Home Sellers: Is Your Listing Agent the Reason Your Home's Not Selling?

Many home sellers sign a listing agreement with an agent who makes big promises and then their home languishes on the market.

Do you know if your agent may be causing your home to go unsold? Some reasons why listing agents hold up home sales:

1. Lack of cooperation from other sales agents who dislike your listing agent. Some agents get a reputation of being difficult to work with. Ask another agent about the popularity of your listing agent.

2. Lopsided commission split. Check to see if other agents get their fair share of the sales commission. Some agents only offer discounted commissions to the selling agent who won't show the home if they make more selling another house.

3. Busy agents neglect to hold open houses for other real estate offices. Have you had other agents preview your home? If not, ask your agent why he or she hasn't held an open house for brokers.

4. Lack of exposure. Is your home listed correctly on the Internet? Check to see if you can find it online. Do a search for your city and home for sale to see if your listing or agent's website pops up. Most of today's home buyers begin their property search on the Internet. You should be able to find local multiple listings.

5. Poor advertising methods. Did your agent create a sales flyer that showcases your property or a sales flyer that showcases your agent? Does your agent advertise your particular property every week or just rely on generic office ads? Did your property get a photo ad in the local home buyer magazine? Another great sales tool used by aggressive listing agents, mailings to your neighborhood homeowners, generates interest from neighbors' friends and family.

If you feel that you're wasting your valuable time with an agent who doesn't perform, ask for a cancellation. If your agent won't allow a cancellation without receiving compensation for a job not done, insist daily that he or she start performing. If you become the disliked, difficult home seller, your agent will cancel you.

Copyright ฉ 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved. (You may publish this article in its entirety with the following author's information with live links only.)