I’ve jokingly said several times that the spec house I’ve been building has a curse placed on it – Everything has gone wrong, from the foundation up. I’ve finally gotten it about finished and thought nothing else could possibly go wrong. But it did. (Why else would I be writing this thread?)
About 2 months ago, I decided to go ahead and finish the thing 100%. Didn’t really want to, but it wasn’t selling “as is”. The realtor said they were planning on having an open houseon May 12th, and that would be a good time to promote it. I told him I figured I could have it done by then. But – Things didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. So I figured I’d better call for some help.
But first – I called the real estate agent, and asked if the open house was still on for sure. (This was about 2 weeks ago) I told him I could still get it done, but would have to hire some help and jump through a few hoops to make it. He assured me the open house was still scheduled for May 12th. So I hired a contractor, and ended up spending almost $1,000 on extra labor to finish things up that I could have done myself.
So I worked nights and weekends trying to get ready. I often came in to work at 6am, left at 3pm, then worked on the spec house until 9pm or so. I called in a lot of favors, and even did a lot of the wiring myself since the electrician’s Wife was sick and he wasn’t able to finish the job. My Wife and kids helped where they could, an we often had fast food dinners in at the spec house.
I had several friends and relatives set up for a “cleaning party” on Saturday to make the house look as nice as possible. And fertilized the yard so the grass would be nice and green. (And hoping someone else would have to mow it soon)
Yesterday (Thursday the 9th) I stopped by home to change clothes before going out to work on the house some more. I grabbed the newspaper to check out the ad for the open house………….But there wasn’t one. I tried to call the real estate agent to find out what was going on. No answer. So I called the owner of the real estate company and asked him why there was no ad. He said they’d decided not to have an open house this weekend.
Naturally, I was livid. I really let him have it. Never did get a solid answer as to why they weren’t having an open house, or why they hadn’t called to tell me. The real estate agent has not called me as of yet to appologize.
So – Do any of you know if it’s possible to cancel a real estate listing contract ???
Replies
What does your contract say?
In my area at least the contract is not with the agent, but with the broker and you can get an other agent with that broker to work for you.
But if it is the whole company you can always ask for a release.
But maybe you can try another option. Ask for some "compensation" in terms of extra advertising and more open houses.
Boss-
Jeez that s u c k s. I would also be livid. Very poor communication on the part of the realtor, who didn't care enough about you and your listing to contact you. And I would not have ANY faith that that would change. I would do what I could to end that relationship. I think it would be important to talk with the main broker, explain what happened and how you feel, and tell them that you wish to end the listing/contract. If they balk, tell them you would see to it that their reputation would suffer, and that you would go to court if necessary. I think that should be sufficient to get them to tear up the contract. JMHO.
Ken Hill
You know...I've been posting here for a while, and am generally pretty lassiez-faire when it comes to not getting involved in the "big" boohahas and discussions. But let me make this very clear: I would 100%, absolutely, HAVE THEIR ASS! If that real estate agent told you they were going to have an open house and "decided" not to, I'd be down there, in their face, and demanding some reconciliation...monetary-wise is the only way to go. I want advertising, web-shots, and a TV spot (we have a 1-hour TV listing program in my area every Sunday morning before "open-house" time). Why do I say this? Because what you have going on is EXACTLY what I went through. Do NOT, under any circumstances, let the real estate people push you around....they're making 4-6% for doing nothing in your favor, and basically waiting for someone to walk in. You are PAYING for a service, and you should absolutely demand that service. This kind of BS would be grounds for lawsuits and BBB complaints if we treated our customers this way; don't let them do the same to you!
Well, I sort of have things worked out for now. The owner of the real estate company showed up at my spec house while I was working there to appalogize again. (He was either really sorry, or good at faking it)
He offered to have a special open house the following weekend, if he could get more houses to throw in with it. He said having an open house with just one house wouldn't go over well. (And I agree) I told him to have an open house on the next available weekend when he thought it would be most effective - The goal is to sell the house, not have an open house ASAP. The owner also offered to work the open house himself.
He also offered to bring all his agents on a walk-through again when they have a sales meeting Wednesday. They did this last fall, but will do it again since the house is finished.
I told him since I had hired extra labor at a cost of $900 or so, I expected his firm to pick up half that cost if they sell the house. He didn't like it, but agreed anyway.
I'm going to call him this morning to get an update on the open house situation. And I plan to tell him I still expect an apalogy from the listing agent if they plan to keep the listing. (He never has contacted me)
I decided not to try to cancel the listing contract for now. The goal is still to sell the house, and they sell a bunch of them. And the contract expires the end of June anyway.
I like the phrase "You can't schedule around lies". Never heard that one before. I know people forget things, change their mind, etc. That's why I contacted the listing agent 2 weeks ago to confirm the open house - I made it clear that I didn't want to jump through all those hoops unless they were having the open house. (They generally do 6 or 8 houses at a time)
Thanks for the thoughts from all of you...
I'm still not sure if I understand ambiguity.
Con grads Boss,
sounds like you worked out an agreeable solution..
I especially like the fact that you didn't burn your bridges as mad as you had a right to be. Shows good business sense..
Good points Frency...I probably came off a little strong, and I'm sorry about that. However, crappy service is crappy service, and quite honestly, I've never seen a worse industry (at least in my area), than real estate. Your customers wouldn't put up with that type of service, we wouldn't if we were having something done, and neither should the Boss.
Real estate is dominated by part time housewives and unsuccessful salesmen. (except in our area where because of the dollars involved, you get some of the most visious tigers in the world. typical listing starts well into the seven figure neighborhood, so commision could easily be 30 to 50 thousand dollars after a split with the broker. That kind of money brings out some really nasty ladies who may sell fifteen or twenty homes in those price ranges per year. Every brokerage has a few of the lazy types who luck into a listing and then do little to sell it, figureing that as soon as they do they get 1/2 of the commision.
Boss,
Been there done that, on both sides of the fence.
If you work the system properly you will be compensated, but you have to do things right (I'll explain the way in a second...)
It may not be the realitors fault. (human nature being what it is he may not have the stones it takes to tell you either)
Realitors have bosses who report to comptrollers who report to owners. The company may have made a decision and forced everyone down the line to swallow it. (or it could be the classic FU*K up!)
So how do you win in this situation, don't go shout in someone's face! As angry as you are, you need to get ahead now instead of vent! If you piss off the guys who are gonna sell your house, how good of a job do you think they will do?
get as calm as you can. write a short note to yourself about what was said, what was promised and what happened. Next paragraph, write out how much it cost you time/ money/ and interest on the loan and how much you are hurt by it. (make "em cry!)
Now figure out a reasonable solution that you can live with that get's you ahead. No a cash payout isn't reasonable, but compensation in kind most definately is. another words, suggest they feature your house in their next adds. suggest that they hold a makeup open house on the next good weekend. Suggest that they do a walk-thru for all the agents in the company. (it gets your house on the mind of realitors) suggest they accept a reduction in commision (drop that bomb only after you get an acceptable offer and before you sign the deal)
once you've got it on paper, make an appointment and then go talk to the boss and ask to resolve the matter of the missed open house before I take my listing elsewhere...
Boss, I was ready to tell you to jump in their commission right away, but, then I read Frenchy, and Frenchy makes sensy, But how are you gonna be sure they'll do it? The open house wasn't part of the contract...I'd also be keeping my other eye open for another broker, the one you have ####...
Can you fit me for a truss? BB
Boss
You can't schedule around lies.
A General Contractor told me this when I was an apprentice plumber( I was a day late showing up(due to my employer)) I have always remembered this in my business. If I can't be there I call and let them know, as hard as it is to tell them you can't be on the job as scheduled, on the generals behalf their is nothing worse than working all night to be ready for the trade and the tradesman doesn't show up. I'd can his ass or at the least let him know exactly how you feel.
I can't believe I forgot this: BOOLLA BOOLLA, now try to sell your place....thas good mojo, I'm hoping....