List, Leave and Languish - Don't Let This Happen to You
List it and leave it? Is this how you want your house marketed?
I had an interesting phone call with my brother recently. After the usual chit-chat, he asked me if I knew if the house that was for sale next to him sold. He had heard that it did.
I looked up the listing and found that it was still active and had been active for the last three months. He told me he couldn't believe it. Why? I asked.
He said the For Sale sign was knocked down at least a month ago, the grass and shrubbery were a mess, there has not been one open house there, there has been no showing activity, the house looks abandoned (it is vacant) and there have been new phone books in plastic bags dropped near the mailbox for about a month.
He went on about the condition of the house and asked me how the listing agent expected to sell the house, which by the way, is a completely renovated - inside and out - house on beautiful property.
My brother then asked me how the listing pictures looked. I looked up the listing on the MLS and told him the exterior shots were done on a cloudy day and made the house look creepy, which I knew was not the case. The interior shots were dark and not the least bit flattering.
I then looked back on a previous listing of the same house that had expired with another agent and found pictures that were beautiful, bright, and really showcased the house. Unfortunately, it did not sell because it was overpriced. Now, significantly reduced, it was more where it needed to be pricewise, BUT it was not being marketed or maintained properly.
While we talked, my brother looked up the house on the internet and found that it had a very low presence and on sites where he did find it -- if he were looking for that type of house in that neighborhood -- he would not give it a second look.
OK, so what did this tell us? Well, the house was merely listed and left to languish. I call it the 3Ls - List, Leave and Languish. Sellers pay really GOOD money to get their houses SOLD. They expect their money's worth and assume their house is being marketed to the WORLD.
If you are a seller, you should expect marketing that satisfies the minimum BUT provides MAXIMUM exposure of your house. Your house MUST stand out among all the competition. In the case above, the house appeared to be an abandoned and inactive listing.
Ask for your REALTOR®'s marketing plan. If he/she does not have one, then move on to another agent who has one that pulls out all the stops. That plan should include having the property 'ready to show' at all times.
Additionally, make sure you get a link to the listing and ensure the pictures show your house in the best 'light' - no pun intended. After all, the object of listing a house is to sell it. Marketing is a driving force that will get it done.
Barbara Altieri, REALTOR
Listing and Buyer's Agent
Certified Short Sales Specialist
RealtyQuest Real Estate Sales and Services
30 Huntington Street, Shelton CT 06484
203.929.1752
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Barbara, Great points about the three L's. It's amazing when they have poor pictures or the big shocker, no pictures. Why would anyone use these agents. That's a huge marketing no-no. Did the sellers just disappear? One of the current neighbors should let them know how bad the house looks. All the best, Michelle
Hi Michelle -- I learned that the seller is a local builder who bought the house to renovate and flip. I am 'assuming' that he would want to sell the house quickly and would therefore press his agent to put on the marketing steam. My brother did notify the agency that the sign was down, but nothing has been done -- yet.
This happens all too often and gives GOOD REALTORS a bad name! :-(
Barbara~
I too have shown 3 houses which would fall under the three L's. I notified the agents of the issues (ie. poor upkeep, sign down, and phonebooks in entry way). I have drove past 2 out of 3 of the homes recently, the property conditions have not changed. Obviously the agent does not care to sell the home! It is unfortunate to the seller and the name it gives to Realtors in general.
~Pam
I could not agree more with you.
I think a lot of people dont understand how the real estate industry is design and do not quite understand that the seller agent they hire is going to be doing the vast majority of the listing adv. and mark. efforts.
Not all agents are created equal. Sellers beware and exercise your due diligence by asking questions, references and checking potential agents online (blogs, websites....)
Cathy Chaudemanche
WOW! Can't say I'm surprised. Sounds like someone may get a bargain when they finally get a offer
Have a great day
tony
This is definitely something that I generally try to avoid, if at all possible. In the case of an absent seller, is it the agent's responsibility to upkeep the property? Just wondering...I think I've read a post or two about the duties of agents, and going above and beyond the call of duty to get a home sold, and this scenario would fall under that category...
There are Realtors that will not do anything because they simply do not have any money. . .unfortunately for the seller
Hi Barbara~ I really feel like Realtors should do 'everything' that they can to get a listing the proper exposure in the market place! With that being said...pricing is equally important in my mind! I could spend a million bucks on a over-price listing that would never sell! Is that doing our clients (or me) a favor? not really. All the best this holiday season!
I don't believe money is an issue here. It takes the same amount of money to take bad photos as good ones. And there are many free listing sites that could be getting this house exposure without a huge budget. This sounds like a bad case "giving-up" if I ever heard one. Poor homeowner.....
What about the listing information? Egregious misspellings, no updating, missing fields, "mapquest" instead of directions. We have some real jewels around here.
And wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall during the listing presentation? I often wonder how these people get the listing--unless it's a "friend" or family member. It must be some fantastic kind of spin.
Barbara:
This must have been a relative or a friend of the seller. I am always amazed when anyone just gives their precious home listing to someone who is not going to do a good job with it. There are so many good, competent agents out there.
Hello McFly Realtor! Your sign is advertising, and in this case it says don't use me.
Unfortunately there are still some of those agents out there...
Barbara,
I am not surprised. I do like your 3L's analogy. I wonder who the the 2nd listing agent is and how they got the listing?
During listing presentations, I always tell the seller that I do much more than stick a sign in the ground an disappear. There was a time when you could get away with that, but not anymore.
Agents that do this kind of thing not only hurt their own reputation but that of other Realtors as well. I am currently trying to get a listing from a seller who has had 2 previous agents list his house and then proceed to do absolutely nothing in the way of effort to sell it. Obviously he is being much more wary of who he lists this house with.
This is so sad, unprofessional but apparently common. The hardest part is knowing you can do a much better job but there is nothing you can do about it.
I see this all the time... BUT, don't feel too sorry for the sellers without knowing the full situation. There's a 3L in my neighborhood, and I happen to know that the sellers are paying a very discounted commission. They are obviously getting their money's worth!
The photos can make or break a listing. Too bad he didn't leave it with the previous agent and reduce the price.
When something like this happens it can be bad in a multitude of ways. And if the home is vacant, it opens it up to vandalism, etc. We need to be aware of the condition of each of our listings. We should be checking on them often. Even if they are in escrow and vacant...they are still the sellers property! We are still representing the seller.
Great post. I have seen that happen way to often.
You want to call the owner and say LOOK WHAT YOUR AGENT ISN't DOING.
Too bad we can't.
It's sad but true, much of the marketing money these days is being held back...it's a double edge sword you don't want to overspend your marketing budget in a slow market but doing nothing will assure you will receive nothing in return.
I see this way way too often here in the Orlando, Florida area. It's usually the same listings that have one short sentence to describe the house in the MLS too. I think there are many untrained agents out there right now who don't know how critical the pricing is and how much importance lies in good photos. I have to assume it was the sellers fault that they let the yard go but no excuses can be given to the agent for the sign not being put back up, just horrible. Good thing sellers don't pay until it sells!
A warm hello to everyone. Thanks for your comments.
Lori - Unfortunately, you're right.
Pam - That's 3 too many. So you reported the conditions and they still exist? Unbelievable.
Tony - Maybe so. However with no one looking at it....
William - only problem is that the seller (a builder) is around and let's this go on. It can be tough with an absent seller. Arrangements must be made upfront to keep the property maintained.
Fernando - then they shouldn't be listing the property. What are they telling the sellers when signing the listing contract? The sign will be installed then it's ‘see ya around?'
Stephen - Absolutely right on the pricing. Goes hand in hand with extensive marketing.
Jennifer - I agree. However, this house is certainly not worth giving up on. It's beautifully redone in a great location. It's just a shame.
J. Philip - Oh!!! Don't get me started!
Peggy - I'd like to hear it myself. Yes, some spin - totally out of control.
Claudette - Agree! Agree! Agree!
Joe - You got that right!
Tim - I hear ya loud and clear!
Larry - Beats the heck out of me, but it happens all too often.
Margaret - We can run circles around those who list it and leave it! The sign and the MLS listing is just the beginning of the extensive marketing campaign.
Doug - Certainly can't blame him. I would be questioning what you would be doing that the others did not. Good Luck! You will be the successful agent!
Corinne - I know. It really gets me going when I see very little is being done, but my hands are tied. Ugh!
Dianne - That could be true. But, even so, there is ‘some' responsibility attached to the listing even if there was a nominal commission.
Team Honeycutt - I agree. Don't know what the situation was. You would not believe the difference between the two sets of pics. I can't believe the seller hasn't seen them and complained vehemently!
Wendy --- so true. We're in the process right up to closing.
Donna - Oh, boy, would I love to!
Steve - Yes, but there are plenty of ways to market with minimal $$$ using the internet. In my book, there's just no excuse for poor pictures and ‘seemingly' only putting the house on the MLS and not doing much beyond that.
Scott - pricing, pics, descriptions .... They're all critical but just a small piece of the whole puzzle.
To all of you who commented or just read this post - I wish you a joyous holiday and a healthy, prosperous 2010!
Great pointers! This happens so much in my area too. The hardest thing is when it happens to a home and I didn't get that listing..
Barbara, overpriced or TERRIBLE marketing is a death knell in a buyer's market. Shame on both listing agents.
Angelica -- You are so right. It happened to me a few months ago. It took nine days to post pics (other than the main exterior). I just don't get it. IF some sellers only knew....
Gary -- Exactly. The seller is going to lose some big bucks on this transaction due to the service rendered.
I really wish all sellers could see what their agent is/is not doing.
There is one nice listing on our MLS and the photo STINKS! It's one shot, from all the way down the drive, so the house looks like a dot in the middle of the photo. I wish the sellers could see that the lazy agent is not doing that house justice.
Too bad that these things happen. I'm afraid there are too many agents who don't "work". They have no system and no real clue of how to do their job. You are so right, they make us all look bad. Let's all vow to never be guilty of such neglect.
Barbara, Agents need to market their listings aggressively in this market and not leave them to languish.
Every listing I've seen lately looks just like this. When there are 12 foreclosures on one street it tends to look pretty rough. I have noticed that the HOA's are starting to try to clean up some of these though.
Unfortunately, it's the signs of the time. Realtors are in distress! But let's look at this from a different perspective. Isn't it true that greater than 80% of homes are sold through the MLS? The house could still be found. This does not excuse the poor performance of the listing agent.
Barbara, you have hit my pet peeve - bad or no photos. We won't take photos on cloudy, gray days just for that reason.
Erica -- Sellers should see and approve all pics that are presented and get a copy of the MLS listing. There are plenty like you describe, and buyers are not likely to go beyond that first one if it is a poor depiction of the property.
Marian -- With this type of thing going on, I do not understand why sellers don't take note and move on to an agent who does the job. Sometimes I see a neglected listing, it expires,and then it is relisted with the same agent. Probably a relative....
Sybil -- Exactly. That should be the case in any market.
Nathan -- That's so unfortunate. However, this listing was not a foreclosure or short sale.
C. Lloyd -- Oh, surely the house will be found. But not marketing it and allowing the property to be in a state of disrepair is inexcusable -- to me.
Sharon -- It's mine, too. I sometimes have to go back and retake several times to get the best lighting and sky. Also, the pics should change if the season changes. Seeing a listing with snow on the ground when it's the middle of the summer really irks me.
I tell agents you can be the problem or the solution. Call the agent and let him know what has happened. I have even showed property like this and put the signed back up. You don't get successful by tearing the other agent down.
Charles -- As stated the agent was informed and the sign still remained down.
The objective of this was not to tear anyone down, but to inform sellers that there are definitely different marketing plans provided by agents.