I have been fuming inside due to the conduct (or should I say lack of conduct) on behalf of some agents who must be pretending to practice real estate.  I prefer to post this for both real estate professionals and consumers so that both parties can educate themselves on what is expected of a real estate professional.  Lets begin with the story behind my latest rant.

I have been researching other agents listings for an investor only to find that half the agents I speak to have no idea what they are offering.  For example I called on a rented duplex.  The investor needs to establish a cap rate.  The agent who has the property listed has no idea how long the lease terms are, what the owners expense are, etc. (she even had to think about the rent).  I gave her a list of things that we assumed she would know and of course she was getting back to me.  Here we are a week later (2 more phone calls later) and we still have no answers.  I asked to preview the property since the agent also has NO INTERIOR PHOTOS.  I was told they would get back to me.  So finally the investor has said he wants to stop waiting and just go see for himself what we can find out by touring the duplex.  We have an appointment and another call in to find the missing information.  I did ask the agent why she does not have any interior photos of the property.  She told me she does not know.  Her MLS entry (done by the broker) has no tax information, no detailed property information, etc.  Our MLS usually fines for that so I am not sure how they are getting away with putting ???? in the required fields.  I bet the poor buyers who see this on IDX searches are just passing it by because it was done so poorly.  In all actuality the investor tried emailing the listing agent about this property yet they never returned his request.  His is an emailer and prefers his contact via the computer so they missed out on what could have been a sale for them.  I am sure this agent is a wonderful person.  Her brokerage is quite busy in our area.  maybe the onwer has just failed to give her what she needs.  Who knows.  I just know this is not how successful transactions are handled.  Deals cannot be made when you don't even know exactly what you are making an offer on, esopecially when it comes to an income producing investment.  The details of any leased property are essential to the investor.  Know your lease terms, amounts, and expenses, even if you are not the one handling the leases.

If you want to practice real estate do the job the right way.  If you have a property you are listing please be proactive about who you give this listing to.  Ask to see the MLS entries.  Ask about the details, even the things that you may think are little.  Be sure your agent is educated on the property they are trying to sell for you.  Don't just trust that the MLS advertisements are correct.  View them yourself.  Make changes if need be.  Ask to see the photos and request that 10 quality photos be taken of your property.  Agents be aware that the more time you invest will pay off.  If you do a terrible job you will have terrible results.  Get creative.  Don't just type a one line description.  The more initial effort you put in means less time on the market and a bigger better pay day for you.

When you are considering a real estate agent for your home please spend some time looking at how other agents have property advertised in your area.  In the Galveston, Tx real estate market we see many listing entries that are just terrible.  Little description, terrible pictures, and just plan unappealing.  Get creative people.  Your market  deserves to shine when it comes to real estate.  This is not just a problem in our area.  This is a problem across the board when it comes to listing agents.  Visit our Galveston, Tx real estate website to learn more about Team Stevens and our area.

Be aware that your efforts make your market stand out.  Have a wonderful and productive week.

Christina Stevens