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With the small batch of homes we've visited so far, I found them and asked my agent to set up showings. A new one that seems to meet my parameters pops up every other day or so. I end up emailing him and asking him about them. It seems that he should see them first and contact me about it. I can't tell if he's lazy or just figuring I know what I want and "letting" me choose what I want to see. He uses silly catch phrases like "I'll do my research" and then... nothing.
Well, it really depends. If you are searching everyday, then you will most likely be finding your own homes. A good buyer's agent doesn't necessarily only reflect on the homes they find, but most importantly the ability to gauge a proper offer price and also handle any problems issues through the process.
Many buyers routinely search their local MLS every morning at work or home. They know exactly what they want. Other are too busy to search and would rather be sent a list of new homes every other day that they can just scroll through.
City Love's general comments are correct -- there is no way that the just finding the listings is the only expectation a client should have of their agent, especially as the ease of getting alerts / emails sent directly to the buyer means MOST buyers can "prescreen" inventory that is added to MLS.
If, on the other hand, the buyers agent has NOT suggested any other geographic areas to explore, any price points to "probe" or otherwise seem like he is not actively digging into the lisitings to find something appropriate to you it is important to communicate this a nice way ASAP...
I'd say that my clients always are looking for homes, usually from a search that I set up for them after talking to them about their parameters. They'll also bring other homes to my attention that the search did NOT send them, and 99.9% of the time that's because the home they found that they wonder why I didn't show them has (or doesn't have) something they have told me firmly that they consider a "dealbreaker", but that doesn't show up on the sites they're looking at. I've had clients that want to look at 30 homes and every time I weed down their list because of things I know that they don't, they go out and find enough more to bring it up to the magic number, because they just KNOW that they're not seeing the homes that fit their criteria. Those are usually the ones who end up buying something that is 180 degrees from what they insisted they knew for a fact they wanted in the first place, by the way.
After working with a buyer for a while, I might bring something to their attention that they didn't look at because the photos weren't great on the listing but I know better, or because I know that the house is perfect for them except in one regard and I think they need to see it to make sure that that dealbreaker really is one.
Bottom line is, if the buyer finds the home (which is the smallest part of the agent's job, these days, my feelings aren't going to be hurt, nor am I going to think that I didn't do my job. When the home is found is when the real work begins, after all. (Most of which the buyer will never see or know about if the agent does their job well, by the way - it's all the roadsmoothing and such that goes on behind the scenes so that the buyer - or seller, if they're the client - doesn't have to concern themselves with issues that are already resolved.)
City Love's general comments are correct -- there is no way that the just finding the listings is the only expectation a client should have of their agent, especially as the ease of getting alerts / emails sent directly to the buyer means MOST buyers can "prescreen" inventory that is added to MLS.
If, on the other hand, the buyers agent has NOT suggested any other geographic areas to explore, any price points to "probe" or otherwise seem like he is not actively digging into the lisitings to find something appropriate to you it is important to communicate this a nice way ASAP...
True. I'd also add, if the agent just shows you the homes and makes no comments about the positive and especially negative aspects that you might have overlooked, then they could be lazy. A good buyer's agent doesn't just show the homes. A good agent will also point out the negatives. The lazy ones only try to sell them and point out the positives.
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
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I get emails from potential buyers all the time who look at realtor.com and tell me they want to see such and such properties. If I know what they have looked at in the past or even showed them some homes, I have a pretty darn good idea of what they want.
Usually when I tell them about the specific property they were inquiring about, they say something along the lines of "Oh, well that's not what I want at all".
Yeah, that's why I'm working for you. I know what's out there and I know that the listing agent didn't quite manage to put the downside pictures in the listing.
Our agent didn't bring many homes to the table that we didn't already know about. Her feedback on the negatives of each and every house garnered our respect, however, as we knew she wasn't just trying to make a sale.
Her true value came through during the negotiation process - that is what we needed her for (along with pulling the comps). She ultimately drafted an offer for us that beat out multiple bidders.
Who better to decide what appeals to you than....you.
If your agent does not have an automatic MLS search - that you should suggest they get one asap.
Otherwise, you never know how good the data is.
One buyer recently sent me 6 houses to see and do CMA on from their other search email. He was quite ticked that my auto search did not pick them up. It was some sort of glitch, they were 3 year old listings, that sold 3 years ago.
I think finding properties to see and choosing the property to buy is the buyers job.
When the home is found is when the real work begins, after all. (Most of which the buyer will never see or know about if the agent does their job well, by the way - it's all the roadsmoothing and such that goes on behind the scenes so that the buyer - or seller, if they're the client - doesn't have to concern themselves with issues that are already resolved.)
How many hours would you say the agent spends completing the deal after the home is found? Writing up an offer with all the correct boxes checked that protects his buyer, presents it (by fax, in this area). Let's say the final price is agreed upon after one counter offer. What is next? What are the behind the scenes stuff I won't see? Does he attend the inspection? Does he attend the signing at the title company? I'm just curious how much time he'll be spending to earn about 10k, if he's not finding the home.
When I was a seller (and using a good agent), it was clear the work she was putting in on my behalf.
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