Expert: Ray Beggs - 8/25/2006

Question
I am with MLS and have up the commission I am willing to pay to 3%.  I have seen little or no activity.  There have been four houses that have sold in this neighborhood in recent weeks, three of them exactly like mine and I did not see one showing from these sales.  This leads me to believe that agents with a full service office will show their own listings or listings by other full service offices before showing a HUS home.  

Also when I talked to my agent prior to listing, she told me they would ask for a four month contract, but it was written up as a five month contract.  When I asked her about this some weeks later, she said things had changed...well, why not tell me about that at the time of signing?

The agents I have talked to have told me that they would let a client out of a contract if they were unhappy with anything connected how things were going with the listing.  

I guess I just want to vent, but what I REALLY want is OUT OF THAT CONTRACT.

Thank you again.
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Followup To

Question -
I with currently listed for sale with "Help U Sell".  My home has been listed with them for three months now and I have had very few (only two) showings.  Recently four homes in my neighborhood sold, three of them identical to mine.  I am convinced the reason I haven't had any showings from these sales is that agents in my area with full service offices are avoiding showing a HUS home unless their client asks to see one.

I want to terminate my contract, but I cannot find any where on the "agreement" where it states what the penalties are if any.  It isn't called a "listing agreement" but instead it is called a "counseling and assistance" agreement.

Is there anyway I can get out of this contract?  I have had only two showings in three months and am convinced (after getting feed back from a number of agents with full service agencies) that they will not show a HUS or ATS home unless their clients ask to see one.  I thought I was signing a four month contract as when I talked to my agent that is what she said they wanted, and a few weeks later when I signed the actual listing, it turned out it was a five month contract.

Thank you in advance.

Cathy

Answer -
Hi Cathy,

I'm sorry that you're having so much trouble selling your home. Unfortunately, if you signed a 5 month contract then you're obligated to the 5 months unless you could either convince a judge that the contract be canceled based on lack of performance or convince the agent/broker to have some mercy and let you out of it early. I'm not an attorney, but you also might be able to do something based on the fact that it's not a listing agreement but a counseling agreement.

Are you offering a commission to the selling agent? If it's at least 2.5% (the going rate) then it shouldn't matter that you're HUS. If you're not offering 2.5%, then I suggest that you bump it up.

I have never been a big fan of HUS companies. Selling a house is a difficult and possibly litigious undertaking and you really do need a competent real estate agent who will help you through it from beginning to end. Selling a house is MUCH more then just putting it on the MLS and then getting a buyer into escrow.

Best of luck to you,

Ray

Answer
Hi Cathy,

Yeah, I agree with the agents you have talked to. I would tend to let anyone who wasn't happy with my service out of their contract with me, given that they gave me a fair shot. You might try calling the broker of the HUS office and letting him/her know about what has happened and see if you can get anything done that way.

I've got to throw in though, it's a tough market right now and many houses are setting on the market for months. The average days on market in our areas is about 64 days. The part of what you said that has concerned me the most is that the home has not been shown all that much. You can't sell it if people don't see it. What area of the country are you in?

Ray