Posted on 07/12/2010 6:19:12 PM PDT by ggrrrrr23456
My mother is preparing to sell the home that she and my late father have lived in for more than thirty years. Luckily, the housing market hasn't affected her that much since the area she lives in has become a hotspot for real estate over the years (Bay Area, CA).
The realtor she has been working with is, in my opinion, being pushy. He wants her to sell the house as soon as possible (within the next two months) and I'm of the opinion that she needs to wait given the depressed market and current economic situation. She also doesn't move as fast as she used to, and two months of packing, remodeling, maintenance, and whirlwind activity won't be good for her health.
I've insisted that she get at least two or more opinions on what to do with the house, but the current realtor is an apparently good salesman as she hasn't taken the initiative to talk to anyone else.
Does anyone have any input or ideas on this? Any realtors out there that can give me some inside information, or at least an inside opinion?
Thanks so much.
A real estate agent who wants to low-ball the price and get the house on the market and to closing asap....shocking...I’ve never seen such behaviour in these folks of high integrity.
The selling agent wants his commission and he wants it now.
They are the worst people in the world to get unbiased advice from.
Don’t let the agent pressure you, but do figure out what the carrying costs of insurance, maintenance, and taxes (and lost opportunity costs on the money you’d get from a sale) are and compare them with what you think the rate of price recovery will be. Sometimes it isn’t worth waiting, although that’s a hard decision.
The depressed market may just get much more depressed. If you really need to sell then sell asap.
Remind you mother that the profit of the sale is going toward her retirement at a time when the gov’t is forcing every vendor to raise prices... she has to be smart about the sale, and that begins with multiple opinions.
Do your own math for the area:
120 x Monthly rent < cost of house?
3 x avg yearly salary < cost of the house?
If not - then sell as the area is STILL overvalued.
Use a website like Realtor.com to see what other similar homes in your Mom’s area are being listed for. If there is no hurry, and the house is in good shape, the house should be listed at the high end of the price range of comparable properties.
When we sold our house in the Bay Area, we had three agents and three proposals. If this agent is pushing and is telling her she can sell the house in two months he maybe pricing the house to low.
If her health (mental and physical) is diminished it may be necessary to take over, allow her to lean on you for help in making the decisions. It may also be necessary to talk to the agent.
In my opinion based on nothing other than what I am seeing is this: sell now, it is going to get worse, much worse. In additions there are some tax issues coming up, and your Mom may get stuck paying more taxes than she would if she sold this year.
Good luck and God Bless you and your family.
I'm talkin' with a lot of real estate people these days, and the smart ones admit we're in for another three years of a sh*t market.
Good luck with whatever choice you make. I have no choice because I have three hongry siblings who want their share "yesterday".
The longer you wait, the worse it is going to get.
Three thoughts.
First and foremost, do what is best for your mother's personal situation. If she needs the money and needs to move, do it, don't try to play the market if it keeps her in a bind.
Second, remember that a real estate agent is a sales rep and is trying to pay his/her bills as well, which means turning property. This can work to your favor as much as it could be harmful.
Third, if the economy gets worse, high cost of living areas like the Bay Area may have a more drastic hit. It is harder to pay for housing there than in areas with moderate costs of living.
Explain to your Mother that this real estate agent may be flattering her and catering to her, but his only concern is NOT your Mother, nor her financial well being.
He just wants to get his commission and move on, and he is pushing her, to keep her from taking her time and maybe find another agent. If he is so good, then after she consults with other agents, she can always go back to this one (though from the way he is acting, I would not recommend it)
I would recommend that your Mother put the agent “on hold” — “don’t call me, I’ll call you”, have her take her own sweet time with packing, repairs, THEN, when SHE is ready, consult multiple agents.
It seems there is NO rush, except the pressure from the real estate agent.
The market in the Bay Area is not going to go down, if anything it’s on the upswing again, so there is no rush to sell.
Your Mother should take her own time, even deciding whether or not she wants to sell in the near future, or just live in the house for a few month, six months, a year...
It appears to me that the entire thing is driven by an unscupulous real estate agent.
I am quite familiar with real estate and agents — please tell her that she has nothing to lose, everything to gain by taking it slowly.
Good luck, I hope she will stop and think it through.
I thought they would want to sell quick and high as their pay is usually a percentage. A $50K higher price at 2% commission is $1K more in their pocket.
I’m an inactive No. CA realtor.
She either wants to sell it or not. That’s the driving directive. Setting a too-high price in order to sound out the market is a very bad idea. Setting a too-low price to blast the thing out is also not such a great idea. Someone (with experience and skill) has to research the price and come to a conclusion. The realtor is typically competent to execute that study, but may well be biased in his/her desire for an easy deal. One thing I can tell you is that your odds decrease a tad if you end up selling past Sept-Oct, so your window into that period is about to slam shut. The biggest factor is CA real estate pricing is the regard in which the local school district is held. There’s nothing you can do about that. But you should know about it.
You sound like you may be sort of interested in this transaction or lots interested in this transaction. Better decide which.
The realtor is being aggressive, perhaps, which is what you want. Again, if she wants to sell. To do that, the realtor does indeed want his/her commission.
It’s not uncommon for folks engaged in buying or selling their homes to have all manner of regret and remorse. IMO more than half of a realtor’s job is to push the participants.
The Bay Area (if that’s where you are talking about) has undergone some price strengthening, and IMO it would be a reasonably ideal time to sell into it.
Personally, I believe it’s not a great time to buy, but my opinion and reasons in that regard have nothing to do with your Mom’s situation.
If you believe that rates will rise later on, and that further evidence of economic weakening is about to occur, then I’d be putting out the for sale sign forthwith.
My advice to you is do the homework on your real estate agent. There seems to be a lot of less than honorable agents out there.....
Now my friend had a real estate agent in CA she really liked, I would be happy to ask her if this real estate agent could recommend someone, just FReepmail me if you want.....
All real estate is local.Yes,many markets...particularly in CA,NV,AZ and FL are bad and,in the case of Florida at least,is expected to get worse.But the Bay Area could possibly be stronger than most..perhaps much stronger.Only someone familiar with a particular market can give reliable advice.
My advice: interview at least three real estate agents, get a professional appraisal from an appraiser not from the RE agents, talk to a RE attorney and last but not least consult an accountant regarding your mom's finances, goals and any upcoming tax changes.
Best of luck to you and your mom.
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