Some friends of ours, who have been vacationing in the St Petersburg area, first renting for a month, and this year renting for a season, have decided that they want to buy a property here. They think they want a condo, but might take a home, and just want to explore neighborhoods before they have me show them properties. I assured them that I'd be happy to show them areas, but they're really more comfortable at this stage just searching themselves. Many people are. They attend Open Houses on the weekend, and are always courteous to tell the agent when they walk in that they are working with me.
Lori called me Sunday evening to ask if things were different in Florida than in Buffalo, and told me about the two Open Houses they visited that day. The agent in the first one, upon hearing that they were working with someone else, told them that they should really work with her instead, because she could save them a lot of money, and get the property for them cheaper than if they worked with me. Lori asked how that could be the case, and she explained that she had a deal with the sellers that if she sold it she would get 4% but if another agent was involved, the seller would be paying a total of 6%. She then told them that she knew the seller's bottom line so could negotiate better for them. Lori asked me if agents in Florida were so desperate that they'd lose their ethics for 1%, and also wondered why an agent who displayed a total lack of ethics would think that anyone would trust her to look out for them.
She added that she felt much better when she went to the next Open House, where the agent said, "Oh, I know her. You're working with a great agent." and proceeded to show them the unit and tell them about the community. As they left, he said, "Please tell Sharon I said hello - I haven't seen her in a long time." This agent is not only reflecting well on himself, but on all of us in the industry.
Do agents think that buyers are stupid? No wonder they distrust agents and rank them hardly above car salesmen. They paint with a broad brush. Buyers and sellers DO want an agent with integrity, ethics and loyalty as well as knowledge.
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