Selling a home out of state presents challenges
Q: I recently read one of your columns in the newspaper. R and M.T. wrote that they inherited a property in a different state and wanted to sell it. They were being bothered with correspondences from people they thought wanted to buy the property. I think they would be amazed at how good the Realtors are there. We’re from Maryland, and our son and daughter still live there. I think the Realtors there are better than the ones where we live. I know two really great Realtors out there who have bought and sold properties for people in our entire family for years. If your reader wants their names, I would be happy to share them. — askedith.com
A: Thanks for writing, but I never put readers in touch with each other. Years ago my husband, Norm, and I went to Montreal, Canada, to settle his cousin’s estate. He was a reclusive hermit. We only had one day, a Sunday at that, to put this rundown, cluttered home on the market. Norm was an experienced Realtor, but we decided to drive around the neighborhood and call the phone numbers on Realtors’ lawn signs. Three local brokers came over promptly. Two of them gave us standard presentations about how great they were, but the third paid attention to our situation. He suggested about the same asking price the others did, but then he volunteered to take care of all sorts of matters that we wouldn’t be able to take care of living out of town.
He explained local procedures and how agents work with notaries. He was a Realtor from heaven. So, we just turned the whole process over to him. It all ended in a smooth closing three months later.
Q: My small cottage has a very short selling period. I have expressed concern to my Realtor regarding the urgency, but she refuses to put the listing in the local Real Estate Guide, a monthly publication that shows color
photos of homes. The guide is free and distributed at various locations where people shop. My Realtor says these publications are “ineffective” and that people only shop online now. I don’t feel she’s taking full advantage of the few opportunities to market my cottage. — askedith.com
A: I don’t know enough about your local real estate market to judge, but I can give you some legal information. First, your agent is obliged (under fiduciary duty) to follow your lawful instructions. I’m not exactly sure how that would apply here, though, taking into account the expense of advertising and the fact that your Realtor says it wouldn’t be particularly productive. You are legally free to withdraw the listing and give it to another agent. You just have to find another local Realtor who believes in print advertising and is willing to take a transferred listing.
A compromise may be in order. Maybe you can offer to bear half (or all of ) the cost of a print ad and make some later adjustment if your property sells — perhaps depending on where the buyer learned about the property.