Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Look at it from the agents POV. How much commission will he make after the sale? I’m guessing a few thousand dollars. It just may not be worth his while to invest the time in researching every listing to suss out the ones that fit your requirements. He still has to spend the time taking you to the listings, writing up the contract, negotiating the sale, going to the closing. He has additional costs associated with taking you around. Assuming he wants to make above minimum wage how many hours would be reasonable for him to invest calling listing agents, doing google earth searches, visiting neighborhoods before hand. Maybe he’s just being prudent.
You get what you pay for and if this was a big commission deal it would make more financial sense to work longer hours.
My advice is to find one agent who seems to be the most responsive to you, and keep using that agent, if you really want an agent to get to know you and invest time researching properties for you. If you want them to know your likes and dislikes, you need to invest time in them as well. It's a relationship.
I learn my clients likes and dislikes with experience and time spent with that client. No substitute for that.
If there is time and a good supply of properties in your price range, then I agree with the advice to use google earth to try to find out if there are glaring historic yard trashers next door, as part of your property screening process. You might be able to rule some of them out. The truth is, others it may not be obvious until you get there. If you're looking over a wide area, I would not expect an agent to have previewed all the homes on a list, but they SHOULD know if the homes are occupied or not when they make the appointment for a showing. It will say in the MLS... unless it has recently changed, that happens too... people with homes for sale are sometimes making a lot of changes...
Agents have ethical and fiduciary responsibilities to all parties. If you want to see a property....they have a responsibility to get you into that house. If they know the neighbors are slobs, they cannot disparage them or the listing agent. Unlike the guy that sells you your car, realtors must pass ethics and they must practice it.
I have been looking at homes in various areas. I have noticed a pattern of agents virtually knowing nothing about these homes. I realize they are usually not the listing agent, so I am able to deal with that. I think I have been understanding about that. However I expect the agent to have some background on the home. Such as is it occupied, or vacant Is it a rental property being sold or homeowner. Is it presentable to be shown.
What really annoys me and its happened a number of times. I find the grounds to these homes unkempt frequently. I find the overall neighborhood the same way. With a home or two that is properly taken care of. Its the same where i currently live. My home is taken care of, but I'm surrounded by sloppy homeowners. I have found this is common in the southeast. If this offends someone im sorry, but it is very noticeable. Why I don't know but i definitely have my ideas, on the why this unkempt look is so common in this region of the U S A. Not that it can't occur elsewhere, but seems worse here, I live in Central Fla, but have been looking in GA, Tenn also.
I don't see how a seller could expect someone not to form an impression, when seeing these sloppy conditions. Grass uncut, weeds and overgrowth all around the homes. Belongings scattered about, bathrooms with junk in the tubs I just don't get it. I have only seen 1 house where this scenario didn't take place. The home had a contract the day it listed. The neighborhood there was also kept up. Its no wonder it sold that fast.
I saw a home just yesterday in Fla near the GA border. A beautiful townhomes the inside and backyard immaculate. The front yard and surrounding neighbors a total disgrace, I would have gone after this home, but I declined. I informed the agent yesterday of my feelings towards unkempt property being sold. Evidently if one doesn't have over $200,000 to spend on a home this sloppiness is common. Well my approval amount is less than $200,000, but I don't live like what I'm being shown. I personally don't get the how or why, incomes control how people present themselves or their belongings.
It really is extremely frustrating and a hopeless feeling, When trying to buy a home and this problem keeps happening over and over again. Its bad enough I have to find my own homes on Zillow, then chase agents much of the time. Please don't tell me to find a good agent that will find a good home. . I have tried that several times now its the same scenario. Even when there is a list of homes the realtor has scheduled for showing. Same exact problem. I could not be more verbal on my needs. Small home in decent shape, including grounds. In a neighborhood primarily homeowners that take care of their property. If that's not the case don't show me the home. I can't be expected to drive by every home before showing, to omit the ones I don't want, I really don't think this is much to ask for.
The days of a agent previewing a home before they bring the client is pretty much nonexistent. When 8 was house shopping the agent knew absolutely nothing about the property. My first time viewing was theirs also.
Agents have ethical and fiduciary responsibilities to all parties. If you want to see a property....they have a responsibility to get you into that house. If they know the neighbors are slobs, they cannot disparage them or the listing agent. Unlike the guy that sells you your car, realtors must pass ethics and they must practice it.
There are some things we can't disclose about the neighborhood on ethical grounds, but being a slob is not a protected status. I point out junky yards all the time.
Last edited by Diana Holbrook; 10-12-2019 at 12:41 PM..
The days of a agent previewing a home before they bring the client is pretty much nonexistent. When 8 was house shopping the agent knew absolutely nothing about the property. My first time viewing was theirs also.
In hot markets there is no time. It would be a disservice to the buyer to preview as they would likely miss out on the house.
More than once when a realtor was showing me homes, we would get to the neighborhood and I would say turn around. I do not want to see the house as the neighborhood looked like $h!t. They would say but the house is lovely. I would say I do not care. First impressions matter.
More than once when a realtor was showing me homes, we would get to the neighborhood and I would say turn around. I do not want to see the house as the neighborhood looked like $h!t. They would say but the house is lovely. I would say I do not care. First impressions matter.
Most buyers do this. I actually sit down and we talk about neighborhoods and not houses. Then we go through neighborhoods first. Once they decide which neighborhoods they like, then we look at houses. I have found that is the best way to house hunt.
You know, in the pre-internet days when buyer agents were discouraged, if not illegal in many states, this was how real estate was sold.
The buyer would drive through areas he was interested in, maybe pick up a copy of the local Homes and Land of ……..., look at the real estate listings in the local papers, possibly walk by a real estate office and look at pictures of properties the agent had displayed in the window and them go in or call the agent listed on the for sale sign.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
