We listed our house with an agent. During a casual conversation they said they had out of town buyers interested in our neighborhood but they were looking for a house with a large garage and my partner said our neighbors may be interested in selling. We’ve seen the realtor over at their house a couple of times but no for sale sign or MLS listing for it. We also are close to our neighbors and know that they aren’t for sure on listing. Today there was a scheduled showing at our house for said out of town buyers. I followed up with realtor after the showing and they said the buyers are interested in our neighbor’s house (which is not listed). Pulled up after work and see our realtor and said buyers at our neighbors house and they are touring it. Can a realtor legally allow tours of a house that’s not listed?

Additionally, we are a bit upset and feel like our house was used as a way for the agent to get the buyers to look at our neighbors house which will be listed for more than ours. So now we just got our agent a sale on our neighbors house that she’ll also be the buyers agent for. The house is close to $1m that it will likely be sold at (based on what our neighbors told us they wanted to list at). The agent only knew of this house because of us. Meanwhile has done little to advertise our house and I’ve had to push for open houses each of the times we’ve had one. I’m also pissed that I cleaned my house from top to bottom until late last night and was late for work this morning so I could get my family and animals out of the house just to show my house to someone who planned to buy our neighbors (unlisted) house all along. Is this legal for the agent to do or in violation of any realtor code of ethics?

Hello all,

I was looking into staging my house for market, but I am still currently living in my house with my family and my three cats. Does anyone have any advice or stratgies that they have used to make this work? So far, the staging companies I have talked to do not stage while the house is occupied. I was looking into hotels, but I feel like that is a lot of money. Any advice is welcome.

How many sellers agents still got a commission on a house that didn’t sell. My agent is threatening to sue me for her full commission because I no longer want to sell it and the deal we had in escrow didn’t go through.

My girlfriend got her realtor license about 18 months ago and signed with a team under one of the big name companies. She has had luck with a few sales, but it has been overall a slow start. When we talk about her job, I don’t have much advice to offer because I know nothing about real estate. In my mind, the more potential clients you can contact means the more chance of one of them signing with you and a higher chance of closing a deal. I guess my question is, to successful realtors, how many contacts/attempts at contacts do you make a day? Also what is the best method to get in touch with potential clients? Lastly, how long did it take for things to “click” and business become more consistent? I really want this to work out for her. She is an incredibly smart and kind person, and I think she will have a lot of luck having people sign with her once they meet her. Again, I am trying my best to be supportive, but I know nothing about the world of selling homes. Thank you!

What are buyers perceptions of mini splits in homes for sale?

I'm sure this varies by geopolitical location. Most interested in the South.

My question is if you help a listing agent with an open house and she give you the sign in sheet after and she already accepted an offer that day and had me write up the offer for her as a dual agent and tells me yes go ahead an work those unrepresented buyers, she doesn't call or touch base with any of the the buyers on the sign in sheet and i happen to get one that lost the bid, how many people think i owe a referral fee if i sell this buyer? she seems to think i oew here a 25% referral?

https://preview.redd.it/do0ez7z0r1kh1.png?width=874&format=png&auto=webp&s=d3bc078e2ed98687cf577b1b541a541fa22d0dba

Can anyone help me sanity check these estimated closing costs for a 30year conventional mortgage. In the process of buying our second home, so nothing stands out to me, but curious if more experienced eyes see anything overly high etc.

The one item that I'm specifically questioning is the $699 Realtor Admin Fee in the bottom right corner. It this a normal buyer-side charge? I haven't seen this before and it feels fishy, so idk if its negotiable or not payable at all?

We are working with a lender we were referred to from our realtor. We used this realtor when we bought our 1st hour ~5years ago, and we really liked working with her, so idk if this is something we need to bring up with her or the loan officer etc.

Extra Context:
- $425k house
- 10% down payment
- Home located in Minnesota

Edit: I asked my realtor about it this morning and she said "The admin fee is charged by the broker, not myself. Most all brokers charge them unfortunately, and I have to also pay it when I've bought/sold my personal homes. Its calculated in as part of 'closing costs' "

we recently looked at a home. older, but checked all our boxes. had some issues we know we’d need to deal with sooner than later, all good.

House has been on the market for nearly 4 months.

Property was listed as having an easement, again, didn’t really dig into at first, figured it was a drainage or utility company etc.

Well, come to find out, the easement takes up nearly an acre of the property and is for the abutting neighbors drainage and leach filed. So yes, the entire drain/leach field would be on my property.

This seems crazy, or at least, I need more info, because that’s kind of a big deal. My agent, broker, seller, all claim “no big deal” the extent of the fact finding was asking the selling realtor and producing the one page deed with the easement proposal.

Am I crazy, or is this a bigger issue here? I feel like this is being downplayed, when in fact, this could pose potential legal questions down the road, in addition to significantly reducing the value of said land.

Im being led to believe I’m the problem here, and I’m just not seeing that.

Anyone care to chime in? I’ve asked if they could consult an attorney, or do some more fact finding regarding the exact setup, and it’s pretty much been a stalemate.

We are already under contract to build a new home in a retirement community.   We don't have to sell our current home to close on the new house but it would make things much easier financially.   Our new home will be ready in March at the earliest.

We are the original owners of our current home and have lived here for 22 years.  It is in a pretty desirable area in northern Raleigh, NC.  The house needs some work but for the most part, it is what you would expect from a 22+ year old house.   Its large.  About 4400 sq ft finished and another 600 sq ft unfinished basement used for a workout room and shop.  5 bed/4.5 bath. 

On a $/square foot basis, our home will be priced extremely competitively.   I figure the listing price will be close to 750k so about $170/sq ft which is really low for a good subdivision in a good school district in RDU.  The low listing  $/sq ft listing price is due to the need to update some areas, such as the master bath.

Our ideal scenario would be to pocket list it for 3 months starting 9/15 and put it on the MLS around Jan 15 (after the holidays). I'm thinking a 6 month listing contract, the first 3 are pocket, the last 3 are 'public'.  While it's a pocket listing, I want to have full say on whether a potential buyer can view the home (I want to make sure they are qualified, etc) and timing works for us.  When its on the MLS, you can go nuts with showings.

There are SO many realtors in the area, I would like to use our leverage to pay 2.5% each to the listing and buyers agents.

If our listing agent can get us full ask (whatever we determine that to be) prior to going to the MLS, I'm willing to pay a bonus, say 5k, as the interest alone would cover a good chunk of it vs. 3 months on the MLS.   If the listing agent is unable to sell the home in the 6 months, I'm not willing to pay any fees, etc.

Ideally, I would like to reach out 5 or so realtors, interview a few, and decide on 1.

I need to draft an email before reaching out to agencies but do these terms at least seem reasonable?   Would you have any concerns about this approach?

Cheers.

This is my first time purchasing a home. I put in an appealing backup offer with earnest money down on my dream home that checks all boxes.

The offer in front of me is a VA online loan and has no earnest money down. No inspections.

What else is part of the process before they will be able to close??

We just listed our home for sale in a fairly competitive market. We priced it in line with local area comps, maybe just a little bit lower. It is the lowest-priced house in the neighborhood, even though we have fully renovated it, because we need to move quickly. We are still looking for ways we can improve our listing and make it more appealing for buyers.

One concept we discussed with our listing agent was listing our house as a 4 bed/2.5 bath rather than a 3 bed/2.5 bath. We recently renovated a 350 sq ft bonus room above the garage so that it now meets all of the city and MLS requirements as a bedroom. It has the appropriate sq footage, ceiling height, closet, private entrance, central heat/air, and egress requirements. We specifically asked our agent about listing it as a fourth bedroom. While our listing agent confirmed that it meets requirements to be a bedroom, he advised against it and listed our house as a 3 bed/2.5 and described the bonus room as a room that can be a "media room, home office, play room, or other living space".

He argued that advertising it as a bonus room would be more appealing to buyers than as an additional bedroom because it is in a separate wing of the house than the other bedrooms and full bathrooms, which would make it seem odd to buyers who would come to see the house. I personally think that the separation and privacy would make it a perfect guest bedroom, in-law bedroom, or teenager/college student bedroom. I would assume that it would be more valuable to advertise as a bedroom that could secondarily be used as a home office, play room, family room, etc. What should we do? He says he is glad to go along with what we want, but I don't want to insist on going against his advice if it is not worth the hassle. For additional context, the living room and dining rooms are very large, so we have never used the bonus room for entertaining. It is currently used as our guest bedroom.

I live in a VHCOL area (Oahu) where most homes are $650K+. Right now, the only thing I can comfortably afford with today’s interest rates is an older 1BR condo from the 1980s, which runs around $300–400K.

I’d really like to get at least a 2BR, but those are typically around $550K, which is difficult for me to afford at current rates.

I’m a veteran and eligible for a VA loan. Based on my research, I may be able to make a 2BR work if I find a property with an assumable VA mortgage at a much lower interest rate. The issue is that I’m not sure how realistic this strategy is, or whether a realtor would take me seriously as a buyer.

My finances are:

• $130K in cash savings, projected to be around $170K by the end of the year
• $140K annual salary

• ⁠No loans, credit score is in the 800s
• credit cards are paid off every month

• Single income earner
• In my 30s
• Veteran / VA loan eligible

I have a good amount saved and feel financially stable, but I’m concerned that the $550K price point will make realtors think I’m not a serious buyer because I’m relying on an assumable mortgage to make the numbers work.

Would you consider someone in my financial position a serious buyer?

Hello! I am a real estate agent in Ohio. I received my license in November 2025. I have yet to make a sale. However, I currently have had a buyer client for a few months & what I’ve seen so far in the market, makes me question how I can secure the home my buyer needs.

I’m seeing homes that are listed below market value to of course start a bidding war & people offer way more for a home that needs tons of work.

When we do find a home that is decent, it’s gone asap.

With people offering way over asking price, I ask myself “Am I doing something wrong or are agents just letting their buyers buy the first home they see, regardless of what needs done to it?”

With the homes that are worth it going so fast, I’m having a tough time figuring out how I can jump on it & make our offer attractive to the seller, but be comfortable for my buyer.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. With the broker agency I’m currently at, I don’t feel very supported.

Although, I am beginning to figure out that this business is a dog eat dog world & I’ve got to figure things out myself.

Anyways, thank you for reading & providing guidance.

Hi everyone,

What percentage of the time would you say that when you sell a clients home they end up getting new flooring done? Is it different depending on the type, like carpet, hardwood, or vinyl?

The trust sat on the house for a year and sold it for 75% of market value. It was immediately flipped twice for multiple six-figure profits.

Does this raise any red flags?

Thanks!

It’s one of six homes for sale in this neighborhood, which hasn’t seen anything move in over a year. Every buyer who came through has commented that it’s nicer than the others nearby of similar size, but their feedback has been “kitchen too small” (most common feedback), this one is a second or third choice, or they just want more house.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/115-Rose-Creek-Dr-Covington-GA-30014/69864665\_zpid/?utm\_campaign=iosappmessage&utm\_medium=referral&utm\_source=txtshare

I will not be able to attend my own showings or open houses. And, I think buyers who attend with or without a Buyer Agent may find it to be more "professional". And, for myself I may like not having to directly interface with them.

So.....do some realtors offer this kind of a la carte service to Sellers or will they only do it if they get the typical MLS listing scope?

If they offer these services are they typically priced by a set fee per showing or per open house?

If it is relevant, I am in Houston, TX

EDIT: Based on everyone’s input, I will strive to do showings myself or have a trustworthy neighbor do it.