Hopefully, this is the only chapter in this book you will never, ever have to put to use. But in the interest of being thorough …

Like most everything else in life, selling your home on your own is by no means a sure thing. Granted, in this book we’ve tried to give you every possible tool to ensure your success. But for one reason or another, not every home is built to sell quickly or at the best possible price—FSBO or otherwise.

By the same token, you may immerse yourself in the process to a certain degree, only to discover it simply isn’t your cup of tea. Or that you don’t have the time. Or that you’re tired of dealing one-on-one with buyers who would make saints grit their teeth.

Whatever the reason, you’re giving some thought to using a real estate agent to help sell your home, at least in some capacity. Although we sincerely hope the following information proves unnecessary to you—however enlightening—here are some strategies to bear in mind when you suspect the sale of your home would benefit from the presence and skill of a professional agent.

The idea can occur to you at almost any point in the process of selling your home. Maybe you’ve only been at it for a little while, perhaps you’ve been working hard for quite some time. Regardless of when it happens, a slightly unnerving thought hits you: This just doesn’t seem to be working out. My house just doesn’t seem to be selling.

Obviously, the notion that you may do well to opt for Plan B is a highly subjective one. What one homeowner would consider maddeningly frustrating another would only see as mildly inconvenient if, indeed, nothing more than a challenge.

Still, there are some rather universal signs that suggest the sale of your home isn’t necessarily bound for utter success, and you may want to consider your options. Here are a few to consider:

Any number of other possibilities exist, but the bottom line is a common one—selling your home simply has not gone the way you expected and hoped it would. And it seems to you that working with a real estate agent in some capacity might be your best option.

We covered the various advantages and drawbacks of working with a real estate agent back in Chapter 1. The advantages include contacts, experience with real estate in your area, and marketing savvy, among others.

Even if you’re merely considering the possibility of working with an agent, it’s important to know how to partner with one who will serve your needs.

The first issue is where to start. One reliable way is to ask for referrals from friends, relatives, and colleagues. The reasoning here is that they have worked with an agent in the past with whom they’ve been happy and feel confident in recommending.

One possible pitfall in obtaining referrals is that others’ homes may be substantially different from yours. For instance, your friend’s house may be quite a bit more expensive than yours or vice versa—or it may be set in the country while yours is in a subdivision. So it’s a good idea to try to pick the brain of someone whose home is, at the very least, somewhat similar to yours.

Another resource is a variety of regional and national associations dealing with real estate agents, for example, www.realestateagent.com (see the following figure). We provide additional websites at the conclusion of this chapter that offer search engines to pair you up with an agent who works in your area.

Another way to get a lead on solid agents in your area is to drive around and look for listing signs on front lawns. If you see a name over and over, that means that particular agent is, if nothing else, busy. While this doesn’t necessarily indicate the agent who’s best for you, it’s at least a reasonable indicator warranting further investigation.

After you have a lead on several candidates, it’s essential to meet with them to get to know their approach and credentials. That means a face-to-face meeting with each—loaded with some pointed questions that should give you a good idea about who will work and who won’t.

Here’s a lineup of suggested questions that can prove helpful in getting not just a good agent, but the right one for you—one who may be willing to take a former FSBO into consideration:

Like any sort of interview process, it’s always important to obtain and check into a few references. In your case, try to find a client who initially attempted to sell his home by himself, then opted for the agent. Find out how the experience went and if he would do the same thing again.

The preceding list of questions has two primary objectives. The first is to find an agent who’s qualified, experienced in selling homes such as yours, and sufficiently aggressive to offer a good chance of success.

The second point is determining whether an agent is agreeable to arrangements that fall outside the conventional, full-fee listing. Know upfront when you approach a real estate agent that—regardless of whether you’re a FSBO or otherwise—he’s going to want to sign your house on for a full listing.

That’s understandable. Real estate agents, like everyone else, are trying to earn a good living in a very competitive environment. Never fault them for wanting a deal that offers the best paycheck they can reasonably get.

The downside for you, of course, is the 6 to 7 percent commission that attaches itself to conventional listing services. As we’ve reviewed before, that can prove a tidy sum—and, the more expensive the home, the greater the commission cut.

If the cost of a sales commission seems a reasonable price to pay, go for it. After all, that only becomes an issue if your house is sold—and that’s the whole point of putting your home on the market in the first place.

But you may wish to pursue other options. Start by asking for an agent’s help, not necessarily a listing, at least at first. If you have a friend or relative who’s an agent—or, by chance, you found a sympathetic agent through your course of interviews—ask them to critique what you’ve done so far. That may offer additional insight into how your FSBO may have misfired and, in turn, how an agent may be able to best assist you from here on.

Things being what they are, don’t expect a friendly agent to necessarily tell you everything you need to know to revive your FSBO. One contact for this book reports that many agents are rather prudent in what information they’re willing to share with any prospective client, let alone a FSBO. An agent may give you just enough information to whet your appetite and underscore her credentials, but not so much that you can necessarily proceed on your own. Understandably, they’d prefer the listing.

It never hurts to inquire about financial arrangements other than the going sales commission cut. Look back at some of the issues relating to agents in Chapter 1—it’s possible an agent has, on occasion, trimmed his fee to get an appealing home. Many agents are open to cutting their commission up to 1 percent or so. Not exactly a windfall, but every little bit makes a difference.

Few, if any, solid agents will be willing to consider a flat fee in lieu of a percentage-based sales commission. Understandably, there’s simply insufficient financial incentive to warrant their time and energy. As we mentioned in Chapter 1, there are so-called “discount” brokers who operate fee-based services. But their services can be notoriously uneven.

One of the pluses you bring to the challenge of working out some sort of alternative arrangement with an agent is your experience in attempting to sell your home on your own. For one thing, you likely know more about your home than many other homeowners (see the following section on helping your agent.) On top of that, you may have research, information, or available materials so she doesn’t have to compile them from square one.

These and other advantages may make you a particularly attractive client for many agents—and, in turn, make them more amenable to trimming down their conventional commission. So in chatting with agents, play up all that you, as an experienced FSBO, may be able to bring to the relationship. It may make the agent’s job a good deal less challenging and a better fit to a lower commission.

One way to leverage all that you may already have in place is to offer a relatively modest cut to any broker who brings you a buyer—a finder’s fee of sorts ranging from 2 to 4 percent. Position this approach by pointing out what steps you have taken to date—including advertisements, listings, marketing, and other efforts—and that you’d be happy to compensate any agent who provides you with a qualified buyer.

Another way to entice agents toward a lower commission is the prospect of work beyond just selling your home. If you know of other homeowners who may be on the lookout for an agent, mention that you’d be happy to pass his name along. Moreover, don’t forget yourself. If you’re buying a new home after selling this one, you’ll need a good agent to help see that through, right?

One final possibility breaks the commission structure down according to the price of your home. Some agents may be willing to charge a certain commission rate for, say, the first $100,000 or $150,000 of the price and then a discounted rate for any amount beyond that. The obvious drawback is that this arrangement is only workable with more expensive homes.

Another part of the relationship between seller and an agent is the formal agreement that outlines their relationship. This is known as the listing agreement.

There are basically two types of listing agreements—an exclusive agreement and an open listing. An exclusive agreement breaks down into two subcategories—the exclusive right to sell and an exclusive agency. The exclusive right to sell is by far the most advantageous to the real estate agent and agency. This guarantees that your agent is going to get his commission no matter how the property is actually sold. In return, the exclusive right to sell requires the agency to actively promote the sale of your home.

If you break down the exclusive right to sell a bit, it’s easy to see why this is the agent’s arrangement of choice. Say you sign the agreement with the agent. The next day, a buyer who looked at your home back when you were trying to sell it on your own appears and offers the full purchase price. Your agent—who may have done little more than hand you the pen to sign the listing agreement—gets his commission. Nice work if you can get it.

The exclusive agency arrangement narrows this somewhat, but not by much. Here, the only time the agent doesn’t get paid is if you find the buyer yourself. Under any other circumstances, the full commission is paid.

The second option is known as the open listing. Here, the dynamics are in your favor. Under this contract, the only time your agent earns her full commission is if she, herself, finds the buyer. Anything else—nada.

It’s no great revelation that real estate agents avoid an open listing at every foreseeable turn. Not only does it offer the least chance of actually earning a commission, it also lets you list your home with other real estate agencies at the same time—and, for that matter, to continue to try to sell your home on your own.

That said, an open listing is one you should pursue when working out your listing agreement with your agent. It combines the best of both worlds—the resources of a professional agent along with the continued possibility that you may sell your home without the agent and save the commission in the long run.

Other elements of the listing arrangement warrant your attention. These include:

Have your attorney review any listing agreement before you sign it. For one thing, she’ll be aware of local legal limitations or customs that may impact the agreement. Also, she should make sure the contract contains clear provisions that allow you to terminate the arrangement. For instance, many contracts really don’t mention any specific responsibilities that an agent must perform, such as hosting open houses, advertising the home in the local paper, and other duties. These should be spelled out. If unfulfilled, they should also be mentioned as a justifiable cause to cancel the listing.

As we’ve mentioned, you’re going to be unlike most sellers an agent works with. Because you’ve put the time and effort into attempting to sell your home on your own, chances are good you’ll know more about your home than other buyers—and, in the process, prove a valuable resource for your real estate agent.

If you followed our suggested agent interview questions listed earlier in this chapter, chances are also very good that you’ve paired with an agent who has a certain degree of respect for the experience and insight you’ve acquired. Ultimately, that should lead to a working relationship that’s more of a partnership instead of your agent telling you what to do at every single turn.

So, don’t be the least bit shy about sharing any knowledge or experience you may have picked up along the way that you think may be of use to your agent. Notice that open houses got a better turnout on a Sunday instead of a Saturday? Mention that. Did you find that buyers seemed particularly drawn to the features of your kitchen and less so to the family room? Suggest that tours with prospective buyers play that up as well.

The point here is that you can bring more to the table than many other owners—information and perspective that your agent can use to his decided advantage. Moreover, don’t limit it to your personal experience. If you have any materials—sales flyers, research, and other items—that you thought were helpful, be sure to pass those along as well.

Not only can your experience as a FSBO prove helpful to your agent, it also makes you a more informed consumer. Because you have a particular appreciation for what goes into the successful sale of a home, you also are aware of what you can reasonably expect a competent agent to do on your behalf. And, in the end, that can only contribute to your ultimate goal—the sale of your home with a fair profit in your pocket.

Here are a few websites that can prove helpful in selecting and working with a real estate agent:

The Least You Need to Know