An owner signs with an estate agent and usually feels a sense of relief. A professional is handling the sale now. They will prepare the listing, check the paperwork, find a buyer, negotiate the terms and see the deal through to the notary. Besides, the agent is someone the owner knows or, even “better”, a relative.
Surely all that remains is to wait for the result.
A week passes. Then a month. Then several months, or sometimes years. The listing is online, the photographs have been published, but the apartment has not sold. The agent said a professional photographer took the pictures and the property was advertised in plenty of places. Viewings are rare, nonexistent, or frequent but fruitless. The owner gets no clear, evidence-based explanation of what is going on.
The most unpleasant discovery may come much later. The owner trusted the agent because they were an acquaintance, a former classmate, a friend or a relative. Surely they would not let the owner down; the problem must be something beyond anyone’s control.
Then the owner learns from third parties or from genuinely interested buyers buyers who have been making every effort to move the transaction forward that the agent never answered their calls or repeated emails. Perhaps the agent said they were busy and promised to call back, only to stop answering altogether.
By then, however, an exclusive agreement has already been signed and the owner may have no practical way out. The agent may become complacent because the agreement appears to secure their fee even if someone else finds the buyer, or even if they do very little to achieve a better price and better terms for the owner.
There are, of course, exceptions. Nevertheless, I have encountered this problem repeatedly. The people who suffer most are the owners, who may never realise that they not only paid more than necessary, but that much of the actual work was ultimately done by the buyer’s representative or by the owners themselves on behalf of the agent they were paying.
Publishing an advert is not the same as selling a property
The property market is highly competitive. New listings appear every day, while prices, lending conditions and buyer expectations change. Putting a property on a portal and sharing it on social media is only the beginning.
A sale takes ongoing work:
- assessing a realistic market price;
- positioning the property correctly;
- preparing and presenting it properly, with professional photographs;
- checking the documents and potential complications;
- communicating with the apartment association;
- responding promptly to buyer enquiries;
- knowing the property and its practical details;
- arranging viewings;
- conducting professional negotiations;
- preparing for bank financing and the notarial transaction, then following the process through to completion;
- handing over the property and closing the transaction properly, so the owner is not later surprised by a buyer’s claim, a substantial tax bill nobody mentioned, or some other avoidable problem.
When the work effectively stops as soon as the advert goes live, the property gradually loses buyers’ attention. The longer a listing sits there unchanged, the more often people ask: why has nobody bought it yet?
Even a good property can start to look troublesome simply because nobody is actively managing the sale. Every property needs its own approach. Each has strengths worth finding and bringing to the fore. An agent’s job is to spot them and, where possible, make them stand out with modest, sensible improvements.
Missing paperwork has a habit of surfacing at the worst possible time
In practice, I have unfortunately encountered the same situation with surprising frequency. A property has remained on the market for an inexplicably long time. Eventually a buyer is found and is ready to move forward quickly, but when the necessary information and documents are requested, they are unavailable. Nobody checked them in advance, and the search begins only after the buyer has already asked for them and the transaction has become urgent.
The same applies to rental properties: the advert may say one thing, while the actual situation, terms and figures turn out to be quite different.
This is when issues may unexpectedly come to light, including:
- discrepancies in the register;
- alterations that have not been registered;
- missing permits or necessary easements;
- structural defects;
- debts or disputed obligations;
- questions about shared ownership;
- serious problems within the apartment association;
- significant restrictions the owner did not know about;
- documents, information or approvals that cannot be obtained within a few days.
None of this necessarily means the property cannot be sold. Many issues can be resolved if they are identified early and there is a clear plan for dealing with them.
An early check can also save both seller and buyer a great deal of time. An agent should be able to explain how the property’s condition and particular features affect its price, and what price gives it a realistic chance of selling. Sometimes setting the right price now makes far more sense than waiting indefinitely, only to face repairs or other substantial costs later.
When a problem appears just before the transaction, everything slows down. The buyer starts to hesitate, the bank pauses its assessment, and the notarial appointment is postponed. Sometimes the deal falls through altogether. The buyer chooses another property where the transaction has been prepared professionally, the facts are clear and the risks are easier to understand.
The owner loses the most. They are not a property specialist and should not have to supervise every step and check every document themselves. That is why they hired an agent in the first place.
“Let’s give it a little more time” is not always a strategy
Of course, not every property can be sold in a week. Sometimes the market really does need time. Some properties are complicated, the terms are unusual, the owner’s price expectations are too high, or the pool of potential buyers is small.
An early review can save both the seller and the buyer a considerable amount of time. A professional agent should be able to explain how the property’s condition and particular features affect its value. If a sale at the desired price is unrealistic, this must be explained clearly and the asking price should reflect both the market and the property’s actual condition. Sometimes it is wiser to sell now at the right price than to wait indefinitely and later face necessary repairs, additional obligations or other unexpected and substantial expenses.
An owner should know:
- how many enquiries have come in;
- whether viewings have taken place;
- what feedback buyers have given;
- whether the asking price fits the market;
- what is holding the sale back;
- what has already been done;
- what needs to change;
- which documents have been checked and which are still missing.
If months pass without a result, useful information or a plan, waiting longer is unlikely to solve the problem on its own.
What can you do when your sale has stalled?
First, do not be afraid to ask for an independent opinion.
Sometimes a change in price or presentation is enough. In other cases, the documents need another look, the property needs to reach a different group of buyers, the apartment needs better preparation for viewings, or the negotiations need a different approach.
Owners have often come to me after their property had been listed through another agent for a long time without any result. They were tired and disappointed and could not understand why nothing was happening even though an agreement had been signed and the advert was online.
A closer look often showed that the problem was not a lack of buyers. It was a lack of consistent work. Documents had not been collected, enquiries had gone unanswered, the asking price did not reflect the market. The agent’s involvement ended with posting the advert; for reasons nobody could explain, even serious buyer enquiries received no response.
In every such case I have handled, it was possible to find a practical solution and provide professional help within a short period. The price and terms of my comprehensive service were also considerably more favourable than those previously offered to the owners. In some situations, I provided the consultation and the necessary assistance entirely free of charge.
I am not talking about miracles or guaranteeing an immediate sale. I am talking about professional work and personal responsibility without empty promises: understanding the property thoroughly, communicating reliably, preparing the property and its documents in advance, and preventing future risks wherever possible.
A good agent does not disappear after the agreement is signed
There are many serious, conscientious agents in the market. What sets a good one apart is not the loudest advertising, the size of their agency, a large fee, or the fact that they went to school with the owner. It is what happens after the agreement is signed.
They stay in touch. They explain what they are doing. They arrange for the necessary documents to be obtained and check them early. They do not hide difficulties or give the owner false expectations. They do not wait for problems to reveal themselves or for the property to somehow sell itself.
An owner entrusts an agent with more than keys and photographs. They entrust them with their property, time, money and important plans: buying their next home, moving, paying off a loan or adapting to a change in family circumstances. Ideally, once the agreement is signed, the agent takes care of the process as a whole, helps resolve the problems and brings the owner the best offer available. The owner can then decide whether to accept it and attend the notarial transaction.
That trust calls for real work. Before signing, it is worth checking whether the agreement gives the owner a clear way to end it if the agent demonstrably fails to meet their commitments. If the owner would still have to pay the full fee, rather than only reimburse direct costs that were actually incurred and can be documented, that is a good reason to consider another agent while there is still time.
If your property has been on the market for a long time and you do not understand what is happening or why there is no result, you do not have to keep waiting in the dark. An independent review can reveal what has been missed, give the process a clear direction again and help it move forward.
Tell me about your situation. I will review your property, documents, price and the work done so far, then tell you honestly what could actually help. If you would like to work together, we can sign an exclusive agreement at a fee below the usual market rate. We can also make the exit terms clear: if I fail to do my work properly, you can end the agreement and reimburse only direct expenses already incurred and supported by evidence.
I have helped many owners sell or rent out their properties, achieve better terms and keep costs and risks down. And they did not have to do the agent’s job themselves while paying an agent to do it.
Get in touch. I sincerely wish you success with the sale or rental of your property!
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Author: Roman Ytrebø
© 2026 Roman Ytrebø / GRÖLLER KINNISVARA OÜ. All rights reserved. Copying, substantially reproducing, adapting or republishing this article without the author’s prior written permission is prohibited. Limited quotation is permitted only with clear attribution and an active link to the original publication at grollerkv.ee.