Asking Buyers Agents for Feedback (agent, sales, price, properties)

[mindy410]

Hi, for those of you selling houses does your listing agent call the buyers agents after a showing for positive or negative feedback on your house showing? If your a Agent do you get anoyed when listing agents call you for feedback? I feel that it can help me because if the negative is something I can change It might help get a sale. Thanks Mindy

[nsumner]

Mindy,

Getting feedback on a listing is very critical to a successful sale. Depending on the areas, lots of cities have an appointment service if the agent subscribes to it, then an automatic email is sent to the realtor asking for feedback. We can upload some photos of the house to remind them which one it is... depending on how many homes u show, they get mixed up after a while.

I always do my best to respond to each feedback by email. Some agents prefer to call and the reason I personally don't like that, I may be showing homes and we have very busy schedules.

Another option is to have prepared feedback cards at the house with a pen ready by the door and ask the showing agent to fill it right there.

One of my pet peeves is to get a phone call from a listing agent days or sometimes weeks after the showing asking for feedback.

[middle-aged mom]

Listing agents rely upon the buyer's agents for feed back from the buyers.
Some are better at communicating than others.

My own experienceis about 50% of showings do respond to email prompts. I follow up with the rest and get feedback in 95% of all showings.

[2bindenver]

Feedback is a waste of everybody's time. Feedback isn't the answer to the problem of selling your house. You need lookers (showings then second showings, then an offer. Nothing happens until the property is showed.

IF I am a buyer's agent, I cannot tell the listing agent *anything* that might harm my client's position. So what if it's number 3 on the list, we might come back if we find there is something wrong with the house or the seller later.

[If there is something glaring, like the dog growls, barks, or left a present, there is something broken, a window open, maybe it's raining in the living room, I will let the agent know.]

IF I am a listing agent, I already know the problem is;
1. Condition
2. Price
3. Terms
4. Coop Fee
5. Location

none of which I have control.

Here is my cheat sheet for guessing what the problem is:


If the property is shown, but no seconds, then it is 1, 2, or 5.

If the property is not shown then it is 2, or 3, 4, or 5.

If the property is shown, and you have a few seconds, then you are close, but either 1, 3, or 5 is preventing an offer.

[casey1996]

Originally Posted by mindy410

Hi, for those of you selling houses does your listing agent call the buyers agents after a showing for positive or negative feedback on your house showing? If your a Agent do you get anoyed when listing agents call you for feedback? I feel that it can help me because if the negative is something I can change It might help get a sale. Thanks Mindy

I started asking my agent for feed back from the buyers' agents. He wasn't doing it on his own. I think alot of realtors don't like to bug other agents because they're busy. I think the attitude is you'll get an offer if they liked it. Believe me, after reading some of the comments, I wish I hadn't asked. It's depressing. My agent told me you can't take this personally. Easier said than done.

[mindy410]

Well I think it could be very helpful to the owner trying to sell. For instance if 4 out of 5 people say its the wallpaper then you take the time and money and rip down the wallpaper and hopes the next people might want it. Obviously if its location there is nothing you can do about it. But i feel if most of the people comment on something that I can be changed then I will be willing to change it in hopes to attract more potention buyers. Mindy

[bentlebee]

2 years ago when I was selling a couple of properties at the same time, my realtor did folow ups to get feedback and I told him I didn't need it. I have been working all my life in businesses in which I had to deal with customers, either as being an employee and for a lot of years as a small business owner. I don't believe in feedback fo very small businesses where you are constantly around customers. I do believe for bigger companies and shops feedback is one of the best things.
For me in the home sales business I don't need the feedback. If a potential buyer doesn't want to see the home again or doesn't make a offer, it means they didn't like the price or not what they wanted. (too little upgrades, not a conservation lot, or they didn't want the conservation lot, maybe they wanted a different lay-out) It is all so personal and you can't change everything to please all. It might be good if you have a cluttered home, out dated kitchen and bathroom, wrong colors, nasty smell in your home, etc and you can't see it your self that these things can be hard to sell your home, than it might be great to get feedback. To me to get a call from the realtor all the time and him telling me that something ..... that is too negative for me. You only need one buyer that likes everything. For one home that I sold pretty fast I only had one phone call, one showing , one contract and one closing, the market went down and this person wanted to live close to family so I was very lucky and so was she.
I don't even think you get a honest opinion from most people who will see your home, just because people don't want to be rude. Watch designed to sell on tv and they are honest and you can get some good tips and you will see how different everyones taste is. Ask some friends to be honest and what they think you could do to make it more appealing to them and you probable will get some different answers and maybe a couple similar comments so you can do something with these tips.

[Brandon Hoffman]

Originally Posted by mindy410

Hi, for those of you selling houses does your listing agent call the buyers agents after a showing for positive or negative feedback on your house showing? If your a Agent do you get anoyed when listing agents call you for feedback? I feel that it can help me because if the negative is something I can change It might help get a sale. Thanks Mindy

No, feedback is part of the job. I supply good, honest feedback when asked for it. Many agents never bother to ask. I also try to get feedback on all my showings.

[Silverfall]

I get asked for feedback from agents about 25% of the time, and I request it 100% of the time and most agents respond. I can honestly say that of all the feedback I have gotten, there hasn't been anything that I haven't talked with my sellers about before we listed. I've never had a surprise.

Listing agents like feedback when sellers aren't being realistic about their house. I agree with 2bindenver (about his 5 list) that it can help some sellers see that the condition of the home is not commensurate with the price,etc. If you price for the CONDITION of the home, it will sell. Sellers don't always want to price for the condition though...

Wallpaper is almost always a negative. I have yet to see a buyer like it because they are always thinking about the prospect of having to remove it.

[MikeJaquish]

The only feedback that matters is an offer, IMO. All other feedback is lack of an offer.

Everything after that is either baloney, "Didn't like the floor plan," or the need of a weak Listing Agent who isn't willing to tell the Seller the truth, and wants a third party to step in and do it instead. I have done mini-CMA's as feedback, and when it is that obvious that the price is wrong, the Listing Agent shouldn't need to hear it from me.

I always give some feedback, and sometimes bluntly.
For my listings, I ask for it 4 times by automatic email. If the Buyer's Agent hasn't responded after 4 emails, then I don't see much value in further harrassing them for a few syllables, just for bragging rights for listing prospects.

In our Triangle NC market, only about 50% of agents give feedback.