Hello , I am after a bit of advice. We have our property on the market at the moment. The agent who put the valuation on it is now telling us it is not worth this amount. [stun] That has annoyed us as he should have been honest from the start.
He has phoned us back with an offer 75 thousand less than what it is on at and is telling us this is the best we will get.
Our 60 day exclusive agent contract ends very soon but 5.2 of the contract has the appointment will continue as an open listing until sold !! [worried]
Does this mean we are tied in forever !!????? [ohno2]
I get the feeling he is trying to run rings round us. Can we take it off the market and if so do we have to pay all the fees or just the advertising costs??
Please help and yes we should have been a bit more careful. Lesson learnt!!
You don’t have to accept any offer you are not happy with. Regardless of what the agent says.
Read through your contract with the agent and find out what is entailed in withdrawing it from the market. I am guessing it will just need a letter.
it happens all the time – don’t let him frighten you.
All the best
Simon Macks
Residential and Commercial Finance Broker
[email protected]
0425 228 985Comments may not be relevant to individual circumstances. If you intend making any investment, financial or taxation decision you should consult a professional adviser.
Thanks so much for the quick reply.
Well the only bit I can see about ending the contract says ‘The agent’s appointment can be ended by either you or the agent at any time’
It does not say how.
So is it really as simple as that?? And the bit about it continuing as an open listing until sold – does that mean nothing if we end it?
So just the advertising costs to pay??
You have made me feel better already.[biggrin] Thanks.
Originally posted by bessie:Hello , I am after a bit of advice. We have our property on the market at the moment. The agent who put the valuation on it is now telling us it is not worth this amount. [stun] That has annoyed us as he should have been honest from the start.
He has phoned us back with an offer 75 thousand less than what it is on at and is telling us this is the best we will get.
Our 60 day exclusive agent contract ends very soon but 5.2 of the contract has the appointment will continue as an open listing until sold !! [worried]
Does this mean we are tied in forever !!????? [ohno2]
I get the feeling he is trying to run rings round us. Can we take it off the market and if so do we have to pay all the fees or just the advertising costs??
Please help and yes we should have been a bit more careful. Lesson learnt!!
Hi Bessie,
unfortunately this another classic case of ‘conditioning’ where the agent quotes high to get your listing, then tries to ‘condition’ you over a few weeks to get you to lower the price from his/her quote and your expectations to what the house is really worth.
The good news is as mortgage hunter says – just write a letter informing the agent that the contract is ended.
The bad news is you are liable for all the ad costs
If you are still looking to sell the property, make sure you sign another agent with an EXCLUSIVE listing next, for 30-45 days max, and no ad program (the agents hate this as it is another income stream for them) – the buyers are already out there trawling the streets looking for ‘for sale’ signs, looking in the agent’s windows and websites.
Probably a good idea to spend a few hundred on a bank valuation before appointing another agent to sell it. That way you will know what it is really worh and you won’t fall for tha agents’ quoting games. Don’t tell the agent what the bank valuation is – this will give you an idea how honest he/she is when they quote you a sale price.
Look at the Neil Jenman website for more great advice on how to handle agents when selling your property..Cheers,
Marc.
[email protected]Hi bessie
I have just been through a similar experience.
We used LJ Hooker In Sunnybank QLD. The agent we hired we really liked, but he quit 2 weeks into our overseas trip when the house was on the market. The house was handed over to an incompetant rookie with no desire to sell. As a result the house was on the market for 2 months, with 2 offers, one $75k below bank valuation, the other $175k below.
We changed brokers & he sold it within 24 hours for $61k above the highest previous offer.
The old agent tried to get $2k out of me for marketing & I told him to stick it. As I found out, it is illegal to overcharge for marketing, or charge a fee for services which are not justified. My ads in the local paper costed $170, yet LJH were charging $220ea. In the contract, it stated that advertising would be paid at settlement. Since they never acheived that, they cannot ask for payment. Also, the contract stated that they would advertise on 3 websites & show ads in open homes, plus have window cards in 3 branches. They did not do this and therefore I can claim for breach of contract. I may also be able to sue as there has been a tort of negligence.
http://www.posigear.8k.com
Positive Geared Share InvestingWe interviewed 12 new brokers before finding one who was enthusiastic and realistic about getting the house sold. He actually specialises in selling stale listings!
And DONT pay more than $500 for marketing EVER
http://www.posigear.8k.com
Positive Geared Share InvestingThanks ever so much for the replies.
I am getting all geared up to give him a piece of what for – all very nicely naturally !!! He is due to phone ‘again’ with his creeping technique !!! Might be brave enough to pick the phone up this time !!![upsidedown]
Hi Guy’s,
On the 22a 5.2 It should state that At the end of the sole/Exclusive Agency, you may elect to continue the appointment of the agent as an open listing, which maybe ended any time by you or the agent.
Where abouts is your property?
Thanks
Aslam Sargeant
0408 730 295Hi Guy’s,
On the 22a 5.2 It should state that At the end of the sole/Exclusive Agency, you may elect to continue the appointment of the agent as an open listing, which maybe ended any time by you or the agent.
Where abouts is your property?
Thanks
Aslam Sargeant
0408 730 295Hi Guys,
What document is this section 22a 5.2 being refered from, and what state does it apply to.
Regards
Wayne
Hi Bessie, HOW RUDE! Might I suggest that you ask the agent straight out if he did his homework properly as you find it very rude for him to say the market is now 75k lower? Did he really have no knowledge of the market when you signed the line? Don’t be afraid to be assertive, these people thrive on bullying. Maybe you should ring the principle of the agency? We once had a female agent saying that she has an offer from and asian and she hated dealing with asians. (how rude is that to say? sooo rude!) I could then hear here screeching on the phone while sitting 6 feet away from my husband, insisting we accept the offer made by the other person she did not like dealing with. We pulled that house off the market straight away. We had the same thing as the other poster, where our original agent went on stress leave! No wonder working in an office with screechers!
It is scary dealing with the pressure from these people, and might I also say we have since had another really nice agent sell the house and he was a real gentleman (only young, so young can be talented also). We spotted him when looking at open houses to check out prices in our area before putting the place back on the market. He was so polite to every person, even the ones with boring stories. But at the same time he was confident with all types.
Watch out for the agent at an open house that ignores the people that they deem “not the wealthy looking”. We now take our old car when house hunting. If you have never tried it, go out 2 weekends in a row, once with the good clothes and car, and once in daggy clothes and old car, even if you have to borrow the old car from a friend or relative. You will be surprised at the difference in the way agents treat you. We go no phone calls in the week after going out in the old car! 3 calls during the previous week.
Bessie, you are their boss. You have employed them to sell your house and are paying excessively good money for them to have that privilege! How they treat you before you sign and how they do after you sign is very different, and that is why we like to vet them at open houses when they show how they will treat your buyers! A house can sell itself to a certain extent, but an agent can put off a potential buyer too.
Best of luck with your selling! Hope the price ends up more like you are expecting.[thumbsupanim]
kjs
To deal with REA you need to know to play their game. I guess the problem with most people is the REA sell houses everyday whereas most people only sell their houses once or twice in their lifetime. We are at as big disadvantage.
Edited to put in another area
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
