My real estate agent can't sell my house. What else can I do?

Right now selling a home can be difficult, depending on the location.

In markets like this one, a real estate agent who works hard is probably more valuable than a year ago, when homes seemed to sell in days and sometimes even hours.

There are other options, such as the for-sale-by-owner approach or the use of an Internet company.

For the do-it-yourself person, these options may be less expensive on the surface. If you choose to sell your home yourself, however, issues such as your job may get in the way of being available on quick notice. In today's market, missed opportunities may mean missed offers!

Just remember when selling a home in this market, you may not get what you think your home is worth, but you won't pay as much on the other end when you look to purchase a home somewhere else.

In my opinion, choosing the right professional -- whether in home repair, car maintenance or financial services -- can save more than it costs and in most cases allows you to accomplish your goal more quickly.

Wait. If there is no urgency to your move -- you're moving because you want to upgrade houses or need more space, for example -- you can just bide your time and continue to live in the home. You can also consider a new real estate agent if you feel that might be part of the problem.

When you're moving out of town because of a job change, however, sometimes your employer will buy the house from you if it hasn't sold after a certain period of time.

Rent it. Real estate equity, despite recent evidence to the contrary, builds over time. It might pay for you to hold on to this home and use it as a rental. Contact your real estate agent and find out if his or her company has a relocation division and a property management division, and offer your property for lease.

A relocation department will want to put prospects into nice homes for either sale or rent. While they are waiting for their home to be built, they could be paying you top dollar to rent yours. These are qualified, fine prospects who most likely will take great care of your home.

While it wasn't your intention to become a landlord, relocation leasing could be a way to cover your payments and build equity to the point that you can sell the home later as the market improves.

If you want to sell your house because you cannot afford to live there anymore or simply need to supplement your cash flow, you can consider a reverse mortgage.


With a reverse mortgage, the owner receives a lump sum or a series of monthly payments from a financial institution. The owner continues to live in the house, but is not required to repay the funds. The funds are repaid only when the owner dies, moves out or the house is sold. At that time, the principal amount that has been distributed, accrued loan interest and any other loan costs must be repaid. Any value remaining from the sale will be returned to the original owner or his or her estate.

To qualify for a reverse mortgage, all owners must be 62 or older, the house must be the primary residence and it must be debt-free. The owner still is required to pay property taxes, homeowner's insurance premiums, and utility costs, as well as make necessary maintenance repairs. The amount that can be secured with a reverse mortgage is based on the age of the owner and is significantly less than the full market value.

Because significant expenses are involved, a reverse mortgage should be the last option to be considered. Get good advice before committing to this type of financing.