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By Shannon Petrie, FrontDoor.com | Published: 9/24/2009
Most agents are true professionals, but there are some that may be devoting less than 100 percent to your cause.
When you're selling a home in a buyer's market, you have several factors working against you: fierce competition from other sellers, picky buyers who are looking for bargains, and falling home values that make it difficult to pinpoint a price. On top of all this, your agent might be working against you too. Scary, huh?
Most agents are true professionals, but unfortunately, there are some out there that may be devoting less than 100 percent to your cause. When Nancy Spearrin and her husband first listed their two-home property in Solon, Maine in 2007, their agent told them to list at $249,000. After they signed a three-month contract with the agent, he started dropping the ball, waiting three weeks into the contract before even listing the property. After no showings and a lackluster open house, they took their home off the market.
The Spearrins tried again in 2008 with a different agent, this time with even worse results. "When the agent finally listed our house on his Web site for $209,000 three weeks into the contract, all he put in the description was 'These homes share a septic system!!' No listing of the landscaping, pool, custom kitchen, nothing!" Frustrated, the sellers ended their contract and decided to try to sell without an agent.
TIP: Before hiring an agent, get recommendations from friends and family, and surf the Web to find agents in your area with good reputations. Next, interview at least three agents, and be wary of anyone who makes promises that seem too good to be true, like vowing to sell your home within a certain time frame or for a price that's way higher than other agents' suggestions. Instead, pick an agent who suggests a listing price that they can back up with comparable sales data from your neighborhood. If you still get stuck with a bad agent, don't be afraid to switch to someone you're more comfortable with.
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