Rental Property Investor · Bay Area, CA · Member since 2018 · 22 posts · 1 vote
We decided to sell the townhouse in Aug. After 3 months post there’s no good offer. How much I should pay our agent for all the efforts she put in selling this house if we decided not to sell now?
Some background here. She was also our agent when we bought this townhouse several years ago. We also bought a new house this Jan and she was our agent too. We did bring her two business in the past years and introduced her to sevetal friends. However, she put a lot of effort in selling this townhouse and held open house for 7-8 times. That’s around 21-24 hours that she spent on open house only not counting other efforts she put in discussing the strategies. She’s a friend so we really want to handle this situation well. Of course we don’t want to overpay either. Could anyone provide some suggestions how much we should pay our agent if we decide not to sell and rent it instead?
@Lei Zhao Several years ago we used an agent that we didn’t complete a deal with. We appreciated her effort and put together a gift basket just to say ‘thanks’. It certainly wasn’t necessary but was a way to build rapport for future deals. I think it cost us about $50 at the time.
@Lei Zhao Several years ago we used an agent that we didn’t complete a deal with. We appreciated her effort and put together a gift basket just to say ‘thanks’. It certainly wasn’t necessary but was a way to build rapport for future deals. I think it cost us about $50 at the time.
Lei Zhao - If your house isn’t selling, it’s because your price is too high. You can either update it more, stage it with modern furniture (remove family photos, knick knacks) or drop the price. Are you still getting showings? Maybe it will be better in the spring.
Your agent isn’t owed a commission until it sells. You have probably signed paperwork that they can list your house for 6 months, so unless you get her / the brokers consent, you can’t withdraw the listing. Obviously you can not approve Realtor showings when they get sent to you, but why would you?
I’ve seen some customers withdraw the listing then relaunch with the same agent in February / March for the spring market so days in market is reset to 0. One agent friend got above her asking price the second time around. (Below what it originally was listed for but above the list price it expired at.) I.e. originally listed for $450, expired off market in Nov at $425k, relisted at $425k and sold for 435.
Thanks for the reply @Natalie Schanne! There’re some complications going on in Bay Area. Now we’re thinking to take the listing down and repost later for another try.
As an agent I know if I don't do what I promised then I don't get paid. The fact that you made this post tells me what kind of client you are and I wish I had a 1,000 clients like you. A small gift is always awesome from a client. The biggest gift for me as an agent is your referrals and the fact that you will still use me in the future. Sometimes the market does not play the way we want it to play. That's the game of Real Estate.