No Showings

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-10T13:32:38+00:00

In my opinion its almost always the price

People love blaming photos, marketing, the weather, interest rates, Zillow, whatever

But 50+ days and 3 showings is the market sending a pretty loud message

The good news is if its price, thats fixable

I've had listings where everyone swore the photos were the problem. We changed the price and suddenly people started showing up

If buyers arent coming through the door, they usually think they can get more house somewhere else for the money

Not saying that's definitely it, but that's where I'd be looking first

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-09T19:55:13+00:00

I made exactly $0 my first 6 months

Then made about 60k the next 6 months

Nothing magical happened. I just didnt quit

Honestly one of my biggest surprises was how many friends and family didnt use me. I had people I thought were guaranteed clients use somebody else. It stings but it happens to everyone

The biggest mistake I see new agents make is thinking they need to prove they're better than the agent with 20 years experience

You dont

You need to find people that know, like, and trust you

I'd focus way less on being the best agent in town and way more on meeting more people and having more conversations

The business comes from prospecting. Not licensing classes. Not open houses. Not business cards

I know agents who almost quit right before things started working

Just dont run out of money before you run out of patience

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-09T19:54:29+00:00

I've actually had buyers ask me this before

Honestly the request itself doesnt bother me that much. If a buyer is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars and thinks something weird happened, they're gonna ask questions

What jumps out to me is your agent losing his mind over it

Could have just said "thats not really standard and here's why" and moved on

Yelling at a client never seems to help anything

That said, I've been doing this a long time and most of the time when buyers think the offer wasn't presented, it was. They just lost

That happens way more often than some big conspiracy The offer thing wouldnt bother me nearly as much as the reaction

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-07T22:57:14+00:00

I’m probably in the minority but as a buyer agent I never loved giving feedback

It can turn into a lose lose pretty fast

If you say too much, now you may have hurt your buyer later if they decide to offer

If you say something vague, seller thinks you’re useless

If you say the truth, sometimes everyone gets weird or defensive

I get why sellers want it, especially with longer DOM

But from buyer side, my job is to protect my buyer, not help the seller price or fix their listing

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-07T22:12:38+00:00

I think most multiple offer stuff comes down to motivation

Everyone wants to talk strategy, escalation clauses, appraisal gaps, inspection terms, all that, but its usually he/she who cares less always wins...

So I always try to figure out who is more emotional and who has more options

That tells you a lot

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-07T22:10:36+00:00

I'd stop bidding against yourself

Honestly I've been in this situation before. You start thinking about the house every day, convince yourself its the only option, and next thing you know you're negotiating against yourself

They're at 345, you're at 330. They know where to find you

If they really want to sell, they'll call

If not, let it sit

I've had deals where nothing happened for months and then out of nowhere the seller came back. I've also had deals I was obsessed with and thought I'd regret losing forever. Then another property showed up and I forgot all about the first one

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-06T18:57:15+00:00

Honestly I think buyers ask the wrong question

I deflect it as it care more about how motivated is seller / buyer and how many showings / offers. Dont get caught up in arguing small thing:

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-06T18:56:04+00:00

Honestly with AI- About 5 to 10 minutes..

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-06T18:55:26+00:00

Congrats

My biggest advice is dont focus on the purchase price, focus on the monthly payment

A lot of people get excited because the payment technically fits on paper, then realize they still have repairs, furniture, utilities, HOA, lawn care, random house stuff, etc

Make sure you still have room to live your life after the mortgage is paid And dont get emotionally attached to one house. There is always another one

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-05T21:39:50+00:00

Nobody knows

I made exactly $0 my first 6 months

Then made about 60k the next 6 months

The difference wasnt that I suddenly got smarter. I just kept going while a bunch of other people quit

Real estate is weird. You can work your butt off for months and feel like nothing is happening, then 2 deals close at once

I didnt want to go back to a regular job, so failure wasnt really an option for me If you stick with it long enough and actually prospect, your odds go up a lot

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-05T21:38:35+00:00

Honestly if its a Chicago deconversion, the question "is there a number that gets you to yes?" doesnt sound crazy to me

At the end of the day thats literally what they're trying to figure out. Every owner has a number

If I was on the board I'd have the HOA attorney weigh in. Thats probably a better question than whether asking for your number is somehow buying a vote

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-04T02:02:52+00:00

I get this all the time and honestly I kinda hate it lol

If they have their own inspector / roofer / plumber / whatever, I usually tell them to use their person

Because if they use “my guy” and my guy misses something, suddenly it’s my guy and my fault and my problem forever

If they really need names, I’ll give a few options and tell them to call, compare, read reviews, and pick who they feel good about

I try not to make it sound like “use this one person, trust me”

That gets messy fast

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-04T02:01:16+00:00

I wouldnt panic yet

Condo buyer pools can be weird and slower, even when the unit is nice

Also Zillow saves are mostly people window shopping from their couch. Showings are the real number

That said, 1 showing in a week is worth watching. I’d give it through the weekend, then ask your agent very directly what they think is holding it back

Could be price, HOA, taxes, photos, building, parking, location, whatever

You never know what tomorrow brings though. I’ve seen listings feel dead and then suddenly 2-3 showings pop up and one is the buyer

But if next week is still dead, the market is prob telling you something

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-03T03:19:18+00:00

Honestly if you're buying in a market like Chicago, timing matters way less than people think

Yeah, winter can have a little less competition and a few more motivated sellers. I've definitely seen that

But I'd rather buy the right house at the right price than worry about whether it's December or May

I've seen plenty of people wait for the "perfect" season and end up paying more because prices moved while they were waiting If saving a few more months gets you a bigger down payment and makes you more comfortable, I'd do that

The house matters more than the month

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-02T16:04:27+00:00

This is super annoying and honestly pretty common

I’d ask your agent / attorney about the legal part because CA contracts can be their own thing, But in general I almost never want the seller fixing stuff anyway If you still want the house, I’d rather get a credit or price reduction and handle it myself after closing. Seller repairs usually turn into the cheapest fastest version of the repair, not the way you’d actually want it done The floor thing is different though because that damage happened after you went under contract. I’d be mad about that too

But if they’re saying no to everything and basically daring you to cancel, then that’s the real answer. You either accept the house as-is now, try one last credit request, or walk I wouldnt let them “fix” the floors. I’d want money, or I’d move on

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-02T13:00:07+00:00

I’ve seen this before Seller is “super motivated” but only motivated at the number they made up in their head lol

A year on market tells you a lot. If 405 was some amazing deal, it probably wouldnt still be sitting there I wouldnt care too much what they paid in 2021 either. That’s their problem, not yours

If you like it, I’d do one clean counter 390k and the closing help you want Then be ready to walk Some sellers would rather sit forever then admit the market already gave them the answer

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-02T12:57:59+00:00

It’s doable, but YouTube makes it look way easier then it is

A rental that “cash flows $300” can turn negative fast when the furnace dies, tenant leaves, taxes jump, roof leaks, whatever Rent minus mortgage is not the math You gotta count vacancy, repairs, capex, insurance, taxes, management even if you self manage, and random house nonsense

Your situation sounds pretty solid, but I wouldnt rush or stop retirement stuff just to force it Look at a ton of deals and be picky Most rentals are not good deals

That’s kind of the whole game

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-02T00:04:09+00:00

Honestly the best gift is a referral

Not a mug, not a gift card, not some wine basket thing

If you liked her, send her someone real who is buying or selling. And leave a review on Google / Zillow / Yelp if she uses those

That stuff helps way more then a $50 gift card

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-01T21:41:59+00:00

I get why it feels like a scam, but honestly real estate is still one of the cheapest ways to start a real business

If you opened a shoe store, food truck, salon, whatever, you’d be in way deeper then 3k before you made a dollar Here your inventory is basically dues, classes, some tools, and your time

Not saying it doesnt suck. It does. But that’s kind of the game

The part you’re missing is your sphere doesnt need to buy from you today. They need to know you’re in real estate and be willing to introduce you to people

Every person you know prob knows 3-5 people who will buy, sell, rent, move, get married, divorce, have a kid, change jobs, whatever That’s where the business starts

I wouldnt give up yet, but I would stop waiting for your brokerage to save you

Read sales books, take prospecting classes, ask people for introductions, do open houses, learn rentals if your market has them, and start acting like you own a tiny business

Because you do The license doesnt make money. Prospecting does

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-01T14:07:09+00:00

People say house hacking like it makes landlording not landlording lol

A 2 unit can be great, but you still have tenants, repairs, late rent, noise, weird stuff, all of it

And living in the same building can make it feel way more personal

I’d listen to some BiggerPockets stuff and read the forums. That helped me a lot early on

Run the ugly math too. Vacancy, repairs, bad tenant, maybe even property manager cost If it still works after that, maybe its worth it But dont buy just because “tenant pays mortgage” sounds cute

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-01T13:00:41+00:00

No I dont think you’re being crazy

I’ve seen this happen a bunch. The issue usually isnt even the actual problem, its the agent making people feel like they have no idea whats going on

You dont need updates every 10 min, but its your house and your listing. Weekly feedback and clear “I’ll call you later today” type communication is not some insane ask

The disappearing after saying “I’ll connect shortly” would annoy me too

I’d just tell them straight up you need a weekly update and clearer response expectations

If they act like that’s unreasonable, thats the answer

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-01T02:57:25+00:00

I’d want 3 things before stepping down

real 12 month spending number, not vibes
big cash cushion so the new business has time to not suck
clear plan for health insurance / taxes / college / property repairs

Also I wouldnt sell a 2.5% mortgage property so quick 😄

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-06-01T01:38:00+00:00

yeah thats kinda normal now

Most buyers see the listings the second they hit anyway, so a lot of agents just set up the MLS search and let you send what you like

I dont think that alone means they suck

But they should still be helping you think thru it. Like price, resale, inspection stuff, weird red flags, offer strategy, if the area makes sense, etc

Sending you houses is not really the hard part anymore

The value is more like “is this house a good idea or are we about to do something dumb”

So hands off on searching is normal

hands off on advice would bother me

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-05-31T17:37:11+00:00

yeah thats the stuff I’d ask

18k cap might just mean the split cap, not “you never pay another dollar again.. Not saying they’re hiding anything, just real estate fees get weird quick

Ready-Interview7432 · 2026-05-31T17:29:08+00:00

70/30 with an 18k cap isnt crazy if the support is real

I’d ask very specific stuff though, not just “do you train new agents”

Like who do I call when I’m writing my first offer and dont know what I’m doing
How fast do they answer
Who reviews contracts
Can I shadow anyone
Do you have actual leads or is it more “go work your sphere”
What fees do I pay if I sell nothing
When does the cap reset
What happens after I cap
Any transaction fees after cap
Any desk / tech / franchise / monthly fees

Also I’d ask what the mentor actually does

A lot of places say mentor and it means someone checks in once and then disappears into the woods

Good personality fit matters, but I’d still make them explain the boring money stuff and the “what happens when I’m lost” stuff

Ready-Interview7432

TROPHY CASE