So now the real estate roller coaster really begins ...

[hrj]

Just as I was getting changed at the gym, I got a phone call from my possibly-now-ex realtor saying that he'd taken an initial look at comparable properties and concluded I don't have any equity in my house. I told him I didn't believe it -- not in an "I'm in denial" sense but in an "I've done my groundwork already" sense. He said he'd e-mail me the comparison. So I spent my entire workout in a major funk but came out of it with a fatalistic resignation. It's not as if I've done anything expensively irrevocable yet.

But then when I got home and look at his "comparable properties" the only thing they had in common was being triplexes. They were scattered all over West Oakland -- all in worse neighborhoods than mine (and some in really really crappy neighborhoods). Whereas when you look at my immediate neighborhood, properties significantly smaller than mine have recently sold for noticeably more than his "comparable triplexes". So I'm just not buying it. I suggested that I might have more luck with someone more familiar with the immediate territory and am pursuing other options.

Who knows? Maybe I'm wrong and I'm stuck with it (in which case I'll have to put on my Big Girl Panties and make certain changes). But I definitely think his cursory price comparison is crap.

Comments

[kareina.livejournal.com]

Good luck finding a realtor who is actually willing to do the research, it sounds like this one was in too much of a hurry and only spent three minutes on the task.

[goldenstag.livejournal.com]

Sounds to me like he's being lazy, and not doing the research he needs to do, and you're right to dump him for another realtor.

[liadan-m.livejournal.com]

If you don't want to go looking, I can put the word out for an outbound referral for West Oakland and get a specialist for the area and type.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

I've started by putting in a contact request with Red Oak, which has a good reputation around here. Personal recommendations are always welcome. "West Oakland" isn't quite the right description (which normally refers to the rectangle defined by 880-580-980). The micro-neighborhood is either the "Golden Gate neighborhood" or more generally "Oakland along the Emeryville border".

[aureellia.livejournal.com]

These friends offered you good advice. I could go kick him in the shins for you. I would.

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

Do you have an idea who the realtors were for the houses near you that sold?

[hrj.livejournal.com]

I'll have to see if Zillow has that information. You're right, it would be useful.

I'm amused that my brain is doing its usual thing of plotting out what I will do along all the possible branching alternate futures: the one in which I end up not selling-and-moving after all; the one in which I can sell but have much less equity than I thought; the one in which my original value estimate was correct and I move forward. I've decided to delay moving any actual furniture to the storage unit until I've talked to other realtors, but to move ahead with the renewed "life cleaning" tasks, such as finally going through all the filing cabinets and getting rid of unnecessary stuff. And, hey, boxing up the fabric stash got me to finally go through all the "just stuff it in here for now" drawers in the living room cabinets.

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

It's better to be prepared for all contingencies (or at least the most likely ones) than to be surprised. And "life cleaning" is a good idea. I want to get more of that done in February. I've figured out which bookcase I need in my clubhouse to hold the rest of the stuff I want to keep, which will encourage me to go ahead and get rid of the stuff I don't want to keep.

[aastg.livejournal.com]

You're right, of course, to be skeptical. Your "micro-market" has its own rules. In addition, you have a fairly unusual property but in a good location in relation to the overall area.

It's possible that your realtor is merely giving you his opening position. If he is really experienced, and has survived the bloodbath of the past few years, he could be testing you to see if you really have the ovaries to deal with him realistically.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Well if he's testing me, he failed the test.

[beanolc.livejournal.com]

I wish I could recommend our realtor but there's no way I'd do that to you. Best of luck finding a new one!

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Um ... actually ... I believe this is your realtor.

[beanolc.livejournal.com]

Oh no. I wish I had known... we're having issues with him. Chat about it tonight at the restaurant?