It's the words of a song, and a popular phrase, and it certainly pertains to some listings that you might have. Some of them are flat-out un-saleable. You just might not realize it.

What is your time worth? Once you know that, you will work to avoid those situations that take up your time and do not provide revenue.

The current market of lender-owned and short sale properties, coupled with many sellers being in bankruptcy often creates a situation where the property that is owned is un-saleable. Here are the more common reasons why and the reasons why you should think of “folding” and moving on…

1. Uncooperative or uncommunicative seller. In short sales, the sellers are often frustrated and worried, and will be less willing to cooperate. In either case, such as making certain disclosures or not paying some of the buyer's costs might render the property un-saleable. If the seller has dropped out of sight, does not return any calls, e-mails, faxes or any other means of communication, you might need to walk away.
2. Seller turns down reasonable offers. You know what's reasonable. No matter what the list price is, if your seller refuses to accept a reasonable offer, or at least provide a reasonable counter-offer, that might be time to cancel the listing. Give this stronger consideration after the seller does this more than once.
3. Sellers are divorcing, fighting or not agreeing with each other. Certainly, sales can occur with a divorce situation, or sellers who are arguing with each other. But, at some point, when the situation becomes untenable, when you are constantly being put in the middle, you need to think about your options. When one divorcing party clearly defies a court order and does not cooperate, or one sibling has made it clear that they will not agree to sell mom and dad's place, it might be time to throw in the towel.
4. Sellers refuse to be reasonable on pricing or making repairs. Pricing today could be a moving target. If the seller does not agree to price adjustments to reflect the current market, and activity is slow or nil, then you might be wasting your time. If the seller refuses, either now before a contract, or in response to a contract, to make even the slightest repair, then it might be quitting time.

We never like to lose a listing. It often feels like failure. But in many cases it is not your failure. It is the seller. If they put you in the boxing ring blindfolded with your hands tied behind your back, how do they expect you to win the fight? Without their cooperation and assistance, you might just be wasting your time.

So, measure each listing with the above factors, and if the decision is to cancel the agreement, first confer with your broker to determine how you accomplish that.