I've been trying to sell this little horror show of a co-op for a few months now, and it hasn't been easy. No, not because of the market - we won't talk about that in this thread. It's because I've been living out a bad Perry Mason episode: The Case Of The Sleeping Seller.

For the second time, an agent has come by to show the place while I was asleep. My agent knows my schedule, and I do remind him. But it doesn't seem to stop people from coming in uninvited. I got an e-mail from my agent saying there'd be someone showing up "in the next few days." Fine. I tell him I'm working this weekend (which includes today) and won't be up during business hours. So today, unbeknownst to me (remember, I'm sleeping as he sends this), I get an e-mail saying an agent will be by at 1 to show the place. Sure enough, he was there as scheduled. Thanks for the advance warning! I didn't get up until 4 - usual on worknights like this one, so a f'k lot of good THAT e-mail did. My agent's been warned that if something happens like this again, no deal.

And people wonder why I want to go back to renting.

Get a new agent.

Get a new agent.

+1. Fire him. Now.

+2 Fire HIM!!

I'll be by in the next few days??? WTF???

+3 Fire the agent... there's plenty more where he came from.

Do the name DEADBOLT ring a bell?

I'll be by in the next few days??? WTF???

Sounds like my plumber! :smoke:

Sounds like my plumber! :smoke:

Or contractors in general.

Do the name DEADBOLT ring a bell?


we have a winner!

[and yeah fire his ass]

Get a new agent.

I Agree. You are paying him to sell your place.

Definitely get another opinion, but sadly, the market is bad. It might not be your agent. We have a neighbor who is trying to sell, and it's rotting on the vine since last year. His price is down 50% from his original asking, and no takers. The only sales around here are foreclosures, which are around 50-70% below their values 3 years ago. Same problems with rentals & leases... I have FOUR rental vacancies in great neighborhoods, and I can't get any prospects. Rent is down too. A year ago, I had a waiting list!!!!!! I have a very well-respected agent on one unit, and she can't get anybody either. Here are two of them:

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/apa/1444830304.html This one had a waiting list at $4000/month before

http://ventura.craigslist.org/apa/1444814864.html This one hasn't been under $1195 since the early 1990s.

I'll just keep knocking them down in price each week, I guess :( . I hope we can at least get enough to pay the taxes!

Charles

Definitely get another opinion, but sadly, the market is bad. It might not be your agent. We have a neighbor who is trying to sell, and it's rotting on the vine since last year. His price is down 50% from his original asking, and no takers. The only sales around here are foreclosures, which are around 50-70% below their values 3 years ago. Same problems with rentals & leases... I have FOUR rental vacancies in great neighborhoods, and I can't get any prospects. Rent is down too. A year ago, I had a waiting list!!!!!! I have a very well-respected agent on one unit, and she can't get anybody either.

I agree. You should be glad you're getting any showings at all.
You can sleep all you want after the property is sold, but if you are serious about selling, you HAVE to accommodate the prospective buyers' schedule, not yours

A lot of it depends on how bad you want to sell your place. With a bazillion properties for sale out there, it could prove detrimental to restrict viewing to a time when most potential buyers aren't available. The agent is just trying to make a sale.

That being said, if he doesn't respect your wishes, it's time to kick him (or her) to the curb.

If you work an odd shift (like graveyard), a lot of people with normal hours just don't understand. Tell someone that I'll be at your house with a potential buyer at 2:30am and looking at it from that perspective they'd see. Still even graveyard workers usually have some waking time in common with normals. Map those hours out with your NEW agent and explain why he is your new agent. Everyone needs sleep.

I agree. You should be glad you're getting any showings at all.
You can sleep all you want after the property is sold, but if you are serious about selling, you HAVE to accommodate the prospective buyers' schedule, not yours
Not on my schedule, I don't. I work 19:00 to 7:00. To avoid being fired for sleeping on the job, I can't get up any earlier than 16:00 on most days. That means agents either come on a day off or make special arrangements to get me up an hour or two earlier the first night to work.

I did get an apology and assurance that my agent will tell his office that no other agent can show the place without confirming a time with me first. We'll see how that goes.

Well, good luck, but I wouldn't be scaring off any leads for any reasons in this market.

Definitely get another opinion, but sadly, the market is bad. It might not be your agent. We have a neighbor who is trying to sell, and it's rotting on the vine since last year. His price is down 50% from his original asking, and no takers. The only sales around here are foreclosures, which are around 50-70% below their values 3 years ago. Same problems with rentals & leases... I have FOUR rental vacancies in great neighborhoods, and I can't get any prospects. Rent is down too. A year ago, I had a waiting list!!!!!! I have a very well-respected agent on one unit, and she can't get anybody either. Here are two of them:

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/apa/1444830304.html This one had a waiting list at $4000/month before

http://ventura.craigslist.org/apa/1444814864.html This one hasn't been under $1195 since the early 1990s.

I'll just keep knocking them down in price each week, I guess :( . I hope we can at least get enough to pay the taxes!

Charles

We've got the same stuff going on here too! I just recently read two articles about a new twist in the Real Estate game that is messing the market up even more. (if that's possible?!) Now, when a (few and far between) buyer and seller finally reach agreement on a price and start working on the financing, the property appraissals are all coming back low, real low. So low, in fact, that it is destroying the deals and making the market even worse. So, I don't see any improvement coming in the near future!