Great idea!

Actually, you don’t even have to leave this site to check on your SoCal Realtor, or to search any Southern California Multiple Listing Service.

Even better, you don’t have to deal with any “Please register” hassles or even give up your e-mail to use our M.L.S. searches.

We have links to virtually all Southern California Multiple Listing Services in the right column near the top under “SoCal Multiple Listing Services.” SoCalMLS covers Orange County and Southeastern Los Angeles County, including greater Long Beach.

The “M.L.S. Alliance gets you into all major Multiple Listing Services from San Luis Obispo and Kern Counties south to the Mexican border.

You can search by zip code, price range, bedroom count, etc. If you’re a seller, once your listing comes up, just click for more info & you can check out your agent’s photos, remarks, and more. There’s also a link with more helpful search tips.

By the way, if you feel your agent truly isn’t living up to his or her part of the contract, which generally includes “diligence,” in this market you may be able to negotiate a cancellation. Just be sure there’s little or no remuneration required, and that there’s no agreement to relist with the same firm down the road.

http://www.MyHouseJustSold.com

But what I learned was that I could use the information they provided to keep tabs on my realtor ask the appropriate questions to know that he was working, everyday to sell my house and when I started getting more involved in the process it sold.

It was like before it was out of site out of mind. I am sure there are loads of sites that offer this type of advice, but I was glad i was turned onto that site it was http://www.MyHouseJustsold..com

Good luck

Dave Emerson here: Good questions! Unfortunately, you’ve got lots of company in your situation. As you discovered, it’s easy to miss something important when signing 5 - 15 pages of legal forms. There are several things to look for, including the length of the listing. Good topic for a future post.We offer all of our sellers an “easy out” satisfaction guarantee, which also facilitates communication & keeps everyone honest from the get-go. But that’s hindsight. Here are some thoughts:

1. Getting out of an unsatisfactory listing: This depends on if the problem is mostly with you, with the agent, or just a matter of communication. Are you doing your part? If the patient’s not taking the medicine, the problem may not be with the doctor.

If the problem really is with the agent’s incompetence, it usually isn’t that hard to negotiate a way out of the contract, especially if the listing’s overpriced and won’t sell anyway. Call the agent, & see if they’ll agree to simply cancel the listing, with no future obligations on your part. I’d try a non-accusatory approach initially: “Sue, for whatever reason, Bill & I have decided that this just isn’t working out. Let’s just agree to disagree and cancel the listing now, so that we can all move on and still remain on cordial terms without generating any unnecessary animosity.”

If the agent complains about the time & money they’ve spent, you might offer to reimburse a part of that, maybe $100, if they agree to cancel the listing that afternoon–immediately. We’ve had situations where we’ve taken over listings and agreed to pay a small referral fee when we close the escrow to the previous listing agent who had cancelled .

If the agent hides behind the manager or broker or regulations, it may be best to take it up with the manager directly. At this point, you may need to be prepared to discuss a few of the worst offenses the agent committed and how you’ve actually been harmed. Most (but not all) managers would rather cancel a listing than face a lawsuit. At the minimum, the manager may agree to switch you to a different agent in the same office. You can usually decline that offer, saying it’s too late for that because the office already failed to properly supervise the current agent, or you may want to interview the other agent & give it a go for a month or two if you like her.

Looks like we’ve got enough for a whole new post here as well–hope this helps for now, but I do want to touch on one more thing.

2. Starting over Changing companies and agents gives you a bit of a fresh start–if you take advantage of it. But it’s pretty easy to just repeat your mistakes with a different agent if you’re not careful.

First, be careful to select an agent that’s honest, experienced, knowledgeable, and diligent. We’ve got several referral sources we use to find good agents anywhere, and would be happy to pre-screen for you. Just call 562-822-SOLD, or post a comment indicating the area you’re located in.

Second, be sure to really start over, going through the first four of the steps we listed in the article, and making sure the agent can handle the remaining two steps as well.

If you and your agent do it right, odds are you’ll be able to be in escrow for top dollar within 30 days of your new listing hitting the market!
Just be sure there’s no further requirement in the cancellation. I’m not a lawyer, but my preference is to write “Cancelled” over the initial contract & have everyone sign it, ultimately including the broker or office manager.