Help! How do I sell my house when it has been blacklisted?

Question

I had to threaten realtors involved in the purchase of my house with walking out if we did not close by a dead line since they were happy to let tenants stay on while I got charged extensions to keep my rate by the lender.Fast forward 3 yrs.to the sale of my house. I have fired a string of realtors while trying to sell my house(one for trying to get me into a land contract after my lawyer jumped at the suggestion,another for trying to lower my asking price below what I needed to pay off the mortgage instead of telling me frankly that it wasn't a good time to list when I told her what I would need,and a third for not following the advertising plan she brought to me to get the listing) I have a new realtor whom I think is wonderful and is doing things right but she is not getting traffick through the house and I feel perhaps it is due to my house being blacklisted by the other realtors. How do I sell my house when it has been blacklisted?

Answer 1

You probably haven't been "blacklisted" (such behavior would violate the Realtor's code of ethics), but you may have acquired a reputation as a difficult client.

The terminology you use suggests that: "threaten" Realtors when purchasing a home, the "firing" Realtors while trying to sell. I'm not disputing the fact that your positions may have been correct, but rather, the way you may have come across. So there may be some reluctance on the part of some of the Realtors--at least the 4 or more you've threatened or "fired"--to become involved with you again.

Having said that, there is one clue in what you've said that might indicate that your home is overpriced. You say you "fired" one Realtor for trying to get you to lower the price below what you needed. Unfortunately, what you need or want doesn't play a role on whether your home is priced to sell. You need a CMA (competitive market analysis) to determine the value of your home. (An appraisal is another option, but will cost you money and may be more than you need at this point.)

If the Realtor you "fired" was basing his/her estimate on a CMA, then perhaps your home was only worth the lower figure. Since then, of course, prices may have changed. Unfortunately, though, in many areas, prices have declined, not gone up. So if you priced your home higher than the comps, it's extremely difficult for an agent to effectively market and sell your home.

As your current Realtor for a CMA. Then actually take a look at the properties. Devote a day to going around with your Realtor to view the properties. Make sure your home is properly priced.

Generally speaking, a home that isn't getting traffic is either priced too high, or it's not being marketed sufficiently. On the second point, review your agent's marketing plan and work on it together, as appropriate.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

You are blaming the poor economy on being blacklisted? Haven't you read article after article on the downturn in the housing marked? People expect to have sales prices reduced by the thousands and wait until that happens. A $30,000 reduction is normal in the current buyers market.

You should be more respectful, you sound like a nightmare customer.

Answer 3

Your home may be the best in the neighborhood and reasonably priced, and no prices that is selling prices are not higher than they where last year, but the major obstacle is the availability of people to get loans. Your house is not blacklisted, people cannot get the money at the terms they need. Housings worth is what the market will pay for it now, not what something sold for 6 months to a year ago. The market is flooded with homes from foreclosures, that brings the worth down, add again to the tough availability of money and you will see why homes are not selling.  

Answer 4

You do realize you are trying to sell in one of the worst  markets of all time, CMA/Zillow/Comp on for sale are all worthless in this market only thing that counts is actual sold properties period. Combined with the fact that housing prices will continue downward another 8 to 11% not leveling out until somewhere late 2009

So in a hard market to sell, you have isolated a few real estate agencies, good move. Just means your potential buyer’s pool is getting smaller, not so much blacklisted but it’s more likely over priced in this market and with housing prices continuing downward it’s not going to get any better