A seller who is her own worst enemy

Dan,

I've represented myself in two home purchases and sold one (albeit to a buyer represented by an agent, as I have no problem with this). I know a few really decent people who are realtors and can understand the need to use one if leaving the area quickly or not feeling confident with doing one's own research and paperwork. Unfortunately, I meet realtors who do an incredible disservice to their clients while charging a really high rate for said work.

Consider our most recent experience. Hours before an open house, my family decides to look at the property from the outside to see if it seems worth returning. We've seen photos on the realtor's site, the price has just dropped sufficiently below assessed value, but we haven't really been interested in what we've seen. The owner notices us looking and offers to let us see it now if we can look beyond a little untidiness (which we assure her we can).

She is warm and friendly and honest. She knows tons of history about her home and is very specific with the age of the roof, the home's status on updates such as windows and insulation and we find that her genuine enthusiasm for her home plus her insightful explanation of optional future projects that she's considered to be helpful and really excite us about her home.

We ask for a second showing which her realtor runs the next day because we are that serious. Here's what we get when we ask serious questions: A claim she doesn't know, a claim that contradicts her client's information (even telling us that it's what the client has told her -- and her client's information is less flattering to the house), but she follows us around as we inspect windows, doors and outlets to tell us about how she would use the house if it were her's and don't we think the rooms are pretty. She is a waste of space, annoying us and frustrating us during the limited time we have to take the second look, possessing no information that is of use to us. She even gives us a marketing booklet for the property that contains a picture that is not of the client's home.

What's a shame is that this is not the first time we've encountered this. How many homes we've looked at and not proceeded on because we were so turned off by a realtor. This house may not come to pass as well as she has told us that she'll insist on us listing with a real estate agent as a part of the contract. Wow, what an incredible disservice she is doing to her client and for an extra $25,000 out of her client's pocket.

I know there are good realtors. I know there are people who need their services. But unfortunately there are too many who frustrate the who process of real estate transactions at a great cost to their clients both in real money and in loss of potential buyers as they are the most unattractive aspect of the property itself.