DawnM Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 (edited) UPDATE POST #26 I set up an appt with a realtor to come and walk through my house and give me an estimate on how much we could list it for. We have spent a considerable amount of time cleaning. She said she would be here at 10am. It is now 10:30 and she hasn't shown or called. Should I be irked or is this normal? Edited July 13, 2012 by DawnM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 Ok, she finally called at 10:35 and said she will be here at 10:45 and that she got held up by her mother calling her. Then she laughed so it didn't sound like it was an emergency. Wouldn't someone with a professional job be on time or nearly on time and not held up by a relatives phone call? When I worked, I could not be late, ever. The only time in 17 years that I was late was when I was in a car accident on the way to work. Phone call or no, I had to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I would have called at 10:15 :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I set up an appt with a realtor to come and walk through my house and give me an estimate on how much we could list it for. We have spent a considerable amount of time cleaning. She said she would be here at 10am. It is now 10:30 and she hasn't shown or called. Should I be irked or is this normal? No, I don't think this is normal or professional. Not even a call, really, when everyone is connected 24/7 today? This is a red flag. Meet with at least 3 Realtors if you are going to use one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osmosis Mom Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Exactly. We met with three realtors. At least meet with that many. What a waste of your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 Well, now I feel sunk because this is a close friend of a friend. I really wanted a recommendation and she has come highly recommended by 4 people, but particularly by my good friend. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 I am already a bag of nerves because I am quite sure she will tell us we need to spend more than we have to make it sellable AND I am quite sure she will tell us we will take a huge hit on the sale. We have never sold in this type of market before. The other houses we sold we sold within days in hot markets and didn't have to worry about them being pristine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Well, now I feel sunk because this is a close friend of a friend. I really wanted a recommendation and she has come highly recommended by 4 people, but particularly by my good friend. Dawn That is why we take recommendations but do not go with anyone to close to make it awkward. Did that once... I think you have a huge "red" flag in your face. Regardless, I'd get at least three written marketing proposals before deciding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 No, I don't think this is normal or professional. Not even a call, really, when everyone is connected 24/7 today? This is a red flag. Meet with at least 3 Realtors if you are going to use one. :iagree: I've interacted with a lot of Realtors. I have not been impressed. I'm betting that there's some superlative ones out there, but I never met them. We tried very hard to work with -- what ended up being -- five different Realtors. The one who was relatively on her game -- didn't show up late, called when she said she would etc. -- was very "sales-y." Often trying to talk us into buying a house that was inappropriate in one way or another. In this awful economy it boggles my mind that Realtors haven't gotten better. They behave as if we're still in the bubble and they can act any way they want. I really think we need to vote with our feet, tell them that you expect professional behavior and call somebody new. (But don't have high expectations; you may find the right person and you may not.) And p.s., we'd bought and sold a home in another state. So counting those people we've interacted with close to ten Realtors. And the problems these people brought to the table -- where they were trying to scam us in one way or another -- were really disappointing. (In case someone calls me out: one Realtor wanted us to sink about $60K into our house just for beautification. We wouldn't have gotten that money back. We ended up putting in $20K on things that needed to be done and sold our house just fine. One other guy told us that we owed $14K on something -- which freaked us both out. And dh found his financial error. We owed $140 dollars. Dh went crazy -- a mild mannered guy who is usually kind and polite to a fault.) Okay, off my rant. Vote with your feet. Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Friend of a friend or not, that's not the type of realtor you want to be working with. That unprofessionalism and lack of work ethic is going to show in more places than just this time. My hubby said that unless there were extreme weather conditions, there is no excuse for her not being there when she said she'd be there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Well, now I feel sunk because this is a close friend of a friend. I really wanted a recommendation and she has come highly recommended by 4 people, but particularly by my good friend. Dawn Never, ever mix friendship with business. The rare instances in which I broke this rule, I regretted it. Once, to the tune of $6,000 for a contractor at church - and a friend - who did a crappy job. I'd find your own highly recommended Realtor and tell your friend that it seemed that this Realtor was too busy to make appointments or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 :iagree: I've interacted with a lot of Realtors. I have not been impressed. I'm betting that there's some superlative ones out there, but I never met them. We tried very hard to work with -- what ended up being -- five different Realtors. The one who was relatively on her game -- didn't show up late, called when she said she would etc. -- was very "sales-y." Often trying to talk us into buying a house that was inappropriate in one way or another. In this awful economy it boggles my mind that Realtors haven't gotten better. They behave as if we're still in the bubble and they can act any way they want. I really think we need to vote with our feet, tell them that you expect professional behavior and call somebody new. (But don't have high expectations; you may find the right person and you may not.) And p.s., we'd bought and sold a home in another state. So counting those people we've interacted with close to ten Realtors. And the problems these people brought to the table -- where they were trying to scam us in one way or another -- were really disappointing. (In case someone calls me out: one Realtor wanted us to sink about $60K into our house just for beautification. We wouldn't have gotten that money back. We ended up putting in $20K on things that needed to be done and sold our house just fine. One other guy told us that we owed $14K on something -- which freaked us both out. And dh found his financial error. We owed $140 dollars. Dh went crazy -- a mild mannered guy who is usually kind and polite to a fault.) Okay, off my rant. Vote with your feet. Alley Oh, I second your rant and could add a few stories of my own. I've bought and sold a lot and the worst transactions, hands down, had Realtors involved. The best were FSBO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKapers Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Maybe if you let the relator know that you are going to be in touch with some other relators up front, it would help. Maybe she would be more serious about your house. It still doesn't mean you have to go with her just because she came highly recommended to you by people you know. Just think of it this way, if my friend likes a therapist, I can go check that person out. Just because that person was a good fit for them doesn't mean it will be a good fit for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plain jane Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Ugh. Welcome to the world of realtors. :glare: I know there are good ones out there :). I've even met some and worked with them, but the majority are simply terrible. There seems to be some sort of elitism about the whole business like they can treat you however they want because they're a needed service. :rolleyes: Not true at all and dh and I have successfully bought and sold both with and without using an agent. Most of the ones we've come across have been far too smug for my liking and I suspect that's why only a small percentage of realtors are actually VERY successful in the business. All this to say, you don't have to stand for this sort of behavior. Recommendation or not, you're going to be paying this woman thousands of dollars. Give your money to someone you feel deserves it and don't feel any pressure to go with someone you find unprofessional or undeserving. It's your hard earned money- they should work for it too. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I want to add about the friend referral thing: all of the Realtors I had to deal with were referred by friends. A friend's referral doesn't mean much. For whatever reason my friends were willing to put up with bad service and then tell me it was good. I still don't get it. . . But, if you go with a friend's Realtor and then tell the Realtor to take a walk -- it could cause a weird feeling with a friend. It did with one of my friends. It was too sticky so I'll use a referral in the future, but not from a good friend. Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 No, I don't think this is normal or professional. Not even a call, really, when everyone is connected 24/7 today? This is a red flag. Meet with at least 3 Realtors if you are going to use one. :iagree: I can't believe how unprofessional some of these people are these days. We are trying to hire a contractor and just getting them to get back to us or follow up has been a pain. You'd think they'd be clamoring for work. Unreal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I would find a new realtor. In my experience, most realtors are not very good at what they do. The one we last worked with was pretty awesome, and his business is on fire because of it. The guy is selling a lot of houses in a pretty sluggish market. We found him through Dave Ramsey's endorsed local provider program. It's a simple web form you fill out on the Ramsey website, and the ELPs will contact you back or you can call them. I submitted the form at 10pm one night, and the realtor who we picked called me by 9:15 the next morning. That was my first clue that he took his job seriously. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 That's how she'll treat your buyers. Go with someone else!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 I agree about realtors not being very like-able overall....we have had some doozies. When she came in she explained that her mother just had cancer surgery and it was a necessary call and she apologized profusely. I was a little more sympathetic. She seems to at least know her stuff and I was more impressed by the time she left. Not sure we will even be listing our home though.....the comps are less than we desire and not sure we want to go to all the trouble of finishing all the fixes and getting storage for our clutter if we can't even sell. DH and I have some talking to do. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdie Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Ok, she finally called at 10:35 and said she will be here at 10:45 and that she got held up by her mother calling her. Then she laughed so it didn't sound like it was an emergency. Wouldn't someone with a professional job be on time or nearly on time and not held up by a relatives phone call? When I worked, I could not be late, ever. The only time in 17 years that I was late was when I was in a car accident on the way to work. Phone call or no, I had to go! That is not a good sign. Our favorite realtors were very professional. We interviewed several though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 I understand the idea. We have had some that have been very favorable though. Our realtor in CA was a friend. We did choose NOT to use a handy man friend to do some work for us though as we weren't confident he could do the job well. Dawn Never, ever mix friendship with business. The rare instances in which I broke this rule, I regretted it. Once, to the tune of $6,000 for a contractor at church - and a friend - who did a crappy job. I'd find your own highly recommended Realtor and tell your friend that it seemed that this Realtor was too busy to make appointments or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 No, I don't think this is normal or professional. Not even a call, really, when everyone is connected 24/7 today? This is a red flag. Meet with at least 3 Realtors if you are going to use one. Completely unprofessional (as well as extremely irritating), but I can tell you that it is the norm here, for any professional who makes an appointment to come to your home. :glare: In 13 years, the only person who has shown up relatively on time (and we always set the time "ish" because he comes after breakfasting with his granddaughter and putting her on the bus) is our electrician. And he calls if he is running behind whatever time he thinks we said (I can walk to his house in under 5 minutes... How far away can he be?) He - and the plumber who was parked outside at 7:15 for an 8:00 appointment once, again from 5 minutes away - clearly missed the memo on what "appointment" means around here. And that's why we continue to do business with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 SIgh... It's completely unprofessional behavior. As a realtor, I would never be late...if I see I'm going to be late, I call and let the client know. All of my family members know that I will tell them I need to make a quick call if we are on the phone. Since many of us are self employed, we get the importance. (I've also had a mom with cancer...it never interfered with professional service.) As fas as someone else said about realtors...smug? What an interesting word. Most of us have to deal with unrealistic sellers and buyers every day. Maybe the tough exterior comes from having to deal with sellers who want above the average sale price for their home, but refuse to clean the carp out of the house. (I get to have that talk today. the sellers have moved from the cute starter home and want to sell...but they moved out and just left tons of junk. I can't imagine trying to sell this home unless it's cleaned up--for the price he wants anyway...) Real estate is fun and I love it, but it's a hard business because people have such weird expectations... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristyB in TN Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 humongous red flag. Find someone else as fast as possible. If she treats a seller this way, imagine how unprofessional she is with buyers! Find the busiest realtor in your area and interview him/her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 Ok, there were some more red flags looking back. 1. She works for a realty that won't list on the most common website locally where people look for houses. My neighbors who sold said to NEVER go with that realty company. 2. She printed out about 50 pages of houses for us to look at. I had already given her the peramiters of what we wanted. I said, "All of these meet our criteria?" "No," says she....."I just printed out EVERY house in your price range, so I guess you have homework to do!" Um, NO, I don't. 3. This isnt' about her, but it is about the discussion DH and I had later......it may not be worth it to even list.....the market is awful and the price range she gave us as to what we can sell our house for are low.....the low end we wouldn't even consider selling. It will take $10K-$15K to get the house ready to sell and if it doesn't sell, that would be money out of pocket. Some of it is stuff we wouldn't do if we weren't selling (like the granite countertops.) So, we are reconsidering even bothering. I will have to commute everywhere, but that might not be too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Well, now I feel sunk because this is a close friend of a friend. I really wanted a recommendation and she has come highly recommended by 4 people, but particularly by my good friend. Dawn Don't feel too bad. I made the same mistake and ended up wasting 3 months with a realtor looking for income properties just to be told by a GOOD realtor that now wasn't a great time for investors (which is what I thought). We stuck with her for 3 months because she was a previous co-worker of my dh's. Not. happy. at. all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 As fas as someone else said about realtors...smug? What an interesting word. Most of us have to deal with unrealistic sellers and buyers every day. Maybe the tough exterior comes from having to deal with sellers who want above the average sale price for their home, but refuse to clean the carp out of the house. (I get to have that talk today. the sellers have moved from the cute starter home and want to sell...but they moved out and just left tons of junk. I can't imagine trying to sell this home unless it's cleaned up--for the price he wants anyway...) Real estate is fun and I love it, but it's a hard business because people have such weird expectations... And here we expressed concern about the price our agent wanted to list our house at. Then we mentioned dropping the price two weeks before she "started thinking we should drop the price." (Did she come up with that on her own?) We also had a long list of things we wanted to get done before she listed the house that she didn't think were necessary, and then she posted the house with awful exterior pictures that weren't all of our property. OP, don't ignore the red flags. It's a difficult enough process without the extra grief tacked on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Ok, she finally called at 10:35 and said she will be here at 10:45 and that she got held up by her mother calling her. Then she laughed so it didn't sound like it was an emergency. Wouldn't someone with a professional job be on time or nearly on time and not held up by a relatives phone call? When I worked, I could not be late, ever. The only time in 17 years that I was late was when I was in a car accident on the way to work. Phone call or no, I had to go! I think if this is the best she can do while she's trying to get your business, you can expect less of her once you are committed to her with a contract. And why couldn't she pull up her big girl panties and say, "Mom! I have a client, I'll call you later." I'd want someone with a more forceful personality, since I'm paying them a mini-fortune to represent me during negotiations to sell my house. What some realtors forget is that they are being paid to OFFER their advice. YOU are the one they are working for, not the other way around. If you are late, that's something they need to deal with. If they are late, it's a problem. Yes, there is some smugness there when they expect YOU to be the one jumping through hoops. In the business relationship, you are not equals.:rant: YOU are the boss. It sounds like you've already made your decision. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Real estate is fun and I love it, but it's a hard business because people have such weird expectations... As do clients in most jobs! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Well, now I feel sunk because this is a close friend of a friend. I really wanted a recommendation and she has come highly recommended by 4 people, but particularly by my good friend. Dawn but has your good friend used her as a rs SELER's agent? or "just good friends". did the other's actually use her as a SELLER's agent? (for any and all who did NOT use her as a seller's agent, discount the recommendation. they are not speaking from firsthand professional experience.) She was unprofessional. she didn't call because she was on the phone with her mother. if it wasn't a true emergency, she should have told her she had a business appointment for her employement, and called back later. as other's have said - get at least THREE 'bid's from different agents. If you choose another and are asked by friends why you didn't choose her, just say you found someone that worked better for your needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 Thank you all. Realtor has been fired. You know that she NEVER has gotten back to me about ANYTHING in over 2 weeks now? I found a new one and I am quite happy with this new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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