I thought I would delve into the reality of dealing with a really big agent in todays real estate market! My thoughts? Start running to the next listing! Don't rush to do business with them before dotting your "i's" and crossing your "t's!" Leave outs in the contract. Have contingencies in the contract tied to performance! Utilities must be on for inspection...etc! Cover yourself well! Spellit out in the contract what happens if this action is not performed!
The profile is the agent that boasts they are carrying in excess of 40 listings. The problems is that with less sales, they are not being serviced. So now you write an offer, and can you fax it to another location, I'm at the beach! 24 hours go by,and you finally receive a call from them, I never received that contract, did you send it? Oh you did! Well, I may have given your the wrong number try this number...XXX-XXX-1234. Meanwhile your clients think you are asleep at the wheel! You get the deal worked out, and all is good until the day of your inspection, they are supposed to have hard copies waiting for you at the home, but they are not there. They never got around to it, because they were late getting in after golf last night, and after all they are really too busy carrying 40 listings. Oh, and by the way the utilities are off, because the listing agent with the 40 homes forgot to tell the homeowner to leave them on! ( This is a great item to have in the contract special stipulations..if utilities are not on at designated inspection time, seller to pay for re-inspection fees, and inspection period will be extended to XYZ!)
It is not my problem that they are too busy, and can't afford to pay staff to do it for them. If you can't service the listing, don't take it! Be an adult! Because I refuse to do your work for you driving to your office for a 3rd time because you are too busy with the 40 listings you can not service while you are at the beach or on the golf course. Oh and by they way, if the listing agent with the 40 homes says can we handle it at closing? I really wish I could say "What closing? I've advised my people to walk from the deal... on the grounds of X, Y, and Z!You are obviously too busy to work this deal the way it should be worked! It is only going to get worse!"
In situations like this have your broker contact their broker. Do not do the work for them! Document your actions, save emails, and print them off! The market is tough enough that to put up with persons that are totally unprofessional, and users!
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Gary I believe it.
Lisa Most agents are very good, and conscientious. Every so often it is not unusual to run into an agent that really too many multi-million dollar awards have gone to their head. It is not right to take advantage of other agents, time, and have others do the work for them by bullying others.
Linda I think a lot of these agents do themselves in in the long run. When you see a listing with their name on it, the obvious feeling is you do not want to eal with that crap again. Sorry it is called a condition response! Unlike pavlov's dog, this scenario leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
Jim,
I met an agent a few months ago at my printer and he was bragging for 20 minutes how he has 50 listings and he kept saying ..well if they are priced right they will sell themselves..I would rather have 15-20...people do not realize that unless you have a team to take care of them all then servicing them will be impossible. Also if they are all in the same neighborhood..they might want to play them against each other.
I do not need to brag because usually the ones with so many end up losing 25% of them and wasted all their time and money marketing them.
Randy Unfortunately, this is the scenario and you nailed it..."the agents on the other side do not respond to phone calls or e-mails!!" When the stuff hits the fans...no utilities for example, all of a sudden what little contact you have had...stops. Call the broker for starts.
Sybil I like that idea, but do not know if it will fly. "I think I will start charging a fee to them for the work I have to complete that should be theirs!"
Missy I think they ran out of money. One of them the other day slipped that he gets all the listing from doing steep discounts. That is not my problem it is his. I am not going to be an enabler and help him run a successful discount business...while I burn our doing his work. It is NOT going to happen. Again we come back to responsibility.
Neal great example. I think they have more expire. The one thing I love to do when I have buyers..is look for the agents with loads of listings, because they give them away! My best negotiations are with agent teams. They have so much on their plate, they cannot defend price. They need to cover their overhead.
Now... if we could just educate the consumers that an agent with the good sense to limit their listing inventory is better... They seem to be so impressed by the mega-agents!
Margaret They are impressed because the Mega agents are really just cutting their commission. However, this is why they have no staff! They cannot put food on the table! They can't afford to pay staff in this market. They would be better off with half the the listings at full commission, do fewer deals and make more money with less stress for all. The reason they pawn off their work to the other agent, is you are their staff!
Rick and Lynn To them it is a numbers game. Some will sell...when they do..."Call me on the golf course!"
Great post. You get an idea fairly quickly in real estate, who gives great customer service and who doesn't. Being in contract when the listing agent has other priorities can be a real nightmare.
Fran
Sounds like you needed to vent Jim.
As we all know, there are terrible agents at all sales levels. ALL "mega-agent" teams are not discount agents, and you don't get better "deals" from all teams because they have 'over-head', etc.
In our market, we have a reputation for paying a great selling agent co-op and, we always have a good inventory level. We have agents who regularly call us first when they have new buyers, just to see if we have something good for them.
We don't 'discount' our commission, in fact we are higher than most, and we don't 'discount' our sellers homes so they lose money.
And I absolutely disagree that 'limiting one's inventory' is better for the consumer. I have proof.
Thx for that great blog Jim. I was in a home with the buyer, and he already had it under contract. The home was vacant and we were doing some measuring. We smelled gas, so we immediately called the listing agent. He said he was to busy and we should just go ahead and call Atlanta gas! I couldn't believe it! TURNS OUT -- HUGE GAS LEAK! He thanked the buyer for "looking into it", and explained he just had too many listings going on right now to deal with it! Unbelievable!
Karen Dembsky, Peachtree Home Staging
Jim, I had a client that wanted to see a listing from a mega producing agent from my office over the Easter weekend. On the MLS printout in the comment section he stated to contact office for availability and showings. Our office was closed from Friday evening til Monday morning. I called and left a voicemail to see if I could show the home on Saturday afternoon, but I never got a return call. My client really wanted to see the home. We decided to go to the listing anyway, and when I opened the lockbox there was no key inside. (very embarrasing) Three days later still no return call from Agent. Looks like I won't be showing any of his listings anymore!
Thanks all! Yes I did need to vent! LOL!
The names have been withheld to protect the innocent! The sad thing like Teri said this really is rampant. By sticking to our guns the other agent reluctantly does what they are supposed to do. I used to be the head of a union, a negotiator of contracts, and arbitration's. You cannot be passive in thes matters, and and do it for them. The other agent are responsible for their share, after all this is what they get paid for.
It is not about being hard nosed, it is more about being just. As far as agents reaching this level, I've known many over the years that were MEGA producers, guess what? I said that in past tense! They were big agents! Sad thing is most of them are not in real estate anymore! They did not service their business well at all! And when they treated other agents poorly, word gets around real fast! People do not want to be used, and spoken down to! That is why in real estate there is an 80% turn over every 2 years! Wouldn't it be better to have a half the amount of listings with a good commission, and do less deals? Probably do better in dollars earned, and make a lifetime career out of this great profession!
When Realtors have to brag about how great they are, how many listings they have, have many escrows, etc...etc...etc... they're usually NOT half as good as they're spouting. Besides, tooting your own horn is so b-o-r-i-n-g.
I love what you said:START RUNNING
Ouch! Ouch! My tean and I have a lot of listings, but I hope I don't toot my own horn. I work hard to price our homes right and we are having very few expire because we do our best to educate the seller. Now, the higher priced homes take longer to sell. As for inspections, as a team, we have a set schedule and systems in place to insure the inspections are handled in a timely manner, so far we haven't missed a timeline for an inspection. I do agree with you that we end up handling the other agent's responsibilities many times.
No matter how big my team gets, I'm still the one they talk to when there is a problem. That might change in the future, when i find someone responsible enough to handle that job.
You must have had a reallllllly bad experience with a sale recently. Hope you feel better! LOL
Jim, thought I signed in and wrote the comment above before realizing what I'd done. My entire week has been this way.
We have a couple in our office that carry 40-50 houses almost all the time. From what I can tell from their clients, some of whom I've referred for various reasons, they love'em. Professional standards and practices can be accomplished at any level. Or overlooked at any level.
But I loved the "leave an out" comment. Every seller should attempt to get this. To fully understand what is being offered.
Jim,
Sounds like you're one of those agents that really crosses the T's and dots the I's.
Good post, but entirely altogether too common in this business. Doing the other agent's job and then paying half the commission to them was one of the things I had grown to loathe when I was an agent.
Look to deal with other professional agents and your life will be so much easier.
If everyone does their job, it all work out better ---- HOWEVER, we are talking now about the real world and nothing seem to work out just right all the time. Sometime we work so hard we forget what we are doing. By "we" I mean the ones that have so much work to do that they get lost within the work. I myself try to keep a schedule and keep others on the timeline. But......
I don't have too many listings to handle either. I will put this out there, I want more listings! And I promise to work each one in a timely manner and to the best of my ability.
Jim, I can't imagine how you and I could possibly be more on the same wave length. I hate listing factories with all of my heart, and yet that's the model many agents have followed in the past twenty years. And I'm not much more fond of teams -- at least teams whose purpose is to make their "team" the Wal-Mart of Listings.
Since my graduate business education is in banking and economics, I usually find myself defaulting to that education and those ways when I'm trying to figure out a new path. The evidence I uncovered is empirical that clients are poorly served by Listing Factories and neither the agents or the listing clients or the real estate company survives the transaction as well as they could have had they used the conventional methods. All the while, the risk of E&O claims escalates to enormity.
Agency owners simply shouldn't allow this junk...but then most of them haven't been through a serious downturn in the market themselves. That's when everyone has to scramble for a buck. Those who were not taught and made to follow the conventional wisdoms of real estate sales are ALWAYS the ones who crash and burn. Always.
I appreciate that you posted this blog. I really, really do.
BILL CHERRY, DALLAS BROKER-REALTOR. MY 43RD YEAR SELLING TEXAS. 972 380-7347
Meet me on the web at www.billcherrybroker.com
Jim, That was kinda like a Rant. So I see and share with your frustration of working with incompetent agent's. I have seen that incompetency though in agents that only have one listing. The fact that an agent is capable of taking a lot of listings does not necessarily say that they cannot take care of them. There are many ways to accomplish that.
I have two closings Monday morning. One transaction has been with a single agent. The other transaction is with a "team". Guess which one has been the easiest to work with. Guess which one has met all the due dates without reminders. Guess which one emails, answers phone messages, gets quick responses.
Guess which one called me today with a "slight problem". Seems they forgot to stay in touch with the seller to make sure she had the radon mitigation done on time! The clerical said there had been "miscommunication with the seller". GEE, YA' THINK SO!
I dislike working with teams, because they leave it to the single agent to bring their clerical staff up-to-speed and the clericals never know the answers. They waste a lot of the single agent's time.
Kat thanks! "On your mark, get set...."
ANONYMOUS....I think we all end up doing someone else's work sometime. We have to look out for our clients interests! I think no one likes being used! I'm feeling well! LOL! :)
Kay Thanks & Be well!
Diane I think if we have previous knowledge of an agents behavior and we are representing clients, we have an ethical responsibility to inform them, and make contingencies for an exit if need be. The most common scenario may be a relocation with a very limited time-frame.
Steven You are correct! "All too common!"
Rosemary We all make mistakes, and get too busy sometimes, But I am not referring to the occasional slip. As the police would call it an "MO!" Modus Operandi! It is a way of life for some. Standard operating procedure! The problem is with many agents today, is that we do not co-op with the same agent frequently as we used to in the past! If you had it happen to you a few times, you file an ethics complaint. The odds are today, you will not do several deal with one agent. You will do fewer deals with many agents. Less chance to figure our what is going on, unless you have worked with that person before.
Bill I love the term "I hate listing factories with all of my heart!" It really serves no one, and if agents are reluctant to do a deal with you because they are gun shy of doing your work for you.. then so be it. Let them facilitate the crash an burn...
Herb...Ya really think a rant? LOL! I like what you shared... it is not the number of listings, it is the commitment, and dedication! "I have seen that incompetency though in agents that only have one listing. The fact that an agent is capable of taking a lot of listings does not necessarily say that they cannot take care of them. There are many ways to accomplish that."
Chrisif we have knowledge we can share that with our clients. The problem is it is not good to whine! So most of us forgo that route, and just pick up the slack!
Elaine I agree fully! We did an unforgettable deal a few years ago with a team in my office. You would speak to the listing agent, and then the team would send you emails and faxes rehashing the same junk that was already taken care of. Meanwhile every day you would pass the agent or the team member in the halls of the same office. It was a nightmare! I lost it when they started faxing me direction to the closing attorney which was in the same office! Is that a definition of insanity?
Hey Christy! Thank your lucky stars!
Rosemary thanks!
Carol. The most listings we ever took on at any given time was 15. It is a handful to have flyers, contacting sellers, coordinating closings, utilities, who is a corporate relo etc... We never really wanted to do more than 15 listings at one time again! The reason? Service! To day we are carrying 8 listings which is a lot in this current market! We refer out the excess.
I just take what I can handle. Because I represent sellers and buyers (not at the same time...ever) it would be kind of stressful don't you think? I'll do just what I do. And as for all the advertisements in Hawaii about being a Multi Million Dollar Producer....we all are. Not that hard to do here. 10 listings, 40 listings at a time? Nope. But I've dealt with those...and they were in the newspaper a couple of years ago for not paying their GET taxes (those were the ones that didn't return calls...) wow.
Well Jim. You struck a chord with this post.
One of my broker partners in Northern Virginia has a buyer with a contract on a bank foreclosure and was contacted by the listing agent yesterday that the house flooded when she had it "de-winterized". It appears that she had it de-winterized and didn't inspect it before going on a two week vacation and the house flooded throughout. Something went wrong. Now all of the flooring, drywall, etc. has to be replaced.
The listing agent is an agent that carries a lot of listings and many bank owned properties.
Carol I agree,and the service we supply justifies our fees.
Bob & Caroline Well said! "It's important to service listings and be a "present" agent."
Sally I like what you said..."take what I can handle" What did our moms say? "Your eyes are bigger than your belly?"
Lenn You said it all! "...before going on a two week vacation" Can't they just do their job?
Jackie, I don't think they forget...They know what they can get away with, and as long as you'll do it for them... We have to learn how to say "NO!"
Hi Jim,
Had to comment that I enjoyed your post. I too have often wondered why the general public believes that the biggest producing agent is the "right" person to list with. Guess many people just want to be part of the crowd and don't give much thought to having individual service. They also don't realize that they may be feeding the "Big" mega giant companies. Big business usually means that a Corporately owned giant is making the big bucks - and not necessarily the Seller. But that's just my opinion. Thanks for sharing this enlightening post with us.
It's unfortunate, but I've seen this happen all too often with the Mega Agent. When I was trying to find an efficient, hard working agent to sell my home in Michigan last year, I was running into this problem. I knew things were not going to work out when the agent was just too busy to get back to me in 24 hours.
It's sad when I see sellers stuck in contracts with agents that claim they are soooo gooood because they have so many listings! But, sometimes sellers think that's the agent to have and do not consider the hard working (newer) agent.
Thanks for the post! It's a problem none of us like to see happen.
Cynthia There are those that believe "Bigger is Better!" I do not. It is more like the phrase if you throw enough junk at the walls something willl eventually stick. Unfortuatley, it is not just about me, it is about others, buyers, sellers, lenders, lawyers, appraisers, other agents etc... Some will never learn that lesson.
Perrin I could not agree more! Well stated! "...Our business" is tied to relationships. Poor service does not create relationships. It may bring some short term rewards but in the long haul... well what goes around comes around."
Armando There are several scenarios here. One is the big agent that plans it this way...others do the work! The others are the steep discounters taht are not making anymone on the deal, they want you to do the work!