[JeanneBeannie]

I agree, thanks very much Deano...very interesting statistics .

Starflyte...I also offered the $1000 bonus to the buyers agent and my house sold approximately 1 month later, and I did get more activity. My house was sitting for months before I did that with hardly any activity. I owe it to a poster on here that came up with that idea.

Good luck!

[784caroline]

Starflytel1

How long did you extend the listing....any incentive is GOOD..but these incentives are only for agents...CORRECT !! I hope you kept the listing extension to 30 or 60 or less.

[starflyte1]

784 We did not extend the listing. The original still has two months to go. And the $1000 is for the buyer's agent.

Jeanne I hope the $1000 helps. I too got the idea from this bb. Hope it works for us like it seems to have for you.

Pat

[alemorkam]

You need to keep in mind that when buying, or selling, a house in the villages using a villages sales agent, that the agent's #1 priority is to sell NEW HOUSES. They have already sold the preowned home once when it was new. There is an inventory of new homes, and their job is to sell new houses. My view, and the view of others I have talked with, is that the Villages sales people use the preowned homes in their inventory to show, and then compare them against new homes, and then persuade the people looking to buy a new home for the same price or less. I bet if there was a way to find out, that when a village's sales agent shows a preowned home, the majority of those people end up buying a new house from the agent. I think they use the preowned inventory to showcase their NEW homes.

Mulitiple listing realitors can only sell pre-owned homes in the villages so when they list your home they need to sell it while competing against new home prices. They only make money selling preowned homes in the villages, while villages sales agents make more selling new homes.

[paulandjean]

I agree, the villages real estate agents try to sell the new homes first. Our agents (2) never shown our home in 6 months. Seems more concerned about open houses. many people who looked at our home bought new.We thought when we signed with a village real estate they would represent us the seller, however never turned out that way.We will try selling on our own for a few weeks,and then try a new agent.

[BogeyBoy]

Originally Posted by alemorkam

You need to keep in mind that when buying, or selling, a house in the villages using a villages sales agent, that the agent's #1 priority is to sell NEW HOUSES. They have already sold the preowned home once when it was new. There is an inventory of new homes, and their job is to sell new houses. My view, and the view of others I have talked with, is that the Villages sales people use the preowned homes in their inventory to show, and then compare them against new homes, and then persuade the people looking to buy a new home for the same price or less. I bet if there was a way to find out, that when a village's sales agent shows a preowned home, the majority of those people end up buying a new house from the agent. I think they use the preowned inventory to showcase their NEW homes.

Mulitiple listing realitors can only sell pre-owned homes in the villages so when they list your home they need to sell it while competing against new home prices. They only make money selling preowned homes in the villages, while villages sales agents make more selling new homes.

Do you have any knowledge of the pay/commission structure for TV sales reps or are you just speculating? I am sure there are reps that are going to do the right thing for the buyer regardless of the pay, some that are driven by the pay, and some that just show what's out there and go with the flow. If a customer is undecided a sales reps can certainly influence the final decision, show a few resale "dogs" and they'll sell a new home. But if they show only new homes that don't fit the customer's needs they can push a resale on them.

I think TV sales reps job is to sell houses, new or resale. Quite often they will sell a new home to the customer who just sold the old one. Now they have two sales.

[BogeyBoy]

Before you list with any agent, TV or MLS, get them to lay out a marketing plan for your home. Ads, open houses, caravans, web-sites, how to stage your home, types of photos/virtual tours, commissions/incentives, weekly feedback meetings, etc. Make sure you get a good market analysis of the value of your home. (You may not like what you hear if you bought in 05/06.) If you push price the agent may list your home high to please you - and never sell it.

Ask your agent for a detailed list of homes they sold in the last year, especially in your neighborhood. Then ask them how many they listed. If they listed 20 and only 2 sold - you might want to look at other agents.

Make a solid marketing plan with your agent up front - that way they know your expectations - and you have a list to make sure they are doing their job.