like the rest of the song "clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am....

I wouldn't touch it, other than to say, lighten up your rooms, if necessary and remove any clutter or extra furniture, if necessary.

"...and you don't know what it is you should do..."

Now my favorite part...

"Clowns to the left of me and clowns to the right..."

Are you calling these fine agents clowns?

Well, maybe you could tell her a little "parable" about one of your clients who removed the curtains or some other such story that might plant the see.

Another one that seems to work, is to have her friends and family look at the photos and give her suggestions of what they think looks the best and what should be changed for sales purposes.

Because you are helping with the the client to buy, why not call the listing agent to introduce yourself, and "see what is going on that area"...  all in the interest of the client.  Ask said agent, how is client taking your recommendations? You to get the house in shape" as she starts to open up to you, you may be able to see if it the client is realistic with agent or if agent hasn't offered the ideas.  maybe you can "help" push her to help her client.

Also, ask client if she has watched any of the home shows on TV like sell this house and the new one with the Mother / Daughter team that comes in tell sellers why their home isn't sold.  See if she is open to suggestions....

Just some ideas...

shelly

I'd tell her to start packing up!  The knick knacks are going to eventually go in a box, why wait til the last minute?!  Is she leaving her lovely burgundy window coverings?

I would send her, her own listing and have her look at the pictures.  Then maybe she can call her LA to re-take the pictures.

I've gone back and shot pictures over again.  It really bugs me when I see pictures with Christmas trees and lights around the outside of the house.....gee, how long has that house been on the market?!

I like the idea Sharron mentioned of telling her a story/parable of a previous client that lighted rooms and remooved clutter and sold. I'd start the story with "You remind me of my favorite client. Her house was not selling..."

One other thought. Would she be able to keep that property as a rental and still buy in your new area? If so, that is the way I'd go. Sell later in a hotter market.

Burgundy and paneling it was meant to be a cave.  I agree with Sharon and Bill, I don't think I would call the other agent.

Darn, I can't get that song out of my head now ;)

Okay, I see how you are now ;)

Unless you want to start singing 'Under Pressure' tell her the 'my favorite client story' LOL

Cathy - Love the parable idea. I wouldn't call the other agent... you know some agents get offended no matter how you word it and would probably opt for the curtains to remain just because.

When doing the parable, say something like Bill said "You remind me of my favorite client. Her house was not selling..." and add, she looked over her listing pictures and decided with just a few changes like letting in some light by removing heavy curtains... "

I don't know... but the parable thing is the way to go! Maybe the parable thing would work on the agent too... but I wouldn't temp stepping on another agents toes just yet... you may get your stepped on right back then you'll both be hurt!

Best of luck -

Mindy

I use the show "Sell This House".  I ask all my owners to watch it for great tips on getting a house ready to show.  I also say most people can't imagine themselves in a home unless pictures and collectibles of the owners family is put away.  Light is always an issue.  Hope it helps.

Great song...sticky place to be. I like Shelly's idea...to call the L.A. to find out how the market there is, their views on the salability from the point of view of how it impacts your Buyer's time frames to buy. NOT to offer them advice on how to sell it, just to gain perspective and maybe open the lines of communication. If the L.A. wants to discuss decorating or other issues with you or enlist your help in suggesting changes they will. At that point, you may know which "that reminds me..." story/parable to use.

When does the current listing contract expire???

Plenty of good suggestions already. You could also ask HER if she is following the advice of her agent based on any feedback (for those who give it) or 'staging' ideas the agent(s) have suggested. She might say that they haven't really made any suggestions except to reduce the price.

I, myself, wouldn't be opposed to saying that if I were a consumer looking on Realtor.com or the agents site(s), that the photos and tour (if any) wouldn't motivate me to view the home.

PS: I fixed your Halo and will post it in the other thread.

I just had a similar situation.  Here in Rochester, we call the Seller to set up our showings....which I did.  He then called me back after I'd shown it (the agent typically does this), and he asked me how it went...and I told him.  I told him the living room looked too small because of the the furniture placement, the master bedroom had too much funiture in it, the lower level had no furniture in it, etc.  He said he'd been thinking about taking the computer out of the master bedroom, and I said that'd be a great idea.  I said thanks for the opportunity to show it, he said thanks for the feedback and we hung up.  I didn't give one thought to his agent feeling I'd stepped on his/her toes.  In no way was I trying to steal a listing...I was giving feedback to the seller, who called me.  I hadn't thought about it since until I read your post.

If I were you, I'd tell the lady what she needs to hear to get her house sold.  The house isn't in your market, as you've already explained, so if her LA calls you, just explain that you're going to be helping her find a home, and it came up in conversation that her home needed to sell first, and having seen the pics of it, you made a few suggestions.  I would hope that the LA would understand that you're helping him/her get the job done, which is to sell the home, so that you can do your job.  I'd also be very upfront with the seller that your opinion is only that, but that you're just trying to help, as she expressed concern over her home selling.  Sometimes it takes fresh eyes to see what needs to change to get the home sold.

It's a tough market just about everywhere, I think, and I'm sorry but if sellers and their agents want these homes to sell, then maybe it's time for a little straight talk....it doesn't have to be done rudely, or secretively...but if she wants the house sold, then someone should tell her!

When a LA calls me for feedback on a showing of one of their listings, I tell them what I think....if it needs staging, new pics....whatever it is that I (and my buyers) thought about the house, I tell them.  Whether they choose to share those comments with the seller is their choice, I guess.  Maybe you could "show" the house to someone and then wait for the "Could you give me feedback" call!  :)

All great suggestions! I would love to hear your comments about giving advice to a listing agent about price.  My opinioin is that if I am representing a buyer then why would I ever tell them that I feel it is well priced.  In the event the buyer I showed the house to decided to write, or a subsequent buyer I showed the property to, I have given an opinion I may regreat in negotiating.  I would much rather put some doubt in their mind as to price.  How often have you said "the price seems a little high" and the listing agent immediately agrees?  You have to look at who you are representing and what your duties to them are in your respective real estate boards.  

I agree with Tom on the pricing issue....I get email feedback requests all the time, and I never answer the question, "Do you feel the property is at, below, or above market value?"  For the reasons Tom wrote, it'd be silly for me to answer that question.  I've often found that when the LA agent asks you if the price is right, they're actually asking you to tell them it's too high, so they can relay that to their sellers in the attempt to get a price reduction.

I was doing some updating on my AA site and remembered that I had created my own on-line feedback form several years ago when the automated requests were just becoming popular. I designed the form with a photo, the tour. and a simple 1-5 rating for various items other than price or buyers interest level. Nothing threatening to either the agent, buyer, or seller. Maybe I will start using it again :-)

http://www.view-mls-homes.com/PageManager/default.aspx?PageID=1240096

I would call the LA and talk about activity in the area and ease in my suggestions.  

Four agents and no one's figured this all out?

It's gotta be more than just the pics . . .

(singing) Trying to make some sense of it all, but I can see it makes no sense at all . . . .LOL

I have in the past called the agent, explained I was working the other end and asked if it would be alright to add the listing to my website and I would market it from this end and send any inquiries to them.  It's not in your market area, no, but, your point2 site will attract different people than hers and who knows who they know that might be interested in the area?   You win brownie points with the buyer too.  As you are doing that, you ask, what's going on with the listing, the market, the neighborhood, etc.   Then you ask...what's with those curtains and stuff?  It looks so dark..is that just the pictures or is that how it shows?  And the conversation goes on from there.  You'll then know if it's the agent or the owner or both.    And beyond all of that...she's in an area where you don't like the schools and only 12 homes in her price range have sold in the past 6 months...that kinda tells you something right there.

Hey Cathy...writing from Boston. What is the address and City, email me off line if you want. I am curious to see this listing and maybe help from the Boston side of things.

I apologize up front for this, but sometimes the longer the agent has been in the business the harder it is for them to catch up with the technology and the times of how real estate has changed. Maybe they just need a swift kick in the butt to bring them in to this century.

I keep wanting to touch my monitor and move that darned thing over! Like I told Mary when I made her a 'new' one, she can right click and save it, then upload it. Wouldn't evrybody on this blog be surprised to see it centered? Did you see Becky's new one that I made for her? They are over in Ron's post where we were having so much fun yesterday when we should have been working.

Have fun with it! I'm still waiting for Mary to update her photo with the one we can see. Not sure that Becky would want that one on her website :-)

I have learned, you cannot give the other agent advice. They take it wrong. They don't even want to talk to you. My buyer who is selling in Florida, I pleaded with her to allow me to refer her to one of you fine Point 2 agents in her area. She said she would, then she went back and before I knew it she claimed she found the perfect realtor team. So she shared with both of us our e-mail address. I was hoping for a relationship to keep in touch to make this happen, but no. Not a word, house is still not sold and looks to be a very marketable property. Frustrating.

The listing agent sharing feedback from other agents and buyers is the easiest way to present the showing condition. In our area we have a Realtor tour once a month. I put my listings on that, and we provide listing feedback forms to the agents we can leave at the home. These agents and brokers when they get together in a group, show no mercy, they will tell it as it is. The feedback is anonymous.

As far as her listing in Florida, I would have done a lot to help promote the property to get the sell here. Helped with ads, suggestions, anything. Too bad she chose someone not willing to co-operate.

Would it be OK to offer free staging advice.. or would that be going behind the sign?