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1. Sends me an MLS list (at a min.) of the houses we will see enroute *(paper preferred for note taking, but it's ok to not print out, just provide an elist at least!)
2. Knows the basic stats about the house we walk into (it's fine to read them, just brush up on basics-appliance age, taxes, homestead, CDD, taxes, schools)
3.Give time at the end of a series of showings to debrief with customer and sit down to make an offer.(if you are so busy running to the next customer, how am I going to put the bid on that 'hot' house you just got fininshd telling me would be gone at the end of the day?!)
4. And, by God, Follow up! If a question is asked about the house or family moving, follow up and close the deal with the potential buyer.
5. How about those e-mailing when a house comes on the market? Either check the freakin notes and respond or tell the pot. buyer how you prefer to communicate. And if communicated via email for showings tc., follow up!?
This yr, I've experienced a lack in all of the above area in Fl. We moved here in 2017 from Ohio, renting a home. Now, lease is month to month, which is good. We happilyy can move within 30 days. My hubby and I came with deposit ready to put down-but IMHO these realtors have not been ready for 1 reason or another. Yet, have stressed me out about it's a 'hot' market blablabla. Financers and realtors that are tight, talking about you the customer but not talking to the customer. So, qualified, good credit, deposit, we sit bc we are turned OFF by market prices in a cooling market and OFF by the realtor.
I have given the benefit to the doubt and followed up expressed this is how I'd like to be customer serviced. No change. In Fl., things are cooling down (thank goodness) and we've decided to exit the scene and wait even longer. It's hard to be motivated to gut your savings when houses you love disappear bc lackness of the realtor, so we have our weekends back and will wait until it's buyers season again. Any FL realtors thing you can step up and offer this old school version of customer service inbox me...or we are going it alone. There's so much not attractive about FL real estate, I'd advise you to stop discouraging qualified buyers with poor customer service.
Please keep this post in mind as you look towards reasons buyers are exiting the housing market. Rents may be going up, but the tax incentive to buy is GONE and it's crippling people to pay closing costs etc now thanks to this administrations effort to bankroll the 1%. A shift is coming. For those like me that have grown kids, we are downsizing- our mortgage and home with no desier pay more for a smaller home than wee'e ever lived in with not reserves bc high prices, no tax incentive.( a separate but relavant rant). Fl quickly forgets, .... atleast give good customer service through it all to incentivize frustrated lookers. Agree?
I'm sorry you're having such a hard time finding a Realtor in your part of Florida! I wish I knew one to put you in contact with! Unfortunately, I'm at the other corner of the country. Do you have friends who have used a good local Realtor they would recommend? Have you posted in the Florida forums here? Facebook groups for the community you want to look in asking for good buyer's agents? That's what I would recommend, in that order, to find a buyer's agent with a better customer service attitude for you.
I email listings with notes on the house (like if it has really nice views, close to their work, priced below market, etc), then give them the mls printout when we arrive at house for showing and tell them to make notes of what they like snd dont like. Then arrange 2nd showings for top contenders for the next day. Offer advice for updating, ehat would increase value, downsides for that house for resale.
I deal with a lot of military so resale is always the big factor.
I find it amazing how much control you're giving over to the realtor. I don't even understand the part about printing out the list of homes. Don't you know which houses you're going to see? Didn't you pre-select them based on your criteria (age, condition, location, etc).
For #3, when you walk out the door, say you want to make an offer, tell the realtor your number, tell them to write it up, goodbye. Less than 10 minutes.
#4, what kind of questions would you have about the family moving?
I don't understand #5. Have you set up email alerts with your specific criteria? You can have the listings automatically sent to you when the property hits MLS.
Get some referrals from friends and family, look online and see which ones are doing a good job marketing homes, etc. Then after you get 5 or 6 you like set up interviews and see who meets your expectations. Biggest challenge I find with personal referrals is most people don't buy or sell enough homes to really know if their agent was good or not. I find roughly 1 of 5 agents is really good at their job. If you don't like the first round, interview 5 more. Best of luck!
I find it amazing how much control you're giving over to the realtor. I don't even understand the part about printing out the list of homes. Don't you know which houses you're going to see? Didn't you pre-select them based on your criteria (age, condition, location, etc).
For #3, when you walk out the door, say you want to make an offer, tell the realtor your number, tell them to write it up, goodbye. Less than 10 minutes.
#4, what kind of questions would you have about the family moving?
I don't understand #5. Have you set up email alerts with your specific criteria? You can have the listings automatically sent to you when the property hits MLS.
the OP is a different demographic/real estate experience from you. We still have folks that don't intake the info with the frequency or depth that buyers like you do.
Location: Sarasota/ Bradenton - University Pkwy area
4,619 posts, read 7,541,245 times
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I am a Realtor on the Sun Coast of Florida. I know a number of buyers agents (myself included) that provide the kind of service the OP is seeking. However, I have also come across agents that make me question the sanity of the buyers that continue to work with them.
If buyers keep running into the same lackluster style of agents, perhaps the problem is the selection process in finding an agent to work with.
Buyers agents should provide the level of service that you indicate you want. Communication between buyers and agent is key. I always like to ask up front what the buyers expectations are from me as their agent in their home search. Some buyers need a much higher level of "hand holding" than others. We discuss how they want me to communicate with them going forward -- phone calls, emails, texts? I explain I return all communications within a specific time period (then make sure I do so).
So how do you find a good buyers agent?
First, I would suggest selecting an agent who normally works not only in the area where you wish to purchase a home but also the price range. He/she should be up to date and knowledgeable about local listings, neighborhoods, schools and general area information. They should be up do date on recent sales in your targeted area and/or neighborhoods. Hint: those agents listed on the side bar of listings on some of the more popular real estate sites do not necessarily know anything about the home/ neighborhood posted on the particular page, they are merely paying the real estate site for advertising access.
I also suggest working with a real estate agent who does real estate full time vs a part-time agent. You want an agent that makes real estate a priority. Along that same line, I would also suggest asking the agent how long they have been working in real estate. While the amount of time they have been a real estate agent doesn't guarantee their ability to do a good job, the skills needed are mostly learned while actually doing the job. So hiring an agent who makes their living by listing/selling real estate full time and have been doing so for at least a few years generally equates to a better, more knowledgeable agent.
The agents you contact should spend at least a half hour or so with you initially, either in person or by phone, to get a good fells as to what type of home you are specifically looking for, going into details as to your likes and dislikes. That's a good time to evaluate the agent's communication skills and whether they are really listening to your answers. The agent should ask probing, detailed questions about the features & style of home, neighborhood and other criteria important to you. They should also ask questions regarding your finances - will you be paying by cash or mortgage. If you will be getting a mortgage, the agent should go into more details with you as to what type of financing, down payments and if you are pre-approved (vs just pre-qualified) for a mortgage.
You should ask up front how often they plan to keep in touch with you after your initial consultation. Will it be whenever new listings come on the market, daily, weekly? How will they contact you -- by email, phone, text? Even if there aren't new listings that match your needs, your agent should still be contacting you on a weekly basis to keep you up to date on the local market, prices, inventory, etc. And ask if you do call the agent, how soon do they normally get back to their customers -- within the hour, day? Or even later?
Another question to ask is about additional fees. Some brokerages have what they typically call Broker Professional Fees that you must pay at closing which can be as much as $295 to $345. So be sure to ask.
Ask the agent if they can provide you with references from recent customers who have bought homes through the agent.
You will also want to know if they have a readily available list of qualified vendors to assist you in the home buying process, such as home inspectors, pest inspectors, mortgage brokers, title companies, real estate attorneys, insurance agents, roofers, AC technicians, etc.
Once you have narrowed it down to one agent, go look at some homes with the agent to determine how well you communicate together, does the agent ask you for feedback on the properties, is the agent taking notes on your likes and dislikes.
So where do you find a buyer's agent to work with? Statistics show more than half of all buyers ask friends and family for agent referrals. Other options are to search real estate websites for local agents who have good recommendations from previous customers. Some buyers attend some local open houses and end up selecting an agent that way. There's no one right or wrong way to pick a real estate agent to work with.
Some buyer's agents will ask you to sign some sort of exclusive buyer's agency agreement, a contract in which you agree to make a purchase exclusively through that agent for the time stated in the agreement. I strongly suggest that you do not sign such an agreement until you have gone out to look at homes at least a couple of times with the agent for a "test drive" to evaluate how well the two of you work together, the level of skill of the agent. You do not want to lock yourself into a contract with an agent that doesn't meet your needs.
The more you know about your buyers agent, the more comfortable you will feel about working with the agent during the home buying process.
I am a Realtor on the Sun Coast of Florida. I know a number of buyers agents (myself included) that provide the kind of service the OP is seeking. However, I have also come across agents that make me question the sanity of the buyers that continue to work with them.
If buyers keep running into the same lackluster style of agents, perhaps the problem is the selection process in finding an agent to work with.
Buyers agents should provide the level of service that you indicate you want. Communication between buyers and agent is key. I always like to ask up front what the buyers expectations are from me as their agent in their home search. Some buyers need a much higher level of "hand holding" than others. We discuss how they want me to communicate with them going forward -- phone calls, emails, texts? I explain I return all communications within a specific time period (then make sure I do so).
So how do you find a good buyers agent?
First, I would suggest selecting an agent who normally works not only in the area where you wish to purchase a home but also the price range. He/she should be up to date and knowledgeable about local listings, neighborhoods, schools and general area information. They should be up do date on recent sales in your targeted area and/or neighborhoods. Hint: those agents listed on the side bar of listings on some of the more popular real estate sites do not necessarily know anything about the home/ neighborhood posted on the particular page, they are merely paying the real estate site for advertising access.
I also suggest working with a real estate agent who does real estate full time vs a part-time agent. You want an agent that makes real estate a priority. Along that same line, I would also suggest asking the agent how long they have been working in real estate. While the amount of time they have been a real estate agent doesn't guarantee their ability to do a good job, the skills needed are mostly learned while actually doing the job. So hiring an agent who makes their living by listing/selling real estate full time and have been doing so for at least a few years generally equates to a better, more knowledgeable agent.
The agents you contact should spend at least a half hour or so with you initially, either in person or by phone, to get a good fells as to what type of home you are specifically looking for, going into details as to your likes and dislikes. That's a good time to evaluate the agent's communication skills and whether they are really listening to your answers. The agent should ask probing, detailed questions about the features & style of home, neighborhood and other criteria important to you. They should also ask questions regarding your finances - will you be paying by cash or mortgage. If you will be getting a mortgage, the agent should go into more details with you as to what type of financing, down payments and if you are pre-approved (vs just pre-qualified) for a mortgage.
You should ask up front how often they plan to keep in touch with you after your initial consultation. Will it be whenever new listings come on the market, daily, weekly? How will they contact you -- by email, phone, text? Even if there aren't new listings that match your needs, your agent should still be contacting you on a weekly basis to keep you up to date on the local market, prices, inventory, etc. And ask if you do call the agent, how soon do they normally get back to their customers -- within the hour, day? Or even later?
Another question to ask is about additional fees. Some brokerages have what they typically call Broker Professional Fees that you must pay at closing which can be as much as $295 to $345. So be sure to ask.
Ask the agent if they can provide you with references from recent customers who have bought homes through the agent.
You will also want to know if they have a readily available list of qualified vendors to assist you in the home buying process, such as home inspectors, pest inspectors, mortgage brokers, title companies, real estate attorneys, insurance agents, roofers, AC technicians, etc.
Once you have narrowed it down to one agent, go look at some homes with the agent to determine how well you communicate together, does the agent ask you for feedback on the properties, is the agent taking notes on your likes and dislikes.
So where do you find a buyer's agent to work with? Statistics show more than half of all buyers ask friends and family for agent referrals. Other options are to search real estate websites for local agents who have good recommendations from previous customers. Some buyers attend some local open houses and end up selecting an agent that way. There's no one right or wrong way to pick a real estate agent to work with.
Some buyer's agents will ask you to sign some sort of exclusive buyer's agency agreement, a contract in which you agree to make a purchase exclusively through that agent for the time stated in the agreement. I strongly suggest that you do not sign such an agreement until you have gone out to look at homes at least a couple of times with the agent for a "test drive" to evaluate how well the two of you work together, the level of skill of the agent. You do not want to lock yourself into a contract with an agent that doesn't meet your needs.
The more you know about your buyers agent, the more comfortable you will feel about working with the agent during the home buying process.
Yes, the OP's requests are completely reasonable.
Just good basic agent service, IMO.
And, I suggest signing the buyer's agency agreement after reading, but only if it includes an escape clause.
You sound like the R.
I may have picked some homes to view. If the R is good s/he has pickd some as well.
So NO I don't have the R's work with me. Plus, I dont have the R's route for the day. No. I. The . Customer. Do. Not.
The rest of your comments-
You are why I wrote the post.
Bye
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlygal
I find it amazing how much control you're giving over to the realtor. I don't even understand the part about printing out the list of homes. Don't you know which houses you're going to see? Didn't you pre-select them based on your criteria (age, condition, location, etc).
For #3, when you walk out the door, say you want to make an offer, tell the realtor your number, tell them to write it up, goodbye. Less than 10 minutes.
#4, what kind of questions would you have about the family moving?
I don't understand #5. Have you set up email alerts with your specific criteria? You can have the listings automatically sent to you when the property hits MLS.
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