Last summer a west suburban couple decided to take their house off the market. They left repeated messages with their listing agent, but the calls were not returned. Two weeks later they were surprised when another agent came by with customers. Politely, they told her the property was no longer for sale.
Hmmm, thought the agent. Mistakes happen, of course, but she was curious about the breach of communication. Checking around, she discovered that the listing agent had suddenly left town to join a religious community.
This story is an example of what not to expect from your listing agent and, fortunately, it’s a rarity. But even this tale has a happy ending. The couple eventually listed with the agent who was initially turned away, the house sold and we assume the original listing agent is blissfully chanting mantras.
“Typically, the complaints we hear from sellers who want to get out of their listings are the reasons why people are usually unhappy” with any service provider, says Frank Baloun, broker/owner of Re/Max Lincoln Park in Chicago. These sellers cite a “lack of communication, they could never catch their broker-feeling (the agent) didn’t do anything but put their house in the multiple listing service and wait for someone to call.” They also complain that the agents failed to fulfill certain commitments to them, he added.
As a seller, you don’t want to deal with these hassles. You want your house to go quickly and for a good price. If you’re a first-timer or have already made a down payment on your next home, you may be especially jittery.
Throughout the process, your agent is the key to a smooth transition of ownership. He or she provides a number of services that will make this happen. And if your hand needs holding along the way, that’s included in the package. But not at 2 a.m., please.
Jean and John Weide of Palatine admit they launched their agent-and themselves-on a rocky road when they sold their house and had to back out. Jean lost her job and the couple could no longer afford a new house. Their agent had to go back to the buyer and explain the deal was off.
The good part was, the Weides’ buyer had not yet sold her condominium. The Weides covered her attorney’s costs and everyone miraculously remained on speaking terms. Three months later Jean had a new job. The couple forgot about moving. The agent called. The former, would-be buyer (are you following this?) had just sold her condo and was still interested in their house. The wheels turned once again and the sale went through.
“I’m not real good when it comes to pressure,” says John Weide. “I’m kind of a nail biter. I really appreciate (our agent) being there. She was very gracious and made everything OK.”
What, then, can you expect an agent to do to sell your house? That’s the question we asked several area real estate professionals. This is what they shared with us:
1. A written comparative market analysis (or CMA, in realty lingo). This is a detailed comparison of your house and its merits to similar ones in your area that have sold plus those currently up for sale. Listing prices, selling prices and length of time on the market are factored in. Then X number of dollars is added to your side of the tally because you have two fireplaces and the competition has one or none. Y is subtracted because they have decks and you don’t. From this data the agent comes up with a pretty accurate idea of how much you will get and how high to set the asking price.
“The first question sellers have is, `What is my house worth?’ before I’ve even seen it,” says Kathy Coomer, vice president of Baird & Warner Real Estate and broker/sales manager for the Palatine branch office. “Even if it’s a tract house or a condo where everything is all the same, you still can’t give a professional opinion without a market analysis.”
2. Spruce-up suggestions. Most of us have lived in our spaces for so long we no longer notice the chipped porcelain in the bathroom sink or the frayed carpet. Buyers see it all and immediately start subtracting dollars for each repair and every decorating quirk that doesn’t match their tastes. Agents should advise you how to nip these complaints in the bud.
“We try to help the seller see the house the way a potential buyer sees it,” says Coomer. “We also try to keep suggestions of improvements fairly inexpensive. If a kitchen is a disaster and needs complete remodeling, I’m not going to say buy a new kitchen. . . .”
3. Referrals for related goods and services. Need a plumber to fix that leaky bathtub? Want to arm yourself with a home inspection? Looking for a low-doc mortgage for your new home? How about an attorney? Your agent has a directory of names and companies that can do the job.
“If they are good, they know when to say, `Now it’s time for you to get an attorney’ or `It looks like your furnace needs fixing. Here are some good people in town,’ ” says real estate attorney Robert W. Hotte of Bauer & Hotte in Elmhurst. “They have to have all that in the backs of their minds because these things come up every single deal.”
One agent knows a couple of contractors willing to wait for their money until the closing. Others know where to rent vintage furniture to fill vacant historic homes.
4. Immediate notification within the broker community. The agents in your area need to know your house is available so they can bring in their buyers. The two most common ways are the multiple listing services and the weekly broker’s tour of new listings. According to most listing service rules, new properties must be put into the data bank within 48 hours of the signing. Agents check these daily, sometimes hourly, when looking to match properties and buyers.
“The (multiple listing) books come out once a week but the computer gives us an immediate turnaround,” says Coomer.
Some listing agents design special promotions, such as a luncheon buffet or a raffle, to make your home stand out on tour day when the brokers typically breeze in and out of a dozen or two new listings. Others maintain mailing lists of brokers in their area who are perhaps heavy hitters or specialize in certain properties, such as condominiums or vintage homes. Via desktop publishing technology they can quickly produce a newsletter or flyer to publicize your house.
5. A written multimedia marketing program. This is what your agent does to expose your house to the buying public. You should expect a defined program that includes any combination of signage, open houses, advertising in print and electronic media, direct mail and special events. This program should be tailored to your particular house. If yours is located on an airstrip, your agent might advertise in magazines aimed at private pilots. Or if it’s a condo amid several apartment complexes, your agent might alert first-time buyers by pinning notices up in clubhouses or local grocery stores.
Generally speaking, marketing costs are borne by the agent. If you want something extraordinary, such as a full-page, four-color ad in six in-flight magazines, you’ll probably have to pop for this yourself.
The frequency of open houses and advertising will vary from agent to agent. Some promise two ads a week, others four and still others twice a month.
“It’s not a good policy to have an open house every week,” says Joseph Gagliardo, broker/owner of Gagliardo Realty in River Forest. “People will think you’re having a fire sale or something.” In his opinion, every third week is optimal.
“I’m not a believer in advertising the same house in the same media every week,” says Baird & Warner’s Coomer. “Just because your house isn’t in the paper this week doesn’t mean you’re not getting exposure. If someone calls on a property, we’re telling them about other houses in that price range if this one doesn’t meet their needs.”
6. Personal involvement. You want to feel your agent is in the trenches, actively marketing your house. But remember, personal involvement comes in degrees. Some agents will be physically present at all open houses and during the broker’s tour; others send colleagues or family members as stand-ins.
“You want to work with somebody who has a few years of experience but someone with 40 or 50 listings is not going to have time to work with you on a one-to-one basis,” says Re/Max Lincoln Park’s Baloun.
The subject of personal involvement raises a sore subject between city and suburban brokers-that of the listing agent being present at showings. In the city, listing agents customarily hold the key and meet buyers and their agents at the door. In the suburbs, the doorknobs of many listings are equipped with a metal lockbox that contains the house key. Agents have a universal key to the lockbox. The newer lockboxes are electronic and record the name and office affiliation of each agent entering the property and the time he or she was there.
“I’m going to take a lot of heat for this but I believe it is critical for the listing broker to be there during showings,” says Baloun. “We really believe that is the best person knowledgeable to show the property.”
“If we have a home where the seller is concerned about not letting keys out, (selling) agents can pick up the keys directly” from the listing agent, says Coomer. “But a lot of times they will bypass the property because it’s a hassle to show it.”
7. Feedback. Expect to communicate with your agent once or twice a week just to talk about how things are going. Some agents will send you a weekly printout of how many people went through the house, their comments, number of ads that ran and any other activities that took place. You should be informed of every showing that will take place, even if the selling agent merely leaves a message on your answering machine. You’ll also get feedback after every showing. Your agent will contact other agents who showed the house to find out what the home-lookers said.
If you have a lockbox, you might be responsible for informing your agent a showing took place. Brokers typically leave a business card to signify they’ve been in the house.
“The agent has a lot of hand-holding to do,” says Hotte. “The longer it goes on, the more nervous the sellers become. They want to know what about the people who came over yesterday. Why didn’t they make an offer? The agents have to reassure them that it takes time and their house will sell.
“Keeping in touch is one of the most important parts of the relationship. The agent should be available to answer a thousand questions and if they don’t know the answer, call an attorney or someone to get the answer.”
