Do you expect your Realtor to "SELL" your home?

[Winsor_Pilates]

Although I'm part of the Calgary system myself, I find the lockbox method of showings to be a broken system and ultimately not beneficial to the sellers.

As a Realtor in both CGY & VAN, but doing most of my business in Van, I'm used to having to show all of my listings every time I get a request.

We can't just put the home on a lockbox and let the buyers agent do the showings alone.
It's a lot more work for us here in Van, but it gives me a chance to speak about the benefits of the property/upgrades/condo amenities/location etc. and actually "sell" the home to the prospective buyer and their agent.
Make sure they're leaving their well aware of the key features in that potential property, and confident that they're likely not getting the same quality of tour at competitive listings.

This is huge part of the listing process in Vancouver, and a key point of differentiation that agents compete on when getting listings. Sellers want to know how you'll show their property and that you're qualified to engage prospects.

As home sellers, do you have an expectation on your agent to show and sell your home? or are you ok with them not being there for that part of the process.

And I'm not implying that any agents in Calgary or on CP are/aren't doing a great job. Just curious how home sellers & other agents feel about this from a systematic point of view?

[ken0042]

Kind of a tough call. Yes, I would like my realtor to do some work for the commission I am paying. However just having helped a family member buy a house; it was more comfortable to view houses without the selling agent around. My cousin, his realtor and I were able to openly discuss the house along with all the pros and cons. The houses we saw with the selling realtor there; we left before going over all those details.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

As a former seller, I would have welcomed an agent being present and talking about the place. We had a very unique showing and I think it would have benefited from that. Sure would have helped to justify the many thousands I was going to have to fork over. Kind of felt like I had hired an answering service after the property was loaded into MLS.

Either that or drop your commissions - at lower rates I wouldn't have such expectations (nor for open houses etc).

Not sure how practical that would be for the agent though.... we had a high number of showings and I could see how that could be a lot of work for the agent.

[Travis Munroe]

I have had showings where the seller requested the list agent show the property. I would have no problem doing this for specific homes. The last place was a million plus home with tons of hidden upgrades that would go un noticed if we were not given a tour.
For most homes, place cards throughout the property are sufficient to point out the upgrades.
Buyers are not as comftorable discussing their thoughts on a home with sellers or the sellers agent present which brings another issue to the table.
Either way, the seller gives his or her expectations to possible list agents. Some may walk away, some may offer a discount and some may agree. The thing to watch out for as a seller are promises made that do not get delivered. I've listed countless homes where the seller was listed with someone else who promised the bank but once given the listing didn't follow through.

[bizaro86]

I don't think the selling agent needs to be there on the vast majority of properties. On the really high end/unique stuff I can see it being a good idea. As a buyer I prefer it when the seller/sellers agent isn't there. I feel less pressured and more willing to take my time, talk about things with my agent and ask for advice about specific issues.

The other extreme is one of the agents I had do a CMA when I sold my last place a few years ago. He said he'd put my phone number on the listing for showings, so realtors could call me to set them up. He did ask me for a weekly update on how many showings there were, and to call him right away if anyone had an offer. I felt 7/3% was a bit much for someone who would essentially be providing an MLS listing... We went with someone else, obviously.