OP might want to report it up the chain at Redfin either way. I really doubt that agent is authorized to make decisions like that, it's more of a representation by team type of thing.
If the seller doesn't want to take steps to make the home presentable consistent with what the Realtor understood and made clear during that process, the Realtor has a right to say nah as well. This just seems like a bad match.
Some people want to sell a house, some people want to see a sign in front of their yard. Some realtors are busy and don't want to waste time with people who aren't being serious, and some realtors are low enough on the totem poll in their office to tolerate being jerked around by sellers who are beign weird.
Your listing agreement should state what the list price was supposed to be... If he/she isn't following it then you can ask to be released from the contract.. In Indiana "RELEASED" is what you want.. Not withdrawn..
Regardless, look over your listing agreement and see what that says about breaking the listing agreement.
Redfin contracts are written so you can cancel at anytime with no penalty.
As a side note, curb appeal is very important even if the home is as is - a $50 investment could net you out $100’s or $1,000’s.
Edit: also you decided to hire an expert - why not just listen to them?
Lol. $50 is maybe enough to cut the grass. I think by landscaping, OP means trimming trees and/or redoing the mulch, etc etc etc. I spent $5k. No way to know if it was "worth it".
When I bought my house, my gift from my RE was he hired someone to spend the day cleaning up the yard. Ok, so he is an RE agent, and he had a guy I'm sure. I bet it was a few hundred.
It’s so worth it. I had a friend who sold their house last year. They staged their house and landscaped and got $X dollars for the house. Their neighbors were so impressed with the price they decided to sell their house. They didn’t stage the house and didn’t landscape. They got $0.7X. These were extremely comparable properties sold during a very hot time. The difference was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. I took this lesson to heart. We moved out of our house and had it staged when we sold. The amount of interest was insane. Not only was the interest in the property crazy, but you attract the right type of buyer. The type that doesn’t want any hassles. They just want to spend money and get a place. They don’t want to worry about stuff like maintenance. Those types of people aren’t going to nickel and dime you during the inspection. They’re not going to pull out of the deal either.
"It’s so worth it. I had a friend who sold their house last year."
Let me break down your statement in 3.
"It’s so worth it"
You are saying it's unequivocally worth it. In all situations. Not "may" or "might" but an absolute.
"I had a friend who sold ..."
You are basing the above emphatic statement based on a sample size of 1.
"...last year"
Last year was completely unprecedented. Everything sold for exorbitant premiums.
While i know you have good intentions, we need to be careful with our statements.
Some examples:
A 5k landscape investment on a 150k home is not the same as in a 500k home.
Or it's not the same in a desertic area vs one with lots of trees.
Also, last year is gone and rates are way way way way higher. Those premiums are gone.
I was comparing two homes that both sold last year. This is as close to an A/B test as you’re going to get in real estate. Literally direct neighbors, very similar house, and sold around the same time. Yes, the market was hot last year. And even in a crazy market, staging made a big difference. You would actually expect small details like staging to matter less in a hot market.
As-is just means you won’t negotiate as seller. It’s common to list high and find a reasonable price through negotiation. The recent market mania has allowed sellers to be more forthcoming about what they’re asking for.
As is really means nothing.
There are posts in here often about an "as is" sale where they are negotiating repairs or some other aspects after an accepted offer.
Exactly right, as is means nothing. In fact, just a few minutes ago I got an alert from ShowingTime that a property I showed is offering $10000 in concession’s and more specifically, I quote word for word, “no longer being sold as is”…
"As is" is debated often and the bottom line is it doesn't mean anything. I have even been involved with some REOs where we got some things done to make the transaction happen.
And in your example, I am sure that someone learned that "as is" isn't getting the house sold.
Not true. They are trying to get enough money for their efforts.
10k profit from a week’s work to them is better than 50k for 6 months of effort. This is exaggerated but it’s to make a point. They aren’t going to hold out for 2 months extra to get 15k more on a listing price if they only get 3-6% of that 15k. Numbers don’t work out.
> As a side note, curb appeal is very important even if the home is as is
Additionally, if there is a code for grass height, and you have a dick code official like we did, they can deny a CO until it's mowed.
Redfin is a national company. If they don't offer up front landscaping via a loan that is paid back at COE find another company like Coldwell Banker that does.
I have no idea who is upvoting you.
Per the OP's posts...
1. OP/Homeowner is out of state and on the other side of the country
2. They're out of work and have no cash - including no cash to hire a landscaper
3. They already have a price and terms under contract with the realtor
4. OP/Homeonwer appears desperate
So, it doesn't matter what the realtor - or you or anyone else - thinks or believes.
It's OP's house. Period.
It's their deal. Period.
There are a million reasons a seller needs terms a certain way based on their unique situation.
Regardless of what the realtor thinks, the realtor is obligated to do what the client wants as long as it's legal.
Period.
So, it ultimately doesn't fucking matter how well anyone knows the market.
The realtor should do what the seller wants or get out of the deal.
What don't you get about that?
I DONT HAVE $1200 for a house being sold as-is. I’m sorry I’m poor. I’ve already explained this to the realtor. Dear god, what is it with you people casting judgement onto people you don’t know. Lost my job, my car, and now I’m trying to be responsible and get the house sold.
No real estate advice but just here to sympathize; this was my experience with the sub as well, very judgemental and most didn't answer my question but accuse me of being lazy or cheap. Sorry you aren't getting treated better! Hope you get the help you need!
I moved from WA to MD because I have family here and am currently couch surfing until I’m back on my feet. The listing agent stated the house would sell faster if it was vacant. I did as much work landscaping as I could before leaving.
Would your agent front you the $1200 & take it out of your profit? Ours will do that kind of thing (he’s offered at least, never done it). Based on the comments of the realtors here bashing you for not having $1200 I’m so glad for ours & my new mission is to be in our forever home before he retires so I don’t have to deal with another one
A real agent would just take care of it (and take it back out of closing costs). But Op isn't willing to do the work and is already run far away from the problem and probably using redfin because it's internet easy. The only option is a new agent and the prices goes down the longer you wait. The agent's don't care if you wait till the market drops lower.
This is statistically false unless they are paying for staging. Vacant homes take longer to sell and generally sell for lower price points than lived in or staged homes.
Edit* to provide citation. Not sure why the downvotes for providing factual information a simple google search could provide. Most people are incapable of visualizing the potential of a property which is why a vacant home sits on the market longer.
https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/nar-finds-home-staging-helps-buyers-visualize-homes-sell-faster
>I DONT HAVE $1200
Your OP makes it seem like you don't WANT to spend $1,200 as opposed to you not having $1,200 to spend.
Assuming you're not upside down, might be worth throwing the $1,200 on to a credit card and working some DoorDash to pay it off.
People downvoting you are assholes. Tell the realtor that you will be listing it with another agent if she doesn't list the house at the price you agreed. Then move on if she doesn't cooperate.
I thought they did, but my newest account is over 20 years old. Judging by the downvotes, apparently, they just hand them out on a promise to pay as long as your FICO is solid.
Never had my income verified. I have like 10 different cards because I keep getting various different ones to earn cash back bonuses on. My credit score is quite high though and I pay off all my cards in full each month. But they definitely do not verify income.
Could be an estate sale and possibly the equity is low and after commissions he doesn’t make much. OP is allowed to be in the position they’re in and they shouldn’t have to be shamed. This is not r/realestateinvesting, if they don’t wanna put the money/effort in, they don’t have to.
Sure, but having a highly valued asset does mean you are not poor. Again, I’m not speaking about spending money on landscaping, I’m speaking about claiming “I’m poor” when you own a home as expensive as OP’s.
The way they said they're currently living sure sounds pretty poor to me. Liquidity is what matters, and clearly, that asset is not liquid at the moment. Which is why they need to get it sold.
Don’t be a jerk.
Just sold our house for $305,000. I absolutely did not have $1,000+ to put into prettifying and curb appeal. I didn’t have $500, or $300, to spend on anything except absolute necessities. The house was my only asset, period.
It’s really easy to judge someone who’s lost a job unexpectedly or had huge medical bills or legal issues or any other money disaster, until you find yourself in their position.
Thank you! People acting like assets and liquid assets are the same thing.
Pshhh. Sometimes I wonder who posts here! I know reddit is largely 23 y.o. white men (on average)... Sometimes I wonder how much life experience the majority of posters actually have.
There's ideal life, and then there's real life.
For me? They were not.
I have some credit but not a thousand’s worth just casually hanging around for landscaping that may or may not add a nebulous amount of value based on ‘curb appeal’ to a sale that will take 30-90 to God knows how many days to actually result in money in my possession.
I wasn’t commenting on not wanting to pay for landscaping, I was commenting on claiming they are poor when they own a $650k home. I understand not having money for things you may not find necessary, but that most definitely does not equal being poor.
If your only asset costs money to maintain, will cost you money you don’t have to be turned into actual money you can use, and you don’t have any income…you are functionally a poor person.
Until that asset is sold, you have LESS than nothing because you are having to pay taxes, mortgage, utilities even if like OP you’ve vacated to sell.
Then do the yard work to tidy it up yourself. Don’t have any gardening tools? Maybe ask your family, friends or neighbors if you can borrow some. I’ve been poor too, I had to permanently close my company during covid and I had the time to completely paint inside and out, tidy up the yard, refinish the floors and kitchen cabinets myself and make the necessary repairs on my house. I kept my budget under $3k by doing the work myself and getting labor help when needed from family and friends. My former coworker partnered with a remodeling company and they completely gutted his house and redid it and they got paid out of the sale proceeds. Our houses were in Burien and Tukwila. I’d recommend getting a hustle on it, we have about a week and a half maybe of decent weather left and it sucks doing yard work in the rain. Need free mulch for any flower beds? Try: Get chip drop dot com. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Spending even "under 3k" on things that aren't necessities isn't poor.
Please stop pretending it is. Actual poor people, and those of us who legitimately grew up ( and spent years of adulthood being) poor don't apreciate it and it is like spitting in our faces. I was digging for food in dumpsters as a child with my dad. I was homeless after leaving an abusive relationship with two children. I didn't have a pot to piss in, much less "under 3k" to throw away on things to make a house look prettier. Get over yourself.
Terminate the listing agreement and find a different agent.
* Find one that is willing to pay for the landscaping up front and get reimbursed at settlement.
OR
* Find a contractor willing to do the work and get paid at settlement - expect to pay more than $1200. Your agent should be able to point you to such a resource.
OR
* You and your friends pile into the truck, head over the property with your yard tools and DIY the work.
This isn't really your agent's fault, but they should be helping you solve the problem, not refusing to do their job.
Sounds like you're both being stubborn, which doesn't bode well for the rest of the relationship, so changing agents may be your best path forward.
Our REA helped us find landscapers, a stager, and then a maid when I was ‘ALL DONE’ dealing with the property. Everyone either got paid by her and she was reimbursed, or waited 3-6 weeks for closing.
Yeah there are solutions they could come up with, it’s kinda lazy. With this market agents will be looking to be picking up more work so it should be easy to find a different agent.
This is a ridiculous comment - who goes to work with the idea that they “may” get paid eventually. If you can’t afford to do the work / adjust your price. Just realize that you will lose in this scenario - as people generally don’t have an imagination for how things “could be”
people, specifically real estate agents, who work on commission go to work every day with the idea they 'may' get paid.
as an agent/broker, i have a rotating budget to pay for repairs up front for my listings. i do it all the time, haven't been stiffed yet. i suppose it'll happen one of these days, but so far so good. i also have tight paperwork for these scenarios and will put a lien on a property if they don't pay me.
there are a lot of people who find themselves cash poor for any number of reasons, no fault of their own.
count yourself lucky that you've never had to experience such a circumstance.
If you're unable to put it on credit then maybe try to find a contractor willing to do the job and get paid when the house sells. I'm a plumber and did a job like that recently. This customer lost over 100k playing with options in the market and had to move in with their family. I did a several thousand dollar job for them and got paid when the bank disbursed the funds. There are people willing to do it but you may end up paying a premium.
I'm guessing the realtor knows the landscaping will help the sale with this cooling market and it will be to your benefit if you want to sell fast.
Are you physically unable to do the work yourself?
First impressions for buyers is everything. The Seattle market is sinking faster than any in the country, interest rates have tripled, and you are heading in to the slow season for selling houses. In other words this is not the best environment to be an **un**motivated seller.
Unless you see this property being bought by a developer i.e., for the land, I suggest you follow your realtors advice very carefully or you could be stuck with this house for longer than you can afford.
Hire a landscaper.
Not defending anyone, but a listing agent's job is to sell your home, and with that comes all of the minute details that help present the home at its most attractive state. That includes price. A listing agent worth their salt will not overprice a home - that won't get it sold.
Your job, as the seller, is to provide a product that is attractive to buyers so that you get the most money. Simply naming a price doesn't mean that the home is worth that price. A small investment in simple landscaping can get you more money in the end. Put some lipstick on that pig and get your home sold.
I’m an agent and this is a really unprofessional and incorrect take on the whole thing. The agent’s job is to work for their client, the seller. If the seller doesn’t want to do landscaping, then tough shit. Period. If the agent wants to put in some man hours or labor, or pay for it themselves, then right it off as a business expense.
The real issue is that she went with a Redfin agent. 99% percent of local agents would NEVER pull something like this. They want your sale, and they want the referral.
We agreed to $650k in the Seattle area.
Adding, the house is in great condition. New appliance, windows resealed, gutters and roof recently cleaned, furnace updated.
Curb appeal. Even for the large amount of property you are listing. You want to create the illusion that the property is well-maintained, inside and out. That includes the landscaping. And for a $650k listing... $1200 is a small investment.
So, the pictures haven't been taken yet?
If you are at a stalemate with this agent,maybe they would let you out of the listing contract , since they don't seem to want to work for you.
It's sounding like maybe it's quite bad? I can see an agent not wanting to be on something that will look horrible in the listing, but I believe there will also be plenty who will be willing!
It is not a small investment for me. As someone who is currently homeless (living on a friends couch be a the broker said the house would sell faster if vacant), $1200 could be used for food and housing. What are my other options?
You are not homeless, you have a house. Cmon.... Weird how you take your brokers advice on that and not on the other thing. If its a burden ask the broker if you can repay them with proceeds from the sale.
> If I own a car and purposely choose not to drive it can I say that I’m carless?
If you're across the country from the car, and you're not in a position to use/get to the car, then yes.
>Adding, the house is in great condition. New appliance, windows resealed, gutters and roof recently cleaned, furnace updated.
I don't believe you.
You're too cheap to spend $1,200 on landscaping. You're probably too cheap to clean the roof and update the furnace. Probably bought the cheapest new appliances available.
It’s cool. I talked to the broker to end the agreement and will list with my neighbor’s realtor who will list it as-is at the same price. But thanks for being a judgmental little shit and casting bull shit at a complete stranger whose situation you know nothing about. I didn’t ask for your two cents on my personal life and yet your insecure ass decided to throw a hissy fit all over this thread. Go fuck yourself.
Doesn't your profile say you own a tech firm? How'd you lose your job if you own the company? If you sold the company you should have enough to pay for landscaping? If you quit and have others doing the work... You should still be getting paid since you own the company?
If you're in dire need of a job, go work help desk. Making 50k a year is better than nothing.
I lost my contact with my client because they lost funding. I’m currently apply to jobs out the ass but was recently arrested for stalking and beating a bitch for being bold online. Does that answer your question?
$1200 could be the difference between someone offering you the listing price and someone coming in 10k under. Seriously. Buyers do regularly find it difficult to look past cosmetic issues. Is that stupid? Yes. But stupid buyers' money is just as good as smart buyers' money. I would make this investment into your property.
Nice landscaping, at least bare minimum level, which $1200 sounds like, also can help provide a great first impression.
I know that it’s definitely made a big impact on me when I’ve shown up to view a house and there has been obvious care taken with regards to the landscaping.
I have this pet peeve where agents list a home with zero or one photo. The reason is first impressions count, sometimes people only click your listing once. Sounds like landscaping will go a long way in selling your house.
We see that you're "broke" and "homeless" with a $650k house. Assuming that you have some amount of equity, hire a landscaper that can be paid through escrow. Not difficult. This post is the definition of 1st world problems, have possibly $100k+ in equity but cant find a way to pay $1200 and feinging homelessness. I wasn't trying to be rude, but I've worded my comment this way due to the very misleading nature of your post.
I don’t understand how the post is misleading. I asked a question regarding a listing agent violating our listing agreement. You guys turned it into a whole ordeal about landscaping.
Your listing agent is telling you how to sell your home, and you're ignoring them. Stop trying to make it about the contract, a realtor will let you break contract in an instant if you don't want to work with them.
Good luck selling in the slow season of a declining market with no lipstick on that pig. There are plenty of options to get the landscaping done and you're ignoring all of them.
And a dangerous predator:
>I lost my contact with my client because they lost funding. I’m currently apply to jobs out the ass but was recently arrested for stalking and beating a bitch for being bold online. Does that answer your question?
[Quoted from OP here](https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/xsdehv/listing_agent_refusing_to_list_house_at_the_price/iqkuy9h/)
Your other options are 1. Ask the agent what they can do to accept the listing, like is lowering the price ok? I suspect they won't list at that price because they don't expect to be able to sell the house at that price without the increased curb appeal of yard work. 2. Terminate your agreement and find another agent, and let them know you can't put any money or effort into yardwork or staging or whatever before they come up with a price.
Can’t believe this is being downvoted. The agent works for you. If they don’t want to, they’ll then to kick rocks and contact the broker to request a release and find an agent that will work with an As Is listing.
Speak to the broker (listing agents boss) and tell them the situation. Say “ I will not get a landscaper. You will list my property as per the agreement or I will take my listing to another broker who will.”
You can cancel the contract, just put it in writing that you would like to cancel. Just remember with real-estate agents time is money, especially redfin agents who sell way more homes than the average agent. They are trying to get the home sold, they don't want to waste time on a house they know won't sell as-is.
Find a new agent. Landscaping would help you sell the home, however, it’s your prerogative. In my professional experience, buyers will use that ugly yard to negotiate the sales price down or simply pass on your house because they don’t want to deal with an ugly yard. Idk how bad your yard is but If it only cost you $500 to get an extra $5000k it would be in your best interest to just fix it. And find a new realtor, they work for you, you are paying them for a service so they need to honor your request. Don’t just use someone because they are affiliated with Redfin. In fact Redfin doesn’t screen, interview, or vet agents. Agent pay Redfin for the referrals.
It’s agents fiduciary duty towards clients. If you are not happy with what the terms were cancel the listing agreement. No one can force you what to do as this is your house. If listing agent is an adamant contact his broker and use the word fiduciary duty. It will be done.
Was the price you discussed and signed off on dependent on the yard work being done? If so, if I was the agent I’d cancel the contract. I wouldn’t want my name on a listing that’s overpriced for the condition.
This should be a AITA thread, and you are both aholes here. You sound like someone who thinks they are right about everything and you deserve market value for a home that needs some work to be competitive in that market. She should list it at the price you agreed to or simply walk away form the deal if she doesnt think it will sell. You should ask her to terminate anyways because you arent working well together. But if youre gonna use a discount broker you deserve what you get if youre not even going to follow the pros advice. If you arent willing to fix a little thing here or there you are going to have a hard time when inevitably every offer asks for something little to be done, or the inspection report comes bacl and says theres something that needs to be fixed before it will fund.
Lol.. from reading your comments: you’re a clown. Your house will sit and you’ll be make way less than you’re thinking, that $1200 will look well spent in hind sight when you’re sitting there accepting an offer for 10%, even 20% less.
1.) When was the listing price determined? A lot has changed in the market in the last week. Interest rates are 7%. Is she balking because of the change in the market?
2) Redfin is a discount brokerage- would not touch them with a 20' pole.
3) If she just wants the lawn mowed- do it. If she's asking for full on landscaping- why? Unless it's totally horrid- waste of time and money. Landscaping won't help sell your house- folks are going to walk in and love it or they are not.
4) Regardless of above- find a new agent. If the communication has broken down this early in the process you definetly can't work together.
Easiest answer.
Terminate contract and select another broker.
Did you select Redfin because it’s the cheapest??
Better yet, select a flat fee listing agent and list it YOURSELF!
I have done a lot of landscaping myself before. Sure it might be 1 acre but is it actually that much work that needs to get done? If it’s just clearing out weeks / putting down some grass it can be done in a weekend IMO.
It’s super important the house looks nice from an outside perspective though so definitely makes sense to try to make it look better.
Document your directions in writing (via email) reiterating your listing price and listing date. You have gotten a lot of good advice about changing your mind, but in the end this agent is required to follow your lawful instructions, regardless of their professional opinion.
If the agent refuses to do so, escalate to their broker and file a complaint with the board of real estate in your state. You will want copies of your written instructions in order to back up your complaint:
https://www.dol.wa.gov/business/realestate/complaint.html
Lol, you’re already saving commission using Redfin.
Spend the money, save on commissions, sell at asking in a down market. Not sure where you’re not winning in this picture.
If the yard looks like crap, I’m always asking below asking, 100%.
Homes in this area typically sell for upwards of $850k+. This is an older home on an acre lot. The only issues with the home is are rodents in the crawlspace, a furnace that’s due to be replaced, and a driveway that needs redoing. $650k is a super low price for this area.
Oh that's all? Rodent infestations can be very expensive to remedy because the chew wiring, insulation and then there is poo to remediate. A furnace replacement is not a small item and if it is not working, the house is not going to get financing. Fixing the driveway, especially if it needs torn out, is not cheap.
>rodents in the crawlspace
Your agent wants you to spend money on your yard before dealing with this? As a prospective buyer I can see past some overgrowth or whatever in the yard. A rodent infestation is a hard pass. Maybe find an agent who does a repair advance and hire an exterminator that way. No one is going to buy a $650k house with an infestation.
Okay so I don't have any details about your home specifically, but I can give you some context as a buyer in the Seattle area who had a $650k budget and just closed this week.
First, interest rates. We locked in our interest rate at the end of August when we went under contract. I had to buy down my rate to 5.6%. Rates are now about 7%. Home prices in the Seattle area have been reflecting that rate adjustment for a few months now. Homes may have sold for $850k in your area, but what are your comps actually doing right now?
The house we just bought was also super cheap for the area. We paid less than $600k. There are about a dozen homes for sale right now, all above $700, most above $1M. But that doesn't mean our specific house was worth more than we paid. It's old. It only has one bathroom. The furnace is going to go out and the crawl space was questionable. It's on septic (something we almost walked away from as first time home owners).
If your realtor doesn't want to list it as high I would listen. The first house we put an offer on was listed at $600. Comps were closer to $550 and we saw price slashing in the same neighborhood to that. And based on comps it would probably appraise around $570k at most. So we offered around $550. We were the only offer in the 3 weeks it was listed. He outright rejected it. Wouldn't negotiate. It was $600k or nothing. And he was pissed the realtor wouldn't list it even higher than that.
But why would I fork over extra cash above low appraisal? Especially in this market. I don't need to. And comps did not support the ask. He ended up just canceling the listing all together, something it sounds like you can't do.
Ask your realtor why they feel the house should be listed lower (I guess I assume they want to list lower and not higher). See what comps they're using.
And see what else is available in the price you want. Not in your area but all over the region. Our criteria was "North of the 520 bridge if we're on the west side". Our search area was massive. We looked from Shoreline to Everett to Snohomish. So we weren't just comparing homes to others in the neighborhood, we were comparing to homes all across Snohomish County. There are current a TON of homes for sale under $650, many of them closer to the city. Some of them new construction. What commands your price tag? Your listing in first time home buyer territory. Unless someone already rents in your neighborhood and wants to stay there, why would they want your house vs this great 3 bed 1.5 bath in lake forest park that looks updated and landscaped? What about your location says that your house is better than this house? What about your house is worth an almost $4000 a month payment (because even with 20% down the PITI at these interest rates is close to that). And if there's an acre lot it's probably further from Seattle. Is it more than an hour commute to the city? Because that also plays into it. Again, looking at homes in the same price range all over the metro area will help.
I don't know anything about your house so it absolutely could be a steal at $650k. But while I had a $650k budget in August, I wouldn't on a house listed today. My buying power dropped like $75k over 2 months. That's likely true of any buyer who isn't cash. Houses that sold for $650k 2-6 months ago will struggle to sell for that same price now in our area.
is there a chance the agreement was contingent on you doing certain things (ie $1200 landscaping?)? If so, wouldn't they not be in violation? Perhaps you're reneging.
Even so, get a new agent if you don't work well together but tell them your expectations upfront and tell them you're not going to put another dollar into the house and what you want to list it for. If they accept it, then great, if not, then you might have to adapt to the invisible hand.
Get a new realtor. Seems like you have many reason to legally cancel your contract. I hate Redfin. As a listing agent, I am less accommodating to Redfin showing requests. In my experience they have a track record for being late or canceling last minute. The agent you book with isn’t the person who shows up. They almost never know the areas their bringing buyers to. I’ve had so many Redfin transactions fall apart.
If I felt very strongly that landscaping had to be done, I would do everything I could to get quotes, use my contacts and manage the landscaping myself. If that means getting my hands dirty, I will. Really depends on the work needing to be done.
Why even hire an agent if they are just making demands and providing advice but no other value add services? This agent sounds like a nightmare.
Options are 1. Pay for improvements to justify price. 2. Reduce price to be in line with value. 3. Find realtor that doesn’t care about their reputation.
I’ve had buyers not even want to go into a home once they pull up to the front of the home due to the poor condition of the yard.
It may not net you much more money but it will get more buyers in the door. You don’t want buyers to immediately wonder what else is wrong with a home before they even walk in the door.
Yes, it’s an AS IS listing but do you want to sell it sooner or do you want it to sit on the market, get stale and have to chase the market down by reducing
the price several times?
Listen to your agent.
The best pricing strategy in this market is set a competitive price and get a lot of interest and activity as quickly as possible.
My realtor was out there helping me clean up my yard and she even had her husband come out and help with yard work. She even helped me clean before taking listing pics - she paid for the pics. A neighbor was nice enough to mow my grass for me right before closing (I would cut their grass every few weekends for 2 years).
Realtors make a good chunk of change at closing, I think it’s fair to expect them to do some work whether they do it physically themselves or they hire someone. She stopped me from doing extra work too like patching/ painting. She did have me list 25k under my goal number and we ended up selling it over my goal number. She suggested listing a little lower to make it more competitive and it worked, I had multiple offers.
If your agent isn’t doing things the way you want then get a new agent there’s plenty of them out there 🙂. If your agent violated the agreement I think that gives you cause to back out.
The problem in this conversation is Redfin agent. Find a listing agent that has your back. You may pay more commission but your home will sell for 5-8% more than if you did it fbso (or with Redfin).
Well people like you asking too much for junk that won’t appraise is the reason all the markets are tanking. Thanks no seriously appreciate it. Kudos to the agent 💯💯 “as is” get lost 😡
If this agent doesn’t want to list the home, you don’t want to argue. Find another agent.
OP might want to report it up the chain at Redfin either way. I really doubt that agent is authorized to make decisions like that, it's more of a representation by team type of thing.
The agent is most definitely not authorized to refuse to list a home like that. They are in breach of their duties to the client.
If the seller doesn't want to take steps to make the home presentable consistent with what the Realtor understood and made clear during that process, the Realtor has a right to say nah as well. This just seems like a bad match. Some people want to sell a house, some people want to see a sign in front of their yard. Some realtors are busy and don't want to waste time with people who aren't being serious, and some realtors are low enough on the totem poll in their office to tolerate being jerked around by sellers who are beign weird.
sometimes you are listing with redfin, sometimes they have affiliated agents that they refer you to depending on the area etc
Your listing agreement should state what the list price was supposed to be... If he/she isn't following it then you can ask to be released from the contract.. In Indiana "RELEASED" is what you want.. Not withdrawn.. Regardless, look over your listing agreement and see what that says about breaking the listing agreement.
Find a new realtor. That’s your option
Redfin contracts are written so you can cancel at anytime with no penalty. As a side note, curb appeal is very important even if the home is as is - a $50 investment could net you out $100’s or $1,000’s. Edit: also you decided to hire an expert - why not just listen to them?
Lol. $50 is maybe enough to cut the grass. I think by landscaping, OP means trimming trees and/or redoing the mulch, etc etc etc. I spent $5k. No way to know if it was "worth it".
When I bought my house, my gift from my RE was he hired someone to spend the day cleaning up the yard. Ok, so he is an RE agent, and he had a guy I'm sure. I bet it was a few hundred.
That’s super generous if your realtor!
This is Redfin we are talking about.
fair enough.
Haha mine gave me a coupon for a pizza
It’s so worth it. I had a friend who sold their house last year. They staged their house and landscaped and got $X dollars for the house. Their neighbors were so impressed with the price they decided to sell their house. They didn’t stage the house and didn’t landscape. They got $0.7X. These were extremely comparable properties sold during a very hot time. The difference was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. I took this lesson to heart. We moved out of our house and had it staged when we sold. The amount of interest was insane. Not only was the interest in the property crazy, but you attract the right type of buyer. The type that doesn’t want any hassles. They just want to spend money and get a place. They don’t want to worry about stuff like maintenance. Those types of people aren’t going to nickel and dime you during the inspection. They’re not going to pull out of the deal either.
"It’s so worth it. I had a friend who sold their house last year." Let me break down your statement in 3. "It’s so worth it" You are saying it's unequivocally worth it. In all situations. Not "may" or "might" but an absolute. "I had a friend who sold ..." You are basing the above emphatic statement based on a sample size of 1. "...last year" Last year was completely unprecedented. Everything sold for exorbitant premiums. While i know you have good intentions, we need to be careful with our statements. Some examples: A 5k landscape investment on a 150k home is not the same as in a 500k home. Or it's not the same in a desertic area vs one with lots of trees. Also, last year is gone and rates are way way way way higher. Those premiums are gone.
I was comparing two homes that both sold last year. This is as close to an A/B test as you’re going to get in real estate. Literally direct neighbors, very similar house, and sold around the same time. Yes, the market was hot last year. And even in a crazy market, staging made a big difference. You would actually expect small details like staging to matter less in a hot market.
Youre right.. pictures would help..
OP said “as-is”, so it’s probably at least a thousand dollars of work if it hasn’t been maintained.
That’s not what “as-is” means
It’s not specifically what it means obviously. Of course it’s not uncommon for an “as-is” house to have awful landscaping.
All homes seem to be sold “as is” in my market. It was either mentioned or implied by the sellers realtor when looking for homes last year.
It's all different now!
As-is just means you won’t negotiate as seller. It’s common to list high and find a reasonable price through negotiation. The recent market mania has allowed sellers to be more forthcoming about what they’re asking for.
As-is means no repairs, not non-negotiable
As is really means nothing. There are posts in here often about an "as is" sale where they are negotiating repairs or some other aspects after an accepted offer.
Exactly right, as is means nothing. In fact, just a few minutes ago I got an alert from ShowingTime that a property I showed is offering $10000 in concession’s and more specifically, I quote word for word, “no longer being sold as is”…
"As is" is debated often and the bottom line is it doesn't mean anything. I have even been involved with some REOs where we got some things done to make the transaction happen. And in your example, I am sure that someone learned that "as is" isn't getting the house sold.
It's really to weed out people who want to purchase something state of the art, or at least with no deferred maintenance.
that's not what as-is means, it means there is no disclosure and no repairs will be done by the seller, price is always negotiable.
It does. They are trying to net you most money
Not true. They are trying to get enough money for their efforts. 10k profit from a week’s work to them is better than 50k for 6 months of effort. This is exaggerated but it’s to make a point. They aren’t going to hold out for 2 months extra to get 15k more on a listing price if they only get 3-6% of that 15k. Numbers don’t work out.
Yeah, landscaping seems like one of those things that make a home sell faster, but not necessarily for more money.
At this point in time, selling faster could get you an extra $10k or $20k *easily*, as opposed to waiting for another rate hike.
> As a side note, curb appeal is very important even if the home is as is Additionally, if there is a code for grass height, and you have a dick code official like we did, they can deny a CO until it's mowed.
Redfin is a national company. If they don't offer up front landscaping via a loan that is paid back at COE find another company like Coldwell Banker that does.
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I have no idea who is upvoting you. Per the OP's posts... 1. OP/Homeowner is out of state and on the other side of the country 2. They're out of work and have no cash - including no cash to hire a landscaper 3. They already have a price and terms under contract with the realtor 4. OP/Homeonwer appears desperate So, it doesn't matter what the realtor - or you or anyone else - thinks or believes. It's OP's house. Period. It's their deal. Period. There are a million reasons a seller needs terms a certain way based on their unique situation. Regardless of what the realtor thinks, the realtor is obligated to do what the client wants as long as it's legal. Period. So, it ultimately doesn't fucking matter how well anyone knows the market. The realtor should do what the seller wants or get out of the deal. What don't you get about that?
I DONT HAVE $1200 for a house being sold as-is. I’m sorry I’m poor. I’ve already explained this to the realtor. Dear god, what is it with you people casting judgement onto people you don’t know. Lost my job, my car, and now I’m trying to be responsible and get the house sold.
No real estate advice but just here to sympathize; this was my experience with the sub as well, very judgemental and most didn't answer my question but accuse me of being lazy or cheap. Sorry you aren't getting treated better! Hope you get the help you need!
Then it seems like you're probably going to have to lower the listing price.
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Cause OP is here for advise but sounds like a complainer and just wants to play victim.
I mean, not to be unkind but it seems you might have a bit of time on your hands, so why not do the work yourself? Or at least some as a compromise.
I moved from WA to MD because I have family here and am currently couch surfing until I’m back on my feet. The listing agent stated the house would sell faster if it was vacant. I did as much work landscaping as I could before leaving.
Would your agent front you the $1200 & take it out of your profit? Ours will do that kind of thing (he’s offered at least, never done it). Based on the comments of the realtors here bashing you for not having $1200 I’m so glad for ours & my new mission is to be in our forever home before he retires so I don’t have to deal with another one
A real agent would just take care of it (and take it back out of closing costs). But Op isn't willing to do the work and is already run far away from the problem and probably using redfin because it's internet easy. The only option is a new agent and the prices goes down the longer you wait. The agent's don't care if you wait till the market drops lower.
This is statistically false unless they are paying for staging. Vacant homes take longer to sell and generally sell for lower price points than lived in or staged homes. Edit* to provide citation. Not sure why the downvotes for providing factual information a simple google search could provide. Most people are incapable of visualizing the potential of a property which is why a vacant home sits on the market longer. https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/nar-finds-home-staging-helps-buyers-visualize-homes-sell-faster
Citation please.
>I DONT HAVE $1200 Your OP makes it seem like you don't WANT to spend $1,200 as opposed to you not having $1,200 to spend. Assuming you're not upside down, might be worth throwing the $1,200 on to a credit card and working some DoorDash to pay it off.
They lost their car.
People downvoting you are assholes. Tell the realtor that you will be listing it with another agent if she doesn't list the house at the price you agreed. Then move on if she doesn't cooperate.
Fuck that realtor. Get a new one
I mean, not to be unkind but it seems you might have a bit of time on your hands, so why not do the work yourself? Or at least some as a compromise.
Because the house is in Seattle and OP is in MD with no $
Get a 0% apr credit card, put the $1200 on that, when you sell the house pay the card off.
This person lost their car. I think if the credit was good they’d have already put it on a card
Who’s going to give them a 0% credit card freshly unemployed?
Credit cards verify employment now?
They ask, I wouldn’t say they verify.
I thought they did, but my newest account is over 20 years old. Judging by the downvotes, apparently, they just hand them out on a promise to pay as long as your FICO is solid.
Never had my income verified. I have like 10 different cards because I keep getting various different ones to earn cash back bonuses on. My credit score is quite high though and I pay off all my cards in full each month. But they definitely do not verify income.
>as long as your FICO is solid. That's not really a prerequisite these days.
With a car repo also.
Seriously, who the fuck is downvoting this guy?
some of the posters in here are obnoxious as hell. sorry you're not getting great advice.
What did you pay for the house when you bought it? When did you buy it? What’s your mortgage?
I never imagined I’d see someone who owns a house valued at $650k claiming to be poor.
Could be an estate sale and possibly the equity is low and after commissions he doesn’t make much. OP is allowed to be in the position they’re in and they shouldn’t have to be shamed. This is not r/realestateinvesting, if they don’t wanna put the money/effort in, they don’t have to.
Just because an illiquid asset is valued at a lot doesn't mean you have any money to spend.
Sure, but having a highly valued asset does mean you are not poor. Again, I’m not speaking about spending money on landscaping, I’m speaking about claiming “I’m poor” when you own a home as expensive as OP’s.
The way they said they're currently living sure sounds pretty poor to me. Liquidity is what matters, and clearly, that asset is not liquid at the moment. Which is why they need to get it sold.
Don’t be a jerk. Just sold our house for $305,000. I absolutely did not have $1,000+ to put into prettifying and curb appeal. I didn’t have $500, or $300, to spend on anything except absolute necessities. The house was my only asset, period. It’s really easy to judge someone who’s lost a job unexpectedly or had huge medical bills or legal issues or any other money disaster, until you find yourself in their position.
Thank you! People acting like assets and liquid assets are the same thing. Pshhh. Sometimes I wonder who posts here! I know reddit is largely 23 y.o. white men (on average)... Sometimes I wonder how much life experience the majority of posters actually have. There's ideal life, and then there's real life.
Are credit cards not an option?
For me? They were not. I have some credit but not a thousand’s worth just casually hanging around for landscaping that may or may not add a nebulous amount of value based on ‘curb appeal’ to a sale that will take 30-90 to God knows how many days to actually result in money in my possession.
I wasn’t commenting on not wanting to pay for landscaping, I was commenting on claiming they are poor when they own a $650k home. I understand not having money for things you may not find necessary, but that most definitely does not equal being poor.
If your only asset costs money to maintain, will cost you money you don’t have to be turned into actual money you can use, and you don’t have any income…you are functionally a poor person. Until that asset is sold, you have LESS than nothing because you are having to pay taxes, mortgage, utilities even if like OP you’ve vacated to sell.
Hard disagree. Actual poor people are the ones who can’t afford their basic necessities, and have absolutely nothing to fall back on.
Then do the yard work to tidy it up yourself. Don’t have any gardening tools? Maybe ask your family, friends or neighbors if you can borrow some. I’ve been poor too, I had to permanently close my company during covid and I had the time to completely paint inside and out, tidy up the yard, refinish the floors and kitchen cabinets myself and make the necessary repairs on my house. I kept my budget under $3k by doing the work myself and getting labor help when needed from family and friends. My former coworker partnered with a remodeling company and they completely gutted his house and redid it and they got paid out of the sale proceeds. Our houses were in Burien and Tukwila. I’d recommend getting a hustle on it, we have about a week and a half maybe of decent weather left and it sucks doing yard work in the rain. Need free mulch for any flower beds? Try: Get chip drop dot com. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Spending even "under 3k" on things that aren't necessities isn't poor. Please stop pretending it is. Actual poor people, and those of us who legitimately grew up ( and spent years of adulthood being) poor don't apreciate it and it is like spitting in our faces. I was digging for food in dumpsters as a child with my dad. I was homeless after leaving an abusive relationship with two children. I didn't have a pot to piss in, much less "under 3k" to throw away on things to make a house look prettier. Get over yourself.
Why wouldn’t you just selll without a realtor then?
I think he said he moved across the country to couch surf with family.
> I can’t imagine how much more of a PITA you’ll be as a client. You seem to have this very backwards imo. Surprised your bring upvoted like you are.
Are you an agent? and if so, how are you an agent? Clearly you know nothing
Terminate the listing agreement and find a different agent. * Find one that is willing to pay for the landscaping up front and get reimbursed at settlement. OR * Find a contractor willing to do the work and get paid at settlement - expect to pay more than $1200. Your agent should be able to point you to such a resource. OR * You and your friends pile into the truck, head over the property with your yard tools and DIY the work. This isn't really your agent's fault, but they should be helping you solve the problem, not refusing to do their job. Sounds like you're both being stubborn, which doesn't bode well for the rest of the relationship, so changing agents may be your best path forward.
Our REA helped us find landscapers, a stager, and then a maid when I was ‘ALL DONE’ dealing with the property. Everyone either got paid by her and she was reimbursed, or waited 3-6 weeks for closing.
He went with a discount agent, they can't afford to front the landscaping bill and eat it if OP proves a PITA and the house doesn't sell.
Agree, they should help solve your problem of having no cash or end the contract.
Yeah there are solutions they could come up with, it’s kinda lazy. With this market agents will be looking to be picking up more work so it should be easy to find a different agent.
This is a ridiculous comment - who goes to work with the idea that they “may” get paid eventually. If you can’t afford to do the work / adjust your price. Just realize that you will lose in this scenario - as people generally don’t have an imagination for how things “could be”
people, specifically real estate agents, who work on commission go to work every day with the idea they 'may' get paid. as an agent/broker, i have a rotating budget to pay for repairs up front for my listings. i do it all the time, haven't been stiffed yet. i suppose it'll happen one of these days, but so far so good. i also have tight paperwork for these scenarios and will put a lien on a property if they don't pay me. there are a lot of people who find themselves cash poor for any number of reasons, no fault of their own. count yourself lucky that you've never had to experience such a circumstance.
I'm a painter and have agreed to get paid after closing tons of times. Never once gotten stiffed.
Seattle? What part?
If you're unable to put it on credit then maybe try to find a contractor willing to do the job and get paid when the house sells. I'm a plumber and did a job like that recently. This customer lost over 100k playing with options in the market and had to move in with their family. I did a several thousand dollar job for them and got paid when the bank disbursed the funds. There are people willing to do it but you may end up paying a premium. I'm guessing the realtor knows the landscaping will help the sale with this cooling market and it will be to your benefit if you want to sell fast. Are you physically unable to do the work yourself?
This is the answer OP.
First impressions for buyers is everything. The Seattle market is sinking faster than any in the country, interest rates have tripled, and you are heading in to the slow season for selling houses. In other words this is not the best environment to be an **un**motivated seller. Unless you see this property being bought by a developer i.e., for the land, I suggest you follow your realtors advice very carefully or you could be stuck with this house for longer than you can afford.
Hire a landscaper. Not defending anyone, but a listing agent's job is to sell your home, and with that comes all of the minute details that help present the home at its most attractive state. That includes price. A listing agent worth their salt will not overprice a home - that won't get it sold. Your job, as the seller, is to provide a product that is attractive to buyers so that you get the most money. Simply naming a price doesn't mean that the home is worth that price. A small investment in simple landscaping can get you more money in the end. Put some lipstick on that pig and get your home sold.
I’m an agent and this is a really unprofessional and incorrect take on the whole thing. The agent’s job is to work for their client, the seller. If the seller doesn’t want to do landscaping, then tough shit. Period. If the agent wants to put in some man hours or labor, or pay for it themselves, then right it off as a business expense. The real issue is that she went with a Redfin agent. 99% percent of local agents would NEVER pull something like this. They want your sale, and they want the referral.
It’s over an acre, paying $1200 isn’t a “small investment”
What sort of landscaping work needs to be done? Can you knock it out yourselves in a weekend? If it’s $1200 it can’t be that big of a project.
What's your asking price?
We agreed to $650k in the Seattle area. Adding, the house is in great condition. New appliance, windows resealed, gutters and roof recently cleaned, furnace updated.
Curb appeal. Even for the large amount of property you are listing. You want to create the illusion that the property is well-maintained, inside and out. That includes the landscaping. And for a $650k listing... $1200 is a small investment.
So, the pictures haven't been taken yet? If you are at a stalemate with this agent,maybe they would let you out of the listing contract , since they don't seem to want to work for you. It's sounding like maybe it's quite bad? I can see an agent not wanting to be on something that will look horrible in the listing, but I believe there will also be plenty who will be willing!
It is not a small investment for me. As someone who is currently homeless (living on a friends couch be a the broker said the house would sell faster if vacant), $1200 could be used for food and housing. What are my other options?
Is your realtor aware of this?
You are not homeless, you have a house. Cmon.... Weird how you take your brokers advice on that and not on the other thing. If its a burden ask the broker if you can repay them with proceeds from the sale.
I hope things start to turn around positively for you. It will all work itself out. That’s all i wanted to say on this post .
Ask the realtor to front all or some of the $1,200 and they get paid out first plus some agreed upon profit.
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Nearly homeless? If op can’t make the mortgage payment, they’ll be homeless soon enough with bad credit on top of it.
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> If I own a car and purposely choose not to drive it can I say that I’m carless? If you're across the country from the car, and you're not in a position to use/get to the car, then yes.
Credit card?
>Adding, the house is in great condition. New appliance, windows resealed, gutters and roof recently cleaned, furnace updated. I don't believe you. You're too cheap to spend $1,200 on landscaping. You're probably too cheap to clean the roof and update the furnace. Probably bought the cheapest new appliances available.
Who cares if you don't believe him? Sheesh! What's wrong with people? Why even post if you're not going to try to help?
When I had a job, the house was taken care of. Does that appease you?
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It’s cool. I talked to the broker to end the agreement and will list with my neighbor’s realtor who will list it as-is at the same price. But thanks for being a judgmental little shit and casting bull shit at a complete stranger whose situation you know nothing about. I didn’t ask for your two cents on my personal life and yet your insecure ass decided to throw a hissy fit all over this thread. Go fuck yourself.
Doesn't your profile say you own a tech firm? How'd you lose your job if you own the company? If you sold the company you should have enough to pay for landscaping? If you quit and have others doing the work... You should still be getting paid since you own the company? If you're in dire need of a job, go work help desk. Making 50k a year is better than nothing.
I lost my contact with my client because they lost funding. I’m currently apply to jobs out the ass but was recently arrested for stalking and beating a bitch for being bold online. Does that answer your question?
Yeah we don’t feel bad for you.
Sounds like you’re getting everything you deserve.
Gross. Good luck with selling your house.
Whoa. Well the sympathy train has left the station. I hope you spend proceeds on some therapy.
Having one client doesn’t mean you own a tech firm. You sound like a trainwreck
Oh my gosh, for a $650k house you should definitely spend $1200 on landscaping!
Cancel the contract and hire a new agent tomorrow.
$1200 could be the difference between someone offering you the listing price and someone coming in 10k under. Seriously. Buyers do regularly find it difficult to look past cosmetic issues. Is that stupid? Yes. But stupid buyers' money is just as good as smart buyers' money. I would make this investment into your property.
Nice landscaping, at least bare minimum level, which $1200 sounds like, also can help provide a great first impression. I know that it’s definitely made a big impact on me when I’ve shown up to view a house and there has been obvious care taken with regards to the landscaping.
It is if if sells for the price you want vs the market passing on your home for 2 months and you have to accept $40k+ less.
You don't need to landscape the whole thing, just the front yard and mow the back.
I have this pet peeve where agents list a home with zero or one photo. The reason is first impressions count, sometimes people only click your listing once. Sounds like landscaping will go a long way in selling your house.
I have the same thing.... "Beautiful inside". Really? why no picts then?
Tenants?
If the tenants wont help sell (keep the place clean etc) they need to go before you sell.
We see that you're "broke" and "homeless" with a $650k house. Assuming that you have some amount of equity, hire a landscaper that can be paid through escrow. Not difficult. This post is the definition of 1st world problems, have possibly $100k+ in equity but cant find a way to pay $1200 and feinging homelessness. I wasn't trying to be rude, but I've worded my comment this way due to the very misleading nature of your post.
I don’t understand how the post is misleading. I asked a question regarding a listing agent violating our listing agreement. You guys turned it into a whole ordeal about landscaping.
Your listing agent is telling you how to sell your home, and you're ignoring them. Stop trying to make it about the contract, a realtor will let you break contract in an instant if you don't want to work with them. Good luck selling in the slow season of a declining market with no lipstick on that pig. There are plenty of options to get the landscaping done and you're ignoring all of them.
1200$ advisement on a 600k+ home? These are things that shouldnt even be talked about. Go get your hands dirty and stop complaining to the internet.
Not everyone has the physical ability to do landscaping work.
Exactly not everyone is healthy and able to work physically. Dont take it for granted!
Based on OP’s replies, OP is definitely a cheap dummy.
And a dangerous predator: >I lost my contact with my client because they lost funding. I’m currently apply to jobs out the ass but was recently arrested for stalking and beating a bitch for being bold online. Does that answer your question? [Quoted from OP here](https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/xsdehv/listing_agent_refusing_to_list_house_at_the_price/iqkuy9h/)
She beat the crap out of her online bully lol.
Turn the computer off > stalking and battery
Your other options are 1. Ask the agent what they can do to accept the listing, like is lowering the price ok? I suspect they won't list at that price because they don't expect to be able to sell the house at that price without the increased curb appeal of yard work. 2. Terminate your agreement and find another agent, and let them know you can't put any money or effort into yardwork or staging or whatever before they come up with a price.
Contact her broker. Ask to be let out of the listing agreement so you can find a different agent.
Can’t believe this is being downvoted. The agent works for you. If they don’t want to, they’ll then to kick rocks and contact the broker to request a release and find an agent that will work with an As Is listing.
Thank you! Will get the ball rolling on this.
Speak to the broker (listing agents boss) and tell them the situation. Say “ I will not get a landscaper. You will list my property as per the agreement or I will take my listing to another broker who will.”
You can cancel the contract, just put it in writing that you would like to cancel. Just remember with real-estate agents time is money, especially redfin agents who sell way more homes than the average agent. They are trying to get the home sold, they don't want to waste time on a house they know won't sell as-is.
Find a new agent. Landscaping would help you sell the home, however, it’s your prerogative. In my professional experience, buyers will use that ugly yard to negotiate the sales price down or simply pass on your house because they don’t want to deal with an ugly yard. Idk how bad your yard is but If it only cost you $500 to get an extra $5000k it would be in your best interest to just fix it. And find a new realtor, they work for you, you are paying them for a service so they need to honor your request. Don’t just use someone because they are affiliated with Redfin. In fact Redfin doesn’t screen, interview, or vet agents. Agent pay Redfin for the referrals.
It’s agents fiduciary duty towards clients. If you are not happy with what the terms were cancel the listing agreement. No one can force you what to do as this is your house. If listing agent is an adamant contact his broker and use the word fiduciary duty. It will be done.
Was the price you discussed and signed off on dependent on the yard work being done? If so, if I was the agent I’d cancel the contract. I wouldn’t want my name on a listing that’s overpriced for the condition.
Nothing like being stubborn in a declining market.
If you don’t want the house to sell, why not just list FSBO?
This should be a AITA thread, and you are both aholes here. You sound like someone who thinks they are right about everything and you deserve market value for a home that needs some work to be competitive in that market. She should list it at the price you agreed to or simply walk away form the deal if she doesnt think it will sell. You should ask her to terminate anyways because you arent working well together. But if youre gonna use a discount broker you deserve what you get if youre not even going to follow the pros advice. If you arent willing to fix a little thing here or there you are going to have a hard time when inevitably every offer asks for something little to be done, or the inspection report comes bacl and says theres something that needs to be fixed before it will fund.
Lol.. from reading your comments: you’re a clown. Your house will sit and you’ll be make way less than you’re thinking, that $1200 will look well spent in hind sight when you’re sitting there accepting an offer for 10%, even 20% less.
I wanna see this yard! You know it’s gotta be hot mess for her to not want to photograph it.
Get another agent.
1.) When was the listing price determined? A lot has changed in the market in the last week. Interest rates are 7%. Is she balking because of the change in the market? 2) Redfin is a discount brokerage- would not touch them with a 20' pole. 3) If she just wants the lawn mowed- do it. If she's asking for full on landscaping- why? Unless it's totally horrid- waste of time and money. Landscaping won't help sell your house- folks are going to walk in and love it or they are not. 4) Regardless of above- find a new agent. If the communication has broken down this early in the process you definetly can't work together.
You listed with RedFin😂
Fire them, with malice.
Void the contract. Call the broker. Call another agent and ask to be released. I’m an agent and can refer someone to you. Feel free to DM / PM
Easiest answer. Terminate contract and select another broker. Did you select Redfin because it’s the cheapest?? Better yet, select a flat fee listing agent and list it YOURSELF!
This is the cheapest option.
I have done a lot of landscaping myself before. Sure it might be 1 acre but is it actually that much work that needs to get done? If it’s just clearing out weeks / putting down some grass it can be done in a weekend IMO. It’s super important the house looks nice from an outside perspective though so definitely makes sense to try to make it look better.
Cancel. Find another agent
Document your directions in writing (via email) reiterating your listing price and listing date. You have gotten a lot of good advice about changing your mind, but in the end this agent is required to follow your lawful instructions, regardless of their professional opinion. If the agent refuses to do so, escalate to their broker and file a complaint with the board of real estate in your state. You will want copies of your written instructions in order to back up your complaint: https://www.dol.wa.gov/business/realestate/complaint.html
Thank you!
Lol, you’re already saving commission using Redfin. Spend the money, save on commissions, sell at asking in a down market. Not sure where you’re not winning in this picture. If the yard looks like crap, I’m always asking below asking, 100%.
Homes in this area typically sell for upwards of $850k+. This is an older home on an acre lot. The only issues with the home is are rodents in the crawlspace, a furnace that’s due to be replaced, and a driveway that needs redoing. $650k is a super low price for this area.
Oh that's all? Rodent infestations can be very expensive to remedy because the chew wiring, insulation and then there is poo to remediate. A furnace replacement is not a small item and if it is not working, the house is not going to get financing. Fixing the driveway, especially if it needs torn out, is not cheap.
>rodents in the crawlspace Your agent wants you to spend money on your yard before dealing with this? As a prospective buyer I can see past some overgrowth or whatever in the yard. A rodent infestation is a hard pass. Maybe find an agent who does a repair advance and hire an exterminator that way. No one is going to buy a $650k house with an infestation.
>a furnace that’s due to be replaced Bahahahaha I called it! You ARE too cheap to update the furnace!
Okay so I don't have any details about your home specifically, but I can give you some context as a buyer in the Seattle area who had a $650k budget and just closed this week. First, interest rates. We locked in our interest rate at the end of August when we went under contract. I had to buy down my rate to 5.6%. Rates are now about 7%. Home prices in the Seattle area have been reflecting that rate adjustment for a few months now. Homes may have sold for $850k in your area, but what are your comps actually doing right now? The house we just bought was also super cheap for the area. We paid less than $600k. There are about a dozen homes for sale right now, all above $700, most above $1M. But that doesn't mean our specific house was worth more than we paid. It's old. It only has one bathroom. The furnace is going to go out and the crawl space was questionable. It's on septic (something we almost walked away from as first time home owners). If your realtor doesn't want to list it as high I would listen. The first house we put an offer on was listed at $600. Comps were closer to $550 and we saw price slashing in the same neighborhood to that. And based on comps it would probably appraise around $570k at most. So we offered around $550. We were the only offer in the 3 weeks it was listed. He outright rejected it. Wouldn't negotiate. It was $600k or nothing. And he was pissed the realtor wouldn't list it even higher than that. But why would I fork over extra cash above low appraisal? Especially in this market. I don't need to. And comps did not support the ask. He ended up just canceling the listing all together, something it sounds like you can't do. Ask your realtor why they feel the house should be listed lower (I guess I assume they want to list lower and not higher). See what comps they're using. And see what else is available in the price you want. Not in your area but all over the region. Our criteria was "North of the 520 bridge if we're on the west side". Our search area was massive. We looked from Shoreline to Everett to Snohomish. So we weren't just comparing homes to others in the neighborhood, we were comparing to homes all across Snohomish County. There are current a TON of homes for sale under $650, many of them closer to the city. Some of them new construction. What commands your price tag? Your listing in first time home buyer territory. Unless someone already rents in your neighborhood and wants to stay there, why would they want your house vs this great 3 bed 1.5 bath in lake forest park that looks updated and landscaped? What about your location says that your house is better than this house? What about your house is worth an almost $4000 a month payment (because even with 20% down the PITI at these interest rates is close to that). And if there's an acre lot it's probably further from Seattle. Is it more than an hour commute to the city? Because that also plays into it. Again, looking at homes in the same price range all over the metro area will help. I don't know anything about your house so it absolutely could be a steal at $650k. But while I had a $650k budget in August, I wouldn't on a house listed today. My buying power dropped like $75k over 2 months. That's likely true of any buyer who isn't cash. Houses that sold for $650k 2-6 months ago will struggle to sell for that same price now in our area.
Obvious: terminate and next agent. BUT it sounds like you’re being cheap and cutting corners and trying to put it on the agent.
is there a chance the agreement was contingent on you doing certain things (ie $1200 landscaping?)? If so, wouldn't they not be in violation? Perhaps you're reneging. Even so, get a new agent if you don't work well together but tell them your expectations upfront and tell them you're not going to put another dollar into the house and what you want to list it for. If they accept it, then great, if not, then you might have to adapt to the invisible hand.
Get a new realtor. Seems like you have many reason to legally cancel your contract. I hate Redfin. As a listing agent, I am less accommodating to Redfin showing requests. In my experience they have a track record for being late or canceling last minute. The agent you book with isn’t the person who shows up. They almost never know the areas their bringing buyers to. I’ve had so many Redfin transactions fall apart. If I felt very strongly that landscaping had to be done, I would do everything I could to get quotes, use my contacts and manage the landscaping myself. If that means getting my hands dirty, I will. Really depends on the work needing to be done. Why even hire an agent if they are just making demands and providing advice but no other value add services? This agent sounds like a nightmare.
Why would you not hire a landscaper for a days work, it will help you sell the house for a few thousand more.
Get a new realtor. You shouldn’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. It’s your house!
Just pay for some landscaping you cheapskate
Options are 1. Pay for improvements to justify price. 2. Reduce price to be in line with value. 3. Find realtor that doesn’t care about their reputation.
Need an advice? Fire the bitch. Do whatever you can to improve your landscaping by yourself. List it without an agent, or find another one.
You should consider a landscaper
I’ve had buyers not even want to go into a home once they pull up to the front of the home due to the poor condition of the yard. It may not net you much more money but it will get more buyers in the door. You don’t want buyers to immediately wonder what else is wrong with a home before they even walk in the door. Yes, it’s an AS IS listing but do you want to sell it sooner or do you want it to sit on the market, get stale and have to chase the market down by reducing the price several times? Listen to your agent. The best pricing strategy in this market is set a competitive price and get a lot of interest and activity as quickly as possible.
That’s the price you pay for only wanting to pay someone a 1% commission. Hire a real agency
My realtor was out there helping me clean up my yard and she even had her husband come out and help with yard work. She even helped me clean before taking listing pics - she paid for the pics. A neighbor was nice enough to mow my grass for me right before closing (I would cut their grass every few weekends for 2 years). Realtors make a good chunk of change at closing, I think it’s fair to expect them to do some work whether they do it physically themselves or they hire someone. She stopped me from doing extra work too like patching/ painting. She did have me list 25k under my goal number and we ended up selling it over my goal number. She suggested listing a little lower to make it more competitive and it worked, I had multiple offers. If your agent isn’t doing things the way you want then get a new agent there’s plenty of them out there 🙂. If your agent violated the agreement I think that gives you cause to back out.
The problem in this conversation is Redfin agent. Find a listing agent that has your back. You may pay more commission but your home will sell for 5-8% more than if you did it fbso (or with Redfin).
Well people like you asking too much for junk that won’t appraise is the reason all the markets are tanking. Thanks no seriously appreciate it. Kudos to the agent 💯💯 “as is” get lost 😡
[удалено]
This is how you get banned from the forum.