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.
Clients get the agent they deserve and vice-versa.
You sound like you are property savy but your people picker is broke.
Assuming you are working with a full service, as opposed to a rebate agency, there is no reason why you or anyone should end up with a clerk with house keys.
Continuing to work with agents who do not meet your needs, you affirm the clerk with house keys. Is it reasonable to say most buyers' agents do not do much research when you have chosen to work with and affirm the ones who do not, instead of advocating for yourself and hiring one who meshes with your needs?
Buyers agency in many states means the buyer's agent has a fiduciary responsibility to the buyer. They are not a sub agent to the listing agent or the seller and are paid outof the transaction. This may or may not be the law in your state.
Agent and client is a partnership in pursuit of a common goal. If you withhold pertinate information, it creates the potential for a self fulfilling prophecy. The more information a buyer withholds, the less likely any agent is going to meet the buyer's expectations and thus the more disappointed the buyer will be with the outcome.
I completely agree with what you posted. In my posting I referred to a major relocation client I had when I practiced in the States. He had called several Realtors in the area, all of whom turned him down because he had not even interviewed for the job yet, but he wanted everything in place because he had a family - and a very specific criteria. Since I'm a mom myself, I completely understood why he needed to locate a house so if he got the job (which he did), it would be a seemless move for his family from Texas to Colorado. I took him on as a client even though I didn't know for sure whether or not he would, in fact, get the job.
I literally spent months previewing houses from one end of the county he wanted to buy to the other end, to find a house that would meet his criteria - now keep in mind, he was coming from an area where prices were much lower than his county of choice in Colorado, which was Boulder County.
While in the end, compromises did need to be made because you just couldn't buy in Boulder County for the same price as in the area of Texas he was from. But with a ton of leg work and sending them what felt like millions of property considerations, I was finally able to locate them a home that met almost all of their needs. Again, they did need to make a few compromises due to the vast differences between property values in Texas and Colorado, but in the end they were extremely happy with the house they bought.
Though the key in this case was that the client had a defined area (albeit Boulder county is huge ), a defined criteria for the home they wanted, he would travel to Colorado to see in person the properties I had previewed for him and his wife to 'narrow down' the ones of interest and he was very serious - as well as appreciative for all of the work that was put in when everyone else wouldn't give him the time of day.
We have been browsing the market to buy a home for a couple years now and have been receiving help from an agent. However, lately she has been slacking. I often find properties on the internet on my own which I then ask her to provide details about. Her MLS sends me a list of properties from time to time. However, unlike the past, she no longer points out the ones that may be particularly interesting for us. If we are thinking of making an offer on a property, she doesn't divulge all the raw data and past history unless I ask specific questions. In the beginning of our search, I did not even know this is all public data and readily available to anyone for viewing. If a house is listed for 500K, and the previous sale, less than a year ago, was for 350K, I don't hear her giving that information to me.
Given that she is super prompt in replying to queries, I still find myself loosing interest in working with her because she now also has very limited time allocated for us on the weekends to go on property tours. I do understand that it has taken us longer than expected to find a house that we like. I would like to dump her, but my conscience won't allow me to do that because I would hate to see the time that she has spent after us go wasted.
Need unbiased views on this matter.
A buyer's agent is there to provide a service. That is her sole purpose in life. If she will not or cannot provide this service then she is essentially useless to you.
First of all, she is well aware of her deficiencies toward you. She knows exactly what she is and what she is not doing. She has made the CONSCIOUS decision to only put in purfunctory level of service to you in case "something comes along". She is not intent on making it happen. She is not being proactive on your behalf.
If you are seriously wanting to find a home, and not just kicking tires, then you have the right to receive a level of service that you demand. If she cannot do this, you owe it to yourself, and to HER and to the NEXT REALTOR that you intend to hire to get moving. You aren't doing anyone any favors by allowing this relationship to languish.
She probably would be happy for you to go elsewhere but does not wish to make the first move. Chances are she will be relived when you tell her.
MsFancyPants, you have got to be a mind reader. How else can you put down the very thoughts I have in mind, so succintly?!!
To all those who have made negative judgements about my post: did it ever occur to you that this agent considers me an EASY client to hold on to, because I do the majority of research and legwork? She doesn't even have to chauffeur us around. We do our own driving and actually drive HER around when properties are close to each other. Just a few a days back, I found a property on my own accord, which actually should have come from her because it meets our criteria so closely and is very similar to a house we recently actually put an offer on but mid-way through got declared as a short sale.
When I pointed out the property to her, she said, wow - it's remarkable. I am a softy when it comes to making offending remarks, but couldn't help muttering in my mind, 'yes, and remarkable indeed that you missed this one too'.
Someone here has inquired several times how many properties she has shown me so far. I do not have an exact count but maybe 30-40. We live in a metro area and started out by looking within certain city areas. However, our search is mainly limited to one of the suburbs now.
I really agree with MsFancyPants when she said, if I have to do all the legwork, I might as well go the extra mile and do it all myself. My realtor knows this search is pretty cushy for her because all she has to do is drive herself to these properties. Not a total waste of her time either, because the viewings can always come in handy for subsequent clients.
MsFancyPants, you have got to be a mind reader. How else can you put down the very thoughts I have in mind, so succintly?!!
To all those who have made negative judgements about my post: did it ever occur to you that this agent considers me an EASY client to hold on to, because I do the majority of research and legwork? She doesn't even have to chauffeur us around. We do our own driving and actually drive HER around when properties are close to each other. Just a few a days back, I found a property on my own accord, which actually should have come from her because it meets our criteria so closely and is very similar to a house we recently actually put an offer on but mid-way through got declared as a short sale.
When I pointed out the property to her, she said, wow - it's remarkable. I am a softy when it comes to making offending remarks, but couldn't help muttering in my mind, 'yes, and remarkable indeed that you missed this one too'.
Someone here has inquired several times how many properties she has shown me so far. I do not have an exact count but maybe 30-40. We live in a metro area and started out by looking within certain city areas. However, our search is mainly limited to one of the suburbs now.
I really agree with MsFancyPants when she said, if I have to do all the legwork, I might as well go the extra mile and do it all myself. My realtor knows this search is pretty cushy for her because all she has to do is drive herself to these properties. Not a total waste of her time either, because the viewings can always come in handy for subsequent clients.
Quite frankly, I do not understand your title to this thread, referring to "...dumping her would prick my conscience."
You are building a case that your conscience should be free of guilt.
Do what you think you need to do. Don't spend two years thinking about it.
Disregarding the flippant remark above, Neeshera, continue to take as much time as you want. She's the one who will lose out, not you. This type of attitude is exactly why more and more people are foregoing the "professionals" and doing it themselves.
IF Neeshera actually goes it alone or not and IF she/he eventually buys or not and IF she can sleep at night then so be it, you know what ever floats the boat.
My listing agent for one property I had really mucked things up for me telling the buyer and their agent all sorts of things he had no business saying (that were actually all spelled out in the condo documents).
This agent disclosed things that were in the condo documents or this agent disclosed things that were contrary to the condo document?
It sounds like this agent and most average agents aren't very goodproblem solvers and just do what their clients ask.
There are well more than 1 million people with real estate licenses in the U.S. I have no opinion about their abilities to solve problems because I have not met most of them. Have you?
Overgeneralization is taking isolated cases and using them to make wide generalizations about most, or all.
Once you find a home that suits you, would you feel comfortable preparing an offer on your own and going through the escrow process unrepresented? Or, at that time, do you think you will be relying on an agent? (Are you fully informed about what sort of problems are commonly arise with home inspections in your area? Do you feel prepared to deal with possible appraisal issues and negotiating needed repairs?)
I find your situation quite interesting...the search process is a very personal matter and I think it is great that you are waiting for the right home for you. But I wonder if it is possible that you are becoming comfortable with the search process because you are "getting good at it" and maybe forgetting that once you find the house you want, you will enter into a completely different set of challenges? If you think that you are prepared to go it alone, then maybe you should give it a try and see what result you get--if you have doubts about your agent, you certainly have the power to break off that relationship and do what feels right to you. (Just keep in mind that you should do that before your agent shows you a house that you want to purchase.)
If you are out viewing homes with your agent and feeling resentment toward her now, that does not create a good foundation for the future, when you do find a home and possibly end up in a tricky negotiation or end up facing difficulties in the escrow. Your relationship with your agent should be one that gives you confidence...but on the other side, she needs to have confidence that she is working with sincere, pro-active clients. From what you are telling us here, it really sounds like you should sit down with her for a good heart-to-heart and get this figured out, especially if you plan to continue the relationship and make another offer using her as your agent.
Best wishes for a positive resolution of your dilemma.
Quite frankly, I do not understand your title to this thread, referring to "...dumping her would prick my conscience."
You are building a case that your conscience should be free of guilt.
Do what you think you need to do. Don't spend two years thinking about it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cynmkolohe
Neeshera,
Once you find a home that suits you, would you feel comfortable preparing an offer on your own and going through the escrow process unrepresented? Or, at that time, do you think you will be relying on an agent? (Are you fully informed about what sort of problems are commonly arise with home inspections in your area? Do you feel prepared to deal with possible appraisal issues and negotiating needed repairs?)
I find your situation quite interesting...the search process is a very personal matter and I think it is great that you are waiting for the right home for you. But I wonder if it is possible that you are becoming comfortable with the search process because you are "getting good at it" and maybe forgetting that once you find the house you want, you will enter into a completely different set of challenges? If you think that you are prepared to go it alone, then maybe you should give it a try and see what result you get--if you have doubts about your agent, you certainly have the power to break off that relationship and do what feels right to you. (Just keep in mind that you should do that before your agent shows you a house that you want to purchase.)
If you are out viewing homes with your agent and feeling resentment toward her now, that does not create a good foundation for the future, when you do find a home and possibly end up in a tricky negotiation or end up facing difficulties in the escrow. Your relationship with your agent should be one that gives you confidence...but on the other side, she needs to have confidence that she is working with sincere, pro-active clients. From what you are telling us here, it really sounds like you should sit down with her for a good heart-to-heart and get this figured out, especially if you plan to continue the relationship and make another offer using her as your agent.
Best wishes for a positive resolution of your dilemma.
Props to you for saying what I was thinking much better than I said it.
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.
), a defined criteria for the home they wanted, he would travel to Colorado to see in person the properties I had previewed for him and his wife to 'narrow down' the ones of interest and he was very serious - as well as appreciative for all of the work that was put in when everyone else wouldn't give him the time of day.
