It is getting closer and closer to us needing to choose a realtor. There is a lady and associates in the area who practically have a monopoly in the area. People say they are good, but I worry about her having two or more similar properties in the same subdivision/townhouse complex. Wouldn't there be conflict of interest?

And if I go redfin...we live in a townhouse, so basic service is probably best, but is skipping an open house a good idea?

I'm so nervous about selling in this market and with other listings in our complex. Ours probably is the best kept (of those for sale), but still... one that is shortsale is looking pretty nice and is WAY lower than the comps and zillow estimates. I'm NERVOUS!!!

I understand your nervousness, but you have to step back, take a breath and look at this as a business transaction.

You have a product to sell (your townhome).  What is going to position you above the competition?  Put yourself in the position of a buyer.  If you where going to buy a townhome - why would you buy your townhome over the others?  (generally price is the heaviest motivator - but sometimes some creative marketing and offering rate buydowns can give you a competive advantage)

The realtor that has a monopoly in the area could have a conflict if you didn't list with her.  It really doesn't matter if she has all the listings in the area - how many buyers can she bring in?   If she brings in her own buyer, she can get both sides of the commission - she will most likely try to direct the buyer toward the property that she has the potential to make both the buyer and seller commission.  Ethically, the realtor should show your unit to a prospective buyer if your home meets their criteria. 

Mams, best of luck to you in your realtor search.  I know from reading some of your posts that you don't really think too highly of professional home staging.  In this day and age, the best thing you can do is have the home professionally staged or at least have an online professional staging consultant (like me) and price the home a little below current comps.

Best wishes and keep us posted.

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HomeStager10 wrote:

Mams, best of luck to you in your realtor search.  I know from reading some of your posts that you don't really think too highly of professional home staging.  In this day and age, the best thing you can do is have the home professionally staged or at least have an online professional staging consultant (like me) and price the home a little below current comps.

 

Best wishes and keep us posted.

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This is going to get old real fast if you start spinning  threads on one topic such as picking a new realtor, into another topic such as home staging for the sole purpose of promoting your business...

Hey, TrabucoDom, I apologize.  I actually was trying to help the OP. 

Picking a realtor is a very important thing to do.  I have a bit of advice on that subject--like pick a realtor who brings comps to the interview meeting, who tells you upfront (and follows through with) his/her marketing plan, who believes in the benefits of open houses if they are reasonably common to the area, who believes in good communication and who will call you weekly with updates on the previous week and a plan for the upcoming week.  Pick a realtor who pays more for having just the minimum amount of photos on realtor.com and who makes sure to promote the home on the other online sites as well.  Pick a realtor who makes sure to have classy brochures with colored photos of the home as well.  Pick a realtor who brings flowers to the open house. 

All that being said, I'm NOT a realtor so I can't claim to be an expert in that area and I'm sure there are many more realtors who can advise better than I as to what to look for in a realtor.

But picking a good realtor is only half of the battle.  A good realtor who actively markets the home will still have a much more difficult time selling it if it doesn't look as good as it possibly can look in the first place.  That's where and how I was trying to help.  I certainly apologize if I came across as solely self-serving.

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KPearson wrote:

 

The realtor that has a monopoly in the area could have a conflict if you didn't list with her.  It really doesn't matter if she has all the listings in the area - how many buyers can she bring in?   If she brings in her own buyer, she can get both sides of the commission - she will most likely try to direct the buyer toward the property that she has the potential to make both the buyer and seller commission.  Ethically, the realtor should show your unit to a prospective buyer if your home meets their criteria. 

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This is a really good point. ugh... I hear they are good, but still... it's Debbie Dogrul. Like for every sign of someone else, there's 2 for her in this area of Burke, VA. I didn't look at it from all sides... hmmm... so many decisions!!!

One might also assume that the realtor that has the monopoly isn't very good at his/her job since they are the only signs you see on the street.

For example, my wife's parents just sold their house in a neighborhood that was dominated by Troop Real Estate signs for the past six months.  They decided to go elsewhere and they were one of the first houses to sell...and you still see the Troop signs.  I think it's good to go outside the box sometimes...it may get you more looks.

We went with the agent with the 'monopoly' on the market. They are just good. Their houses sell and usually sell fast.

Our house goes on the market on Thursday, he had a preview person come through today because they missed out on another house he sold a couple weeks ago (they put in an offer too low). Well, they want to put on offer on the house. We aren't even on the market yet!

His suggestion though is to tell them to wait until opening weekend to put in an offer and he's hoping we'll get multiple offers as that has been happening recently in our area. The risk is, of course, that we lose that prospective buyer.