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.
Ok, so we sold our house and are closing tomorrow. West Boynton Beach.
Our realtor has not shown us her face again since we signed the contract with her in September.
Nor, did SHE sell our home. We had a TON showings and not ONE from her.
We are extremely lucky in that we sold our home within 6wks of listing it, and prior to that contract (the selling one), we had 2 other contracts and atleast 7+ offers in total.
So, we are closing tomorrow, just got an email from her that she has a class (BOLD, it's called?) and WON'T be at the walk-thru and closing!
Is this the norm for a realtor? We literally may never see her again....and haven't since that night that she came here and was happy to get her hands on our sigs/contract.
She has asked us atleast 3 times over the past 6wks for a 'recommendation letter'...last I told her that I would do it AFTER closing.
At this point, I don't feel like she deserves one. There were a few times where she got snarky with me, because I had to put some fire under her bottom regarding some issues that came up...once I put that fire there, she kicked in, but without that fire, she was 'taking her time'.
Closing is tomorrow and she just now figured out she has a class? I don't think so. Wow, it sounds like this person did nothing to deserve their commission and has no intention of doing any real work. She's going to walk all over you because you're on autopilot and know what you're doing. Someone needs to "accidentally" lose or pocket her commission because this sort of lack of work is just outrageous. This type of behavior is why there are so many people critical of real estate agents. You absolutely should write a complaint to her, her broker, and the local real estate boards...not some recommendation for someone who did no work.
If this were a discount firm maybe it'd be alright, but I'm guessing you're working with a typical full-service firm.
I have shown all my listings at least once, but most most of the showings come from buyer's agents. That is why we love the MLS. So that part, pretty normal I think.
I have missed a closing here and there because sometimes they aren't when originally planned and I have something else scheduled the day of the new closing. Conferences are often booked a couple months in advance so I can see this happening.
I have many clients that I haven't physically seen in a while, but that doesn't mean we are chatting on the phone or emailing regularly. I guess I find it odd that you didn't see her when you got the offers. She didn't present the offers in person? That part is weird to me.
I don't think you are being too harsh. While the sale of your home occurred, it sounds like you wanted more personal, less detached service. If you aren't satisfied don't write a recommendation letter.
Ok, so we sold our house and are closing tomorrow. West Boynton Beach.
Our realtor has not shown us her face again since we signed the contract with her in September.
Nor, did SHE sell our home. We had a TON showings and not ONE from her.
We are extremely lucky in that we sold our home within 6wks of listing it, and prior to that contract (the selling one), we had 2 other contracts and atleast 7+ offers in total.
So, we are closing tomorrow, just got an email from her that she has a class (BOLD, it's called?) and WON'T be at the walk-thru and closing!
Is this the norm for a realtor? We literally may never see her again....and haven't since that night that she came here and was happy to get her hands on our sigs/contract.
She has asked us atleast 3 times over the past 6wks for a 'recommendation letter'...last I told her that I would do it AFTER closing.
At this point, I don't feel like she deserves one. There were a few times where she got snarky with me, because I had to put some fire under her bottom regarding some issues that came up...once I put that fire there, she kicked in, but without that fire, she was 'taking her time'.
Opinions?
Is this the reality? Or am I being too harsh?
Thanks!
Well, it is pretty normal for your listing agent to not be the one who actually sells your house, in the sense that they didn't have the right buyer for it. However, if she helped you come up with the price, and marketed the property, she did in fact "sell" the house. Since you had a lot of showings and honestly, a lot of offers, I assume she did that part fairly well.
You said you haven't seen the agents face, but I assume you have had communication from the agent. In today's technological age, it isn't that untypical to not NEED to actually meet with the agent for much. If you have access to either a fax machine or a printer and scanner, everything can be done remotely over email, fax and phone. However, I think agents SHOULD meet face to face with clients to present offers. If you had 7+ offers and she never met with you on any of them, that is not doing her job properly in my opinion. I hope she at least had phone conversations with you about each one, after you had it in hand, so you could ask questions. That is a bare minimum, in my opinion.
As for the not being at the closing and walkthrough, unfortunately, agents are required to take xx number of credits of continuing education each year (or every 2 years, or whatever). Many classes are only held once a month in my area and they usually have to be signed up for in advance, and probably prior to the agent knowing your closing date, so it may have been unavoidable. HOWEVER, I would ask if the broker or another experienced agent from the office could be at your walkthrough and closing to represent your interests. And I would ask that your agent meet with both that person, and yourself for 15 minutes prior to bring them up to speed. I don't think that is an unreasonable request.
So, if your agent spoke with you by email or phone often, and you felt the offers you received were explained to you, and your house closes that quickly, I would say you are being overly harsh. However, if the agent has not been in regular communication with you during all that activity, then you are not.
The problem with the contracts is they obligate the seller but list NO obligations for the agent! It is ASSuMEd that an agent will promote the house so that they will get the commission, but some do what yours did - especially if they have home owners like you who do all the work.
Follow BigDragon's advice - immediately contact her broker and the Real Estate ethics board in your area. She deserves nothing at all.
[more]
I am amazed that so many agents here indicate this is fairly normal. After contract signing, and agent should help with the staging of the home, making recommendations and providing items that might help sell it. She(he) should aggressively market the home and keep the homeowner advised of progress and what she is doing. She should schedule open houses, bring other agents through, send updates of comps, and provide advice to maximize selling and price.
Any buyer should REQUIRE up front a signed document of exactly what the Realtor will provide or nor provide.
Agents are earning THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($3,000) for every $100,000 of selling price. They darn well better do something to earn it.
Last edited by GuyFriendly; 11-17-2009 at 09:16 AM..
My version of a listing agent's job description is to educate the seller, create excitement within the marketplace for the property and negotiate on behalf of the seller.
It's not uncommon for a listing agent to not have the opportuity to show their own listing and many listing agents will not entertain dual agency.
Darn shame she will not be at the final walkthru or closing.
The problem with the contracts is they obligate the seller but list NO obligations for the agent! It is ASSuMEd that an agent will promote the house so that they will get the commission, but some do what yours did - especially if they have home owners like you who do all the work.
Follow BigDragon's advice - immediately contact her broker and the Real Estate ethics board in your area. She deserves nothing at all.
You are confusing good customer service with law. I find many folks on this forum get confused. This agent has broken no laws or committed any ethical violations.
Her failure is to provide a good customer service experience for her sellers. It is totally legal in the United States to offer mediocre customer service. It's just not smart business practice.
OP I would just point blank tell her that you won't write her a recommendation letter and why. While she clearly did her job which was to bring in buyers, sounds like she need some fine tuning on the client interaction piece. While it isn't your job to train her, I always learn a lot from situations that didn't go in my favor.
You are confusing good customer service with law. I find many folks on this forum get confused. This agent has broken no laws or committed any ethical violations.
Her failure is to provide a good customer service experience for her sellers. It is totally legal in the United States to offer mediocre customer service. It's just not smart business practice.
OP I would just point blank tell her that you won't write her a recommendation letter and why. While she clearly did her job which was to bring in buyers, sounds like she need some fine tuning on the client interaction piece. While it isn't your job to train her, I always learn a lot from situations that didn't go in my favor.
"I am not a crook" - Richard Nixon. The same applies here. The agent may not have done anything illegal - because the contract doesn't obligate her. But she sure as heck was unethical.
Get it in writing, folks. Legal contracts are written to benefit the one making you sign, not to benefit you.
This is exactly why RE agents and used car salesmen get a bad rep.
SHAME for following the letter of the law while using the customer to one's own advantage. It may be legal, but it casts a very dark shadow on the industry.
How many agents here actually provide their customers with documentation of their commitment and what they will provide? Without that, I don't even consider a RE agent.
The one I have now helped stage the house, had a video tour done, posted many pics, worked with us on many issues including pricing, sent mailings out, posted on numerous web sites, sends us updates on homes for sale in our area as they occur, stays in touch by phone and email, contacts buyer agents, etc., etc. In short, she is what is good about the profession while the one in the OP is everything bad about it.
Closing is tomorrow and she just now figured out she has a class? I don't think so. Wow, it sounds like this person did nothing to deserve their commission and has no intention of doing any real work. She's going to walk all over you because you're on autopilot and know what you're doing. Someone needs to "accidentally" lose or pocket her commission because this sort of lack of work is just outrageous. This type of behavior is why there are so many people critical of real estate agents. You absolutely should write a complaint to her, her broker, and the local real estate boards...not some recommendation for someone who did no work.
If this were a discount firm maybe it'd be alright, but I'm guessing you're working with a typical full-service firm.
SHAME for following the letter of the law while using the customer to one's own advantage. It may be legal, but it casts a very dark shadow on the industry.
How many agents here actually provide their customers with documentation of their commitment and what they will provide? Without that, I don't even consider a RE agent.
Look...the real estate boards are inundated with complaints. Most of them are not ethical or legal violations. In fact the real estate agency here in Oregon is two years out. I filed a complaint against an agent over earnest money and it took them two years to deal with a serious legal issue because of complaints over bad customer service. So this agent practiced for two years doing consumers damage in the process. Don't clog the real estate commissions and boards with consumer service problems. You can read the REALTOR code of ethics and this agent hasn't violated any of their ethics codes based on what the OP wrote here.
I'm not saying it's okay. I'm saying complaints like this clog the system and as such the real serious legal issues can't get addressed in a timely manner.
Their agent clearly did her job which was to bring in buyers. She brought the sellers three offers within 6 weeks of listing. She brought it to market properly. What she did poorly was communicate with her client. Does it need to be addressed? Yes. Just don't clog the system over poor communication. The agencies investigate ALL complaints. You don't realize that when you suggest people file a complaint over something like this how it impacts the system and it means the super bad agents get to keep their licenses for longer.
AND for the record ALL of my listing contracts spell out EXACTLY what a client gets and WHEN it occurs. I have an addendum I attach that is part of our agreement because what I do varies from house to house based on needs.
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.
