You are most likely going to need a cash buyer or investor (I have recently discovered it is impossible to get a jumbo loan and nearly impossible to get a conventional on a home with a roof that has less then two years of life left even with perfect financial credentials and 50% down.) Ask how they plan to find you one.

I think to some extent, with comprehensive pictures in the listing, the buyer is going to come to this one rather than the agent showing it to someone as one of a number of options. Is there a restoration possibility, or no?

In the current rate environment, more and more buyers are cash buyers especially at the high end. It may be different in different regions.

Yes - have all three come and do an evaulation and then see what you think.

If it has development potential, there will probably be developers who want to see it no matter who the agent is. Same if it has restoration potential. There are people who look for things like that. I would interview them and see what they say. Some high-producing agents in the area quite honestly won't take anything that is not already luxury, already market ready, they don't work that hard anymore, they sell luxury properties because they have the reputation of selling luxury properties.

There is at least one Philadelphia area agent who specializes in midcentury properties, I am not sure condition is a factor if the house is right. I know he sold a shell condition modernist house by a famous architect.

Yes, it could be restored or expanded. The house next door has had three renovations although it was not as neglected as this.

I hope not to do any improvements, just sell as-is.

I would have no idea how to subdivide in advance of selling and just dont have the wherewithal for that.

I suppose the buyer most likely to have cash would be an investor or developer.

Your responses are HUGELY helpful.

Get references from each and follow up, recognizing that you won't be getting anyone who had an issue with them. Have them visit and give you a pitch about what they would do.

Your personal chemistry, familiarity, etc. are not relevant, in my opinion. If you have the means to get referrals directly from people in the area, that would be a plus. Your looking to choose someone for their capabilities and performance, not someone to take a vacation with.

When purchasing a second home, we used a reference from someone we knew in the area some distance from where we live. To be honest, when we met the woman, I was not impressed. But we used her based on the strength of the recommendation. Well, she turned out to be a real dynamo. Her advice on bid strategy was right-on and we got it from among other bidders. She addressed seller problems like a stubborn, uncompromising bulldog to get them resolved, had a list of providers (inspector, handymen) to use, and the transaction was a dream.

Realtors are salespersons and you want to find one who's focused on details and results, which means closing escrow with a satisfactory conclusion and result for the seller (in this case).

Good luck

Beware of the one who suggests a high listing price. Some successful agents do that to get the listing. They manage enough inventory to let your house sit for a while until they eventually suggest that you lower the price.

The difference between 2% of 3,000,000 and 2% of 2,000,000 is only 20k. 40k for the agent is better than no listing at all.

I’m wondering if you need an agent at all.

Great advice and interesting comments.

The team approach seems to be the way many agents are now operating and I'm not exactly sure how I feel about it. When we sold our primary home 6 years ago we had a local agent who was well-known and recommended by several friends. I knew his family who had operated an orchard in our town for 3 generations and were very involved in the community.

Where his team approach failed in my opinion is that he did not have each team member visit our house before they brought clients. As a result on 3 occasions the agents were unable to answer questions from the prospective home buyers, I had given them my cell so that they could call if they needed more info but I was appalled that his team wasn't more knowledgeable.

I should have asked exactly how he planned on marketing our home and insisted that his team visit first. Since the township had the incorrect square footage on their property records he had a professional room planner measure everything and create a detailed floor plan - he even included closets and utility areas. He did offer valuable advice on easy cosmetic changes and had a great photographer.

Your Mother's home is unique and I hope you find the right person to handle it. As others have mentioned asking each of them how they would market it is important. We only signed a 3 month contract with our agent with a month-to-month after that. Real estate has changed a lot in the past few years so I'm not sure what's typical these days.

Maire

I would look at recent sales of similar properties (if possible), especially teardowns, and see what agents sold them and what prices they were able to get.

With what you are saying, my first thought would be to contact builders/investers as you mentioned.. It is what is happening in my town. All small homes are tear downs.

Although yours is not small, it is old. With 3.5 acres perhaps multiple homes could be build on those acres.

Are you familiar with what is going on in that town? Comps are hard sometimes especially with unique homes like yours.

I agree with Elmo. You aren’t inviting the agent to dinner. It is a business transaction. I would not shy away from a ”team.” You get more coverage than you might get from a single person and more exposure to more potential buyers.

I have an acquaintance who is one of the biggest producers in her city. You would never know it to meet her. She’s very underwhelming, but she is also very dogged in getting the job done. Like Elmo commented, she has a stable of tradespeople who she can call on and get a very quick response. She knows who is looking for what and often will have a house sold before the listing is published. She also has a team so that she can take an occasional vacation or day off.

Yes, definitely invite each one in and listen to their pitch. When we sold our last home, we invited I think 3 or 5 of the really good agents and let them know that we were interviewing other agents. Each one did give a bunch of comps, and suggested listing price along with suggestons for bringing it to market.

We did also include a friend who was an agent and explained to her as well that we were interviewing. She did not even walk through the house which really turned me off.

Anyway the interesting thing is that each one gave the same listing price.

We selected a team of 2 women. Hindsight is 20/20 of course and while the house sold very quickly, that was also the market. I was glad it went so smoothly but I was kind of soured on them as I didn't find them as helpful as they should have been, in my opinion.......

Yours is such a unique case.

Definitely see how you feel about each one. They should be really trying for your business - and maybe bending a bit on their rates...in my opinion.

oh forgot to add that when we did not select the friend, who had been a good friend for about 10 years, she would have nothing to do with us. It was awkward because she really must have thought that we would pick her because we liked her as a friend. She asked for us to return a book she had lent and that was that.

Here, commissions will vary by company and by listing price, (price up, commission down) and of course there are ways to undercut, and large national brokerages (which you are not considering) who will take one or two percent. I do feel that you have to be careful about lowballing commissions, because in my experience, lower commissions reach a tipping point which can mean less effort.

There is even an agent here who advertises (or did) 5% commission, but the way she did this was to put (sneak) something in the contract that She still got 3% while the buyer's agent only got 2%. You can imagine how this went over.

Anyway, I think people will argue with me on this, and I don't particularly care, but people who would never let their employer lower their salary on certain projects or whatever think nothing of trying to lowball commissions, as if the person working on commission isn't worth their commission. Of course it all depends upon the market and other factors. But if you are selling a free and clear house for $700,000, and a 6% commission is $42,000, split two ways to $21,000 and then split with the brokerage or team which could mean lots of different things, with the agent ending up with $10,500, or $16,000. or a 4% commission at $28,000, $14,000 to each agent split with the brokerage with the individual agent ending up with $7000 to $11,000---

Well you are losing $14,000 out of $700,000 or 2% of the transaction with the higher commission.

The individual agent is losing roughly 33% of their commission. That's just something to think about.

You talk to a few. The one you like you go with. You will like one more than the others. It's just the way that works. Some people want a certain realtor "he's the best in town" well what I know is a hungry realtor will work a lot harder than one that low balls all the homes and waits for them to sell themselves.

IMHO, especially for this property, how an agent will market the property is key. Listen to each agent explain who the target audience for the property will be. Some agents have relationships with builders, some do not.

I think after listening to each agents presentation, the right one will be apparent to you.

what I know is a hungry realtor will work a lot harder than one that low balls all the homes and waits for them to sell themselves.

You would think that, but a) it is not always true and b) they may work harder but not get as good a result. Sometimes someone is "top" for good reason and stays there for good reason.

I agree with Elmo. You aren’t inviting the agent to dinner. It is a business transaction.

I think it depends on how much time you think you will be spending with the realtor. Generic median-priced homes in a hot market? Personality matters little. But for something that may take a fair amount of time --- life is too short to work with people you don't like, especially for an intangible and perhaps illusory benefit.

" But for something that may take a fair amount of time --- life is too short to work with people you don't like, "

Life is also too short to waste time with someone whose efforts don't result in a sale in a reasonably short period of time. And doing so only because of an assumed affinity is a poor reason.

Here's a truth about people in sales - don't mistake a smile and conduct suggesting personal chemistry and affability for reality. It's a one and done relationship. A good agent acts like a guided munition - the first objective is to hit the potential client and land them, the second, to close a transation as quickly as possible. At whatever price results in a signed contract. During negotiations, they're representing themselves as much as their clients.

They will do and say whatever is necessary and act in whatever ways that will make the agent successful. Thinking it's otherwise naive.

Your short list of realtors should be three people who you believe can do the job. Then they do their dog and pony show and you see who you think is competent. Then you choose someone who isn't an azz. 'Cause that's just tiresome. No one here is suggesting you choose your bestie even though they've only done student rentals.

I have no advice for picking an agent as others have filled that gap with good info. In the past I've done FSBO and which ever agent you pick I highly recommend having an open house before accepting the agents potential buyer. In today's market an open house is crowded with competition, we've been casually looking for the past 2 years (will need to downsize soon) and it's a circus out there. Even in a relatively quiet market back in 2002 when we did our FSBO I had 5 offers on day one.

recommend having an open house before accepting the agents potential buyer.

I disagree. Many properties, especially larger less generic ones, are not suitable for open houses.

Look at their listings online. Look at the pictures. There should be professional photos not ones taken by the realtor. Look at the home description. See how many other listings each agent has. A busy agent is a good agent as he/she is tied into the market very closely. Speak to each one and pour over the comparables they offer to justify their price. I get the aversion to slick, but his sales/listing record may speak well. Teams are fine as the head realtor is always aware of the activity. Is any one of these people a broker as well as a realtor? Brokers have more training and generally experience.

And send me your description and let me help you with the copy. I used to do write home descriptions for Sothebys.

ded, I sent you a message.

I think you said it yourself....location..location..location. You don't need an agent. You know the desirability is HIGH on this much land and where it's located. You know the house has a solid foundation and could be restored. Your in no hurry to sell from what you've said. Why not list it FSBO. Put it on Zillow. A listing is $20 a week. Then list it on Facebook and Craigslist. It should sell itself. Usually a neighbor will spot it and word of mouth could sell it. A lot of potential clients put properties on their "saved homes list" and when there's a change....Zillow sends them a notice. The worst thing that could happen...it doesn't sell quickly and your not in a hurry any way.....

Bookwoman, got it and replied.

Jojo, i know you used to be a realtor, so thanks for the advice. Will stay in touch.

Ive read every comment and appreciate all the responses. This is a daunting task.

I agree with you about location, nicole. Within a week of my mother passing away, my sister had several people in my mother’s neighbourhood phone her to see if the house would be up for sale. (Small house, large lot, in old Calgary, a house my parents had downsized into) She told them that eventually it would be. She took their numbers and said she would call them when it went up for sale. One guy phoned her every week.

Six months later, after getting a bunch of appraisals, we decided on what we thought would be a fair price. She called the neighbours that had been interested and two made an offer without setting foot on the property. The guy that phoned every week made an offer well over what we would have settled for, and the house sold in less than three hours. My father would have been so happy as he always said that location is everything and don’t have the nicest house on the block. We were happy as we just wanted the place sold and the estate settled.

The strange thing is that we figured that the house would be torn down and a new house would be built but it wasn’t. The fellow’s daughter is now living there with her husband, six years later.

Ded, handle it how you find the most comfortable. Good luck!

I think FSBO can be somewhat fraught, based upon some experiences, except in special cases. Many owners have somewhat inflated opinions regarding their own knowledge about transactions and what their house is worth. The buyer's agent often ends up doing extra work to get the transaction done, because the owner doesn't really know everything they need to know. Even as a seller, I had two solid buyers and a third interested person in a property I owned, before it was listed and I still listed it with an agent.

The last house I sold was a fiasco. My agent was also my property manager, working for a prominent agency. She'd sold me 4 houses and things went smoothly, but two years after selling a house, we got a bill from the IRS for $259, 569! It said, "interest was accruing." The property was our main and ONLY residence for 27 years and wasn't filed as such when sold. The title company actually does the filing, but the realtor submits the paperwork to them. My tax guy didn't catch it either. They misfiled it too, but refiled for a previous year to correct their mistake. It took the IRS 6 months before they had time to look at our case before they'd dismiss it. Having an agent didn't help me at all.

Picking an agent is fine, if that's what you want, but in the end...the agent could be your hinderance, not your help.

We had a large house with a guesthouse in a gated community in Florida at a time when the market was slow (90’s). Similar properties were on the market a year, sometimes longer. To make our house more attractive we offered an additional half percent to the agent who brought the buyer, either side of the transaction, and it sold within three months.

With what you are saying, my first thought would be to contact builders/investers as you mentioned.. It is what is happening in my town. All small homes are tear downs

I agree that you may do better selling to a developer. Worth looking into and would also be a point to bring up with potential realtors.

I know several people who have done the FSBO route, and I know it has its merits but I know for me, I would not be comfortable with that. Aside from all the details, the actual showing of the property would not be something I'd be comfortable with and for that and all the other reasons, I'd go with using a realtor.

Real estate sales has changed a lot over time. Your network used to be a top driver in getting properties sold, but Zillow now allows anyone to see every property. Most communities no longer have broker opens (Open houses for just other realtors). When a realtor gets a buyer they go to the MLS, find a list of homes to show. Buyers can do the same thing on Zillow.

Go to Zillow and look up each of the three agents (https://www.zillow.com/professionals/real-estate-agent-reviews/) Look at 10 listings sold by each agent. Do you like the way they marketed the property? Typically I would say to look at the sales history of the homes they listed. Is there a pattern of homes sitting on the market and reducing their price in order to sell. With inventory so low over the past few years this is probably a worthless effort. Everything sold.

I wouldn't worry about the realtors connection to builders and investors, and if selling, I might not find this a positive. If they do a lot of work with an investor they earn a lot of money from that relationship. Investors are always looking for a deal.

I would test their listening skills. Tell them that you are dealing with some other business matters and ask them to text you 15 minutes before arriving so you can be sure to conclude any calls prior to their arrival.

Listen to what they have to say. Don't share what prices or comps or comments the other realtors shared. Look carefully at the comps they provided and the price they set for your house. Don't share what you think the house should sell for or what you know about the neighborhood and the property. Listen to what they are saying. Did they do their homework. Do they know how highly the schools are rated? Are they paying attention to the details.

I find my gut usually tells me who to trust and when I should be guarded. Trust your instincts.

I also think you should find out how many homes can be built on your property.

A friend sold her home and we all assumed more than one home would go there. That wasn't the case. I'm sure if it could have it would have.

Does the house have an architectural provenence?

I sold my last house without a realtor, but it wasn't exactly FSBO. I was about to put it on the market but then I just happened to run into an acquaintance that was looking for a house in my town, and I sold it to her. Done!. I don't think I would have been comfortable or even available to actively show it to strangers.

Sushi, my parents designed and built the house. i have the blueprints and all building records

Hi Kitchenwitch!

Well, on a positive note, it sounds like things are moving along for you, ded.

(I was looking forward to having a toss/donate/keep party with you and Maire)

Ugh, im exhausted. Realtor just left . She was nice and very knowledgeable, but wow that was a lot of info all at once. Right now I need a valuation. She loved the house and the property, but what else would you expect her to say. Most helpful is that she is working with the township to determine the correct size of the lot, and if there is a possibility of subdivision.

She also has contacts to sell the contents and clean it. Of course its a beautiful fall day and everything here looks gorgeous and I want to keep it. That isnt possible and it is waaay more house and property than i could ever manage.

Sounds like a lot to take in, but at least you're moving forward! And it's great that she'll work with the township, which can sometimes be a bureaucratic nightmare.

Yes, I could never manage this without help. It’s the woman we mentioned. She definitely knows her stuff.

Good luck to you! I think you will surprise yourself with how light you fell when all is settled. 🙂

Thanks, Mtn Mtn. There is so much emotion in selling this house.