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OK, I'm venting. I have a nice property for sale, priced a little below market, mint condition etc. listed with an agent at the "country's #2 franchise". Buyer's agent with the same office shows up yesterday, with a 1 hr. notice -- shows 4 or 5 homes in the subdivision. Sends feedback today, says "Client just started looking, may have to sell home first to buy, likes the home a lot". Listing agent knows not to show mine unless buyer is ready, willing and able to buy. The property that the looker has for sale is very likely to be on the market for a good year, maybe two in this market.
Why not just show this "looker" the vacant houses and do drive bys on the occupied homes is my question. I'm not out looking at property until this is sold. If this were a hot market and looker's house would likely sell in average market time, fine. But don't bother sellers if you don't have a qualified buyer.
Well, the agent feedback did say "may have to sell home first", so is it possible the buyer may have other options to finance the purchase?
Hi rj, evidently the looker owns the home she has now together with another person, and the agent only found that out today when she went over to list the house. So (a) the house is not on the market yet, and (b) requires another signature to sell! The other person will either buy out the looker, or they will both buy together again. In either case, the looker's home is only going on the market tomorrow because obviously, they need 2 signatures. Weird.
I know it is a pain to do showings but my personal point of view is that the more people who see the home the better, even if they aren't RAW right this moment. Situations change on both sides, they may recommend yours to someone else, etc. I'd rather have more people looking than fewer.
OK, I'm venting. I have a nice property for sale, priced a little below market, mint condition etc. listed with an agent at the "country's #2 franchise". Buyer's agent with the same office shows up yesterday, with a 1 hr. notice -- shows 4 or 5 homes in the subdivision. Sends feedback today, says "Client just started looking, may have to sell home first to buy, likes the home a lot". Listing agent knows not to show mine unless buyer is ready, willing and able to buy. The property that the looker has for sale is very likely to be on the market for a good year, maybe two in this market.
Why not just show this "looker" the vacant houses and do drive bys on the occupied homes is my question. I'm not out looking at property until this is sold. If this were a hot market and looker's house would likely sell in average market time, fine. But don't bother sellers if you don't have a qualified buyer.
Opinions from other agents ?
I couldn't agree more. If you're going to put a buyer in your car and drive them all over town with gas prices nearing (and over in some places) $4.00 /gal I would make DARN sure that whoever got in my car could at least qualify to purchase a home.
I know it is a pain to do showings but my personal point of view is that the more people who see the home the better, even if they aren't RAW right this moment. Situations change on both sides, they may recommend yours to someone else, etc. I'd rather have more people looking than fewer.
Yes, I agree to an extent. One of the reasons I had to retire from being a Realtor is orthopedic problems and it is difficult enough for me to get the house spiffy and show ready, and get out of the house for 2 hrs., rather than have some yahoo trapsing thru that doesn't even have their house on the damn market. That is why I say, show the vacant homes first. They have umpteen photos of this interior!
The worst house to sell is your own; and in this market, it's even "worser". Oh well.
I never took on buyers unless they were pre-qualified. End of story. It's a waste of my time, the seller's time and gets the sellers hopes up, which is unfair. I always felt that there is an unwritten agreement between me and the seller that if I take my buyer into your home that they are qualified to buy it. Otherwise they have no business being in your home.
I've had to tell several "buyers" that.
One potential client traveled several hundred miles for me to show him homes that he was not qualified to buy. He wasn't even sure if his company would ever create a position for him to transfer to in my city. But he wanted me to show him 40 to 50 homes over a weekend. He also wanted to present an offer within one week due to an expiration of a homebuyer's credit. Obviously, this was last April. I told him it wasn't fair to the sellers and I wouldn't do it. You cannot present an offer when you are not pre-qualified. It was so bad that we didn't even know what he could actually afford.
Yet there he was, in the car on the way to my city, thinking he was going on a tour of homes. I'm sure he found someone else to do it for him, though.
The owner of our agency had once shown several properties to a couple and they were coming back into town to present an offer. They called him on the phone while I was in the office. I asked him why the woman was calling from someone else's phone. She called back a few minutes later and he asked her. Come to find out, the couple were living with their daughter, didn't have jobs and couldn't even qualify for the $75,000 home they were looking at. Yet, he had spent countless hours with them, already.
I think a lot of agents spin their wheels because it makes them look "busy" but I made sure that I always worked smart. And sellers put a lot of trust in agents bringing strangers into their home. The least I could do is know they could buy the home if they liked it.
Our realtor brought us an unqualified buyer, she couldn't get financing, she was a ditz and walked away then came back a month later, then she reverted to a cash buyer but guess what??? She was short $60,000 and our realtor actually approached us to take back a small mortgage saying she had a great deal for us. Long story short, this pain of a buyer ended up buying our house cash. We've no idea where she got the rest of the cash and we don't care.
Our realtor brought us an unqualified buyer, she couldn't get financing, she was a ditz and walked away then came back a month later, then she reverted to a cash buyer but guess what??? She was short $60,000 and our realtor actually approached us to take back a small mortgage saying she had a great deal for us. Long story short, this pain of a buyer ended up buying our house cash. We've no idea where she got the rest of the cash and we don't care.
Sounds like the buyer was not giving your agent full information from the git go. Good thing your agent hung in there for you. $60K is quite a lot to be "short".
I agree with everybody! bbronson made the exact point I was going to make - you never know who will buy your house - everyone who looks at it may know someone who might might never know of its' existence.
That said, Quilter Chick, if you have physical issues that make it difficult for you to get ready perhaps it would be a good idea for your agent to put that in the listing 'private remarks' that it is more difficult for you to show the property and to please send pre-approved buyers only, or serious buyers only, etc.
Also, if you don't feel like leaving, don't leave. Just go sit in the backyard or somewhere private until they leave.
I almost always will show property to a new client that I don't know one time only. I allow time for a consultation where I explain to them why they need to be prequalified before we look again. Most do it, some do not.
ipoetry's story is unusual but the theme is not. A lot of people who are offered a relocation package, turn down the offer once they look at how much (or little) they get for the money out here.
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I have a nice property for sale, priced a little below market, mint condition etc. listed with an agent at the "country's #2 franchise". Buyer's agent with the same office shows up yesterday, with a 1 hr. notice -- shows 4 or 5 homes in the subdivision. Sends feedback today, says "Client just started looking, may have to sell home first to buy, likes the home a lot". Listing agent knows not to show mine unless buyer is ready, willing and able to buy. The property that the looker has for sale is very likely to be on the market for a good year, maybe two in this market. 
Oh well.
