Candy C. Dennis

Hi Greg, Best of luck to you. It is a difficult time for many that are trying to sell. I know in my market, Hampton Roads Virginia, we have in excess of 17,000 homes currently on the market. We are still in a good area for real estate transactions but the sellers are finding that their homes are staying on the market for a longer time. They also are finding that to be competitive they need to offer incentives to attract buyers to their homes. Settlement expenses paid by the seller on behalf of the buyer is a common practice. Are you offering any buyer incentives? How is your home priced in relation to other comperable properties in your area? If you've padded your price to give you negotiating room, that could be one of the reasons your home is not being shown. As we all know sellers nor real estate professionals determine the sales price of a home. The market will determine what a buyer is willing to pay. As for a real estate person representing a buyer it is certainly not effortless. As a former sales person I can remember working for months with many couples who were purchasing their home. I now manage but hear the same tales from my agents. Especially in todays market where there are many more homes to choose from buyers are taking even longer to make a decision. Once a home is found there are many hours of follow up for inspections, mortgage qualification, negotiating of contract details, etc. The agent is the one responsible to pull all of the loose ends together to make sure all goes smoothly for their client. Usually there is another agent on the other side to cover the sellers needs and followup. When a buyer's agent ratifies an agreement with a For Sale By Owner, they immediately take on the responsibility of making sure all goes according to plans for the seller as well. Their responsibility is to get the property to settlement no matter what or how many man hours it takes. Good Luck to you! - Fri Jul 25 2008, 08:08