<p>Yes, agree that finding an agent you “click” with is key. First, we tried using my sister’s BIL. He was nice but didn’t perform as expected and wasn’t helpful at helping us sell the two properties we wanted to sell so we could buy THE HOUSE. We ended up having to get the lender to say we didn’t qualify for the mortgage because we really couldn’t UNTIL and UNLESS the other properties were sold.</p>
<p>We thereafter started looking around at different open houses to see if we liked any of the agents/brokers we met there. We found one we really liked & he was thrilled to list the two properties and help us find a place. It all went pretty well and we got an even better home than the one we had to let go, which is the house we’ve been living in for the past few decades. :)</p>
<p>Our next realtor will likely be H’s cousin, whom we think is VERY sharp and also accessible. She’s already prepared a report for us and had us sit in her conference room. I have always been very impressed with her and liked her a lot. Don’t think she was doing real estate when we bought our home.</p>
<p>Interesting mix of replies! As someone who earns their living as a salesperson receiving commissions my take may be a little different.
For those here who want graciousness on the part of the Realtor but are more than willing to deceive them I hope I never have you as a prospective client!
If you want to get someone’s best effort you are honest and direct with them.
The very best in any field are very busy and will prequalify a prospective customer to see if their time is being reasonably spent. There is nothing wrong with telling someone you are early on in the process. A good realtor will still be very helpful. You Know the old treat others as you would wish to be treated.
My suggestion if you truly want to work with a successful realtor is that you are straight with them and express a willingness to see the properties you wish to see in “off hours” a little earlier than usual, non weekend etc. That consideration will come back to you many times over in their willingness to work hard for you.</p>
<p>“A house is a huge investment, and it is rather unreasonable to think that people won’t want to “kick a few tires” first.”</p>
<p>Absolutely. But if you walk onto an auto dealer lot, convey to the salesman that you “might” want to buy a car someday, you can’t be offended if the lot owner sends out his rookie salesman.</p>
<p>Realtors list and sell … that’s their job. If attention is what you want, tell the Realtor you want to make an offer on one of the houses. You can honestly say “We weren’t planning on buying this year, but this house is so unique … we don’t want to lose it.” Then make a below market offer on it.</p>
<p>PS, You might want to read the “How is the house selling season going” thread. Lots of discussion about “buyers” making offers on multiple houses, then backing out of the contracts if they can’t negotiate better terms.</p>
<p>We are considering putting our house on the market in Sept. rather than the spring. We live in a very “desirable” part of town, in a neighborhood of high end homes. We contacted two realtors to see if they could look at our house, come up with a price, and potentially list the house.</p>
<p>Neither one has returned our calls!!</p>
<p>Business must be very good to blow off a substantial commission like that…</p>
<p>BTW, it’s now Wednesday … still no reply from either of the Realtors with which I left messages this past Sunday. I’m not offended … but I’m sure not going to work with either of them if I do settle in that town.</p>
<p>I’m not saying “The Realtor is right and you’re wrong.” What I’m saying … as have others … is that you need to find a Realtor you can work with. And that’s a lot easier if the Agent sees you as a potential customer.</p>
<p>The realtors we have contacted were very good about responding, even when we admitted it was early stages. The one who ultimately did represent us decades ago made a hefty commission off of us & we all got along nicely, with no major complaints.</p>
<p>Weird for no one to respond when you tried to get them to come & look at your home for a listing. We get frequent mailings, asking us if we have anything we’d like to list.</p>
<p>When we moved to our current area we rented. After a year we wanted to look at buying. We were first time homebuyers, small budget. We asked a realtor, who a family member had used, about houses under a certain price. He said there weren’t any in our school district. We mentioned a house a family member had told us about that was indeed under that price, not on market yet. He seemed annoyed off the bat that we knew of a listing that he didn’t. He reluctantly arranged a showing and took us through very quickly. It had foundation issues so we walked away. We also walked away from realtor-with-an-attitude.</p>
<p>About a month later we went to a first time homebuyer seminar at a bank and met another realtor. She was thrilled to show us anything we wanted to see. We didn’t find anything so told her we’d back off for 6 months or so, save some more $ and look again. Well one of the houses we saw with her got marked down a month or so later and we bought it. </p>
<p>I still run into that first realtor occasionally. I’d NEVER recommend him to anyone.</p>
<p>You kind of wonder why some of them are in the business if they are so reluctant to work for you–maybe they only want their special clients or are only in the business to make their fortune & then retire? Give me a person who is enthusiastic and wants to competently work WITH me, or I’ll find someone who will.</p>
<p>As in any profession, there are some real stars, and there are people who are phoning it in. I think some people get into real estate because they think it’s an easy way to make a living – your friend asks you to list their house, you open a few closet doors, you make money. In reality, successful realtors work very very hard. They hold deals together; they negotiate successfully and fairly. But some realtors just don’t want to be bothered showing homes at lower price points.</p>
<p>I still can’t figure out why Nrdsb4’s realtors haven’t called back…that’s just crazy.</p>
<p>It is not deception to deal with someone working on commission when you are in the early stages of buying something. Real estate garners a huge commission, you don’t expect the majority of contacts to yield a sale. To enjoy it realtors need to be willing to spend time with many people to get one buyer. Remember- the potential customer doesn’t owe the realtor anything. And how many of us use the neighbor’s open house as a chance to see inside it? My neighbors and I did. </p>
<p>When buying is in your interest to sit down and discuss some parameters with an agent. You have to narrow the field- hundreds of houses out there, most not suitable. It is also very reasonable to quit dealing with an agent at any time you don’t feel good about the relationship- such as no new showings, contacts or they just rub you wrong somehow. </p>
<p>I feel sorry for salespeople working on commission in stores. I come in, ask questions and may come back another day. I don’t want to feel any obligation and sometimes I don’t want to deal with an individual.</p>
<p>The only obligation anyone should have with another person is to be straight forward and honest. If you are not ready to purchase a home and you give the impression that you are. I believe that to be deceptive. I am not in Real Estate sales. I own an Insurance Agency. I am 30 years in my profession and employ 14 people in my office.
If I become aware that a prospective client has used my time or knowledge and hasn’t been straight with me they are done.
Some people may believe true professionals are disposable but people with wisdom know better.
Professionals at the top of their respective fields don’t have to tolerate that and they won’t.
Karma can be nasty! Within a community word gets around. Treat a couple of highly regarded professionals poorly and wonder why you can’t get people to perform services at your home or why these services are so expensive.
It’s pretty basic. You get what you give. Why not give decency?</p>
Sure, ignore the recommendation of a person who has been through hundreds of transactions and has dealt with dozens of lawyers, and has some actual experience on who the competent ones are.</p>
<p>Ignore the recommendation of a person who has been through hundreds of inspections and has seen everything from a 45 minute blow-by to the guy who takes 4-5 hours to do a house and produces a 50 page report with pictures.</p>
<p>Because your real estate agent is only interested in closing the deal and will screw you over to make it happen. They have no interest in doing an honest day’s work, looking out for their clients, helping them through a complicated process, building a reputation, building a referral network. Nah, they are all crooked. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>It’s all about squeezing out that extra thousand out of the buyer so they can pocket an extra $18 or $20.</p>
<p>What’s weird about the OP’s experience is the listing broker should be thrilled to bring in a buyer without having to split the commission with another agent or firm. Those are the contacts agents love. If it’s a standard split, the agent may be making half of what the firm makes, so a direct contact could literally be worth twice as much as one brought in by another agent and firm.</p>