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Because you are my competition. If you don't know how to tell a seller that the green carpet has to go, or that the home reeks of cat pee and they should do something about it, that is the problem of the listing agent. It's not my job to educate other broker's agents about how to do their job...
I do provide feedback when I can but honestly it is pretty minimal.
I do know how to tell my sellers that their carpet needs to be replaced and usually in most cases they listen but unlike some here I must really have stubborn sellers because they dont always listen...SOOOO feedback that i'm given on the last few listing saying how bad the carpet helps reiterate what I initially said...Like you said I'm the listing agent I'm not your competition, Feedback helps to fix the issues of the home WHEN THE SELLER ARE STUBBORN and dont want to listen...So why you wouldnt want to give a line or two about what your buyers thought is crazy to me..The agent before you showing my house could help in getting the house in the right shape for YOUR buyers, hence a possible sale for you...smiles...
My agent made notes on the listing sheets as we saw the homes so she could give feedback. I thought that was considerate; didn't take much effort. Of course no one expects agents to remember every house they show. I can't even remember what I saw, and I only looked at 12 houses before making an offer.
I do this as well but don't always have time, unless asked, to provide the feedback. If I get a call and can remember or have my notes, I provide the feedback. Many times, I just show too many houses and I simply can't remember.
More annoying to me is when I call for showing instructions, agents don't return calls or sellers say it's not convenient to show the home. One homeowner denied us a showing 4 times. Then months later, the agent called to get my feedback! It happens all the time unfortunately.
As a seller, I have only received three comments as far as feedback out of 11 showings. The two were " They love the house." the other comment was , " It is in the husband's top two and its the wife's top one." The last one was from an agent in my agent's office," It just didn't work because the mother in law was living with them."
Now, I was happy I did get something,but really... on the flip side as a buyer right now,
I know we haven't left feedback that our agent could pick up on except on one house, " It smells horrible!" We just didn't say much. The houses we saw just did NOT say,
HOME to us. I feel that is probably what most people think that have seen our house.
A house has to speak to the buyer and say, " HOME!" I am sure for all of us selling a buyer will come through the doors and say that it is a home.
I think that if a an agent does give feedback then it is a courtesy.Sometimes, I believe that no feedback is ok too because then maybe everything was fine with the house, it just didn't work for the buyer for some reason.
I do know how to tell my sellers that their carpet needs to be replaced and usually in most cases they listen but unlike some here I must really have stubborn sellers because they dont always listen...SOOOO feedback that i'm given on the last few listing saying how bad the carpet helps reiterate what I initially said...Like you said I'm the listing agent I'm not your competition, Feedback helps to fix the issues of the home WHEN THE SELLER ARE STUBBORN and dont want to listen...So why you wouldnt want to give a line or two about what your buyers thought is crazy to me..The agent before you showing my house could help in getting the house in the right shape for YOUR buyers, hence a possible sale for you...smiles...
Then shame on you for taking a listing where the sellers are stubborn and don't listen to you. What do you think happens to those listings that don't sell...expired...and who works expired listings??? That's right your competition.
So...I am nice and do provide minimal feedback when asked. When an agent asks me "what price do you think I should list it at in order to sell?" Sorry, no feedback. I'll wait until it expires and the talk with the seller about how to properly price a home.
I am professional and nice. If you ask me if my buyer's are interested. No problem, I will tell you. Just don't ask me to help you talk a seller into doing something they should have done from the get go. Walk away from the listing. It's your choice to market an unmarketable property.
Feedback is a courtesy and most of it is absolutely useless.
Feedback is also sometimes a strategy. The listing agent of a competing home brings in someone and leaves feedback that they "fell in love with the house and will make an offer, just as soon as their place is under contract."
This sometimes creates false hope that someone is willing to pay the asking price. This false hope sometimes is used by the owners to rationalize not "right pricing" the house.
In the meantime, the competing house is right priced and is a better value in class and so it becomes sold.
I am professional and nice. If you ask me if my buyer's are interested. No problem, I will tell you. Just don't ask me to help you talk a seller into doingsomething they should have done from the get go. Walk away from the listing. It's your choice to market an unmarketable property.
My favorite is during a broker tour when a listing agent asks all the other agents to jot down the price they believe the home will eventually sell for. This is usually accompanied by some type of cheesy drawing to encourage agents to participate.
Of course this says it all. The listing agent took the listing at a price far removed from where it will sell and is relying on feedback from other agents to encourage the owners to right price. It's an expired listing waiting to happen.
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
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There are some agents in our market area that I will happily provide feedback and others I won't give the time of day to. I think the great unknown to sellers in picking an agent and possibly the most important one is the reputation the agent has with the other professionals in the business.
Sorry you think, its unprofessional, but as many have mentioned, its almost impossible, when showing many, to remember the details about the house. A lot of times, its nothing negative, its just not the fuzzy felling, for the buyer. Most good list agents, would have probably already told you the negatives, and any hindrances that would hurt, and most of the time, things like stairs, physical condtions, are things you can't change anyway. Be thankful its showing, and then recheck your price, and make it as competitive as possible. Also like many have said, lots of agents will never answer, and nothing your agent can do about that.
Really blows my mind a realtor cannot take 1 minute from their "busy" schedule to call or email the other realtor regarding a showing. I understand if it didn't appeal to their client BUT at least have the courtesy to call or follow-up with the other realtor would be NICE!(Coldwell Banker rep.)
We recently had a showing and my realtor said the other one wouldn't return her call or emails. SO unprofessional, in my opinion. Any constructive criticism would be helpful!
Has this happened to anyone else?
I always found it to be extremely rude not to give feedback. When we were selling, I valued the feedback. Common courtesy speaks volumes to me.
If someone is interested, you'll get feedback in the form of an offer. If an offer doesn't come, they're not interested ... period.
Kind of like that book for women, "He's just not that into you."
The only feedback I am interested in as a seller is "an offer ... any offer."
As an agent, I can give my sellers honest insight about why there home isn't selling ... it's price, it's condition, or the 1000 stairs, or the smell of smoke, the cats everwhere, the purple paint ... the list goes on.
It should not matter what someone who isn't really interested has to say ... what DOES matters is what someone who IS interested has to say.
And that brings me back to my point, someone who is truly interested WILL give you feedback in the form of an offer, or with a call from the Buyers agent asking some specific follow-up questions. Everything else is just fluff and wishful thinking. I disllike getting bombarded by 24 agents on my voice mail asking for feedback for their clients. Many times I just say "it wasn't their dream house" I would rather fill out a 4 question form via email that includes link to the listing (to jog my memory) Those are easy, short, quick and effective.
Bottom line is: If there is NO offer - or a second showing, That IS the feedback:
They are not interested.
An offer, any offer is the only quality feedback - imho.
Only then can true negotiation begin and you will get all the feeback you want - during inspections and final closing.
Last edited by AlleyTD; 09-07-2008 at 11:46 PM..
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If an offer doesn't come, they're not interested ... period.
I disllike getting bombarded by 24 agents on my voice mail asking for feedback for their clients. Many times I just say "it wasn't their dream house" I would rather fill out a 4 question form via email that includes link to the listing (to jog my memory) Those are easy, short, quick and effective.
