Success Happy - can i fire my real estate agent?

can i fire my real estate agent?

i was on here about six months ago with that question. we have had our home listed with this company since may of 08. i understand the market. i know things are moving very slowly. our agent hasn't shown the house herself since january. she hired an assistant about a year ago. when we call her office we ALWAYS get the assistant. if we have a question, the assistant asks our agent then gets back with us. i am sick of dealing with her assistant and i am sick of her neglecting our home. we get our emails about potential clients from the assistant. no phone calls or personal care, just emails from the assistant that are generally pretty simple and very confusing. she came to us six months ago with renters. we told her absolutely not. we have a young family and just do not have the time to put into being landlords. well, my husband called and tried to put a fire under her to get her motivated again on our house a week ago. since then she has since email flyers to all the agents in this area. that's fine, but a little too much a little too late. yesterday, she called us with renters again! i have told her that we DO NOT want to rent the house, we want to sell it! i did not want to relist back in may of this year. i wanted to list with an old family friend who has been selling real estate in that area for 30 years. he is very successful and i know he will give us the personal service we deserve. i don't want to play this game with our agent anymore. she puts the sign up, everyone else in the area shows the house and when we do get an offer, she gets all the commission and she didn't do anything! i am new at this but i do understand that most houses are taking longer to sell. i just want some advice. i just don't know all the particulars. that's why i was hoping some of you with experience can help:)

Public Comments

Check the contract you signed...it should have an expiration date after which you can list with a different agent.
please understand how this works. the fact your agent never shows home is no big deal. 99% of homes will be sold by another agent and not listing agent. Why has your family friend not brought a buyer if she is so darn good? you are offering commissions to agents who bring buyers so why has she not sold your house? Having said that when your listing expires do not renew it with her. If that is a long time ask her to expire the listing. most agents will expire it if you have ask. they do not have to but most will. I bet you $100 if you list with your family friend she will not sell house. I bet another agent will bring the buyer. That is how this works.
There are plenty of hungry Real Estate Agents out there in this market. If yours isn't serving you and actively working to get your house sold, then fire her and get a new one. Ask family and friends for a referral, and don't be afraid to ask a few questions before you sign a listing contract.
Let me get this straight... You listed your house in May of '08. You were unhappy with the service. You signed ANOTHER listing agreement in May'09 with the SAME Realtor that you've been unhappy with. AND You have a personal friend who is experienced AND successful in the area of the house that you have NOT used? I don't believe there is anything I can tell you in just a few sentences that can straighten out your life.
Absolutely you can fire your realtor. read the terms of your listing agreement for the process but clearly that agent is not fulfilling her duties. Most agreements self-terminate after a period (six-months, a year, etc) anyway, so it may be as simple as just telling her assistant they're fired. Also, you could ask that family friend since he is in the industry, how best to get out.
I agree with David Z
You completely misunderstand the role of a listing agent. There are NO guarantees of 'personal service' from the agent involved. The issue is whether or not you are receiving the exposure needed in order to sell your house. From where those efforts derive is irrelevant. I list a lot of properties for sale. Do I handle all personally ? Not even close. I have a staff which handles my listings, with appropriate advertising, as well as a staff which handles incoming inquiries concerning the properties for sale. You are concerned that your agent is not handling all of this personally. Do NOT be irritated over this. As long as potential buyers ARE handled properly, you have no concerns. Understand, as well, that your agent is REQUIRED to propose to you potential renters or similar, under law. If you want this to stop, you need to sign an amendment with your agent specifically indicating that you will NOT entertain such offers, and that she is not obligated to present such to you. From what you present, I'd gather that your agent is performing as well as can be expected.
yes you can if you look at your agent's agreement close you will most likely find a 6 month contract after that you can change to someone else
Your listing contract should have an expiration date and when it does expire, Do not re-list with the same Real Estate Agent she has NOT proven herself to you. Go with your Real Estate friend and only sign a contract for 6 months not 1 year as most Real Estate Agents want you to do. You can advertise you home yourself and most of the time homes do not sell do to the price being too high. In my neighborhood the homes were listed way to high and I told my neighbors selling there home to drop the price only a thousand dollars lower then what all the other home were selling for in the neighborhood and the home sold within a week. Best Wishes and Happy Home Selling.
In general either parties to the contract will need to agree to an unconditional withdrawal of the listing agreement or you will have to wait until the current listing expires So place some pressure not on the agent but the broker who the agent works for, if you are persistent and a pain eventually the broker will get tired of the complaining and should release you unconditionally from the listing agreement Plus I would tell the agent I hired you not your assistant who can only relay info, as such, you will only speak with the agent, Then I would take the agent and the broker on the carpet about bring renters, confront them face to face why they can not understand you will not do a rental agreement , then ask them if they understand English and do they understand the words no renters buyers only because this is the last time you are going to say it
If you feel you're being neglected, you have every right to not sign back up with her again. Every listing contract will have an expiration date - yours ends in May? Just don't sign it! However, be aware, that if a buyer expressed interest any time during her work as your agent, she will get the commission - even if she showed it to them last year and they buy it next July, she will still get the commission under a broker protection clause. Good luck!