Sometimes, prospective buyers assume that the average realtor sees them as a golden egg. They believe that the average realtor will work with them come hell or high water, more so in these uncertain times.

I recently had an experience that went like this. I got a call from someone that said they had been referred to me. In her words, she really needed someone to show her property. She was super eager to buy investment property. She had decided to fire her agent because the agent was impossible to reach. We set an appointment to meet for the following day. The point of this outing was to educate the buyer to see what her price range would fetch. For me, it was also to get to know the buyer, and to establish a relationship.

The referrer turned out to be related to the prospective buyer. He was at our first meeting. We'd met a few months back. He too wanted to buy investment property. His realtor was a relative and MIA. Would I be willing to work with him? Since his realtor was a relative, I suggested he attempt to work it out with her before he fired her and possibly ruin a relationship. If he didn't work it out, I'd be happy work with him. But he'd have to formally sever his relationship with his realtor and agree to work with me exclusively. I didn't hear from him again.

Ok, back to my experience with the prospective buyer. Our meeting went well. She seemed very nice and said she was super eager to move forward. We seemed to get along well, even had some things in common. Her lender would be calling me soon. Great, I thought, we might be in escrow with in a week or two. She asked to keep the mls print outs I'd brought. Cheerfully, I obliged. She was happy that I'd be arranging to have new listings emailed to her automatically. This service is provided by my board of realtors, which I pay for.

To follow up, I emailed her twice the following week. Had she received the new listings? No response. Nor had I heard from her lender. Near the end of the week, I finally reached her by phone. She was busy, and asked me to email her. No response. Call me crazy, but these actions aren't consistent with someone who wants to work with me. That much was clear. Maybe our meeting hadn't gone as well as I thought. After not hearing back from her that time, I blocked her access to the new listings. From my point of view, if someone has no intention of working with a particular realtor, then as a matter of principle, they should not expect to use the time and resources provided by that realtor.

One day after blocking the access, lo and behold, I received a voice mail from the prospect. She apologized for not getting back to me sooner, she'd been really busy. She wanted to see more properties. She made no mention of her loan. I was taking the day off. So, I sent an email. Making her aware I was off, I explained that Realtors do not receive a dime of compensation, unless we close an escrow. Never the less, we continue to incur the costs of staying in business. Further, that I only work with clients who want to work with me exclusively. And that they must be pre-approved.

She called me the following day. It went something like this. Was she disturbing me on my day off? Was I available to show property? The answer to both questions was, no. Did she get my email? What email? She said she would definitely be buying a home soon. Great, I said. I will need a signed agreement before I continue to work with you. I explained I tried reaching her during the week to tell her about it, but for reasons that are obvious, I couldn't. I then briefly explained that by law, I owe clients fiduciary duty, honesty, and integrity. Yet buyers are not bound to reciprocate. In order to go forward, I need a signed buyer broker agreement. She said she'd check her email and get back to me on that.

She called a few hours later. She had seen a house she was very interested in and would likely write an offer. Never mind that I still haven't heard from her lender. I asked her to send me the property address so that I can research it. Fine, she said, adding that we could later discuss the buyer/broker agreement. Three days have passed with no word. It's not surprising. The truth is, I really got a negative vibe from this person and had decided I didn't want to work with her. If she had called me to say she was ready to sign the agreement, I would have choked.