Sunday, April 06, 2008

Unsolicited Advice

I usually leave real estate issues to Jim Duncan and other more knowledgeable bloggers, but this house still has not sold and it requires a comment.

The house is small, the lot is large, certainly a larger home could be built on the lot. The house has been for sale for at least a year. A house two doors down recently came on the market, it was under contract within a week.

The price has been reduced, but only modestly (the price is still greater than $320,000). The agent actually OWNS the house and is selling the house (owner/agent).

I will never use this agent- he/she does not know how to price a house or move a house. Research your agents prior to hiring one and for goodness sake be reasonable about the sale price. And if you are a Realtor- do not let your own homes sit on the market forever, it does not set a good precedent.

2 comments:

Stormy said...

Jennifer,

There's a chapter in Freakonomics on this very topic. The authors posit that it is the agent's goal to get you to sell your house ASAP because it's in his or her best interests to be involved in as many sides as possible. When the agent is the owner, that incentive disappears and they'll just hold out for higher prices than they would encourage one of their clients to take. I'll let Jim weigh in on this if he'd like, because his perception may differ.

Jennifer said...

Good point. I hadnt considered the incentives aspect, although from a marketing perspective this owner/agent isnt doing themself any favors.
It does remind me I want to read that book. Thanks for your comment.

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