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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 12:15 pm
We are getting our house ready to put on the market. We have met with a realtor and she has put together a mkt. analysis of our house and also brought us to see some houses the past 2 Saturdays. She is somewhat hesitant to bring us to see more houses til our house is officially on the market. I see her point as she may well be wasting her time if we don't end up selling. (She claims she has a hard time explaining to other realtors why we are looking if we are not on the market.) However, am I right to be somewhat put off by this? I really want to see what is out there before we put our house on the market. AND, how long of a period of time should i expect a response from my emails to her? (I often have questions regarding houses I see on realtor.com). I emailed her some questions yesterday and also this morning and no response yet. Earlier this week it took her 2 days to respond. Is this a bad sign? We have not signed anything with her yet. Is this normal and am I being too "greedy" or should I look for a new realtor? (Sidenote: reason we went w/her is that my dad supposedly will get a cut of the sale/purchase cuz he referred her to us. He used to be a realtor at the same place she is at, but he gave it up a few months ago cuz of the $$ he had to put out each month. He had only tried it a few months--unsuccessfully.)
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Maris
Member
03-28-2002
| Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 12:21 pm
Lose her. Remember if you buy a house, the realtor gets a very nice commission. You want someone who is actually interested in helping you out. Look at it from her point of view, she isnt even going to get her whole commission because she will have to give some to your father, no incentive there.
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Max
Member
08-12-2000
| Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 4:29 pm
Julie, As your dad discovered, it is not easy being successful as a Realtor. I had a license when I was married (my ex was a Realtor and I helped a lot, so I got licensed, too, to be legally covered), so I know a bit about how the process works and how people in the business think. You said you don't have any agreement with her at this point. That means she has no financial incentive to put your needs ahead of her other clients. She's still in "prospecting" mode with you. Since you've expressed that you are being cautious about seeing what's out there first before deciding whether to put your home on the market, she knows that you MIGHT become a client, but that it's certainly not a sure thing. So, she did the market analysis and spent a bit of time showing you a few homes. At this point, she probably figures that the ball is somewhat in your court. In some states, this would be her opportunity to sign you up as a client with her as your Buyer's Agent. That solidifys the working relationship between you in case you decide to purchase a new home and clarifies the relationship when she's discussing things with other agents. Not all states have provisions for Buyer's Agents, though. If you then decided to also use her as the Seller's Agent to sell your current home, then that's another client relationship she would establish upon listing the home. Until you have some formal business relationship with her, or until she gets a clear indication that you are serious about selling, she's probably not very motivated. I'm not saying that's right or wrong, but Realtors (and all sales professionals) are highly motivated by the prospect of making money and they don't do that by spending tons of time with people who appear to be indecisive about what their selling/buying intentions are. Now, IMHO, she's making a mistake with you because if she spent a few extra hours working with you and showing that she really cared, she'd make the deal and the money and probably get referrals from you for future business, but not all Realtors look at the process that way. Building a business is really about building relationships and that takes time and costs money (as your dad discovered). Many people who go into the business are not interested, or perhaps not able, to invest the time and money required to be successful further down the road. It's not easy. I have no idea what she's talking about, though, in telling you that it's hard for her to explain to other Realtors why you are looking. It's really none of their business. If she were truly a professional, she'd be able to answer those questions quite easily by saying that you are thinking of making a move. Period. If you ever end up writing an offer on a house, then when she presents it to the other agent and the seller, THAT'S when the story of why you are so very excited about purchasing their lovely home comes into play. It's part of the sales pitch she would make to convince the sellers you are the right buyers for their home and that the price you are offering is fair and reasonable. Otherwise, the details are immaterial. I think she was just using this as an excuse to not have to deal with you. I would expect a professional to provide you with information about new listings that come on the market that fit the criteria you've outlined for her. I'd then expect that you would independently drive past the properties and perhaps attend an open house if one was being held. If you thought a property looked interesting, then I would expect that a call to her would result in her setting up an appointment for you to view the property with her. I would NOT expect her to continue to personally take you to view more homes without some sort of client relationship being established. As for how soon you can expect answers to emails, there's really no way to answer that question. It depends on a lot of intangibles, such as how often she's on the computer (not all Realtors are big computer users, many only do what they need to do and may not check email very often) and how many other clients she has and whether she's taken a few days off and and and and. Anyway, I guess I agree with Maris. She's not really acting like she's very interested in your business. Maybe the prospect of giving up part of her commission has lessened her interest level. I think you can do better.
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Twiggyish
Member
08-14-2000
| Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 7:58 pm
Look up your local MLS (multiple listing service) online and shop on your own until you are ready for a realtor. You can also contact the various realtors selling the houses. You are under no obligation as a buyer to use her. If you haven't signed a contract, you are not obligated to use her to sell, either. Contact your local board of realtors and ask them for their MLS website.
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Jagger
Member
08-07-2002
| Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 8:12 pm
I can only respond from my past experiences with buying homes. My first home was a very easy one for the realitor, I went to an open house on my own, found the place I wanted, worked with the realitor that was there, done deal, very quick and painless. Home number 2, I was in the same boat as you Julie, I wanted to move but I wanted to see what was out there first. I saw a house in the local paper that I wanted to look at, called the number, got a voice mail, left message. She called me back with in 15 minutes, I explained my situation, she spent the next two weeks showing me houses almost every night yet I had not commited to anything, she was sending me faxes and voice mails sometimes 3 or 4 times a day. Once I found the house I wanted than I signed the contract with her for both buying the new place and selling my old place. Since than I have referred her to numerous people who all had good luck with her, until she decided to give up the business and be a stay at home mom. My opinion is she should be returning your calls and e-mails ASAP, but as stated above, she may not spend much time in the office looking at e-mails, she should give you a cell number where she can be reached at most any time. I personally wouldn't use her if she isn't available at the drop of a hat.
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Max
Member
08-12-2000
| Friday, February 13, 2004 - 12:00 am
Jagger, you had a GREAT agent! That's a person who is looking at real estate as a career and understands that a little work NOW can have big payoffs for a long time. I like hearing about those kinds of Realtors. 
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Friday, February 13, 2004 - 11:25 am
Thanks you guys. What do you think of this letter that I am thinking of sending her? (Sidenote-she also has not given us many listings at all. And not any that I had not already seen on realtor.com) Hi Xxxx I have to be honest and tell you that I am a bit concerned about a few things. I wonder why it takes so long to get a response from you on questions I have. Earlier this week it took a day or so to get responses. Yesterday I emailed several questions and have not yet heard back from you. I understand that we are not your only clients, but not getting any response back leaves me wondering if you even received my emails. I also wonder if there are any new listings. It seems that I am finding all these houses on my own via realtor.com. You have been very helpful in letting me know if the houses are under contract. You've also been very helpful in answering my questions, even though sometimes there is a delay. Maybe I am expecting too much. I just want to be honest with you and let you know how I (we) feel.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Friday, February 13, 2004 - 11:45 am
Revised: what do you think: Hi Barb I have to be honest and tell you that I am a bit concerned about a few things. I wonder why it takes so long to get a response from you on questions I have. Earlier this week it took a day or so to get responses. Yesterday I emailed several questions and have not yet heard back from you. I understand that we are not your only clients, but not getting any response back leaves me wondering if you even recieved my emails. I also wonder if there are any new listings. It seems that I am finding all these houses on my own via realtor.com. You have been very helpful in letting me know if the houses are under contract. You've also been very helpful in answering my questions, even though sometimes there is a delay. Here are my expectations. Let me know if you think they are out of line or not. Fast responses to my emails. At least answered at end of day or first thing the next morning. New listings sent to me via email. No hesitation about viewing houses that are on the market. Regardless if we are on the market at the time or not.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Friday, February 13, 2004 - 12:36 pm
What I sent: Hi Barb I have to be honest and tell you that I am a bit concerned about a few things. I wonder why it takes so long to get a response from you on questions I have. Earlier this week it took a day or so to get responses. Yesterday I emailed several questions and have not yet heard back from you. I understand that we are not your only clients, but not getting any response back leaves me wondering if you even received my emails. I also wonder if there are any new listings. It seems that I am finding all these houses on my own via realtor.com. You have been very helpful in letting me know if the houses are under contract. You've also been very helpful in answering my questions, even though sometimes there is a delay. Here are my expectations. Let me know if you think they are out of line or not. Fast responses to my emails. At least answered at end of day or first thing the next morning. New listings sent to me via email. No difficulty about viewing houses that are on the market. Regardless if we are on the market at the time or not. Let me know your thoughts on this. For all I know, maybe we are being too demanding/unreasonable. Hopefully we can get this all straightened out to all of our satisfaction! Thank you, Julie
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