REAL ESTATE BROKER

Do not agree to let one agent represent your home for more than 90 days. It seems to make most agents work a little harder knowing that their time is limited. Not said to knock agents, it is just human nature. Firm deadlines often create more productivity.

I know the market has changed, but here is how I sold five houses over the years, all in less than 30 days. One in just two days and the last one in just eight!

Spend the money, and get two independent, professional appraisals. That is what your property is really worth and is the maximum most lenders will approve. Set the selling price at that price and work from there. This is the accurate value, not what a realtor or someone else thinks they can sell it for.

Real Estate Laws differ from state to state, so you should check with your state Board of Realtors to find out for sure. You can also call the Agent's broker and complain about her lack of attention. Depending on the state and/or local Real Estate Laws, the broker may be able to transfer the listing to another agent.

You can also check your sales contract to see if there are any penalties for "firing" your agent before the contract expires. Your sales contract may also list what needs to be done to "fire" your agent.

-Michael

How long of a contract do you have with the broker.My bet is that if you cancel before the end of the contract and the house sells you are on the hook for a commission. The only way would be to cancel, take the house off the market until after the expiration of the original contract, then relist it.

Be aware that Some brokers will play a game and list your house at the price you want even though they know that the price you want is too high. Near the end of the contract term they come to you and tell you the reason no one looked/bought the house is it is to high priced and you need to cut the price. It is the way the game is played sometimes in order to get a listing. If I am a broker and come to our house to get a listing when you tell me you want $250,000 for your $190,000 home I can either tell you the truth and walk out without the listing or take the listing at the higher price knowing I may be able to reason with you later. search your soul to see if you are one of those clients.
On the other side some brokers intentionally price your house too high to get the initial listing. They know that after signing the initial time very few clients will change brokers. After the initial time the broker comes to you and shows you comparables and tells you to lower the price to get a sale. The more time has passed the more desperate some become the easier they are to play the trick on.

We live about 90 miles apart from the agent...we still want her to find us a house up by her but want to have an agent down by us sell our house...

I wouldn't use an agent 90 miles away to sell the house. Did you list your home with her already?

I don't know what contract you signed, commission rate etc. but generally I've been better off using selling agent which specializes in the neighborhood you're selling the home at.

Your agent may be more flexible releasing the selling duties since you're still using her for the new home location. Time for a chat.

You signed a contract with your agent to sell so you're bound by those dates....

I would use a local agent. I would also pick the largest brokerage in the area, because that will get you exposure to the other real estate agents (the brokerage will make more money if they sell their own listings and they often have higher compensation to their own agents). One of the best pieces of advice I have is make up a whole bunch of 4" x 6" tent cards listing all the features of the home and have them placed near those items throughout the house. Got a new wifi enabled thermostat? Have a card explaining it next to it. Got 2 x 6 walls with added insulation, have a card. Natural gas in the house..card. Do it for everything, no matter how small or how common. Put out a card for double pane windows, a buyer might assume another house didn't have them.
What you will find is every agent showing the home will do the same thing, throw open the door and say "isn't it pretty". In most areas, your agent will never, ever show your house, will never be there when someone else shows it, and may not even know it is being shown.
Listing the house is the easy part of a real estate sale, and many agents focus on doing just that. They say and do whatever it takes to get that listing, post it on the MLS and consider their job done. You need to get the attention of the selling agent. I have had good luck offering a selling agent a personal bonus of a couple of thousand dollars (could be a gift certificate or airline tickets or whatever) when the sale closes. Since commissions are split between listing agent and selling agent your listing agent is counting their money when they leave with the listing agreement. You have to get the second half of the commission working for you.
As for traffic, you have to evaluate why it is not being shown. Reason #1 is usually price. Reason #2 is location Reason #3 to 100 is there is something wrong with the house and it's presentation. If it is a structural problem (i.e 4 bedrooms and only one bath, hideous floorplan, sore thumb elevations etc.) the easiest fix is to adjusting #1. If it is just poor execution (clutter, shabby landscaping, dirty, bad paint, etc) put in the effort and fix it. Good luck

on your contract theres a experation date of the deal, your hooked till then , never ever get a agent that far away, find a agent in your 20 mile area, a full time one. drive around your area couple mile circle see witch agent has the most signs posted.

Contract says our LISTING expires in March 2015....does that also mean the contract expires then also?