Real Estate Question: Fire my broker?

[Al Neri]

OK I am selling my studio co-op, because I am getting married and need to get into a bigger place than I have right now. I did a fair amount of research on property values and believe it is priced right. I signed with a real estate agent who lives in my building and, without doing research on %ages, signed a deal for 6% for 6 months. I'm kicking myself now, but what can you do.

Anyway. The place was put on the market and I asked where it was advertised, I was told

1. Online (which is only craigslist),
2. In the local newspaper, and
3. Multiple Listing Services

So...

1. Online (craigslist) - I checked craigslist and it was listed as a 1 Bedroom in the title of the listing (remember its a studio), the body of the listing was correct. I called them and got a sob story how it wasn't their fault and the person who puts the stuff online messed up and it will be fixed, etc. etc. It was fixed a few days later, and I then checked it yesterday and it says $0 for association fee (maintenance), this is clearly incorrect, and there's no excuse, my Realtor lives in my building and knows that every co-op has a maintenance fee, (what co-op or condo does not? how could their listing system not flag this). Note, I have since started printing out everything that is being listed.

2. I asked them to tell me what days it was put in the paper, and they gave me the run around, mind you, I have checked the paper daily and since 2/1 it has been in the local paper TWICE (as of 4/1). When I finally got the straight answer that it was only in the paper twice they said that the owner of the agency approves what actually makes it into the paper and they have send the co-op to be listed almost daily.

3. The MLS listing has the co-op listed with $0 association fee as well.

To add insult to injury.... - not ONE person has come to look at the co-op in 2 months. I know the economy is down, but this is a desirable location and extremely affordable (cheap).

Is there any way I can fire this broker or terminate this contract? I see them frequently in my building, but I am really getting sick of them. Every time see them they give me another sob story the listing problems weren't their fault and they are trying oh so hard to sell my place... Obviously, I don't want to end things on a bad note and think I can get around it.

Also I have a few personal contacts that are interested in the co-op, if I sell it I'm obviously obligated to pay the fee to the Realtor, I wouldn't want that to happen that way.

If I can get out of this listing I will advertise the living daylights out of it myself and see how I can go about selling it on my own. Can I list on MLS on a for sale by owner?

Any thoughts?


Cliffs:

1. Co-op for sale for 2 months
2. Signed 6% for 6 months with a Realtor, I know I made a mistake... 🙁
3. The Realtor has made multiple mistakes listing the co-op (read above for examples) and has barely advertised it.
4. I want to terminate the relationship with the Realtor.
5. Any help or suggestions?

 

[ViviTheMage]

maybe they are trying to pull interest in by saying 0 association and when they get interested lay it to them...

 

[Vette73]

Depends on the state. In NC my grandmother just had to have a signed letter saying they were no longer the listign agent.
But some the 6 month contract may hold.

See what the contract says, it may have a out in it you can use.


Also check this site out if you do get out of the contract...
FSBO

 

[vi edit]

What's the contract say you actually owe if you break the agreement?

 

[Al Neri]

That I have to look into.

 

[alkemyst]

sounds like sign of the times, and you do have a contract.

It's typical for someone to try and break contract with an agent at the time of sale saying 'they found the buyer'....

However, being your realtor is part of your co-op, is he trying to sell his own unit(s)...I don't know if anyone has proven this, but I have seen agents owning several in certain condo park looking for all listings. With something as cookie cutter as a condo unit it's a bad deal to have a listing agent also trying to sell their own properties.

 

[mugs]

The mistakes in the listings would make your apartment look more desirable. I don't think you can blame the lack of interest on those mistakes.

 

[Al Neri]

Originally posted by: mugs
The mistakes in the listings would make your apartment look more desirable. I don't think you can blame the lack of interest on those mistakes.

a mistake is a mistake... if they make mistakes on little things, who's to say they aren't making mistakes anywhere else? i.e. not advertising it , etc.

 

[Veramocor]

Had the same type of problems and actually posted on ATOT 2 years ago about them.

I have some advice/info based on my experience.

The 6% fee is typical. 50% will go to them and 50% will go to the buyers agent. If there is no buyers agent they keep the whole thing.

I used a "full service" real estate agent and they sucked. After my contract was up (4 months long) I signed up with a flat fee service, assist2sell.com. They charge a flat fee equivalent to about 1.5%. The buyers agent still gets 3% as this is a requirement of the MLRS listings. So total fees are 4.5%. So on a 300k house you save yourself $4,500 bucks. The flat rate broker worked much harder and got a quicker sale for me than the regular real estate agent.

You can either wait the six months or break your contract. If you break the contract you will be responsible for any costs that the agent spent trying to sell your property including listing fee (at least 200) and other fees, unless it states otherwise. Since after you break the contract they can make up any reasonable number, you should contact your agent and tell them you are unhappy with their service and ask them how much it would cost to cancel your contract with them. Get it in writing, send them the check and you are done with them. If they are part of an agency such as Prudential real estate, contact their boss and ask that a different agent from the same company be assigned to you, this won't cost you any money.

 

[Al Neri]

Originally posted by: mugs
The mistakes in the listings would make your apartment look more desirable. I don't think you can blame the lack of interest on those mistakes.

Also, how can you not fault someone for being sloppy. That's a ridiculous way to view things.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Al Neri

Originally posted by: mugs
The mistakes in the listings would make your apartment look more desirable. I don't think you can blame the lack of interest on those mistakes.

a mistake is a mistake... if they make mistakes on little things, who's to say they aren't making mistakes anywhere else? i.e. not advertising it , etc.

Originally posted by: Al Neri

Originally posted by: mugs
The mistakes in the listings would make your apartment look more desirable. I don't think you can blame the lack of interest on those mistakes.

Also, how can you not fault someone for being sloppy. That's a ridiculous way to view things.

I think you're frustrated that your apartment isn't generating any interest and you're looking for a reason to take it out on your agent. Maybe there are some other reasons you're not telling us, but listing your apartment with a LOWER maintenance fee isn't a mistake that warrants finding a new agent. Have them fix the error on the MLS listing, and if you still don't get any interest you're probably priced too high.

From my personal experience buying a house, ads in the newspaper aren't terribly useful (they're probably more useful for rentals). MLS is where we found pretty much every house we looked at. There's so much more useful information in an MLS listing than a newspaper listing. Does your MLS listing have good pictures?

Is your realtor part of a large company? Is it listed on the company's website? Around here MLS has a limit on the number of pictures (10), but your realtor's website can display more.

Has your agent held any open houses? Are open houses typical with apartments?

Your agent also acts as a buyer's agent, right? Has he had any of his buyers look at your apartment?

Have you looked at more recent listings in your area/building to verify that your price is still competitive?

 

[olds]

Back when the market was at it's peak, we offered the listing agent a 30 day contract with $1500 going to the buying and selling agent. She took it and we sold the house in 10 days for $330k. She listed in in MLS and I built a site with info and pictures.

 

[Al Neri]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: Al Neri

Originally posted by: mugs
The mistakes in the listings would make your apartment look more desirable. I don't think you can blame the lack of interest on those mistakes.

a mistake is a mistake... if they make mistakes on little things, who's to say they aren't making mistakes anywhere else? i.e. not advertising it , etc.

Originally posted by: Al Neri

Originally posted by: mugs
The mistakes in the listings would make your apartment look more desirable. I don't think you can blame the lack of interest on those mistakes.

Also, how can you not fault someone for being sloppy. That's a ridiculous way to view things.

I think you're frustrated that your apartment isn't generating any interest and you're looking for a reason to take it out on your agent. Maybe there are some other reasons you're not telling us, but listing your apartment with a LOWER maintenance fee isn't a mistake that warrants finding a new agent. Have them fix the error on the MLS listing, and if you still don't get any interest you're probably priced too high.

From my personal experience buying a house, ads in the newspaper aren't terribly useful (they're probably more useful for rentals). MLS is where we found pretty much every house we looked at. There's so much more useful information in an MLS listing than a newspaper listing. Does your MLS listing have good pictures?

Is your realtor part of a large company? Is it listed on the company's website? Around here MLS has a limit on the number of pictures (10), but your realtor's website can display more.

Has your agent held any open houses? Are open houses typical with apartments?

Your agent also acts as a buyer's agent, right? Has he had any of his buyers look at your apartment?

Have you looked at more recent listings in your area/building to verify that your price is still competitive?

Not necessarily frustrated that it hasn't sold, I understand the market is the way it is. The frustration comes from sloppiness.

How you can defend sloppiness is well beyond my comprehension.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Al Neri

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: Al Neri

Originally posted by: mugs
The mistakes in the listings would make your apartment look more desirable. I don't think you can blame the lack of interest on those mistakes.

a mistake is a mistake... if they make mistakes on little things, who's to say they aren't making mistakes anywhere else? i.e. not advertising it , etc.

Originally posted by: Al Neri

Originally posted by: mugs
The mistakes in the listings would make your apartment look more desirable. I don't think you can blame the lack of interest on those mistakes.

Also, how can you not fault someone for being sloppy. That's a ridiculous way to view things.

I think you're frustrated that your apartment isn't generating any interest and you're looking for a reason to take it out on your agent. Maybe there are some other reasons you're not telling us, but listing your apartment with a LOWER maintenance fee isn't a mistake that warrants finding a new agent. Have them fix the error on the MLS listing, and if you still don't get any interest you're probably priced too high.

From my personal experience buying a house, ads in the newspaper aren't terribly useful (they're probably more useful for rentals). MLS is where we found pretty much every house we looked at. There's so much more useful information in an MLS listing than a newspaper listing. Does your MLS listing have good pictures?

Is your realtor part of a large company? Is it listed on the company's website? Around here MLS has a limit on the number of pictures (10), but your realtor's website can display more.

Has your agent held any open houses? Are open houses typical with apartments?

Your agent also acts as a buyer's agent, right? Has he had any of his buyers look at your apartment?

Have you looked at more recent listings in your area/building to verify that your price is still competitive?

Not necessarily frustrated that it hasn't sold, I understand the market is the way it is. The frustration comes from sloppiness.

How you can defend sloppiness is well beyond my comprehension.

Please show me where I've defended sloppiness. Saying that the sloppiness did not cause the lack of interest in your apartment is not a defense of the sloppiness.

 

[Al Neri]

Awesome. Spoke to the agent, she agreed with me. Paperwork will be at my door tomorrow. Contract canceled, no penalty.

 

[rgwalt]

Originally posted by: Al Neri
Awesome. Spoke to the agent, she agreed with me. Paperwork will be at my door tomorrow. Contract canceled, no penalty.

Congrats, that is great news!

GL w/ selling your place, it can be a pain. Are there a lot of units for sale in your building?

 

[Al Neri]

There's a few for sale... it's a rough market out there!

 

[TrueBlueLS]

I can't believe they broke your contact. I had a douche bag of a real estate agent last year. Fiancee and I thought for sure that we'd get the house we wanted so who cared about a contract. WRONG! He thought that any house with mold just needed some bleach and water. I tried to explain my case to his boss and the owner, but neither would break my contract. Luckily we were only locked out of one city for 6 months.