Am I expecting too much from my agent? (price, inspection, broker)

[cheryjohns]

Originally Posted by Leah79

Oh yeah, just for kicks:

Here's her write-up
Well maintained home, ready to move into, convenient area to downtown, UT, etc.

Here's mine:
Well-kept home on quiet street in convenient, charming Fairmont neighborhood. New roof, large eat-in kitchen (appliances stay), plenty of storage space, updated bath, fenced backyard, lots of windows providing natural light. Great curbside appeal. Move-in ready! Seller offers a 1-yr home warranty and will pay $3000 toward buyer’s closing costs at list price


Arrrrghhh.

A buyer would be more interested in seeing the home that YOU wrote about.

[Brandon Hoffman]

Some agents use emails more than others. Some are more familiar with technology than others. We don't know where yours stands, so if you want to know ask her.

Some agents are fabulous buyer agents and not so fabulous seller agents. Did you see a marketing plan or ask how she would sell the property? Did she go over conditioning, terms, etc with you?

[AmberFlynn]

I would add that the email from my agency site isn't very reliable either. They keep telling us they are fixing it, but....

However, most potential buyers are not going to seek out your particular agent and see what homes that she herself has listed. Typically, if they find the home online then they are searching via Realtor.com, Homes.com, Trulia, etc. See if you can find your home on those sites - they typically just pull automatically from the MLS (ymmv).

Her going out of town shouldn't be an issue. Agents that want to show your home to their clients should call the office to set an appointment. She could fall off the face of the earth and your home would still be able to be seen by those who find it. My concern is more the issue of her putting it out there to enough potential buyers via the internet -- latest reports are that 80%+ of homebuyers now find their homes online. Marketing is huge!! Again, remember, she is listing your house - if your association is anything like mine, the chances of her selling it as well are slim. Most likely another agent will see your home on the MLS and send it to their clients, or a potential homebuyer will see your home online/yard sign/friend and ask their agent to show it to them.

So, I wouldn't get my panties in a wad just yet. If email doesn't work for her and you feel tied, just don't email her - contact her by phone instead. I would certainly call her immediately to discuss copy and pasting your write up in the MLS - which is very good, btw BEFORE she goes out of town. If she can't/won't/says she will and doesn't, you can talk to her broker and ask them to change it for her. "Oh, Tammy Technotard already left on her trip?? I suppose she forgot to change my write up like I had asked her, would you please handle this for me?? I'll EMAIL it to you right now..."

[palmcoasting]

Just call her and speak with her about it, then make a decision from there. Most of the buyers you get are going to come from other agents but it is important she's getting the listing out there properly to attract those agents and their buyers.
I was giggling the other day when an agent called me..on my message I tell people if I don't answer, text me, I can often text back. When I answered he said, "I will NEVER text, I DON'T text". I was thinking...sucks for you since most of the people younger than you out there renting and buying do.
Some of the 'old timers' are just stuck with the tried and true and haven't gotten up to speed. I'm concerned that your agent, unless she's got an assistant who does these things for her, doesn't have you all over the internet where you need to be. Talk to her first then ask for a recommendation for someone in her office she trusts that will handle the listing the way you would like it to be. She can then co-broke it and still have her hands in it since you like her.

[middle-aged mom]

It's my job to adapt to how my clients prefer to communicate, email, text, phone or face to face.

I don't know if I don't ask them. Communication can make or break the relationship and yet, it seems, too often, clients and agents don't have this very basic discussion, up front.

[Tish Thompson]

Unless you're sending an unusual amount of requests and want them all answered within 10 seconds of hitting the send button, I don't think you're expecting too much by wanting your agent to respond to you in a timely fashion. After all, you are the reason this person may end up collecting a commission.

The reason I use a blackberry is for this very reason. If I'm not at a point where I can respond right away, at the very least I can acknowledge receipt and let my client know when I'll be able to give a real answer. Maybe your agent is bored, overwhelmed, no longer a full-time agent.

Let your agent know your concerns, and make note of this experience so that you'll know exactly what to ask for the next time you sell a house. I make it a point to set expecations (from them of me and from me of them) with my clients. We're not the same...so what's OK to me may be appalling to my clients.

Originally Posted by Leah79

Hi all, I was wondering if you could impart on me some of your collective wisdom!

My husband and I are selling our first home. We are using the same agent (a 60-something "certified residential specialist") who helped us buy the home, and we walked away feeling good about that experience. Her husband (an engineer) would come along with us and inspect things in the homes as we went, alerting us to problem areas and such. Everything about the buying experience went as smoothly as could be expected. We sincerely liked both the agent and her husband personally, and it seemed mutual.

Fast forward 6 years. Now that we're asking them to help us sell our home, my husband and I have been very disappointed with the service. I feel like it's pulling teeth to get responses from her, especially over e-mail. The first e-mail I sent (to her address on the company website) went unanswered. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, I found her cell number and called her, & she said she didn't get the e-mail since she doesn't use that address. Um, ok. The next week, she said she sent ME an e-mail which I never got. This week, I e-mailed her 2 days ago with suggestions for the "remarks" section for the MLS listing on our home since all she put on our print copy was "move-in ready and convenient location". No response. Today, our house went up on the MLS site, and none of our suggestions were implemented. How are vague and nondescript comments like that going to SELL a house? Especially for what should be a very sellable house, that is updated, in a desirable neighborhood, and offering buyer incentives?

Also, FYI, we've listed our home for 89K. Our area has a low cost of living, and that amount is fair for a nice 2 BR home. I realize it's not high commission, even though we did go with 6% instead of 5.

That's the short story. My questions:

- As realtors, how much do you depend on e-mail? Do you frequently receive queries about homes from other agents or potential buyers via e-mail? I assume that e-mail is used as much for real estate as any other business, which is why it worries me that she can't seem to get it together with e-mailing. I worry that we'll be missing a potential sale because our agent doesn't respond in a timely manner, if at all.
- What do you consider a reasonable turnaround time for responding to e-mails? I would prefer to receive a response the same day, but I think 24 hrs is fair in most circumstances. Is that out of line?
- I can understand that pricier homes would receive more attention. Do agents dread selling 2 BR's? (Especially an agent that's only listing 4 homes?)
- We signed a 6-month contract. I'm not sure what happens if I want to get out of it. I didn't see anything on the contract about breaking it or anything that really protects us all that much if we don't feel like we're being reasonably served. Any advice there?

I feel like I've given her the benefit of the doubt several times, and now it's just getting silly. Bottom line, from our experience so far, I don't trust her to respond to buyers or to put serious effort into selling our home. What are my options, beyond having a come-to-Jesus conversation with her?

Thanks!

[Leah79]

Hi all...

Thanks so much for offering your perspectives! You've given me a lot to think about!

I can't remember who said what so I'll respond to what I can remember.

We did discuss a marketing plan, sort of... I asked how the property would be marketed, and she rattled off a few websites and a print magazine. I don't know what conditioning is, so I'm assuming we didn't discuss it.

Thanks for the compliments on my write-up. I really didn't see how the other was going to attract ANYONE to my house! I did get it changed, after five e-mails and three phone calls. It was a complete comedy of errors. I called her yesterday to tell her that I'd e-mailed her 2 days ago with my version of the write-up, so she said she'd fix it immediately. By today, it still wasn't appearing in the public MLS listings, so I called her again about it. She swore she did it and sent me a link to her agent's report (or whatever it's called) to prove it. What she did was put the write-up in the AGENT'S INSTRUCTIONS and not the remarks! So not only were the agent's instructions then missing, the write-up still wasn't visible on public listings. I had to explain her error to her because she couldn't figure out the problem. The directions to my home were also wrong, and I'm 2 streets from one of the main arteries through town so that's not even complicated!

About not having a function (a webpage or whatever) to search all of her listings by her own name, I do think that's an issue. If I'm out driving around and see a for-sale sign stuck in the yard of a house I like, I've gone home and searched for the house under the agency and agent's name. I'm not necessarily going to find it so easily in the MLS or wherever.

I appreciate the words about e-mails and communication. She did ask me how I preferred to be contacted, and I told her phone calls for urgent or same-day matters, and e-mails for non-urgent questions or comments. She agreed to that. However, the real issue for me with her lack of responses to my e-mails isn't that I can't communicate with her. I know I can always call her. I'm afraid that potential buyers are being ignored.

My husband and I have discussed this in depth, factored in today's events as well as your comments, and decided that we're going to speak with the broker on Monday and request someone else. Quite frankly, I feel like I'm coaching HER through her first home-selling experience, and not the other way around. It truly scares me to think of all the other things that I don't know about that aren't being done correctly or thoroughly, if at all.

Thanks again, you guys are wonderful!

[SmartMoney]

I'm guessing that if you are in the Knoxville area (profile hints) - and your market is fairly robust, only 20% of the homes for sale are foreclosures (no mention of how many are short sales). This market is showing appreciation over last year, so that is a good sign, as the number of homes are dropping. If you are getting good traffic, you may have an offer before Monday gets here. What a couple of agents were hinting at, she may not need to be technically up to date. In an appreciating market, a home priced right will move, regardless of the talents of the listing agent. You are paying for the agent's experience to get you the greatest net with the least amount of problems. Anyone can sell your home. Not everyone can get you to the table with the most cash in your pocket. My point is, if there is a contract on your home before you talk to the broker, you are going to need to decide, again, if you are still going to speak to the broker. You're only halfway there and that's a long way without confidence.

As for the texting issues, I have no problem with texting, but rarely can I convey a message properly with restricted text or acronyms and abbreviations. I also have lost a written record of communication, vital in our current environment. I now resort to texting, "replied to your important question via email." My borrowers (and agents) have my personal and work email, both on blackberry, every phone number, and some still want to discuss financing options or decisions by text (usually the young, first time buyer). I politely tell them they are making the most important financial decision of their life and we need to devote at a minimum a telephone conversation. I understand people are busy and will do everything to accommodate them, but it's also my job to make sure they understand what they are doing. You can't do that properly with a 150 character limit.

[Leah79]

Thanks, SmartMoney. I do realize that my home could sell without her having to go through much effort. My concern is that I've found that I can't trust her with the simplest of tasks. How can I trust her to get me through the rest of the process... when it could get complicated?

It seems like something else goes wrong every day. Today's issue? The yard sign she dropped off... I noticed today that the phone number (for her) that was printed on the sign was unfamiliar. We dialed it... out of service. Nice. Buyers can't e-mail OR call her directly.

I didn't mention having a problem with texting... I think that was someone else's concern. She already told me that she turned off texting on her phone since she kept getting texts, in French, at all hours of the day and night.

Just one showing this weekend... was hoping for many more. In the meantime, I created my own fliers, bought my own info box for the drive-by's, and made my own Facebook ad for the house. The husband and I are seriously wondering why we're giving this lady commission. I think it's still safe to say that I'm requesting a different agent.

[DanielChang]

Originally Posted by Leah79

Just one showing this weekend... was hoping for many more. In the meantime, I created my own fliers, bought my own info box for the drive-by's, and made my own Facebook ad for the house. The husband and I are seriously wondering why we're giving this lady commission. I think it's still safe to say that I'm requesting a different agent.

Leah79, firstly I want to reassure you. Buyers don't often call the # on the sign to make appointments. Buyers usually note the street or address then call their own agents to make appointments. As long as the FOR SALE sign is out, and the listing is correct in the MLS, buyers will have a way to schedule showings.

It's great that you are very enthusiastic about the marketing of your home. As an agent, I'm always glad when clients collaborate on developing marketing collateral. However, I do make sure that we review them for any potential problems (any possible fair housing violations or local antidiscrimination laws, accuracy with regarding any facts) before printing/publishing. It might be a good idea to make an appointment with your agent or broker to make sure you're all sending a single message across.

You have a list of concerns. Absolutely have a frank talk with your agent's broker to find a plan that works for all parties involved. Good luck!