is this a waste of a realtors time?

we are still so back and forth as to when we want to move. our main problem is that we are not sure how much our house will sell for.

i was thinking of meeting with 2 local realtors to have them tell me how much my house would realistically sell for and how long they think it would take (obviously i know they have no idea how long, but approx for my area)

i also want to know what updates i should do and what we should not waste our time on.

we might list next spring. or even the spring after. (i would list now if the price is right!)

am i wasting their time having them come out now? i would use one of them when we are ready.

Re: is this a waste of a realtors time?

I don't think it's a waste of time.

My ILs just had a REA come to the house and it was good because now they know they need to start getting paperwork for a few things.

He also was able to give them a good starting sale price based on comps and told them the # they should settle around.

He also is going to advise them on staging for a sale.

Now the only issue is I think they are torn on when to actually put it on the market because if they do it now, that means they have to move and then stay someplace until they find a condo of their liking if it sells right away.

They were hoping to find a condo first.

I think depending on area, a lot of houses are going quickly.

Maybe you can FM a REA on here. I think they are always very realistic and helpful.

Re: is this a waste of a realtors time?

Do it.

We had a Realtor come to our house last summer. She told us pricing, actually more than we expected. In the end we just decided it wasn't the right time.

I am sure this happens to them a lot, but that's all part of the job. And they hope that if they make a good impression when and if you do list, you will call again

Re: is this a waste of a realtors time?

It's not a waste of time. We get calls all the time from potential sellers who want an idea about their home's value in the current market and/or have questions about the selling process, but may decide niot to sell now (or ever). Part of real estate is relationship building, so a good agent will touch base with you from time to time in the hopes of getting the listing if you eventually decide to sell.

I sold a house last month that I first met with the sellers about in 2012. I met with a seller last week who said they would consider listing in January at the earliest.

Part of the job is consulting with potential sellers and advising then to make the best decision for their circumstances (which is sometimes not to sell or to wait). At the very least, the agent makes a new contact with someone who can perhaps recommend other clients to them.

Plus, meeting with a seller is basically a job interview for the agent. We know that, even if you are ready to sell, you will likely interview a few people and decide who you want to hire. So agents know going in that there's no guarantee of getting a listing.

It is nice if you are honest upfront with the agents to set expectations going in. You can tell the agents you call, when setting up the appointment, that you are only in the early stages of thinking about selling, and you just really want to get some information at this point. The agent will then have the right mindset going in and you can relax!

Re: is this a waste of a realtors time?

Definitely not a waste of time. Most realtors would be happy to do free CMAs for you (certified market analysis) which is where they will pull all the homes in your town that sold within the past 2-12 months and show you the date they were listed, the asking price, the price it sold for, and how long it wad on the market. Now, you can get this info on your own from Zillow, Redfin and MLS searches but it will take time and some properties can skew the analysis (ie like foreclosures/short sales).

Just be mindful most will quote you high numbers. We sought about 6 different opinions from realtors and only 1 really stuck out at me because she wanted to list our house at at least 50K over what it appraised for ...so that was a clue she just wanted to get a big commission. the other quotes all were within the same $ 10-15K range of what we expected to list for...in the end, we paid for an Appraiser and got a number which we know we are not comfortable going under..so that ultimately drove us to choose the price we listed at.

Cost of appraisal is usually $300/400 but IMHO worth it because the last thing you want to experience is listing your home for sale at, say $379,999 and the contract is signed for $360K, only to have the Buyer call you and say the appraisal came in at $352K,

Message edited 9/7/2014 8:52:40 PM.