Spring is in the air if not quite officially on the calendar...and Buyers in Wisconsin are out in greater numbers driving by for sale signs and going to open houses looking for their happily ever after home.
The warmer weather fuels enthusiasm and
in our "Thinventory Market" we see signs going from FOR SALE to TOO LATE...SOLD....in record time.
Also blossoming, many local boards will tell you, is the number of people...both consumers and agents who in the height of their enthusiasm, somehow forget about the agent that they were working with....Buyer agent or not...and write offers with the agent who is holding the open house for fear of losing the opportunity to own the house.
It may not be the agent at the open house who "stole the Buyer" but the failure of the Buyer's agent to explain the contract and prepare the Buyer. We
don't believe that Buyers or Spouses can be "stolen"....they leave be
cause it is their choice. If you have never had a buyer that you have been working with call you and tell you that they just wrote an offer with another agent...you havent' been in this business very long...it happens to everyone
When a busy agent is working with multiple buyers...Or both
buyers and sellers, going to every open house with each buyer is sometimes not an option. What is an agent to do ?
We suggest when a Buyer agency is signed...and periodically during the "shopping period" ....in emails...verbally...Buyers be reminded that they should call You, their Buyer's agent is they intend to go to an open house. You can call the agent....and we suggest confirm in email, that you are "registering your Buyer with them" and that you have a contract in place. In Wisconsin, it is required that before an agent can write an offer, he/she must have physically been to the property...not necessarily at the same time.
Sometimes ....it can be an impulse...a sign "calls" to the Buyer and there is no real plan ahead of time to attend the open house. Cell phones are great tools...the Buyer can call their Buyers Agent and the agent make contact with the host/hostessing agent identifying the buyer as theirs and requesting that they honor that relationship. This remedy can get tricky because the hosting agent and the listing agent may not be one in the same and sometimes there is confusion.
Another remedy is for the Buyer to sign in using the Buyers' agent's name and not their own. There is no reason for the Open House host/hostess to contact them. A good Host agent will call those agents...let them know that their buyer was through their open house and welcome a second visit with that agent. In Wisconsin...that hosting agent is working for the Seller...being welcoming to all prospective Buyers is a part of encouraging an offer even if the host does not benefit financially.
Understanding the obligations of the contract...the relationship it creates and the "rules" in place to make it work are key to everyone involved enjoying their "happily ever after"...hope these thoughts help Buyers, agents and Sellers all enjoy a prosperous spring season.
If you or anyone you know in southeastern Wisconsin is looking for their next "happily ever after" as a buyer or a seller...Call the Hansons, we are honored to be of service.
Comments(24)