These days, almost all houses that go on the market sell. Over the course of my career, I’ve only had a few listings that I didn’t end up selling. It happens to all listing agents. You can’t sell them all, and sometimes you realize after the fact you really shouldn’t.
Years ago, I took a listing in Marin and while it was on the market on the market, after the disclosures had been filled out, the owner told me there was a convicted child molester living around the corner. She felt strongly that it wasn’t necessary to give this information to prospective buyers, so there was no mention of that in the disclosures. The market was slow at that time, we had priced the property too high, and we had signed a short-term listing. When the listing period was up and I hadn’t sold the house, I let the seller know we wouldn’t be extending, but I didn’t tell her why. Sellers and agents have a legal obligation to disclose material facts that effect the value of a property, and the child molester around the corner definitely falls into that category. Had we received an offer on the property I would have made sure to get something in writing from the seller about the situation for the buyers, but I was spared from that potential confrontation.
Around the same time, I had another listing in Marin that was also overpriced and didn’t sell. One of the neighbors came over during a Sunday open house and told me about the time a tree fell on the house! There was no mention of the incident in the disclosures, which definitely could have been an issue if buyers learned of that after the close of escrow. When I spoke to the clients, they explained they didn’t think it was necessary to put that in the disclosures, but I had them add it. During another open house, a prospective buyer who as a contractor came over and asked who did the updating on the house. The owner had done it himself and the contractor walked around the house and started pointing out all kinds of things that were done incorrectly. By that time, I was getting a really bad feeling about representing the sellers, and we were nearing the end of our listing agreement.
Another agent had contacted the sellers while I still had the listing and they arranged to transition to her once my listing expired. There’s a line that may have been crossed there, as you aren’t supposed to solicit other people’s clients when there is a signed listing. Hypothetically speaking if a seller reaches out to another agent, that’s okay, and that’s what the other agent later claimed. I was ready to walk away from the whole sordid mess anyway. The other agent sold the house, and both the agent and the seller were later sued by the buyers for non-disclosure. The seller and their agent successfully defended themselves, but I was still very glad to have dodged that bullet.
Some listings just aren’t worth selling. Unfortunately, it’s really hard to know that going in, and we find out the hard way after spending thousands of dollars on marketing and countless hours preparing and then attempting to sell the homes. The vast majority of listings turn into sales, and these real estate fails are just part of the business.