maybe the listing agent didn't keep in touch with the sellers..how much time went by between transaction?  maybe the sellers din't fell comfortable with the agent..who knows?

Could be Jim or coul;d be they hate each other or could be the agent never followed up after the sale and the seller lost his/?her card. Or it could be the white elephant scenario you note. Interested to see your follow  up

Probably the other agent turned them down for the reasons you stated. 

Jim, I just want to say that we have several buyer agents working for us that DO NOT take listings. So that scenario could be true, but perhaps not in this instance.

What you are saying could be the case as well, although many people bought houses at market price a year or two ago that, at the time, were the going prices for that sort of house. Now they are underwater not because they overpaid so much as because the values have declined. This is not the owners fault, nor the agents fault, as that could have been a fair price given the market circumstances at the time of the purchase.

There are many reasons as well... not everyone is pleased with the job their agent did for them... I know of several buyers that came to us becasue they were disatisfied with the agent that sold them their previous house. Our listing agents got the listing, and our buyer agents sold them the new house. Why not... Sometimes, people just dont wortk well together, and sometimes people are less stupid than their agent thought, and they wont work with that agent again.

It happens, and that is why agents get new cleints in areas where others have worked before... but hey, it could be any number of reasons, or a combination of many things.

Let us know how it goes...

A couple of things come to mind here, Jim. 

One, the market does shift and no one has control of that. Even the best agents can be made to look quite foolish in a declining market.

Two, most people in sales, like 85% and I am going out on a limb on this, I say 90%, do a very poor job of managing their relationships. They have that churn and burn mentality, which in markets like we are in, only points out those inadequacies.

Of course, we have to pick our battles and the hope is that when we do the right thing, the clients pick us. It is always noce to sought out for our expertise.

BTW, I would be willing to bet, that agent is probably having a very difficult time managing this market and very well may be out of the business.

Good luck!

Bo

There are endless reasons why the homeowners decided not to choose the same agent. Alot of the comments above hit the nail right on the head.

I had one neighbor that I turned down a listing due to them buying a home, finding out it had to have major repairs (which they did and was not covered under homeowners insurance) then when they decided to list their home, the mortgage balances were more than what the home was worth. Another agency listed the home and it trying to get those homeowners a profit out of selling the home. ( I do not see that happening, even when the market recovers)

Who knows what the real reason is?

Debbie

Jim...

At least from you they will get a honest evaluation of their property. If it's worth it, take it and give it your best shot!

Just because the real estate license doesn't identify "buyers agent only" or "listing agent only!", that doesn't mean that agents/brokers must take listings. 

Our license dictates our legal ability to operate as a real estate brokerage.  It's doesn't dictate a business model. 

I prefer to keep a client -  whether or not I m representing the buyer or the seller. Good luck on your listing appointment.

Michael Shankman Selling Las Vegas 702-498-3383 (Liberty Realty )  When a buyer buys a home for several million dollars less than a year ago...I'd have a hard time not keeking in touch with someone that you made at least 60K.  Please...

Michael Shankman Selling Las Vegas 702-498-3383 (Liberty Realty )  When a buyer buys a home for several million dollars less than a year ago...I'd have a hard time not keeking in touch with someone that you made at least 60K.  Please...

Charlie Ragonesi Big Canoe Realestate Jasper,Ellijay,Ball Ground,Benttree (All Mountain Realty)  My money on on the "White Elephant Scenario" and probably 5+ years of inventory.

Shirley Parks San Antonio Real Estate & Luxury Homes (RE/MAX Realty Advantage, San Antonio, TX)  I will have to see... or if I even want to bother with it.

Rhode Island Real Estate -- Focus Professionals, Inc.  That is not the case with this agent.  I also think many buyers agents do not act on their clients behalf.  I have turned down buyers for this one particular subdivision for a few years.  It is a loser.  I have a conscience, profit is not part of my own standards - truth is.  If I feel someone is going to lose their ass in a sub-prime, or 100% loans we routinely passed on doing the deal. So in this current market I have a clean conscience and no regrets.  Some agents represent themselves rather than thier clients.  I say, come on folks we are talking about a home that is $2 million plus.

• Can a buyers agent not share market statistics before buying a home?
• Share with the buyer the home has been on the market for several years?
• Share insights on the subdivision etc?

Bo Hussung ~ Cogent Closing Associates, LLC (Cogent Closing Associates)  I like your points. It will be interesting to see the reasons and hear the explanations.  I also do not want to have my mind picked for strategies and have hte other agent jump right back in with our strategies.

Debbie Hughes (Keller Williams Realty)  I agree.

Richard Weisser, Associate Broker, E-Pro ERA United Realty, Auctioneer, CE Author (Coweta Fayette Real Estate, Inc. ERA United Realty)  That is what I would suggest.  A true market appraisal - local and current comps only.  Then the ball will be in their court until the next serve.

Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Real Estate  I agree with you.  I choose my battles, and if I cannot sell it, I can back up my words with the stats to explain the scenario.  There has to be the chance of a sale on my side for me to get excited.  I do not want to feel like the clean up crew after a mob ordered hit.  I faint at the sight of blood.  LOL

Sharon Paxson (Prudential California Realty  Thanks.  We'll see how the initial dialogue goes. 

It could be that the agent never kept in contact with the seller!  Something many agents fail to do.

Jim,

Right now this just happened to us...we sold the home to the buyer who was good friends with my partner and we got her the home for a reasonable price then she calls us two years later to tell us she is going to list it with us and then 6 months go by and she tells us she listed with another agent for 100K more than it's worth...it was a so called business decision. Good luck seller!

David Slavin, ABR RE/MAX Grand - Katy, TX (RE/MAX Grand)   We found out it was Bad Attitude!

Neal Bloom-Realtor ® Assoc.-CRS-Weston FL (RE/MAX Premier Associates)  Neal I forgot about the greedy seller part.  Thanks for the reminder!

Jim, I do not doubt anything anymore and the thinga that people that claim they are professionals will do to get business. It is mindboggling. Keep your cards close to the vest. Professionalsim always wins out....period!

Bo Hussung ~ Cogent Closing Associates, LLC (Cogent Closing Associates)  I totally agree.

People no doubt don't like being told what the home is worth.  Especially when they are upside down.

 John Walters (Specialized Real Estate)  I agree.  No sleep lost over not taking an overpriced listing.

Jim, I'd have to go with poor post-sale relationship skills/processes as most likely, oversold property as the second most likely reason and the ripple effects of market changes at the third reason (in that order).  Glenn

Glenn Phillips (Management, Coach, Speaker) (RealSource) Actually on this one seems to be an abusive know it all seller...an attitude problem.

I bet you and Joan will give him the information that will be necessary to get the home sold.  I let several listings go this week.  I'm not sugar coating the facts.

Kay Van Kampen, Broker, Springfield Missouri Real Estate (RE/MAX Solutions) Me too!  Some sellers do not want to hear anything.

Kay Van Kampen, Broker, Springfield Missouri Real Estate (RE/MAX Solutions) Me too!  Some sellers do not want to hear anything.

Jim, it is probably a combination of reasons. One being the agent didn't stay in touch with them. So far, this has only happened to me once. They interviewed 20 agents. Go figure...

I never mind telling my sellers who I sold the home to the truth, they trust me, it is the market. They are not stupid and if you have built trust with them, it just isn't a problem.

On some of the listings I have had that had no room to move on the price I sometimes find there is a silver lining. It might sit there and expire but it never fails that a buyer comes along and I pick them out a different house to buy if the original one isn't for them. So there is my advertising money back. A client that I wouldn't have had if there had not been my overpriced listing.

Missy Caulk Ann Arbor Real Estate (Keller Williams Ann Arbor, Michigan)  Missy I agree!

Lizette Fitzpatrick, Kentucky Real Estate (Central Kentucky - Prudential Don Foster)   That is the way it used to be here, I am not seeing the listings gererate buyer leads at this moment. 

Well, here's another angle for you. I have a home listed where I was the listing agent when the current owners purchased it. They chose to not use their previous agent only because he doesn't do anything to market homes on the Internet. They told me that they liked him, and felt he did a good job in helping them buy, but they were impressed with how I marketed the home when they purchased it, so thought I would be the better agent to help them sell it.

It's not just about personality or "staying in touch" anymore. The sellers are on the internet doing THEIR research just as buyers are searching for homes. I had a similar situation recently occur, and it would be the 3rd time to list the home even though I never had any of the buyers that bought the home the previous 2 times. I think the savvy sellers recognize that it requires a different skill set to be a seller's agent than it does a buyer's agent.

Well considering that you have information that we do not such as current comps and know what the original purchase price of the home, I can see where you are in the position to make that assumption.  However for the rest of us, I would think that the most logical choice would be that the clients didn't like their first agent.

When we bought our first home and moved less than 4 years later I did not contact the agent who sold me the home, in fact I contacted the listing agent who was involved in the purchase.  The reason being, my agent never kept in touch with us after the transaction, and the listing agent added us to her mailng list.  I also didn't feel that the first agent was agressive enough which was fine when I was buying but not when I was selling.

So true, Jim!  Tell it like it is!

Jim:  There may also be a very simple answer.  It is indeed very possible that after selling those folks the home in question, new owners may not have heard from that agent since.

And as an aside... I know of some offices locally who will not allow their agents to list and to sell... but to totally do one or the other.  Although I do not agree with a policy like this... it is occasionally the case.

Jim,

Needless to say, I have to agree with many of the comments above, so I'm not going to reiterate them. HOWEVER, I'm going to introduce a slight twist on the same type of situation.

How about the seller....who has their home listed (or sold) with Agent A....but BUYS through Agent B? I see this happen all the time. My feeling is that Agent A doesn't even consider the seller to be a bonafide buyer until they at least have an offer on their existing home.

Meanwhile, the seller has actually been out looking for homes weekend after weekend, stopping by Open Houses...visiting new tracts, etc. Ultimately looking for homes with an agent who DID consider them a buyer.

One of the things I did to ensure I "double-ended" the transaction, was...at the listing presentation, where I had just explained that we priced their home well...and will be implementing a marketing gameplan to sell their home quickly...I immediately aproached them as a buyer. I used to call them "SellerBuyers". I'd tell them that since their home would be selling soon, I wanted them to speak to my lender so they could get all questions answered regarding today's interest rates, qualifying criteria, etc. By the way...that also eliminated the situation where your SELLER doesn't qualify for their move up home...but you don't find out until after marketing the home for 4 months, negotiating an offer on their sale, spend three weeks showing them new properties, writing an offer, getting it accepted...and THEN THE WHOLE THING FALLS OUT BECAUSE YOU FIND OUT THEY DON'T QUALIFY FOR THEIR NEXT HOME!!!!

I can never understand how an agent could ever let that happen.

In any case, we always started the home search right away. They became buyers in my mind the second they signed the listing contract. Even if they were moving out of town, I wasn't going to let the opportunity slip by to earn a referral fee. And even though I was creating a double-ended transaction...(my sellers...BUYING another home), I never had the mess of dual fiduciary responsibilities one has when they find a buyer for their own listing.

So here's the new word for the day: "SellerBuyer"

Learn it, remember it....use it...and happy selling!!

Dave

"the seller is not contacting the agent that sold them the home in the first place." You did not state how you know this fact! Maybe they did already speak to the agent and are simply not comfortable with the agents track record..... or maybe the agent didn't provide adequate post sale assistance when needed.

Maybe one of the couples did not like the agent during the transaction and refuses to work with them again...... ie spouse didn't like the person during the original transaction. Maybe remembers something said that hit them the wrong way.

Best of luck to you,

John Perkins
http://HomeSpecial.com
HomeSpecial Realty
(408) 469-7800

Jim you may have hit on something here..Real Estate Interventions. The next Realty show concept. Unfortunately, homes purchased on the cusp of the market collapse are not going to generate the liquidity necessary to cover the encumbrances against them.  Having said that- people buy and sell for a variet of reasons.  I agree taking on a white elephant in this market means everyone will notice it is in the room.

Good Luck and Sell Well!

JC,

I`ve listed and sold homes to thousands of clients.

For some reason people simply feel in most cases I will get a call back or at least an interview.

Than again, i keep my name out in the public a lot so folks remember our name.

Many agents don`t keep abreast of their former clients... Why is not ours to reason... 

Elaine Reese, REALTOR® in central Ohio (Real Living HER, Worthington Ohio)  Great info and so true.  We have a home listed right now where we were the listing agents before.  We were hired for the same reasons.

There could be many reasons why they didn't contact their original agent.......most notably, maybe they just weren't pleased with their buying experience. 

Elaine Reese, REALTOR® in central Ohio (Real Living HER, Worthington Ohio)  That is more common a scenario than most woul dbeleive, yet it is so true.  That is why in real estate many agents leave the business each year, and the listing agents are called back to relist.

Jim,

I see this was featured after my initial comment. This particular client said they were impressed with some sort of video marketing...I never heard of...I think it's just a youtube of the home...well gee I can do that too...I just think there is something wrong with the seller. That;s ok...I would rather get it when the price has to drop so I don't have to drop it later.

Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services  Thanks!  I am from New York originally, and cannot help buy share what is on my mind!  LOL!

Fort Worth Real Estate - - - Karen Anne Stone (RE/MAX Trinity)  You have to keep in touch wiht past clients.

David Daniels (FlyersToYou, Inc.)  Thanks for sharing. So true many overlook this in our business.

  I would not even go with why they didn't call them...who knows...and you don't know the disposition of the buyers (now sellers) at the time...it was that house no matter what...times change and unless they paid cash or had a substantial down payment, it would have had to appraise for them to buy it. See what can be done to turn the elephant into a friendlier animal....If none of us ever listed a house that someone else listed before, most wouldn't have new business.

John Perkins (HomeSpecial Realty)  I forgot about spouses!  LOL!  But that is so true.  I call it "Chemistry!"  Sometimes it is just missing!  Good thoughts!

Allison Stewart REALTOR ®St. Cloud Florida (Florida Pines Realty, Inc)  I believe thaqt is part of the case in the scenario I mentioned.  They purchased at the wrong time, without guidance, and now decided to sell.  They are not calling their agent becasuet they are totally ticked off!

Scott Daniels Florida Real Estate 2.0. Agents Earn 100% Commission. (Florida List For Less Realty, Inc. Broker/Owner. )  The agents forgot rule 101 in real estate!  Keep in touch!  That is survival power in sales!

Diane Bell, Hilton Head Real Estate, Bluffton (Charter 1 Real Estate, Hilton Head, Bluffton, SC)  That is so true...an unpleasant experience!  Also what about the agent that moves from one office to the other.  They sometimes forget to keep in touch wiht past cleints nad inform them of the move.

Neal Bloom-Realtor ® Assoc.-CRS-Weston FL (RE/MAX Premier Associates)  You are so right!  IN the early 90's I'd like to get it the second or 3rd time.

Sally & David Hanson, Southeastern Wisconsin Realtors (First Weber Group)  So true, and sometimes there is just no loyalty!

Good luck at the appointment. I feel sorry for the sellers. They may have finacial problems and need to sell. They probably blame the agent thinking they overpaid when they bought the house.

It must be a very good sales person who can oversell so much, or a very snakey opportunist! Unfortunately, there are too many of them out there!

Jim, interesting point of view and so true in many cases. Good luck on the listing, if you choose....

Unfortunately, I've had this happen - been the selling agent (and REALLY worked hard for my client, as they were well aware), went on the listing appointment ASSUMING they were listing with me, only to find out they were "interviewing" several agents.  When I didn't get the listing, I felt it was because I skipped my normal listing presentation and did not sell myself or my marketing program because I ASSUMED they already loved me and what I did.  Lesson learned - you can't assume anything!  Taking shortcuts on a listing appointment is a mistake, even when the seller is an old client or (worse yet) a relative.

Sometimes the agents just don't follow up and the client moves on.  I've had current listings come from the  buyers of my previous listings. They weren't my clients to begin with but by the time the transaction was over I had all of their information and they were in my database.  Perhaps their agent just took the check and walked away?

I'll guess you'll find out their reasons when you just ask them the question.  No sense speculating about why someone does something.  There's always a reason for everything people do.

I got a listing for a home after the sellers had just purchased their new home with another agent.  I asked them why they weren't using that agent to sell their old home.  They said that they were unhappy with her service on the buy side.

Honesty is the best policy - Great Blog

So true and someone needed to say it.  Hopefully if it is the situation you described you will be able to help the seller out.

Jim:  I see this all the time here too.  I have asked the question to the Sellers and they have given me various reasons:

1.  The agent ONLY represents Buyers
2.  The agent was ALSO interviewed but, did not have a sound marketing plan
3.  They originally HAD to use the Buyer's Agent through relocation company and wanted to do their own research.  They found that the agent was not a very experienced agent and they wanted someone with experience.
4.  They simply didn't like the agent.
5.  Because they had been 'mandated' to use a particular agent through their relo company, they wanted to make their own decision this time!!

I recently took a $2.5m listing that the Sellers said that their old Buyer's Agent was interviewed but, they liked my 'think outside the box' plans better!

I am not sure why the homeowner(s) did not hire their last agent, but you hit on a point that consistently frustrates me.  Many agents will put in offers and negotiate price without even checking the comparables.  Another sour point with me, is that many agents will tell me my listing is overpriced, without even pulling market data.  Regardless...you should take the listing, because you will likely do a better more honest job than the alternative.  All the best.

I think there are many unanswered questions and your post may only tell us part of the story. When was the home purchased? Did you do any comps yet and so on. Let us know how this works out. Good luck.

Probably because agents are bad at following up. Especially with their sellers.

The most likely reason they're talking with you instead of their former agent is that they have done some online research and like what they've seen of you so far.

I sometimes think that the public puts agents into categories, if someone tends to represent buyers they think they need to go elsewhere to list their home.  I have represented buyers in a larger geographical area than I would feel comfortable with listing their home,

Never hurts to talk. Hopefully, there's more to the story than that. Even so, if they are upside down because they bought the home during the upswing it's not ncessarily the agent's fault. Do all your clients listen to you? Mine sure don't.

Jim I have seen what you mention quite a bit. It seems there are a few bad seeds that all they care about is making a sale. That can be a problem when the market is down and as an agent you are not making money. The agent that does not have much business tends to lose site of the fact they are working for the clients best interests and not their own pocketbook.

Jim.....I would be interested to see how this plays out.  There is an obvious reason (maybe not to us)  why they did not call the agent who sold them the house.  Have you ever thought of just asking them?

Good question, Jim. Let us know what you discover on the listing appointment.

Jim - I have also seen situations where a buyer overpaid, in my opinion.  They have been advised and they simply don't care. 

Jim, I wish the state real estate license did say "buyers agent only" or "listing agent only!" I view these positions as totally opposite, how is it possible for one person to be the best at both?

I'm sure most agents would like to continue doing both whenever they had the opportunity, but I'm also pretty confident that if you asked any agent, they would (confidentially) tell you that they prefer one over the other (or are better at selling than buying or vice versa).

Neal mentioned something that I beleive allows the seller to see this in agents. They may have found someone who they beleive is a great salesperson (maybe better than their buyers agent would be). Of course it could also just be the greed or that they were suckered by the other agent.

My story is the opposite of not listing with the agent who sold you the house. Once when I was touring a FSBO, the seller turned to me and said, "We'll be happy to let you sell the house and pay you a fair commission. But we will not list with you."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because we will have to list with Freddie Le Shark, who sold us the house. He's a shark. He got us stuck in here, and he's the only one who can get us out!"

And sure enough, Le Shark got them out of the house and he double-ended it, as usual.

Names have been changed to protect the guilty.

Well it is important for agent to keep in touch with owners by direct marketing. In this fast moving world, it is easy to forgot for sellers to keep contact info. To earn business, agent needs to inform sellers on holidays  via greeting cards.

Earn Extra Income: Do Broker Price Opinion(BPO)

From my experience its either because they upset the seller in some way when they sold their home or the Realtor did not keep in touch with the client (its amazing the number of Realtors who don't use their past client base)