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I was wondering if you could help me out on this one. This is the first house we bought and now the first house we are selling.
My Real Estate agent has been here for 2 open houses (one I insisted on) and 3 showings out of 25. When I asked her to be here she said she can't for whatever the reasons were - but they were lame reasons, and no feedback. I have to call her to REMIND her to get feedback. THEN she waits 5+ days to get it! Is this right?
In a nutshell, there were quite a few buyers ready to make offers (one actually did) but with her not being here for the second (or third, or fourth sometimes) appointment as well as the laid back feedback approach, all the buyers went cold. Just last week I had people here who were moved in in their heads and came back to see the house twice in one day on a weekday. The wife was ill and could not see the house that day. My Realtor did not make the call (mind you - the one and only call) until one week (to the day) of the appointment. The WHOLE week (and weekend) went by!
My Realtor told me they don't go to appointments and they make their money with all the paperwork when the house does sell.
We had two long talks with her telling her that the laid back approach is not working and we need to be more firm on the approach. I asked her to get feedback from interested parties 24 hours after their showing. I asked her to please call me once a week and let me know things such as a new house on the market, a house that sold, or even just to say "nothing going on here!" I can't believe she tells me there are NO buyers. The phone does NOT ring. Never??? Wow... I guess she sits there all day and stares at the phone.... I also let her know that for the people who were coming back multiple times maybe her being here would have helped close the deal.
Side note: I had to create information sheets on the house and re-write the ads for it as well. The sheets she made have huge photos on them and not a lot of information. Half the ads that are placed do not have the updated description - the original description left out items such as IGS, new roof, granite, marble... all that left off the ad description and more. Even after asking her to please call me, she doesn't. Houses are going up for sale, being sold - I want to know these things so I know what my competition is doing. She also overpriced our home by 40K. I know it was probably bait, but that still does not make it right by any means. It took the brokers open house to give her the realstic price point for our home. FYI: our house is priced 10K under that suggested price point.
Also, there was an appointment for Saturday and the message she left on our machine was "There is an appointment that wants to come by between 2 & 3, but OH WELL, you aren't home anyway so they have to reschedule. She didn't call my husband's or my cell phones when she got our machine. Then I call her back that evening and she says well, they want to see the house between 2 & 4 tomorrow... you're gonna be home - right? Oh, I guess I have to come by anyway because I couldn't get the guy's name over the phone because I couldn't understand him, so I have to get his card and see his real estate license, so I have to come by anyway. UGH!
I can't take it.. so please tell me I am expecting too much. Or tell me I am right or half right. Just tell me something! LOL This is making me crazy! I can't wait until our contract is up!
Last edited by LI2South; 11-09-2009 at 11:49 PM..
Reason: too long
When I was looking for houses, the listing agent was hardly ever there (unless it was an open house). My agent was making the appointments with the listing agent (who coordinated with the homeowners) and my agent took me to see the homes. It was usually just the homeowners there. Since both the agents represent the seller under most circumstances, there is probably no need for them both to be there. I think your situation is that your listing agent is just not very courteous/efficient.
Drop your agent and find a new one that has more drive. You shouldn't need to settle on a realtor that you are not happy with when there are many good ones that would love your business in this market.
When I was looking for houses, the listing agent was hardly ever there (unless it was an open house). My agent was making the appointments with the listing agent (who coordinated with the homeowners) and my agent took me to see the homes. It was usually just the homeowners there. Since both the agents represent the seller under most circumstances, there is probably no need for them both to be there. I think your situation is that your listing agent is just not very courteous/efficient.
That is how it usually goes. Rarely is the listing agent there unless they just happen to be showing it at the same time or in one rare case, some other agent had the key and the actual listing agent had to get it from them and met us with our agent at the house.
No the listing agent doesn't have to be there, but they should keep you updated and let you know of offers that come in. You should at least be getting a few offers, some crazy and some legit. Our experience has been that some houses have first accepted offers and not being shown anymore and the state of the houses ranged from "really nice" to "what the hell kind of hurricane hit this place". I will admit that we have seen houses reappear back on the market which could be for any reason.
I was wondering if you could help me out on this one. This is the first house we bought and now the first house we are selling.
My Real Estate agent has been here for 2 open houses (one I insisted on) and 3 showings out of 25. When I asked her to be here she said she can't for whatever the reasons were - but they were lame reasons, and no feedback. I have to call her to REMIND her to get feedback. THEN she waits 5+ days to get it! Is this right?
In a nutshell, there were quite a few buyers ready to make offers (one actually did) but with her not being here for the second (or third, or fourth sometimes) appointment as well as the laid back feedback approach, all the buyers went cold. Just last week I had people here who were moved in in their heads and came back to see the house twice in one day on a weekday. The wife was ill and could not see the house that day. My Realtor did not make the call (mind you - the one and only call) until one week (to the day) of the appointment. The WHOLE week (and weekend) went by!
My Realtor told me they don't go to appointments and they make their money with all the paperwork when the house does sell.
We had two long talks with her telling her that the laid back approach is not working and we need to be more firm on the approach. I asked her to get feedback from interested parties 24 hours after their showing. I asked her to please call me once a week and let me know things such as a new house on the market, a house that sold, or even just to say "nothing going on here!" I can't believe she tells me there are NO buyers. The phone does NOT ring. Never??? Wow... I guess she sits there all day and stares at the phone.... I also let her know that for the people who were coming back multiple times maybe her being here would have helped close the deal.
Side note: I had to create information sheets on the house and re-write the ads for it as well. The sheets she made have huge photos on them and not a lot of information. Half the ads that are placed do not have the updated description - the original description left out items such as IGS, new roof, granite, marble... all that left off the ad description and more. Even after asking her to please call me, she doesn't. Houses are going up for sale, being sold - I want to know these things so I know what my competition is doing. She also overpriced our home by 40K. I know it was probably bait, but that still does not make it right by any means. It took the brokers open house to give her the realstic price point for our home. FYI: our house is priced 10K under that suggested price point.
Also, there was an appointment for Saturday and the message she left on our machine was "There is an appointment that wants to come by between 2 & 3, but OH WELL, you aren't home anyway so they have to reschedule. She didn't call my husband's or my cell phones when she got our machine. Then I call her back that evening and she says well, they want to see the house between 2 & 4 tomorrow... you're gonna be home - right? Oh, I guess I have to come by anyway because I couldn't get the guy's name over the phone because I couldn't understand him, so I have to get his card and see his real estate license, so I have to come by anyway. UGH!
I can't take it.. so please tell me I am expecting too much. Or tell me I am right or half right. Just tell me something! LOL This is making me crazy! I can't wait until our contract is up!
As long as an agent (sellers agent or buyer broker) is accompanying buyers, your listing agent does not need to be there. However, if there is a second or third showing, perhaps she should be. She can answer any questions/overcome objections and get a handle on where the buyers are at. Certainly, she should be calling the agents for feedback immediately after a second or third showing, and within a day of a first showing.
If she actually said that she makes her money "with all the paperwork when the house does sell", you need to end this relationship!
Your agent should be handling all marketing and marketing materials. Your home should appear on as many websites as possible (92% of buyers first see their home on the web), also done by the agent. Your agent should have an account with Listingbook which would give you up-to-the-minute information on how many buyers are viewing your property and saving it as a "favorite" on Listingbook (which is the up-and-coming tool for home searches). S/He can then promote your home through LB to those buyers. As a seller, you can also see what homes are currently on the market in your area (your direct competition) as well as what has recently gone to contract and/or closed.
You should be able to reach your agent at pretty much any time. If you leave a voicemail, you should get a return call within the hour. This is your most valuable asset and you deserve to have it treated as such.
If you had a potential appointment on Saturday, the office secretary would call your home and leave a message (if no one was home) then try the alternate numbers. If both your cell and your husbands cell is available, you should be reached that way. If neither of you can be reached, then the secretary would try again within the hour. That is the way it should work! If you had an agent you trusted, you could also give her the key and she could meet agents & buyers herself.
Your experience should be very different and if managed correctly, your home would likely have sold already (stating the obvious, I know). If you can get out of the listing agreement, do so. Be sure to get an immediate release for commission and re-listing.
Wow... see what I mean?? I received more information from you guys than my agent! It should not be this way! To answer some of the questions and replies I received:
My agent DOES have a key to our home. While we were on vacation in August, the office called our cell phones to set up appointments and we in turn had to locate some family member to let the appointments into the home. I made several calls to her at times when there was not a family member available and her reply to me was "I am busy today (which is the usual answer) but no worries! I will tell them to call the office to reschedule when you family members can let them into your house." WHAT???
We made a HUGE mistake by not interviewing several agents before signing. We went with the agent that sold us the house. We felt that she treated us fairly and was supportive and would do the same again. We were on the other end of the sale though...
Even if it is normal to have one agent present.... the other things that go on such as not returning calls, not getting feedback in a timely manner, not relaying that feedback to us AT ALL unless we call her for it, not being here when I asked her if she could be here (my baby was not feeling well)she refused by saying I didnt have to do anything but sit on the couch with the baby, etc.
Another thing that irks me is the fact that other homes within a 5-10 block radius that were sold were in our price range - why wasn't our home shown when they were looking at the other homes? Sounds strange but all the homes in my neighborhood are basically the same floor plan and look, so it makes sense.
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