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We also were lucky enough to find Mike & Tina on this forum. I cannot say enough good things about them. They have gone above and beyond, driven miles and miles with us and looked at dozens of homes, stayed in constant touch, provided valuable information regarding mortgage brokers and insurance, answered our questions in a timely manner, and just genuinely have been there for us through our whole process of us moving to Tampa. We feel very fortunate to have found them.
it's not closings, It's presentations of the contract and that's not like sitting there ringing up sales at wal-mart. do you understand teh term "time is of the essence"? It means that a buyer stipulates a certain time period in which the seller has to respond to the offer and then it's gone. there's often a back and forth until the final price is reached and can take a whole day. The thing is the realtor can't say, oh, ok. I gotta go home now see ya tomorrow. once the deal is in play, you can't stop until the final agreement is reached. I've done it and it can be grueling and intense. The point is there are legal limits on everyone in the process and everyone's mind is focused on the deal. a realtor who isn't giving the negotiations his/her full attention is not doing their best for the client. Sorry to say the person who wants to look is just a prospect at that point and needs to be secondary.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bentlebee
A lot of you wrote is true, but I dis agree with the agent can be "caught up in negotiations and didn't take a minute to do so".
Can you tell me how many closings there have been lately. So how busy are agents these day.
If I was an agent I would return every call, you never want to miss out on business, maybe 2 years ago agents didn't care. They sold homes, got commision without doing much, today they have to work for their money, so if you not calling back that means you should not be a realtor and represent a client!
Remember there was a huge company who did everything for 2% if you had a direct buyer. Every day adds on tv. They made a lot of money by doing very little, that was 2005. They had 350 people working for them. In 2007 they had 11 people working for them. I once spoke with the owner and some of his lawyers because of the mess and bad work they did. They agreed that they had grown so fast. They were about to move in the new build building the we going to close on very soon in 2005. I guess they moved back to a smaller building. A lot of realtors were mad a them because of the low commision they charged and that was major competition for other realtors. Every realtor you would speak with had something bad to sya and why you shouldn't work with them and why other realtors chargeed 6% instead of that company charging 2 or 4%. Well I guess they made a lot of money but took the biggest hid when the market went down.
It really is a shame that some people are not treated with respect when they are looking for Real Estate.
As a Realtor, in Tampa, I would like to say that I find it hard to judge when I'm helping someone or just following up too much. I always answer or return calls/e-mails with in a few hours. Never let a lead go unanswered more than a day. Most of the time, I will follow up (sometimes three times) and never hear from the people again. But thats O.K., it is what I get payed to do!
it's not closings, It's presentations of the contract and that's not like sitting there ringing up sales at wal-mart. do you understand teh term "time is of the essence"? It means that a buyer stipulates a certain time period in which the seller has to respond to the offer and then it's gone. there's often a back and forth until the final price is reached and can take a whole day. The thing is the realtor can't say, oh, ok. I gotta go home now see ya tomorrow. once the deal is in play, you can't stop until the final agreement is reached. I've done it and it can be grueling and intense. The point is there are legal limits on everyone in the process and everyone's mind is focused on the deal. a realtor who isn't giving the negotiations his/her full attention is not doing their best for the client. Sorry to say the person who wants to look is just a prospect at that point and needs to be secondary.
What if the realtor never calls when a potential buyer call to see the home that the realtor has as a listing. You are saying that is secondary. Secondary is not bad but not responding is. Tell that to the seller.
How long does it take to respond a phone call? 1 or 2 minutes. If a realtor can't handle that they should find something else to do.
How did you do it when the market was booming? You are saying you have everyday people on which you have to deal with a contract, good for you, but how did you get them without taking a call?
On this blog I find out that there are many people with complains about Tamapa Bay area realtors. Luckily there are good ones as mentioned by some people and I have met a very good realtor myself who works at Prudential at the shoppes of New Tampa.
When there is a contract being negotiated a Realtor should still call potential customers back and still show the house as long as the Buyer(s) knows that there is an offer on the table. Most offer negotiations go nowhere these days. Now, if there is a executed contract on the table the Realtor should still show the property if the potential Buyer wants to see it and understands that the contract may not fall apart (with luck).
It isn't the best thing to purchase a home. The market is-yes-great for buyers, but please look into the HOA fees, insurance, and property taxes. They can be a killer!
What are typical home insurance rates in the Tampa area? I'm looking at a standard bungalow around 1200 -1500 sq ft Hopefully with a pool. Does the pool make a big difference for taxes or insurance.
you have a plethora of realtors to choose from. if one doesn't bother following up just call the next one in the phone book. I'm not currently a realtor but yes if the market is booming, then an agent can be very busy. Not every contract goes thru (once a buyer says they want to put in an offer, the agent has to do it no matter how unreasonable) but we don't know that until it's been "run" to it's conclusion and I'll say again, of course calls should be returned even if a voice mail is left apologizing for the breakdown in communication. That may not be good enough for the person who's from out of town so I'd recommend just moving on to another. It's the agent's loss but that's the frustrating part of any sales job. You get some bad deals that eventually go bust and you want to say "what a waste of time I could have..." but that's unproductive so you just move on. Don't forget that a buyer's market IS a busy time for agents. even when representing the sellers. Once you've listed a house there's work to be done but there's a lot more involved in showing the property to all those buyers looking to get a great deal. There's a lot more time spent i negotiation.
You as a buyer have some responsibility also to see your needs are met. That's how adults do things.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bentlebee
What if the realtor never calls when a potential buyer call to see the home that the realtor has as a listing. You are saying that is secondary. Secondary is not bad but not responding is. Tell that to the seller.
How long does it take to respond a phone call? 1 or 2 minutes. If a realtor can't handle that they should find something else to do.
How did you do it when the market was booming? You are saying you have everyday people on which you have to deal with a contract, good for you, but how did you get them without taking a call?
On this blog I find out that there are many people with complains about Tamapa Bay area realtors. Luckily there are good ones as mentioned by some people and I have met a very good realtor myself who works at Prudential at the shoppes of New Tampa.
I don't know if you ever solved your realtor problem but I have the solution for you. He's actually a Broker, not just an agent, he was fantastic. I can not say enough good words for the level of service he provides. Let me know if you would like his infomation.
When there is a contract being negotiated a Realtor should still call potential customers back and still show the house as long as the Buyer(s) knows that there is an offer on the table. Most offer negotiations go nowhere these days. Now, if there is a executed contract on the table the Realtor should still show the property if the potential Buyer wants to see it and understands that the contract may not fall apart (with luck).
The properties I spoke about had no contract on them.
Last week I called as a potential buyer to see a house listed with an agent. I called twice, left 2 messages and never heard back. So I decided to call them again today and got a real person on the phone and asked if I could see the property listed with them. He told me I could go and see it whenever I wanted. The owners didn't live on the property address and I could get in through the backdoor sliding door. Just before he finished the call he asked me if I had a realtor which I answered by saying "no". So I went today and opened the sliding door but felt very unconfortable being in someones property without anybody present from the sellers side. So if I would make an offer, the sellers agent is getting 5 or 6% without even showing the home Maybe I should become a realtor
Some people suggest move to the next realtor, but these realtors have listed the homes. I don't need a buyers agent to show me the home and tell what I should like or not. I'm an investor and know exactly what I'm looking for and never go to a property if I'm not really interested, I don't want to waiste anybody's time and mine. That might be very different for first time buyers, they need good advise.
When I had homes for sale, I got very frustrated that everytime a realtor did a showing of my property, 70% of the realtors either left the lights on, didn't lock the doors or left all the blinds open. They knew it was an empty home and I feel that realtors have to have respect for other peoples property.
I'm not writing just to be negative Ireally wish it was otherwise, but just want to write about my experience and hope for the future a lot will change so the market will become much better. Also as I wrote before I have met a really nice, professional realtor, and will work with her on a house that I probable will buy if the lender approves my offer. She is the listing agent and if she has another property that I like I will work again with her.
The properties I spoke about had no contract on them.
Last week I called as a potential buyer to see a house listed with an agent. I called twice, left 2 messages and never heard back. So I decided to call them again today and got a real person on the phone and asked if I could see the property listed with them. He told me I could go and see it whenever I wanted. The owners didn't live on the property address and I could get in through the backdoor sliding door. Just before he finished the call he asked me if I had a realtor which I answered by saying "no". So I went today and opened the sliding door but felt very unconfortable being in someones property without anybody present from the sellers side. So if I would make an offer, the sellers agent is getting 5 or 6% without even showing the home Maybe I should become a realtor
Some people suggest move to the next realtor, but these realtors have listed the homes. I don't need a buyers agent to show me the home and tell what I should like or not. I'm an investor and know exactly what I'm looking for and never go to a property if I'm not really interested, I don't want to waiste anybody's time and mine. That might be very different for first time buyers, they need good advise.
When I had homes for sale, I got very frustrated that everytime a realtor did a showing of my property, 70% of the realtors either left the lights on, didn't lock the doors or left all the blinds open. They knew it was an empty home and I feel that realtors have to have respect for other peoples property.
I'm not writing just to be negative Ireally wish it was otherwise, but just want to write about my experience and hope for the future a lot will change so the market will become much better. Also as I wrote before I have met a really nice, professional realtor, and will work with her on a house that I probable will buy if the lender approves my offer. She is the listing agent and if she has another property that I like I will work again with her.
Well put...
In my case, I really DID NOT want any realtor to:
give me listings from MLS, since this info is on the www
give me comps, since this info can be obtained from the county website
tell me what is nice about the house and what is not nice, since I know EXACTLY what I want
work with me on documentation and legal papers, since I have my own trusted real estate attorney
The ONLY reason that I wanted to go with a realtor is because I needed access to houses that have the 'realtors lock' on the door and I didnt have the time to call up every individual seller's realtor and setup an appointment.
I think the notion of having a realtor providing 'valuable information' is dying fast. In my case, I had my tablet PC with me, and had every bit of information about the house. The realtor was surprised to see me come equipped with all the info.
With the power of the Internet and by doing research ahead of time, it is absolutely not necessary for anybody (a buyer, atleast) to 'hire' a buyer's agent. (for sellers, there are MLS listers who list your house for a flat fee - approx 250 bux in the MLS)
I am not saying that realtors have to work for FREE... As a service provider they should be paid what is fair... just like attorneys, doctors, service men, etc.
I cannot wait to see the day when real estate agents are paid 'hourly' (heck, they can even charge 500 bux per hour!) for their services (like attorneys) and not a flat 6% or 3% of the purchase price.
There should also be a 'set' fee for activities like sending MLS listings, showing houses, arranging appointments, etc.. etc...on a structured basis
Paying a 6% or 5% or 3% commission on the purchase/selling price of houses is too much akin to organized extortion, IMHO.
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not retail sales
So how busy are agents these day. 
, and will work with her on a house that I probable will buy if the lender approves my offer. She is the listing agent and if she has another property that I like I will work again with her. 
