agreed in writing to pay the current listing agent a referral fee.

Selling a home is a very frustrating experience. Many times your frustration will be directed at your agent. I find that there are two main reasons people get frustrated with their agents. One is a "legitimate complaint." The other is not.

Complaint number 1: A ton of people have seen my house and no one has even made an offer!

There are three things that sell a house in today's market: price, presentation, and promotion. Price and presentation are generally controlled by the home seller. In today's market, a home must be priced below the competition to even get an offer. Additionally, presentation is extremely important. Buyers want homes that they can move into without having to do a lot of work. This includes replacing worn carpet and repainting the interior in neutral colors for maximum appeal. Allowances do not work in our market.

If a lot of people are looking at your home, the agent is doing his or her primary job - promoting your home. This is true even if the agents that are bringing the prospective buyers are not even with your agent's company.

Complaint number 2: My house has been on the market for several months and only a few buyers have seen it.

This is a legitimate reason to be concerned about whether your agent is doing his or her job. There are many things that can go wrong that the agent can control. However, there are many other factors that the agent can't control such as the economy and seasonality.

How do you know if your agent's marketing plan is working? A good marketing effort (assuming the house is priced right) should generate approximately two pre-qualified buyers per week looking at your home. This sort of "traffic" should produce an offer on your home within 60 - 90 days if your home is priced under $250,000. Homes priced above $250,000 will generally take longer, say five to eight months.

Don't forget to ask the right questions at the listing interview. And, get the agent's commitment in writing prior to listing your home!

As the number one seller of homes in the 30189 zip code, Gina's team is recognized as the experts in selling Towne Lake area homes. For help with your real estate needs, please call Gina at (770) 516-5700 ext. 700.

For a Free Report: How to Sell Your Home in Today's Competitive Market, Call me at
(770) 517-8210 ext. 701.

www.ginacarr.com

The Carr Report

Can I Fire My Agent?

Gina Carr, Advantage Team Leader

I have had my house listed for several months and I am very frustrated with my real estate agent. Can I fire him or her?

It depends.

It depends upon your particular real estate agent's company policy. This policy varies from company to company. Some companies allow you to cancel very easily. Some don't allow you to cancel at all. Some leave the decision entirely up to the real estate agent.

The bottom line is that by signing a listing agreement, you have entered into a bi-lateral contract - that is, a contract signed by two parties. In order to cancel a contract, both parties must agree.

This is why it is so important to ask questions during the listing interview such as:

Can I cancel my listing with you if I am not happy?

What if I change my mind about selling my home?

What is the charge for canceling?

The answers to these questions will tell you a lot about the agent's commitment to the servicing of your listing. It is easy - and rather common - to be promised the moon during the interview. However, despite good intentions, things can go wrong. You need to know how you can get out of a contract if things are not going well. And, get this in writing!

At CENTURY 21 Advantage, we have a "Love Us or Leave Us" policy. Simply put, if you are not happy with our service for any reason, you may cancel your listing with us at no cost to you. All we ask for is 10 days written notice and the reason for the termination.

We put this guarantee in writing with our Seller Service Pledge. While we can't guarantee that your home will sell, we can guarantee that we will do what we say we will do at the listing interview. We put this guarantee of satisfaction in writing. We feel that this is the only way to do business.

Some real estate brokers will not allow you to cancel under any circumstances. Can they do this? Yes, they can.

We even had a client whose listing agent refused to transfer the listing to us until we