Realtor Question to the General Public (appraiser, sales, property, legal)
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Here's the thing about buyers agents and listings these days.
The listing agent is the one that has already been in the house and has all the answers.
A buyers agent, most likely, is seeing the place for the first time, same as the potential buyer.
To most of us , you see a sign, it has a phone number......that's the person that knows the property so that's the one you want showing it.
If you're interested in the house and it's time for offers/negotiating, etc, that's when the buyers agent is needed.Before that , he/she has very little more useful information than you do.
At that point....the first viewing....the buyers agent is little more than a chaffeur.
Many of us see this saving our agent time , nothing nefarious about it.
We work under the assumption the a 'sellers agent' is there to sell the house, not just an information taker and literal 'lister'.
Guess these days that's no longer the case.
LMAO I only wish our job as buyer agents was as easy as you make it sound and all we did was chauffer people around, that we didn't have to preview houses or run comps etc to give our buyers sound advice. This just cracks me up; I can't even take offense because this is just so darn out-there. Even in the states with an MLS, everyone working cooperatively (everything that Mike and others have said) it is a lot of work to be a good buyer agent, even before getting to the offer/negotiation process, financing, inspections, etc etc etc. You try spending a couple of months previewing homes from one end of a large county to another for out of state buyers so their relocation is smooth.
Here? As a buyer agent we have to perform initial due diligence on property B4 we even submit an offer because a lot of times the LA doesn't even know what they're promoting, we don't have an MLS, just because a deed looks like the real deal, we have to run it through the Public Registry to see if it matches up and if it doesn't, then we have to get a current certification from the PR to ensure it does in fact belong to the seller (or our buyers could spend hundreds of dollars in attorney fees for obvious errors). And speaking of attorneys, I have to personally review all contracts they write because I've seen several where the binding contract didn't even include improvements. Can't even count the number I've had to do a 'save as revised by C21' and shoot back to the buyers attorney (which of course is the contract they submitted to the seller's attorney because it was correct)
A chauffer? Hmmm certainly would be a lot less work so maybe I'll think about a new career LOL
Here's the thing about buyers agents and listings these days.
The listing agent is the one that has already been in the house and has all the answers.
A buyers agent, most likely, is seeing the place for the first time, same as the potential buyer.
To most of us , you see a sign, it has a phone number......that's the person that knows the property so that's the one you want showing it.
If you're interested in the house and it's time for offers/negotiating, etc, that's when the buyers agent is needed.Before that , he/she has very little more useful information than you do.
At that point....the first viewing....the buyers agent is little more than a chaffeur.
Many of us see this saving our agent time , nothing nefarious about it.
We work under the assumption the a 'sellers agent' is there to sell the house, not just an information taker and literal 'lister'.
Guess these days that's no longer the case.
Some listing agents know nothing about the house they are listing...some know a lot.
Some buyers agents preview as many houses as they can for their buyers, some don't.
Even when I am walking in to a house for the first time with a client, I am there to be objective. I point out the bulging foundation wall, the federal pacific breaker...etc. I don't just chauffer.
I agree with THL that if the buyer agent isn't talking with you about the house, then it's time for a new buyer agent.
You need to consider that in many, if not most, cases, the listing agent is also a buyer's agent, just as your buyer's agent likely lists homes, as well. They've got their own buyers to care for as well as their listings.
You have made the decision that the listing agent's time is less valuable than your agent's, and that the listing agent should do your buyer's agent's job for them. This is something that, in most cases, most good agents would take issue with. A good buyer's agent will be able to get you the information you want about the house. Most of the information you will want will be readily available to your agent on the MLS listing, and the rest with a phone call.
As I said, I'll show my listings, even to someone who has an agent of their own, if necessary, in order to sell the property. But this attitude of yours that I SHOULD do that to "save [your buyer's agent's] time" grates, because it's an insult to BOTH agents - to the listing agent because you're declaring that their time is less valuable than your agent's, and to the buyer's agent because you're declaring that someone else should do their job for them because they can't do it to your satisfaction (in which case, assuming your requirements are realistic, you should have a different buyer's agent).
Something else to consider when looking at props without your agent present is things the marketing agent may say that your agent will not be aware of therefore can't properly follow up, assure accuracy of, correct etc.
I've seen it many times with new construction / model homes. "Lookers" without their agent present told by the open house host, that all offers would be considered, including requests for "extras", ex: fridge, more landscaping,... They'd come back with their agent and an offer for the standard home at full advertised price - hellooo??? Thankfully for the buyers who didn't commuincate well with their agent, the builder I worked with was a class act and would discretely advise the buyer's agent to consider re-writing the offer. He could easily have accepted it as presented and let the buyer miss out on $1,000s worth of free upgrades.
The most amazing thing was how often buyers would say they already own a fridge or prefer to do their own landscaping, etc. , then still offer the advertised price instead of negotiating the value of available upgrades for a lower price.
Here's the thing about buyers agents and listings these days. The listing agent is the one that has already been in the house and has all the answers.
A buyers agent, most likely, is seeing the place for the first time, same as the potential buyer.
To most of us , you see a sign, it has a phone number......that's the person that knows the property so that's the one you want showing it.
It's been my experience that many listing agents are increasingly taking the "ask no questions/tell me no lies" approach, when listing a property.
Some sellers have a tendency to develop amnesia as it relates to ages of mechanicals and prior problems.
Inquiries from buyers flow from the buyer's agent to the listing agent back to the seller. Responses are usually couched with " the seller said..... to avoid potential liability.
I am one of those agents who insists upon a pre listing home inspection.
In addition to identifying problems and giving the seller the opportunity to address them without a gun to his head, such inspections also brings to light potential discrepencies when, for example the seller says the roof is about 8 years old and the pre- listing inspector says it's more than 20 years old. The chimney flashing was probably replaced 7-8 years ago.
At that point....the first viewing....the buyers agent is little more than a chaffeur.
Many of us see this saving our agent time , nothing nefarious about it.
We work under the assumption the a 'sellers agent' is there to sell the house, not just an information taker and literal 'lister'.
Guess these days that's no longer the case.
The agents who are affiliated with cash back/rebate brokers tend to work wide geographical areas. They do not know the area, the neighborhoods and are relying on the MLS.
They have never been inside the homes being used to comp a property. They don't know that the house next door sold for a lot less because the basement ceiling was only 5' high and that 3rd bedroom did not have a window or closet. That's not the sort of thing that is advertized in the MLS.
It's the reason why Zillow and other automated pricing models, some appraisals and agents working anywhere are not the best sources to determine relative value.
Back when, the world was a smaller, kinder and gentler place, the local agents knew their local community well. They were the experts on their listings and chances are the listing agent lived a few blocks away.
It's a different world now. Most people are out for the kill. If something goes wrong, someone else has to pay. Consumers rationalize all sorts of things to pay less and expect more.
Help me out - play devil's advocate. This has happened to me twice in the last few weeks. I get a call off the internet from one of my listings. They ask to schedule an appointment to see it. My first question is, "Are you currently working with a Realtor?" They say, "Yes, but we they are very busy so we want you to show it to us and if we like it, we will come back with our Realtor." How does this make sense to these people? I've been a Realtor my whole adult life, so sometimes I can't see the other point of view.
As mentioned in another post, ethically agents shouldn't show houses to another agents client. However, if the buyer's agent is truly unavailable and the listing agent wanst to serve their seller by asuring it's shown to all potential buyers, I would call the buyer's agent and ask if they are ok with me showing my listing to their client. Calling the buyer's agent first will also help assure that agent you don't intend to argue "procurring cause". Explain your ethical dilema & "agency" to the potential buyers. If they won't give their agent's name, they probably don't have one and are simply trying to prevent you from soliciting their business.
Part of an agent's jobs is to educate consumers, undertsanding helps build trust & respect. Largely because so much about "agency representation" and commissions, etc. remains a mystery to many consumers is why so many are anti-Realtor.
As another posted, he/she bought&sold many homes and won't do it without an agent - because they understand what professional representation is and that it's easier to get into trouble than out of it.The avg. home buyer/seller doesn't get it and tends to think it's only what they see on the surface, thus continues to resent paying commissions, waiting for their agent to see a house,...
It's been my experience that many listing agents are increasingly taking the "ask no questions/tell me no lies" approach, when listing a property.
Some sellers have a tendency to develop amnesia as it relates to ages of mechanicals and prior problems.
Inquiries from buyers flow from the buyer's agent to the listing agent back to the seller. Responses are usually couched with " the seller said..... to avoid potential liability.
I am one of those agents who insists upon a pre listing home inspection.
In addition to identifying problems and giving the seller the opportunity to address them without a gun to his head, such inspections also brings to light potential discrepencies when, for example the seller says the roof is about 8 years old and the pre- listing inspector says it's more than 20 years old. The chimney flashing was probably replaced 7-8 years ago.
The value of or liability stemming from a pre-listing inspection may vary subject to state law.
Even with a pre-listing inspection, a buyer's inspection is strongly advised.
The value of or liability stemming from a pre-listing inspection may vary subject to state law.
Even with a pre-listing inspection, a buyer's inspection is strongly advised.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeJaquish
Pre-listing and buyers' inspections are two absolutely totally different topics.
Performance of either one is not an excuse for not having the other.
Absolutely. A pre-listing inspection serves as a heads up to the seller and allows the seller to correct or disclose and sell as is, priced accordingly.
Regardless of such an inspection, buyers should always obtain their own independent home/radon/pest/well/septic inspection.
I've been one of those lookers, I think it was when we were just beginning to contemplate buying. And we did call other agents to show us houses when our own agent was unavailable, who we did end up replacing with the realtor that was available. Time was of essence for us and that got our new realtor a commision and she is now making a selling commision on the house we just sold. She rocks!
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certainly would be a lot less work so maybe I'll think about a new career LOL
