Expert: Jessica Bryan - 8/7/2008

Question
My house has been listed for one year with no success of selling.  There have been many foreclosures in our neighborhood that have made it difficult to sell.  I have lowered the price twice.  My home is in immaculate condition with fenced in yard and extensive landscaping, but the only activity has been the foreclosures.  The only offer was a land contract that the buyers wanted to close in two years.  We declined the offer.  My listing with the real estate agent just expired a few days ago.  I have been hesitant about signing another contract.  Today, I learned that my 10 year-old nephew's friend told him that his parents are looking for a new house and like our neighborhood.  They have driven by the house and are interested in seeing it.  I do not think that the realtor has removed the sign, but our contract has expired.  I asked my husband to contact her to remove the signs and that we were not wishing to re-list.  When can we show the house and sell it ourselves without fear of the realtor coming back on us?  Should we wait for the sign to be removed and taken off the MLS before showing the house to them?  We are willing to take the amount that would be the realtor commission off the sales price of the house to help it sell, but would end up owing if we lowered to that price and paid the commission to a realtor.  With summer ending, we are afriad that the house would be for sale all winter with no activity.  We have been paying two mortgages for a year and need to unload the house soon.  Thanks for any and all advice!

Answer
Dear Jen;
Your listing contract will govern how you  can sell your home.  It usually has a stipulation that if the home goes under contract within 30 days or 60 days after the contract expires (depending how the contract was written) you still owe a commission to the listing agent.  The idea is that the listing agent did marketing and advertising that may have attracted a buyer who came later.  Sometimes, Sellers also have told potential buyers to wait until after the listing expires so they can save commission fees and strike a deal for the sale.  I know that the sellers would like to save money on the cost of the sale, but agents do need some compensation for the amount of work they do.  In this case, the agent has worked on selling your home for a year.  I assume there was no mutual sharing of costs.  Marketing is expensive and can cost thousands of dollars.  If a home doesn't sell the agent gets no compensation for the dollars spent. So...please understand why this clause is in the contract. If it isn't there, then you are free to strike any deal you choose with a buyer.

Good luck and best wishes in the sale of your home.

Jessica Bryan