I do admit that when I’ve seen pics of a listing with out of season photos, I do have the impression it’s been on the market since the photos were taken, and then my second thought is that there must either be something wrong with the property or that it must be overpriced.
Call me paranoid, but I would be wary of hiring a realtor who lived in my neighborhood. Someone who knows the neighborhood, yes. But I don’t want to worry that my realtor was favoring “nice” buyers who would make great neighbors over some yahoos with buckets of money.
I’ve sold houses both by myself and with realtors. I only sell it myself when I have a buyer lined up and when the profit isn’t going to be that much. I hate doing sales stuff. Hate hate hate it (still wake up in a cold sweat over Thin Mints and band candy). Dealing with looky loos and unqualified buyers and all that other sales stuff is why I use an agent.
DH has a broker’s license, so he represents us when we buy property, but even he hires a realtor when we are selling. The only exception has been when we personally knew a potential buyer, so it wasn’t necessary to use a realtor.
Our very early October pictures didn’t indicate any particular season. None of the trees had started to turn. I didn’t have anything seasonal in the house and used generic flowers that could be purchased at any time of the year. I know that in our market it was better than trying to get good pictures in the snow. Every market differs and that’s why the realtor needs to provide appropriate advice.
We put ours in the market at the worst possible year, season wise - snow still on the ground! The professional photos were amazing and clearly showed the season. Our realtor had us print out photos we had of the past summer and have them out on the dining room table so people could see the paver patio and all the plantings.
GRITS80: we’re also in New Jersey are basically in the same situation. Our home will probably go on the market in March, and in Jersey you never know what March will be like.
I knew a neighbor that sold their home ‘by owner’ (kind-of). They contacted 4 realtors they knew and liked, and basically gave them a sneak peak, and told them whoever brought a buyer, would get the 3% commission (approximately half of the typical rate at the time). It was years ago, when their neighborhood was ‘hot’, and they probably could have sold totally by themselves, but they also knew these realtors were working with qualified buyers looking in their area. No advertising. No open houses.
I don’t think they had any written agreement, so not sure how the realtors worked with this. We’ve also been told recently by a realtor that they cannot legally (or ethically?) share information on an upcoming sale before it is posted on MLS. I find this hard to believe, as I’ve seen recent posts in my city even say “sold before listed”.
@kjofkw - The ethical breach to which you refer would be disclosing the terms of the agreement prior to closing. Posting to the MLS is irrelevant.