How do you get rid of a bad real estate agent?

Question

Sister's home been on market for 3 months (Illinois). Not one time has agent personally shown house. I understand IL market is depressed but they have a 4 bdrm, 1 bath, 1600 sq ft. home (cute starter home) now lowered to $77,500 and still no sale.

Your thoughts? What's their options?

Answer 1

First, she needs to talk to her realtor to find out what their plan is to market and sell the house. We live in Galesburg, IL and the market is EXTREMELY rough. We have tons of foreclosures so it's really hard to sell right now.

Your sister always has the option of speaking with the agent's broker and being assigned a different agent.

Answer 2

You have to look into the contract. This is bad time for real estate , but not so bad, that you start dropping off rates crazily. May be this is the reason , most real estate people put their listings online and advertise a lot , like here www.forallhouses.info  . I hope we all get pass this inflation .

Answer 3

Unfortunately, your sister is stuck until the contract with the realtor is up. That is usually at the end of three to six months, depending on the length of the contract.

However, there may be a performance clause in the contract that requires certain action on the part of the realtor. Have her read the contract carefully to see whether the realtor has to show the house within a certain period of time. If your sister terminates the contract, have her make sure that all her actions and the actions (or lack thereof) of the realtor are well documented in case the lazy realtor threatens to sue (which is not likely). Notify the realtor in writing that the contract is terminated because of his or her violation of the terms of the contract (indicate which clauses have been violated). Have your sis get a return receipt from the Post Office.

Then have her get a decent realtor to sell her property.

Answer 4

Showings come from all sorts of agents.  I've had several listings I've never shown once, which were sold by a cooperating agent, either from within my firm or from outside of same.

Far less than fifty percent of homes are actually sold by the listing agent.  In this market situation, ninety days is NOTHING to wait for a sale.  As long as the agent is properly promoting the property with advertising, internet listings, etc. she is doing her job.

As agents, we are not allowed to stand on the street corner with a shepherd's crook, grab people by the neck, and DRAG them physically to a property.  Be patient.

Answer 5

Just because the agent hasn't personally shown the home doesn't mean she is a bad agent.  What did they agree to in the listing contract?  Is she doing what she said she would?  advertising as discussed?  Open houses as discussed?  How does it compare with the comparables now?  My broker would give anyone an unconditional withdrawl if they wanted it.  They need to communicate with the agent to see what is going on.  Are they doing everything she has suggested?

Answer 6

It has only been 3 months and the market across the country is very VERY depressed.  Why was the asking price lowered so quickly?  

BTW, where in IL is it?  That may be a factor.  You also have to look at the neighborhood...are there run down houses?  A lot of foreclosed homes?  Homes that the lawn isn't kept up?  Homes with junky cars in the drive way?  Is the home on a busy street or very close to one?  There are MANY different reasons why a house could not be selling but the main one is the economy.

Answer 7

If you think the agent is trying and is keeping in contact with your sister, then hang in there. There's a lot of properties out there and not enough buyers to go around. It can be really frustrating for sellers right now. However, if the agent doesn't call and seems like they don't care, have her tell the agent that she's really unhappy and try to negotiate with the agent to just cancel the listing without recourse.