Selling a house can take longer than you think. No one likes to believe a house could sit on the market long enough to pass the duration of the contract you signed with the listing agent.
Unfortunately, it can and does happen more frequently than many would like to believe. So what do you do when your real estate listing expires?
As it turns out, you have quite a few options available to you. The hard part is choosing the best option to suit your needs.
Re-List the Property with the Same Real-Estate Agent
Your first option is to simply re-list the property under a new contract with the same real estate agent you chose initially. If you trust your real-estate agent and their ability, this can be a sensible approach.
Choosing to re-list your property with the same agent could be risky, depending on your circumstances.
You’ll need to be frank and ask yourself some direct questions such as:
Did your real estate agent have your best interest at heart?
Did they respond to showing requests promptly?
Did they bring in any showings when they were contracted to represent you in selling your property?
Did they try to sell your property?
Are they a part-time agent or a full-time agent?
Depending on your answers to these questions, you might want to consider re-listing your property with another realtor.
If your original agent tried their best to sell your property and you feel that it just wasn’t the right time for it to sell, then, by all means, re-list with the same agent.
Just make sure you don’t end up wasting more precious time on an agent that doesn’t know how to sell.
Re-List the Property with a Different Real-Estate Agent
For those of you who were dissatisfied with your agent’s performance during the time you had it listed, you can always try someone new.
Keep in mind; there will always be another agent ready and willing to take another one’s place. Real-estate is a highly competitive field, and most realtors will do anything for the chance to snag a good listing out from under one of their peers.
Before switching the listing over to another realtor, be sure to do your homework and lookup plenty of reviews on the agent that you’re interested in.
It doesn’t do any good to sign a contract with an agent that’s just as bad or worse than your previous realtor.
Try the For Sale By Owner Approach
Fed up with underperforming real-estate agents that can never fulfill their promises? There’s always the good old for sale by owner approach.
When you've had it with agents that don’t know what they’re doing, and you’re tired of wasting time, you can always take your chances and go it alone.
There are some advantages to selling property on your own. For one thing, you won’t have to divvy up any of the money from the sale of your property to pay for a real-estate agent’s hefty commission.
A realtor’s commission can take more money away from you after a sale than you might think.
For example, if the agent that you’re listed with charges a commission of seven percent, and you sell your property for $170,000, you’ll end up paying gnarly $11,900 to your agent for their troubles.
Paying an agent’s commission can become substantially more painful if you happen to still owe money on the property that you’re selling.
If you still owe $150,000 on the property you sold and have to dole out $11,900 to your realtor, that leaves you with an underwhelming $8,100 leftover, not including closing costs, etc.
Hold Out for More Favorable Market Conditions
Some sellers have an urgent need to move, such as a job offer in a different town. If you can’t afford to wait on selling your house, try one of the options listed above.
With that said, if you can afford to wait for a while, it might just be best to sit tight and put the place up for sale at a later date under more favorable market conditions.
Sell To A Direct Home Buyer
Another often overlooked option is to sell your property to a local direct homebuyer like Contenza Properties.
Direct home buyers like Contenza Properties can offer you cash for your house in return for a quick and reliable closing.
You won’t have to make any repairs to the property.
Pay any fees/commissions.
And there’s no need to do any cleaning or staging.
If you’re listing expired and you’re not sure what to do, contact Contenza Properties today and see how much we can offer you.