"~Zaitsev" wrote in message
...
Doug Kanter wrote:

I've taken that approach for 3 months. Nothing. Getting a little
desperate. Maintaining two households for this period of time is
straining the pocket book.

Military should take that into consideration when transferring people.


If you were in our around Rochester NY, I'd recommend the realtor I
used.
This guy rocked. Before him, I used two others who were no better than
7/11
clerks. I was buying, and the two lousy ones knew next to nothing about
houses, their mechanical systems, the history of building in the area,
the
economy, and the psychology of sellers.

Did you sign a contract with this realtor? If so, read it carefully and
see
if you have the option to hire another at this point. If so, do this:

Walk into 3 offices of big-name agencies. See whose names are on the
sales
award plaques, if any. And/or ask to speak to the branch manager and
explain
the situation. Hire the best person they've got.

The paint excuse is a crock, by the way. I think you need a second (or
third) opinion as to why the house is taking too long to sell, and
you're
not going to get that from a TYPICAL realtor. You need to hire a real
producer.

Finally, not all realtors share listings with other agencies. I bought
through a large, locally owned agency. But, their web site also showed
listings from ReMax and 3 or 4 other agencies. Look for a similar
arrangement if possible.


Realtors in Texas seem to be a different breed. This is my second.
They take the listing and NEVER show the house themselves. They seem to
just sit on their asses as wait for someone else to sell it, then
collect the 3% they have coming. So much for 'representing the seller'.
What you wind up with is realtors that show the house and represent
the buyer.

That borders on being illegal in NY. :-) If a realtor represents both
parties, it requires a really nit-picking set of paperwork.

Another thought: List it online with America's Choice, if you have the time
to show it yourself. If the realtor has a problem with this, tell him to
start doing his job. You're his employer. In any other sales position, you'd
be entitled to hold his ass to the fire as much as you want. Maybe a little
competition would help.

Short story: When I began looking at houses with my agent, I'd also visit
homes being sold by owners via America's Choice. I stopped into one house
which was damned near perfect, except it was a bit too close to the highway
for my tastes. By this point, my realtor was doing such a great job that I
thought I'd toss him a potential listing. I mentioned the house. He asked
how it was decorated. I described it, and mentioned that the guy was a
hunter and had a couple of antlers on the walls. My realtor laughed and said
the antlers would turn off people who don't like hunters. He called the
owner and got the listing. The house was sold in 2 weeks. The owner had been
trying for 6 months.

Antlers. :-)