It's Hard To Help A Listing Agent When They Won't Help The Buyer

It's Hard To Help A Listing Agent When They Won't Help The Buyer

Help agents want to show your listings. First of all, you do this by making the property as easy to show as possible (with the help of the homeowner)  and by creating an atmosphere conducive to allowing me to get some of the questions answered that most buyers have.

Agents do not sell homes in a vacuum. Despite how many listings an agent currently has or how well business may be going, everybody needs a cooperating agent on the other side from time to time. 

When I read some of the office instructions in the MLS, they do not always make me want to put the home on my showing list. As a busy agent, I want to show clients as many homes as possible during our time together. This means that in order to optimize the time, there are some preliminary questions that help. This is particularly important in the market of short sales that are often mis-categorized in the MLS. By mis-categorized, I am referring to the fact that they are labeled active when in fact the homeowner has already accepted an offer and the offer is in review with the lender.

These are two excerpts from the actual MLS:

“PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!!! DO NOT CALL FOR STATUS MLS IS UPDATED DAILY COMBO WILL ONLY BE GIVEN OUT AFTER YOUR BUSINESS CARD AND DRE NUMBER HAVE BEEN FAXED OVER TO 9xx-xxx-xxxx. ALL OFFERS SHALL BE FAXED TO 9xx-xxx-xxx WITH PRE-QUAL FICO GF CHECK AND FICO SCORES"

“MLS updated daily do not call for availability. two lenders. Any other questions email XXXXX to: xxxx@xxx.com or call 9xx-xxx-xxxx. Offer fax to 9xx-xxx-xxxx. Need direct lender pre-approval letter, 3 in 1 fico scores. Price terms and agent commissions subject to lender approval. two lenders. Please do not call availability! we don't answer " how many offers" " what's the highest price" " how long it it will take" such question. Sorry”

Neither of these agents are adequately serving their clients when instructions like “do not call for availability are given.  And for cryin’ out loud, if you want to put extra security measures on your combo lock then at least make an agent email you for it and put an auto-responder on your email. How archaic and time consuming is it for a fellow agent to have to fax license and contact info to the listing agent and then wait to hopefully receive the holy grail combo!

And yes, excuse me if I might want to know " how many offers" "what's the highest price" "how long it it will take." If you already have 40 offers on a home that are $50,000 over the list price,  as a rule, most clients and agents probably don’t want to waste precious time taking a look at it.  But I guess we all make different business decisions, right?

Conversely, here are two more actual MLS excerpts that I believe touched on the same areas but had a more professional approach and left the door open for agents to want to show these homes:
“CALL, Text, or Email AGENT FOR COMBO CODE. Short Sale Bank is very cooperative. Only one Lender. Call (9xx)xxx-xxxx with any questions. Offers should be emailed to xxx@xxx.com or fax (909)xxx-xxxx. Selling agent and buyer to verify all information.”

Property is lender owned and is being sold “as is” without any representations or warranties. Buyer to satisfy self W/ all measurements,permits etc. Send pre-approval letter from MAJOR direct lender, fico scores, proof of funds & email offers: xxx@xxx.com or fax offers to 909-xxx-xxxx or 909-xxx-xxxx.  Listing is updated for availability. questions call 909-xxx-xxxx. Commissions are paid on selling price less sellers concessions to buyer.

Advising fellow agents that there are multiple ways to obtain the combo code and that the listing is updated daily are tasteful, professional ways to relay more or less the same type of information. If some of the homeowners truly got a chance to see and digest the ramifications of the showing instructions placed in the MLS by their listing agents, there just might be some questions. Just a thought...help buyers think that your listing is worth the time and effort to take a look at. Help your fellow agents want to show and sell your listings.

Keisha Hosea is a local Market Expert and Realtor in Chino Hills, California with Keller Williams Realty, She is the Team Director and CEO of KASI Homes. She has been a local resident of Chino Hills and the Inland Empire for over 22 years and enjoys volunteering with the City of Chino Hills in her spare time. You may call her direct at (909) 261-6377 for further questions on this information or any other real estate advice. You may also visit the website at http://KASIHomes.com