Our reader today exemplifies the plight of the for-sale-by-owner. While I applaud those who venture out to reduce expenses, rather than earn more, real estate remains a bit like the wild west even today. There are no enforceable standards of practice in an industry where your competitors are also your best customers. Interestingly enough, I can make the same statement to any consumer utilizing the services of a real estate agent.
Reader Question: We used a buyer agent to find a new home. Now we need to sell our home. We got him to look at our house. The lower commission does not seem to motivate him, and he is not interested in us now that we have concluded buying a home. He wants to […]
Reader Question: Do real estate agents negotiate fees on dual transactions? My wife and I are in the process of downsizing. We have shopped neighborhoods and have chosen where we would like to land. In this process, we have had one particular agent show us 5 or 6 homes. Now it is time to list […]
Reader Question: I have a friend who is a real estate broker. She wants to be my agent for a home I currently own and the home I buy when I relocate. She has another job and appears overwhelmed. She lives two hours from where I am buying, and the house I am selling is […]
Reader Question: We are going to sell our home. We asked three agents that were recommended to us by friends and family to look at our home to establish our home’s listing price. We wanted several opinions on our home’s value. Each one of them has a different opinion, and there is a sizeable difference […]
Reader Question: My husband and I will be selling our third home soon. We want to find the perfect real estate agent. In all of our past buying and selling transactions, we have experienced some degree of angst somewhere in the process. After three purchases and two sales, we want everything to go smoothly from […]
Reader Question: We are going to be listing our home soon to take advantage of the spring market. We will be taking your recommendation and interviewing multiple agents, and we expect they will each have a strong listing presentation. Do you have any specific comments for us that may help us spot gimmicks or questionable […]
Reader Question: We put up a “for sale by owner ” sign over a year ago. We had a couple of low offers. We then contracted with an agent for six months, in which we had showings and critiques. We were one of the finalists with three interested buyers. They all chose other homes. We […]
Reader Question: We want to sell a church. I am a member of an aging church group on the east coast with a declining number of active families and participants. The absence of new young families in our faith moving into the area and the passing of fellow congregants have taken a toll. From about 400 […]
Reader Question: We will be selling our home and casually checking out real estate agents. One of our observations is that some agents seem to have many online reviews while others have very few or none. How important are these recommendations and why don’t all agents use them? Jason D. Monty’s Answer: Positive reviews from […]
Reader Question: I read the agent interview questions to ask real estate agents on the DearMonty website. It would be helpful to understand what answers to look for when agents respond. I am not comfortable I know enough about real estate to know a good answer. Can you help? Mark B. Monty’s Answer: Your question […]
Reader Question: Monty, we are preparing to sell our home and read your column about how to find a good real estate agent. We have gone through the steps and are now down to two candidates. They both present as knowledgeable, hard working and efficient. What differentiates them in our eyes is one is very […]
Reader Question: Why do you recommend interviewing multiple people when choosing a real estate agent? Honestly, it seems unwieldy but I would like to understand the logic. Paul H. Monty’s Answer: Interviewing all service providers, not just real estate agents, is a practice that improves the consumer experience. It does take some time to […]
Reader Question: I am going to sell my home. One Realtor has an awesome marketing plan and a lower commission, but there was no chemistry. Another Realtor whose commission is higher, and marketing is not as vast, but good; established some chemistry. Which real estate agent do I choose? Ashley B. Monty’s Answer: Based […]
