Firing Your Realtor -- Part 1

How to Know When: Four Signs

Just because a home hasn't sold doesn't mean that the Realtor is doing a bad job.

But, if your home is lingering on the market, it's imperative to know why. Here are four signs that the problem may not be your home, but your Realtor.

One. Mediocrity (or worse).

Fortunately, egregious Realtor ineptitude is usually easy to spot.

Examples include omitting or misstating key information about your home on the Multiple Listing Service ("MLS") database or marketing materials; lack of familiarity with the contracts you've been asked to sign; and thinking a "virtual tour" is something that museums offer (in residential real estate, it refers to streaming video that lets prospective Buyers see your home from multiple angles on the Internet).

Not as obvious, but just as harmful, is when your Realtor fails to showcase your home's best selling points -- in which case, other Realtors and the public are likely to miss them, too.

In today's Buyer's Market, if your home isn't shown off to maximum effect --online, inside, and from the curb -- it's likely to stay on the market longer, fetch a lower sales price . . . or both.

Two. Under performing the competition.

With more than 30,000 homes currently for sale in the Twin Cities, the market time for practically all homes is higher than 2-3 years ago.

However, that doesn't explain why the 3 Bedroom, 3 Bath Colonial down the block sold in six weeks, while yours has been on the market for four months (and counting).

If seemingly inferior homes are selling while yours sits, your Realtor should have a ready explanation.

Sometimes, a nearby home that appears less impressive on paper in fact has a remodeled kitchen, a superior floor plan, etc. Or, your home may have one or more warts that, after years living in it, you either take for granted or can't see anymore.

Next: Firing Your Realtor -- Part 2