problems with PPAR real estate agents not returning calls (Craig: rental car, for sale)

[MissScarletOHara]

I am very frustrated that I have been calling and leaving detailed messages for realtors, only to NEVER receive a call back. I am wondering why this is? any realtors here who will admit to how many days it takes them on average to return a call?! I have spent $2,000 flying out to CO and back, staying at hotels and getting rental cars, to look at rental townhomes and this is really making it difficult for me to find a place to rent. I would expect a call back within 1 day. I am leaving my cell phone # (out of state), the street the rental is on, my name, and even the days I am available to see the property. am I doing something wrong?! I am speaking VERY clearly on my voicemail messages and am really aggravated that only maybe 1 out of 5 calls EVER gets returned. there is no way all of these places have been rented already. some I've seen still listed online weeks later. I am using PPAR and a couple listings off of Craigslist. is there some bias against returning calls to an out of state # or calls placed by a woman? a lot of times the ads don't list a switchboard for these real estate companies so I have no one to reach and complain that their agents are not returning calls! has anyone else had these problems?

[2bindenver]

You need to speak with a tenant representative or a property manager. Most of the private property rentals are by owner, or property manager.

In Colorado, off site property managers must have a real estate license, but they do not have to be a Realtor.

[Carrera32]

My wife and I worked with a PPAR realtor for three years before finally being able to relocate four months ago. She set us up with an on-line personalized site with properties in our preferred neighborhoods, price range, size, etc, with more info than you'll get from the PPAR site or Realtor.com, so we could keep tabs on the current situation from 1400 miles away. When we were able to finally sell our house, we were able to swoop into town, look at neighborhoods and houses we had been tracking, purchased a place the price of which had just dropped into our zone, and even got the inspection done before we left town four days later to go home and start packing. Our real estate agent here was great, and she, her husband, and assistant, helped us each step of the way. Their emphasis is not really rentals, but their RE agency has a property management arm that they'll get you in touch with. They won't ignore your calls. PM me and I'll give you their contact information.

[Mike from back east]

Scarlett, all of us regulars in the COLO SPGS forums wish you had posted here before traveling to this area for house hunting as rentals are a whole different game from house sales.

[Vision67]

Does a realtor earn a commish for finding you a rental? If not, perhaps that is the reason for no call backs.

[froggin4colorado]

I don't think they do, its property management not a sale. When my gf was in real estate, she flat out told me if I found a property, to let her know but she wouldn't spend time with me driving around looking at them. Yes she was a great friend...just a waste of her time when she could be with clients

[Bideshi]

Don't feel rained on. I have the same problem with property that's for sale. I too have spent a lot of money flying to COS in vain, and I am in Germany!

[Vision67]

My personal experience with Realtors is that they spend most of their time trying to get new listings. My 2 houses sold by Realtor were sold by someone else, not the listing guy.

[bashep]

Hey everybody!

Ok, to answer your questions. Depending on the situation, agents can get paid around $0-$150 for assisting somebody to find a house to rent. So for some agents, it is not worth their time to do drive people around. Now if you are calling agents that actually have the rental in their name and they are the property mgr, that is just poor customer service. I will say some property managment companies do not work weekends most of the time. So if you are flying out here on a weekend, that may make it difficult to see a place. They may do it by appointment though.

Depending on the agent, some are buyer's agents, some are listing agents and some are both. Most realtors would love to double end a deal though. Because that is more commission for them. However, it is not very often that a listing agent is able to sell his own listing to a person who does not have a realtor representing them. But we would all love to try!

[Carrera32]

Seems like the realtors may be missing out on opportunities down the road by passing on the renters. Had we not been able to find a house to buy on short notice when we came into town on our house hunting trip, we would have had to rent (as the sale on our house in VA was about a month away at that point). Our realtor knew that and was prepared to help us find a rental, knowing full well that we'd be back in the market to buy as soon as possible, and she'd eventually get that sales commission.