Our community is built out. We are trying to sell our home, but the best route is working with the resales office in the community.
We didn't like it from the beginning, since the realtor is working with both the seller & buyers. But with a couple of exceptions, things were okay.
Now we're having problems. The first 3 people that looked at the home LOVED the home (according to the realtor). One party made an offer - or so the realtor says - but we saw nothing in writing. The offer was too low and they wanted a contingency, which we didn't want.
We have another interested party who's looked at the house twice. Supposedly they're coming back. The first time they looked at the house, we were home because the realtor can't seem to grasp the fact that they need to call our cell # (they keep calling the home, and we've told them we don't get those msgs. right away). After the prospective buyer entered and before we got out, we heard the p.b. ask why our home was so much more than a similar model. It's priced higher because we have privacy, a premium lot, and are on the golf course. The ONLY reason the realtor gave the p.b. for the higher price was that because the other home had been on the market longer. The realtor did not point out the premium lot, the upgraded landscaping, or anything else.
I now find out that our realtor has been taking these people outside of our community to look at homes. I understand that the realtor represents both the buyer and the seller - but I 'thought' they represented our community. When I asked why the realtor showed homes outside our communty, they replied, "Because they're my clients". ?!?!?!?! And what are WE? Chopped liver?
The original listing on the 'net was full of typos/errors. It took 3 emails to get those errors fixed. The last email was sent two months after the house was originally listed. The realtor never apologized for the errors, and after the 3rd email, it took 9 days to fix the errors, and then the realtor quit communicating with us (the market is slow, was their response). I ended up having to call them, and we went round and round on the phone about how things should be done.
When it looked like the lockbox had been tampered with (there was a tab that apparently came out of the box), I asked the realtor if anyone had been here. The realtor said "it sounds suspicious - I don't know." And that was it. No coming out to check the box... no follow-up - nothing.
We had to ask how our home was marketed, and had to ask for copies of the ads. (The realtor said "I was so busy then that I didn't have time to brush my hair." ) ???? If you're that busy, maybe you shouldn't be handling such important transactions? They insist that they called and talked to my spouse when I sent the last email, but they didn't.
I told the realtor we wanted proof that they was doing everything in their power to sell the home. How do we know how it's being marketed or what they're doing to sell the home - if they don't inform us? Every other realtor in the past has done at LEAST that much.
When I reminded the realtor how much the commission would be, they were deeply offended, and said that it's not costing us a dime to market the house. Technically it isn't, but when the house sells, we pay. We'd like to be paying for more than just a listing on the internet.
The realtor is a nice nice person, but when you point out a problem, ask questions or ask that things be done differently, they become very indignant. Now I think they're making things up, because their stories change from time to time. They were convinced that our home would sell right away. Now they say fall will be better (more snowbirds around).
Due to family medical issues, we do need to sell soon. But we don't want to give the house away, either. We listed the house at a price the realtor said was "perfect". A month later we dropped the price at their suggestion. Now they thinks that the price is too high, even though it's only about $10k higher than a similar home with no privacy and no premium lot.
The realtor also said it would be no problem selling our home to the interested party (who is interested in several homes). They said that they have certain "tricks" where they can talk someone out of buying a home. How do we know then, that they're not using "tricks" with us?
Outside realtors could sell the home, but the resales office sells about 90% of the homes here. I guess we're at their mercy, but I don't want to have them walk all over us, either. We didn't want to complain at all, but yesterday I had enough. Our realtor seems very arrogant and immature.
Do we just sit and be treated like dirt? Are we at their mercy? Aside from going with a different realtor outside the community, what can be done? We'd like to just go to the boss there and ask that another agent in the office sell our home. But how do you handle this without upsetting the entire office? And then they won't show your home at all?
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