Incompetent, Lazy & 1/2 Baked Realtors:
1. Don't make flyers. When they do, they print them in black & white on cheap paper and roll them up in an Info Tube. Usually the flyer is riddled with errors and words like "Nice Listing & Big Rooms." These flyers make better fireplace starters or barnyard torches than they do marketing tools.
2. Nothing makes a seller cringe more than to find out that their listing agent is always unavailable. When they do get a hold of their agent they answer the phone.. "Thank you for calling Wackenhut Lumber, this is Debbie." Ahhhhh, the sensational feeling of the part-time agent trying to survive is like a beautiful symphony with shouts of ahhhhhh, so annoying, ahhhhhh so irritating!
3. What about the buyer's agent whose been licensed for 9 years but has closed 10 transactions? These types love to trick prospects into believing that they have "years of experience." I love pulling their stats and sinking their battleship when competing, especially listings.
4. The "I don't work weekends Realtor" is probably my favorite. They treat our business as if it's a "hobby" instead a profession. I love these guys!
5. Then of course we have the one stop shop team of so called professionals. They salivate at the opportunity to originate your loan, find you a home, inspect it, and then close it at their title company. If they're lucky, you'll use their insurance company as they also have an Insurance license. Need a an A/C? No problem, they do that too. Just hand them the inspection report after they inspect it.
6. BAM! let's not forget about the super Realtor who promises to buy your home if they don't sell it. These guys really have devised a clever way to make more money off of ROPING in the listing leads! Let's think about this for a second....
A Listing Agent's NUMBER ONE JOB is to represent YOUR best interest - AT ALL TIMES! Not just "some" of the time.
Most, if not all of the time this tactic is by design created to reel you in and provide a FALSE sense of security. When you sit down with the listing agent to divulge your payoff, financial snapshot and personal goals it should be done with the understanding that it is CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION THAT NO BUYER SHOULD BE AWARE OF! Lots of times these sneaky Listing Agents use this information AGAINST YOU if you consent to letting them buy your home. Furthermore, they conduct an appraisal (usually by somebody they know) that provides a "sales price." Often the Liting Agent has you agree to sell your home for 90% of this value. Don't forget about the 6% commission you get to pay. What about inspections you say? You likely will agree "in advance" to pay for ALL repairs as the listing agent will suggest that he or she cannot sell the home otherwise. In the end the only person that usually loses IS THE SELLER! The sad part is that it is 100% legal. Many greedy agents will use this tactic to obtain more listings over their competitors. The truth is that they rarely buy the listing. Often "you don't qualify" for one reason or another.
7. Discount Firms will always, always be here. Some of these agents that work for these companies are an interesting and fascinating breed to say the least. Many of them will sing that full time agents are not worth the money they're paid. Those that preach this, in my opinion, were not able to survive as a "full-service" Realtor. Instead of getting out of the business, they unite with other bottom feeders to trash those who have worked for years and years expanding their knowledge, experience and expertise. ANYONE can stab your yard with a sign, then disappear afterwards. Do it right, or don't do it at all. They don't care if they make $4.00 per listing as they work VOLUME, sort of like Fried Chicken and french fries.
8. Aunt Griselda who has a license, but rarely uses it is not worth splitting her commission with. The money you'll "get at closing" most likely will fail in comparison by the service, knowledge, experience that you DESERVE when buying or selling a home. Tell Aunt Griselda that you LOVE her cookies & pies, but you are about to make the LARGEST investment decision of your natural born life and you don't want to make any FINANCIAL MISTAKES THAT MIGHT RUIN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HER.
9. AHHHHHHH The 61 year old agent who just retired from AT&T. This guy is pretty slick if you ask me. If he plays his cards right, you just might "ASSUME" he's been in business for a LONG, LONG time. In reality, he's got his IPHONE on his lap while your talking. (He's googling..... "HOW TO GET THE SELLER TO SIGN AGREEMENT") as you are talking about your home. You assume, he assumes, everybody assumes. YIPPEE!!
10. I really love the agents that over glamorize themselves. They advertise in "look at me" places like grocery stores & mall bathrooms. The results from these efforts is so tiny that it's considered nothing more than branding. The thing you should know is that these tactics are designed to GET LISTINGS, not buyers. Who do you want to hire as your listing agent again?
As an industry we have to appreciate these types, we really do. They're so easy to spot & point out. They make me, you and other worthy agents simply ... look better. All we have to do is ....not do what they do.
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Great post...thanks for making it rain!!!