The other side of the coin

I am sure you know we have a bad reputation with consumers, and I personally believe we deserve some of that.

But today I would like to give you the other side  of the coin (perspective) by telling you a story that just happened to a colleague of mine. This agent had been working with a buyer for over 8 months, and wrote at least 2 offers during that time. The buyer wanted a very specific property type and finish and size and area. Both offers were not accepted. A higher price offer was accepted in stead. Then just recently they again did not get an acceptance on an offer written due to a too low offer price.

Last week, my colleague told me the buyers were going to work with another agent, a friend of the buyer, and simply informed the agent about this in a casual manner.

So let's look at this for a minute. The agent has worked for over 8 months, finding properties, previewing properties, reading disclosures and/ or reports on these properties, showing the properties, and writing offers for the buyer. AND FOR NO VALID REASON,  the buyer simply dumped the agent. The fact the buyer did not get an accepted offer is often, as was in this case, because the buyer did not follow the advice of the agent. But of course, how easy is it as a consumer to just blame the agent. Many buyers will actually complain that an agent only wants to have you write for a higher price, because then they make more commssion. 

Consumers often treat agent as a staple and have no understanding of how their behavior as a client influences the agents business. The agent will only make money when the transaction closes. In this case as described, the agent makes nothing at all for having worked 8 months with the client.

It is about time that consumers understand how their behavior/actions influences the behaviors of the agents. If consumers would be ethical, trustworthy, have integrity and act professionally, they would not pull of this trick. So let's make it clear. Agents react to the way they are treated by the consumers. This sort of action has happened to me too and to many agents I know. I am all for interviewing agent before you decide to work with them, but once you make a choice, stick with it. Only in real estate does the consumer think they know more than the professional, and yes, agents (at least many of them) are professionals. I think the law should be changed. Every consumer working with an agent should have to sign a business agreement. It would protect both sides.

Thank you for listening, and hopefully we can all act more professionally, including consumers.

Antoine