Buying Agent - NOT awesome experience

[Nlambert]

A Realtor is there to help guide you through the process, not to do 100% of the leg work for you. We know what we want better than our Realtor does and while she knows most of what we want, she isn't a mind reader. It works best for us if we tell her what we want to see and have her facilitate our requests. We find what we like, she pulls the comps, and advises if the offer we think we want to make will hold water. If not, she makes recommendations. Just remember they are your guide and not your personal assistant.

[FatTails]

We had a terrible agent when we first started looking for a house here. Only took us to look at homes that were built by her brother. When we wanted to see other homes she huffed and puffed about it and told us we wouldn't get as good of a deal. We dropped her pretty fast and I'm definitely glad there wasn't anything "exclusive" going on.

[Nlambert]

You can fire your Realtor. When we originally listed our home for sale our old Realtor (who we had used twice before) thought she had it in the bag and didn't bother doing any work for us. She stuck a sign in the yard and disappeared. I had to beg for an open house. Then if we called to see a house, she would tell us "Well you don't have an offer on yours so it might be too early to look." We didn't have an offer because buyer's agents couldn't get her to answer the phone or return a call when they had an interested client.

We found out the hard way after someone's Realtor contacted us directly to find out why our Realtor wouldn't call her back and that someone requested a second walk through so they could make an offer. After no response from our Realtor, they bought a home one street over on an identical floorplan. I called their Realtor and told them to come any time and to let us know if they wanted to make an offer and I would get that Realtor to respond one way or another. By then, they had already made the offer on something else.

I finally managed to get our Realtor on the phone and told her to come get her signs and that we would no longer require her services. We re-listed with someone else. She is an Associate Broker so I think she wasn't too concerned with whether or not our house sold. She assumed that since we had used her a few times before and that she was a "family friend" that just listing the house was enough.

[LCTMadison]

Many agents foolishly think once that paper is signed they are getting paid regardless of their effort they put into their clients.... but commission and agency relationships are two separate issues. Agents still have to do their jobs and fulfill the fiduciary responsibility to the client to earn the commission. If they are not, often times you will see buyers move on and find another agent that will.

I've sat on several arbitrations where a lazy agent with a buyer's agency agreement tried to collect commissions from another agent when the buyer abandoned their previous buyer's agent because they did not feel like they were doing their job and they found another agent that would. Agents may think they can cry "we have the buyers agency agreement" but they still have to DO THEIR JOB.

A few years ago we worked with a client whose previous agent who had his house listed would not release him from his listing/buying agreements without him providing her with a stipulated amount of money. It pissed him off so bad he stopped letting people see his house until the agreement lapsed and he has sang from the rooftops to everyone he knows how the agent handled the situation. Think that was good for that agent's business? She should have just let him move on.

[Nlambert]

Originally Posted by LCTMadison

Many agents foolishly think once that paper is signed they are getting paid regardless of their effort they put into their clients.... but commission and agency relationships are two separate issues. Agents still have to do their jobs and fulfill the fiduciary responsibility to the client to earn the commission. If they are not, often times you will see buyers move on and find another agent that will.

I've sat on several arbitrations where a lazy agent with a buyer's agency agreement tried to collect commissions from another agent when the buyer abandoned their previous buyer's agent because they did not feel like they were doing their job and they found another agent that would. Agents may think they can cry "we have the buyers agency agreement" but they still have to DO THEIR JOB.

Absolutely! I can tell you now a good Realtor will work hard for you ( I used to be one) and there are plenty available who will do their jobs. If you have one that will not, fire them. Doesn't matter if a contract is in place or not. They gain the commission by working for you. It isn't a free ride to get paid.

[lhall85917]

Originally Posted by LCTMadison

Many agents foolishly think once that paper is signed they are getting paid regardless of their effort they put into their clients.... but commission and agency relationships are two separate issues. Agents still have to do their jobs and fulfill the fiduciary responsibility to the client to earn the commission. If they are not, often times you will see buyers move on and find another agent that will.

I've sat on several arbitrations where a lazy agent with a buyer's agency agreement tried to collect commissions from another agent when the buyer abandoned their previous buyer's agent because they did not feel like they were doing their job and they found another agent that would. Agents may think they can cry "we have the buyers agency agreement" but they still have to DO THEIR JOB.

I wish I could "like" this post 100 times! As a former teacher, I know that an entire profession can be smeared by the actions of a few. Realtors seem to be in a very similar postion.

[Nlambert]

I think it happens with Realtors because of the turnover. A lot of new Realtors don't really understand the process yet and are trying to "wing it". There are always loads of people in the classes getting their Realtor license. One thing I will never forget when I went through my last day at the Board of Realtors being initiated in was what a speaker told us:

"Look to your left, and look to your right. In three months only one of you will still be here." At that time, there were over 1,400 Realtors in Madison County and just over 400 listings.

Real Estate is one of THE hardest jobs I've ever done. It was a ton of fun, but stressful and expensive. I chose to leave due to having young kids and needing stable income but I appreciate a Realtor that can be successful in this environment. I'd suggest researching before choosing someone.

[unlblkrubi]

Originally Posted by Nlambert

A Realtor is there to help guide you through the process, not to do 100% of the leg work for you. We know what we want better than our Realtor does and while she knows most of what we want, she isn't a mind reader. It works best for us if we tell her what we want to see and have her facilitate our requests. We find what we like, she pulls the comps, and advises if the offer we think we want to make will hold water. If not, she makes recommendations. Just remember they are your guide and not your personal assistant.

This is their job!

[catfishin2000]

True story: my mom is an agent in Hsv. In the 80's she was one of the bigs, but now is semi retired. About 10 years ago I called her about looking for and buying a small farm sized property. She then recommended me to another agent. What? But Mom! Her reason: The other agent is a redneck and I would like him better and see eye to eye. Turns out she was right, as usual.
Moral: find an agent that is on the same page/same place in life as you are.