@Christopher Triolo
I don't know your market area, but I can tell you that you have a HUGE asset that I'm not sure you are aware of. You as a seller are a real estate agent's dream! You are rational about what your property is worth and you understand the challenges. Surprisingly this rationality is far more uncommon than you may suspect.
I am an agent in Vermont. I am seeing your post because I have the keyword "Vermont" tagged. I work full time with sellers and sold more properties than any other new to the bussiness agent in vermont last year. Here is my thought- When I was starting out 2 years ago I was HUNGRY! I was also driven. I would have taken you on for a token compensation and also for the buyer leads I would get off of your property. I would not try to find the "best" agent to sell for you. The best agent is going to have plenty of income and no need to take on reduced commission clients. I would try to find someone newer to the business who is trying to grow their bussiness and who has DRIVE and time. There are a lot of agents out there. You may have to interview several agents and you will likely hear "no" more than once.
Knowledge is power. I think having an inside look at how the real estate industry works you will be able to sell this unit without problem. I hope this helps you. Were your unit my unit and your predicament my predicament this is what I would do:
Step one: Call the main line for all the major firms in your area ( Century 21, Keller Williams, Coldwell Banker, Smaller Local Names). Ask- "Who is your principal Broker?" "What is his her email?" Tell whoever you get on the phone " I have a property for sale and a difficult situation on my hands and I want your broker's recommendation on the best agent to pair me up with". Trust me the office and the agent will be more than happy to provide an email for you. You are a potential client. You are money calling. The brokers job is to foster the success of agents at the firm. They will hopefully give you an honest and good recommendation of who is your best bet.
Step 2: Write a template email. Much like the blurb you wrote above explaining your situation and your rational. Send it to the head broker of all the major real estate firms that service your area (and any small ones!) Say you are offering out an A) A 4% commission ( 3% MUST got to the buyer broker who brings the buyer to your property) and B) the ability to refer you out to an agent in Vermont for whatever referral fee they are able to negotiate when you buy. You are further compensate the agent by by letting them refer you out to the buyers agent that you use in Vermont to buy your next property. These referral fees can be as high as 30% of the next agents commission. Your agent gets paid just by referring your business to the next agent. For you it is no more money out of your pocket. You are simply redistributing the money other people will make. Make sense?
Ask the broker if there is an agent they would recommend to take on you and your listing. Offer a 3 month listing agreement. This lights a fire under the agents' bum to push your property.
Step 3: Be a 100% ready and easy to sell property. You aren't making them much money so don't make your agent do the grunt work. It sounds like this is already your plan, but A) have your tenant out. Tenant occupied properties are very difficult to show and to sell. Agents don't like dealing with them. Agents don't like showing them. B) Find out what is required to sell in your area and get it all done ASAP. Does the unit need a Fire and Safety inspection?(Required in Vermont) Get it DONE. Don't wait until you go under contract. Do sellers in Massachusetts typically pay for a furnace cleaning and inspection? Get it DONE. Don't wait until you go under contract. Get a receipt for any service performed. Send it to your agent. Do you need to provide the most recent copy of bylaws and financials for the association. (Called the resale package- sometimes there is a fee associated with getting this) Pay the fee, get the paperwork from your association, give it to your agent.
Tell your agent you want the listing description to include things like "New Paint! Fire Safety Complete! Furnace Inspected. Move in Ready" You want to signal to the world that this is going to be an EASY transaction".
Buyers' agents are human. They don't want to have to work hard either. If your unit is ready and easy to sell they will show it. Just remember all the hassle and work you take on yourself is work someone else doesn't have to do. You are selling through humans to humans and we are a lazy breed! ;-)
C) ALWAYS be pleasant and easy to talk to. You want your agent to like you. You want your agent to want to call you. You want your agent to give you their honest opinion and feedback. Let your agent understand your stress and predicament but never take it out on them. I truly believe that communication sells house. Be positive. Be someone your agent see's on their caller ID and picks up on the first ring. It's incredible how much of a difference this can make.
Step 4: Start higher than $159,000. ( Hear me out on this one) If you are truly comparable to the other unit that is on at $169,000 then start at $165,000. Structure automatic price reductions into your listing agreement. Drop $1000 every Thursday for 6 Thursdays. AFTER your first two full weeks on market. Why Thursday? Because buyers are looking to schedule showings for that coming weekend on Thursdays. Price reductions are the best advertising. Even if your agent pays for no advertising this is going to get your listing out to the public better than any advertising campaign can anyway. Why? Because when you drop price all the automatic alerts activate. Almost all websites ( The MLS, Trulia, Realtor.com, Zillow) have price reduction alerts. If a buyer has your area tagged as an area of interest in their online home shopping cart, then they get an email sent directly to their inbox when A) You first list or B) you drop price. So if you get to two weeks on market and interest is dying down--drop price. Automate it with your agent so that they don't have to call and ask you for the reduction. Set it up from day 1.
I hope some of these ideas help. Like many things in life- results follow where energy flows. Put some old fashioned elbow grease into it and I'd be surprised if you can't sell this season. Your market may be soft, nationwide the market is climbing. If your going to sell go for it now and go for it with the expectation that you are an integral part of the process.
P.S. Ask your attorney if there are any tax consequences to being an out of state seller. There are in Vermont. You can get them waived in advance if you know about them and can prove you are up to date on your property taxes etc. Just check on it. It might save you some hassle.
