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Papa_Tiger wrote:

Excaliber wrote:

Bitter Clinger wrote:

Excaliber wrote:

Bitter Clinger wrote:

twomillenium wrote:That is why you use a good Realtor.

And that is an oxymoron.

In my experience, that's not true unless you just walk into a real estate office and ask for any agent.

You need to qualify an agent in the same manner as you would an attorney. If you do that, you will very likely have a very satisfactory buying or selling experience.

Don't ask me how I learned this or how many times I did it the wrong way before I got it figured out.

They create NO value. They profit off the transaction and are highly overcompensated. Most cannot count to twenty without taking off their shoes.

If you're selling a home that is in a hot market where they're sold in a couple of days, often at above asking price, I would agree they add little value. However, in a competitive market, they make a very real difference in how long it takes to sell and even whether you sell at all.

For avoiding those who need their toes to count, see my post above. The million dollar plus a year sellers are no fools.

The realtor I have used in my last two moves was fantastic. She came out to the houses, assessed what minimally needed to be done in terms of repairs to get them ready to be put on the market to make it pop (things like new carpet and painting rather than bathroom/kitchen upgrades) provided staging, had an EXCELLENT photographer, listed well and walked us through all of the issues that we encountered (buyers on FHA with down payment assistance making a really aggressive offer etc.). On the buying front she KNEW the market and helped us negotiate a really good deal on the home we bought.

I've recommended her to several people and have heard stories from them about how she worked HARD for them regardless of what the commission was going to be.

In February, she sold $2.2M of homes, and in June it was something like $5.6M. She was worth every penny we paid her.

Excaliber wrote:

Bitter Clinger wrote:

twomillenium wrote:That is why you use a good Realtor.

And that is an oxymoron.

In my experience, that's not true unless you just walk into a real estate office and ask for any agent.

You need to qualify an agent in the same manner as you would an attorney. If you do that, you will very likely have a very satisfactory buying or selling experience.

Don't ask me how I learned this or how many times I did it the wrong way before I got it figured out.

twomillenium wrote:That is why you use a good Realtor.

nightmare69 wrote:

Bitter Clinger wrote:

sbrawley wrote:Greetings from Lubbock!

Unfortunately, we're having a difficult time selling our house in Houston and our lender for the Lubbock house decided to change the terms on the loan that my family had to stay behind until we can sell the house.

I started training for LCSO last week and I'm really excited to begin working for them. As with all things there are pros and cons (pun not intended) but the pros far outweigh the cons. This place is a whole lot better than Harris County SO and the moral is definitely higher. So far not regretting leaving Houston, just wish things would move faster on the real estate side.

We were in a somewhat similar situation when we moved to Texas in 2011. Here are two pieces of free advice -

1.0 Get one of these "St. Joseph sell your house kits" in a box:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000WMH1 ... B0041TH66C

And before you laugh at me, try it...it even works for Jewish people! Follow the directions and you will be amazed!

2.0 When you get the first offer, negotiate to close no matter what - never let that buyer get away!

The home owners of the first house we put an offer on should read this book. I put down 2 fair offers and they only come off the price 2K. This house has been, and still is on the market for nearly 2yrs. They are investors though and we were told they rarely negotiate. Enjoy paying the taxes is what I told them.

sbrawley wrote:Greetings from Lubbock!

Unfortunately, we're having a difficult time selling our house in Houston and our lender for the Lubbock house decided to change the terms on the loan that my family had to stay behind until we can sell the house.

I started training for LCSO last week and I'm really excited to begin working for them. As with all things there are pros and cons (pun not intended) but the pros far outweigh the cons. This place is a whole lot better than Harris County SO and the moral is definitely higher. So far not regretting leaving Houston, just wish things would move faster on the real estate side.