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I am interviewing 3 agencies to list my house - have posed this to all them and two of them said they of course would show our property - no problem. We will add a combo lock-box for non "code" agents. They work for me in my best interest, not the other way around. The other agency is an entry-only firm and they don't do anything except place a sign in the yard and provide forms.
Best of luck to you on selling your home. Many MLS rules forbid Combo lockboxes unless the house is vacant. Those boxes are fairly easy to break into and get the key.
You showed your true colors and questionable ethics in your previous post. Been truly enlightening.
I am interviewing 3 agencies to list my house - have posed this to all them and two of them said they of course would show our property - no problem. We will add a combo lock-box for non "code" agents. They work for me in my best interest, not the other way around. The other agency is an entry-only firm and they don't do anything except place a sign in the yard and provide forms.
I am proud of my true colors which are formulated from integrity and a belief in hard work for my clients, "Hard work" includes showing my listings any time it is needed.
I am equally proud of my strict adherence to ethical standards regarding the Realtor COE and also my adherence to and continual study of NC Real estate law and regulations.
Very interesting to have my character called into question in such a thread, which is based on an unqualified agent possibly claiming compensation while not doing their job, and a misunderstanding of local market customs.
You gotta love the listing agents who want to be present at showings around their schedule. I've had many where I might be showing buyers 8-10 homes from 10-12 am and 1 Listing agent says their busy but can be at the house at 2pm.
That house is usually dropped from my list of homes to show. We are looking from 10-12 am not 2 or 3pm. I maybe way across town at that time frame. There are too many homes on the market to make a home hard to view for a buyer and their agent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ocngypz
Only in instances of very expensive properties... and New York City..... I can't think of any reason for a listing agent to be at a showing, let alone an inspection.
Buyer's inspection, buyer's agent present... they're the ones who open the house for the inspector.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FalconheadWest
I called for an appt last month and the seller didn't want a lockbox so the key was at the listing agent's office. I was showing 10 houses and told him I wasn't driving around town to pick up a key (and return it) and if a key didn't miraculously appear at the house for the showing, we weren't looking at it. The buyer thought that was ridiculous and said to cross it off. He said, "my time is for looking at houses, not chasing a key." Exactly! It's also not for arranging around someone else's schedule, like the listing agent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeJaquish
Agents and buyers do not want listing agents at the house to represent sellers, i.e., selling something they should have thoroughly marketed already.
If you make that stipulation, you will lose showings, since most buyers and agents will not want to bother with a listing agent at the house.
It is not unusual to show a dozen or more homes in a day. It is difficult to imagine having to coordinate those dozen or so showings with an unnecessary attendee whose schedule would have to be considered.
If I go to show a home to buyers and the listing agent has to be there to sell the property, it is obvious that the agent has not done their job up to that point, or the property attributes and value would be clear to qualified buyer agents and their clients. Who wants to share a showing with a listing agent?
An exception may be made in instances of luxury homes or homes with elderly owners who cannot vacate.
Cary NC is a different market than Massachusetts, with different expectations.
I would not expect to interfere with showings and inspections just so I could brag to a seller that I had earned my fee.
And we get a lot of properties sold without that sort of interference.
I have no problem with an agent being at the house as long as they step back and not interfere. Most will "disappear" and will just courteously ask if you have any questions about the property.
The ones I don't care for or the agents who wants the Buyer and agent to rearrange a days worth of showing because it's not convenient. Around here it is usually the very high end homes where the agent will attend the showing.
It is common for very high end housing here as well. Above a half million and occupied or at least furnished tends to be available only by appointment with listing agent.
Below that tend to always be on a lock box with mechanicals at the very low end.
When working high end we schedule the difficult ones first then add the easy access to fill in.
Representing buyers tends to be the more time consuming task. Listing has more up front effort but is rather cut and dried.
I have no problem with an agent being at the house as long as they step back and not interfere. Most will "disappear" and will just courteously ask if you have any questions about the property.
The ones I don't care for or the agents who wants the Buyer and agent to rearrange a days worth of showing because it's not convenient. Around here it is usually the very high end homes where the agent will attend the showing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lvoc
It is common for very high end housing here as well. Above a half million and occupied or at least furnished tends to be available only by appointment with listing agent.
Below that tend to always be on a lock box with mechanicals at the very low end.
When working high end we schedule the difficult ones first then add the easy access to fill in.
Representing buyers tends to be the more time consuming task. Listing has more up front effort but is rather cut and dried.
Right. Listing agent present at showings happens, but here it would generally be properties well over $1,000,000.
Combo Lock Box is standard operating procedure here, vacant or occupied. We only gave up our keyed lockboxes about 6 years ago.
Combo Lock Box is standard operating procedure here, vacant or occupied. We only gave up our keyed lockboxes about 6 years ago.
If you ever try those Blue Supras, you'll never go back. You just point the Supra key at the box. You can also go online and see who has come and gone through the lockbox if needed.
If you ever try those Blue Supras, you'll never go back. You just point the Supra key at the box. You can also go online and see who has come and gone through the lockbox if needed.
We have been hearing for years that a move to electronic boxes is in the works, but it never seems to materialize.
I'm all for it. Of course, if no one else is using them, there will not be showings....
So where does it say to the seller - who is actually paying the commission - that no buyers agent will be compensated unless they are a member of the MLS?
As Falconhead pointed out, in Texas, it covers it in our listing agreement. We offer x% to MLs members, and ZERO% to non-members. Not one seller has ever objected.
Recently, we had some idiot agent from Houston trying to sell his friend/client one of our listings, and got all bent out of shape because we wouldn't hop up and go show his people for him. I told him, correctly, that if he really cared about his friend/client more than he did a possible commission, he would refer his friend/client to a competent Austin agent to help them.
The buyer was even worse, much like you, OP, thinking we owned some duty to him and his agent. Eventually, the agent came to Austin, got a local agent from the same brand brokerage to meet them there to see the house, asked a bunch of stupid questions (none of them knew anything about septics systems), and eventually flaked off, as almost all such buyers do.
This is why we don't want to deal with you, or your non-member agent. Neither of you typically know squat about what you're doing, but are more than willing to disrepect the time of others. Perhaps you are the exception and suffer the reputation of those who came before you, but that's the reality of it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CREA
I understand we are bucking the traditional norm... but we are not alone. It seems it is the profession that has a hard time with it, even though agents are licensed by the state and everything is legal. Alot of buying and selling does not make sense from a consumer perspective..
See above. Buyers who choose to take the hard road hoping they can get some sort of commission kickback are automatically deemed to be trouble. It's your job to convince the listing agent that you're different from the 99% of others like you. So far, in this thread, you don't appear to be.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CREA
Ivoc - do buyers agents, whether in your MLS or not, count as cooperating brokers where you are? Would anyone that brought an offer in be a non-cooperating broker? Are you defining cooperating by your "Realtor" regs or state law?
A listing agent, by listing a home in the MLS, makes a unilateral "offer of cooperation" to all other members of that MLS. To no non-members, no offer exists. This has been explained to you a dozen different ways now.
A cooperation agreement can be established standalone between a listing agent and non-member of the MLS, but that would need to be worked out between the non-member and the listing agent in advance of an offer being made.
Finally, I firmly believe that part of my job as a listing agent is to protect my seller from liability and bad situations. When cooperating with a local member of my MLS, the rules are established, the protocols are understood, the process is tried and tested, and the promulgated contract forms are all vetted. This structure protects all parties, including the buyer. Exposing my seller to the wildcard unknowns of a buyer who may or may not know anything at all about the process is NOT in my seller's best interest. Others may disagree, but this is what I explain to all of my sellers, and none have ever disagreed.
What exactly are you trying to accomplish by following your approach? Is it that you think you increase your odds of finding the exact house you want at a great price, or do you just want to save money? And do you rule out the possibility that both of those objectives might be better achieved by utilizing the services of an experienced buyers agent?
Steve
Last edited by austin-steve; 09-12-2012 at 03:46 PM..
Reason: typos
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