The listing is in terrible condition. It smells like a wet dog. Make that a wet, unhousebroken dog. It hasn't been updated in years. And the seller wants more per square foot than the most luxurious brand-new home.

You shouldn't be tempted by a listing like this, but you need to list something. The only thing standing between you and the seller is The Awful Truth - what it will really take for the seller to do to get a quick, top-dollar sale.

Part One of The Awful Truth is letting the seller know that you are responsible for marketing the home, not making it ready to sell. That's the seller's job. But many sellers unrealistically believe that you should be able to successfully market their homes without their having to do a thing.

Part Two of The Awful Truth is disabusing them of such a notion. Sellers do have to prepare their homes to meet the expectations of the market, or risk letting the home sit without offers. At best, homes that are underprepared for the market will generate lower offers.

But you're scared. You know the seller doesn't want to hear that the home won't sell without new carpet, paint, decluttering, an attitude and price adjustment, and a long list of other must-do's. Like many agents, you're more afraid of your sellers' wrath than you are to take an overpriced, underprepared or otherwise hard-to-sell listing.

So you take the listing, hoping the seller will come to his/her senses after a month of poor showings and let you adjust the price.

But this doesn't really work, and you know it. Frankly, you should be thinking that a won't-sell listing is a lot scarier than any seller, except it doesn't give you the evil eye, raise its voice, or threaten to fire you.

Instead it silently ruins your reputation. Here's how a won't-sell listing can do a listing agent a lot of harm:

• You and your broker can pour money down the drain advertising it, and it still doesn't move, so you have to advertise it even more - with price adjustments. It all makes you look like you didn't know what you were doing.

• Other agents know as soon as they walk through it that the home is a stinker. They instantly lose respect for you because they know how desperate you must be to take on an unreasonable seller.

• They also lose respect for your skills as they conclude that the seller did a better job selling you than you did selling them. If you can't make a seller keep the catbox clean, you must be a real pushover in negotiations.

• Unreasonable sellers tend to get angrier the longer their houses sit without selling, causing them to say bad things about you to their friends and neighbors. You're not there to tell anyone the other side.

• Other agents, sniffing blood in the water, start coming around your seller to see what they can do. The seller may be more reasonable by then, but it's too late for you. The seller and the other agents join into a blamefest against you and your poor marketing ability.

• The final humiliation comes when another agent takes over your listing, sticks her sign in the yard, and sells the house in a week.

Why would you put yourself and your broker through that?

Better to sit down with your seller and tell them The Awful Truth about their home from the beginning. Here's how:

• Use your comparables to show why homes in the seller's area sell for more when cleaned up/improved. Go the extra step beyond your competitors by visiting comparables personally, so you'll know why one home sold for more than another. Otherwise your comparables are useless because you can't explain them.

• Explain the concept of move-in condition. Most buyers want homes that are so clean and updated, they can just move their stuff in. Most aren't experienced with contractors and don't want to work with them, preferring to pay top dollar for a home already in 'move-in condition.'

• Tell your seller you have a minimum list of seller preparations that you feel you need to have completed in order to market a home to the public. Give that list to each and every seller. Check what needs to be done and then ask the seller if there is any reason why those items can't be done before the home is put into the MLS.

• Sometimes, all it takes is a trusted handyperson or contractor to get the seller to relent. You should have a list of contractors you trust that you can share with the seller to get this work done quickly and correctly. Ask the seller if there is any reason why he/she can't contact these people to get started right away? Their answer should tell you a lot.

• Accumulate any persuasive documentation that shows what buyers prefer - Realty Times' articles, magazine/newspaper articles, quotes, statistics, etc. You should know these articles so well that you have multiple copies on hand and can pull copies of the articles pertinent to your seller. For example, if poor landscaping is the problem, have a cache of articles about how landscaping helps sell homes, and print them for your seller.

There's no harm in pulling in a third-party like Realty Times to help you persuade your seller. Don't try to do it alone. If you aren't familiar with every home on your seller's block, you'll sputter. Better to have a few well-chosen allies who can help you.

The idea is to help your seller help himself.

Editor's note: Realty Times' archives of news and advice is available for you to search, email and print, but not to reprint into newsletters unless you are a paying subscriber. Click on the "search" feature and put in topics such as "pets," "landscaping," and "preparing and sale," for ideas for articles to print or email for your sellers.