A good friend of mine, Susan Emo inspired this post as she shared a Member's Only post about "Are You Doing Your Buyers a Disservice?"
Huge Disclosure: I'm not trash-talking about BIG TIME Producers necessarily. These are just some of my personal experiences. What you may experience with top producers may or may not be the same as mine.
QUESTION: Have you become too big for yourself?
Business need to grow in order to produce. Growth comes with all rewards and challenges. Some of the observations I have made as I come in contact with some top producers:
(1) You can never get to talk to the ACTUAL person - especially when you have a problem
(2) You never hear back in a TIMELY manner
(3) You might end up "dealing" and/or "negotiating" with assistants - and worst yet, unlicensed assistants
Case in point #1:
I represented a buyer in which we requested a few items be repaired. We have the Amendment executed and went our merry way. When the repair invoice came back, it was entirely different from what was requested. Came to find out, the agent never advised seller what was required of them. What would have been a fairly inexpensive part replacement will probably now need to be more costs because the seller have to pay the repair person out the 2nd time on a service call. Had the agent spent the time to explain what specifically needs to be done, the poor seller wouldnt have the additional costs.
Case in point #2:
In an extremely hot seller's market, seller's agents do not return call, or provide a proper way of communicating offers, etc. No regards of telling the other parties they even acknowledge the receipt of their offer at all. While I understand the agent doesnt have to remain "courteous" to inform, it is good business.
Case in point #3:
Real estate and what is required of it, sometimes require alot of communication to make sure all parties are completely on the same page. "Clean" is a subjective word. "Repair" and "Fix it" are too! When one agent calls the other to make sure the communication is clear, the agent reply by saying "I have appointments all day. Call my assistant who is happy to assist you". While I understand you have systems in place to replace you, well ... I shall say I got nothing else to say.
A good agent takes time to communicate with clients (4 times this week until past 11:30pm at night about their transactions because we know that to our clients, that's so very important and emotional roller coaster to them: Apply the Golden Rule here) whether it's representing the sellers sharing with them what is expected of the quality of repair, then reiterating it back to the buyer's side of what to expect.
It sometimes scares me when agents' assistants handle negotiations after the contract. They seem to just forward paperwork around, get it signed then things are not up to expectation of all parties.
Dont you want an agent to handle every little detail of your transaction because you hired the agent to represent you on your behalf? Dont hire agents too big that you will never talk to again once you sign the representation agreement.
Good agents communicate throughout the transactions. That's why we get paid to make sure everything goes smoothly so you dont have a headache!
Knowing What I Know About Real Estate Now, My Interview Process of an Agent to Represent me is very different that what I didnt know about real estate!
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