Hi All,

This is a rant.... this is only a rant... please do not adjust your viewer but take this in the spirit intended...

Picture this... We are out for a day of property viewing and shockingly most of what we are looking at is in some form of distress.  So what this means to me is that these properties, and in the case of Short Sales, these owner's have a level of urgency attached to the outcome of these transactions somewhere in the magnitude 20 range on the Richter Scale.  But do they?  Are they behaving like they do?  Nope, not one bit from what I have seen. 

Am I missing something here?  Was there a memo that went out?  Did I, the Queen of Continuing Education somehow bypass a class?  Where are some sellers getting the idea that in this, or any market, playing hard to get (and hard to get ahold of) is one of the keys to selling success?  And where are the Agent's getting the idea that teaching their clients the rules of the game is somehow NOT part of their job?

I have made appointments with the agents to show a distressed property which is appointment only, no key box, no sign, (good move there Einstein, you need to get this puppy sold pronto but heaven forbid the neighbors or anyone else for that matter finds out it's for sale.) only to arrive and have the property owner totally in the dark about the appointment and unwilling to let me in.  (Would it have killed the agent to call their client and make sure the showing is OK?). 

Or my personal favorite... the "Oh, yeah my agent told me you were coming, but today's not a good day for me.  Can you come back next Tuesday between 1:47 and 2:36?"  All the while, my client is cooling their heels at curbside and letting their interest in the property drain into the gutter like dirty rainwater. 

No, as a seller they don't have to let every Tom, Dick or Mary traipse through their home whenever they like, but if they are going to insist upon "appointment only" and I have one, then, gosh darn it, let me in or let me know BEFORE I get to your door that we need to reschedule. 

And this is a new phenomenon... I have tried to call Agent's only to find that not only is their phone number disconnected, but their office's number is as well, and the only person listed on the MLS that I can reach is the client, who by the way, is totally unaware of these facts.

I have said it before and I will say it again (and again, and again, and again...) that I believe that the reason 80% of Short Sales don't work is because 80% of agents don't work.  Folks, these seller's are in trouble and in pain so if you aren't capable or qualified to aid them then get them to someone who is.  This is no different than if you come upon someone who is injured and bleeding, if you aren't truly the best person to sew up the wound so that they will heal properly then get them to someone who can. 

Referral fees are wonderful things, to paraphrase "They are twice blessed, blessing the giver and the receiver".

Here's the thing, truth be told, in most cases I can't and don't actually fault the seller's.  The responsibility and the blame for their lack of knowledge both lie squarely at the feet of the people they have chosen to represent them, their Agents. 

By abdicating their position as not just a partner but a guide for their client's transaction, they could be condemning them to an unfavorable outcome and will also be continuing to tarnish my, and every other good Agent's name. 

The public truly sees us all as cut from the same cloth (There is a reason why we are always painted as the villain in the story, and why it is considered perfectly OK by most people to paint us as such.  Unfortunately, it's a reputation well earned, not by me or anyone I work with, but well earned nonetheless.), and if we don't take steps to change this perception than we are all no better than the man who refused to throw the stone but would hold someone else's coat so that they could. 

Folks, teach your client's what it takes to give themselves the best shot at success, not just with a distress sale, but with any other as well.  Making a home difficult or impossible to see or show is but one nail in the coffin of the transaction.  Not understanding the entire process involved from start to finish and what their responsibilities are (both the optionals, and the musts) is nail number two.  Not allowing the Agent to broadcast to the world the availability of the home for purchase via signage, MLS exposure and prominent Internet advertising can be number three.  And so on...

The way I see it, the Reality Check needed is a pretty hefty one, but if the Agent is willing to write it, and the client is willing to believe in its value and cash it, then everyone stands to get paid.

Rant concluded...  I will now return my soap box to its regularly scheduled duty.

Take care all, help lots of people and have a wonderful day!

Tisza