't want anything bigger than that. It has a small front porch, which is another thing I like. Now the best part of this place has a small Koi Pond on the patio with a Japanese Maple tree for shade. Here is another neat thing and I believe a sign as well. This owner has the same end tables we have. I know it seems silly, but the end tables we have are unique.

Anyway, I am going to be soooo busy in the next few weeks. The people that bought our house want to move in by Dec 11. I have 8 years worth of moving to do, and I am working overtime at work. So every spare time I get, I need to be packing. In a couple of weeks though, I have 1-800-GOT JUNK coming to my house. It will be worth every penny.

I just wanted to let you all know about the house. I will not be on the internet much, but I will come back before Christmas. Don't worry, I will find time for the card and gift exchange. I am so blessed to be a part of this community, so the card and gift exchange is a joy for me.

If for some reason anyone needs to get in touch with me, I will leave my cell number to her Majesty and Dotsie. That is, if they don't mind.

I love you all alot!

Cheers,
Cathi

CONGRATULATIONS CATHY ! Hope you have a smooth, stress free moving time.
Funny, I noticed that the buyer and the seller often have the same taste. It isn't uncommon to see them drive the same cars or own the same breed dog. When I recognized the similarities, I always thought; oh good, it's sale time!

Wow, that's such great news Cathi!! (By the way, I didn't know YOU were the same Cathi that ordered from me last summer! Thanks!)

CONGRATULATIONS! I know this is a huge weight off your shoulders and the condo sounds wonderful. I think you are going to be having hectic holidays this year.