How to politely change realtors?

Question

Hey BP! After some insistence from some friends to meet their realtor because they said ours were quoting us too low (we are putting our house on the market in 3 weeks) we were very impressed with her and now want to change.

The realtors we are in contact with now, no paperwork started yet just talks, helped me buy this house and it’s a small town and I don’t want to be rude or have realtor drama because I thought we had a good thing going until today.

Any advice to telling them politely that they got   outdid and im moving on?

Thanks!

Matt Devincenzo · Answer

How sure are you that the new realtor's proposed list price' is accurate? Anyone can pull a number out that sounds good, but can they actually help get it sold at that price?

Theresa Harris · Answer

If you haven't signed anything, just tell them you've interviewed a few people and decided to go with another realtor.  Some of the realtors are really good at helping you buy a home and others at selling it.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

YUP sounds like the classic bait and switch some agents are famous for.. first agent gives a realistic price second agents say oh thats crazy we can get more with nothing to really back it up.. listing sits there second agent calls and says hey we need to lower price to move this and the prices comes right down to the first agents price point and the second agent gets the sale by basically snaking the first agent.

If the property was under valued at list you will have multiple offers.. right ?  and for more than you listed it for..  My wife these days does that she list at comps and the low end of the comps.. and for the last year has been getting her clients 15 to 75k over ask every time. but you start to high and you wont get any offers and will end up selling for less you would have had to listening to the second agent.

Russell Brazil · Answer

It's not an auction. The person who tells you the highest number shouldn't win lol.

You can list the property at any price you so desire regardless of what the recommendation of the agent is. You want to list $50k higher, go ahead.

If its a fast moving multiple offer market, there is no danger in listing low, as the market will be efficient and it will get bid up to where it should. There is danger in listing high in that situation though, as it will sit and eventually sell lower than it should.

The only times you should list high are in slow moving assets or markets.

Charlie MacPherson · Answer

@Paul Henning  The first question is to figure out what the real value is.  One comp and an off-market offer as a means of determining price is just embarrassing.  It's lazy and if it turns out to be correct, it will be by dumb luck.

The second agent sounds like they have put the work in, but take a close look at those comps.  Be sure that:

- They have actually sold.  Current listings don't tell you much.  Nor do "under contract" listings.  It's the closed listings that tell you what they sold for - the rest could be pipe dreams.

- They have sold recently.  Preferably within 60 days or less.

- They are nearby. Preferably 1/4 mile or less.  No more than 1 mile away if possible.  2 miles maximum if there are simply no comps, but that can drive you into a very non-comparable neighborhood.  You might have to go to a similar neighborhood in an adjacent town in that case.

- They are as close to identical as possible in style, condition, age, location, beds, baths, living area, acreage, garage and basement specs, town vs private utilities, flood zones, etc.

Finally, I'd like to be sure that the agent hasn't run automated comps.  There are lots of ways to do that, but the automated systems have no idea about the fine differences in location or the interior condition.  They are simple and contain all sorts of colorful charts, graphs and photos, but again, it's just lazy.  I'd want an agent to take the time to really do the hard work of running comps the right way.

As to changing, it's easy.  Just tell the agent that you have decided to work with someone else and leave it at that.

Lydia S. · Answer

@Paul Henning

I see two sides to this.

First, you have a prior relationship with your current Realtor, and pricing seems to be your primary concern, so why not discuss pricing with them?  You have input here and can stay with this Realtor.

The flip side is that if it’s about more than pricing, you aren’t loyal to your first Realtor, haven’t signed an agreement, believe the second Realtor who swooped in will actually do a better job somehow and want to use them, you can.

Unless you’re unhappy with your first Realtor, don’t base the decision on price, as they don’t determine what it will sell for, the market does!  Listing too high can still be shooting oneself in the foot depending on your location/market, even in a seller’s market.

If you like your first Realtor, have an open discussion with them about your concerns.  We work hard to maintain previous clients’ loyalty.

Caleb Brown · Answer

2nd realtor sounds like a winner. Be polite but straightforward that you found another one. If the agent asks why, give feedback. Seasoned realtors will take the feedback and move on

Paul Henning · Answer

@Lydia S. Thanks for this.

The current realtors showed us 1 comp and used the offer my neighbor gave me for the house as a starting price point for the listing and said we are good to go easy peasy let’s make a little money.

The new realtor gave us some work to do to the place to get top dollar, showed 6 comps and came up with a price that was $50k higher and sounded very confident.

I think #2 might be a bit overzealous but she had a pep in her step and the others were just sort of going with the flow.

Hope this builds some context

Peter M. · Answer

@Paul Henning Keep it short and sweet. They're professionals and hopefully the act like it. Watch the part in Moneyball about trading someone.

Paul Henning · Answer

@Charlie MacPherson

Thanks so much for this list of good comps, Charlie, I will make sure to have these points from here on out.

How to politely change realtors?

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