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Oh, why did you show up and blow it for yourself?

We found it! The perfect home for my buyers. It wasn't a long process, but long enough for them. It was actually only about three weeks from getting pre-approved to finding what they thought was their dream home. But, they really did want it yesterday.

So, off we go to see four homes and the forth one seems to be it. They tell me, "WE WANT TO PUT AN OFFER IN ON THIS ONE!" Great! Let's get the paperwork out and get the offer signed. I will call the other agent and see when I can meet with them and the seller to present. (Yes, I still try to personally present every offer.)

That is when the front door opens and the listing agent comes in and introduces themselves and says, "I saw you had shown my home and since I was in the neighborhood, I just thought I would stop off and show some of the stuff you may have missed and see how I can help." This, of course, went on for about 5 minutes. Now I'm trying to get my clients out the front door so we can write the offer at the office instead of there on the coffee table and then they could go home.

In the course of that 5 minutes, this agent had managed to talk my clients OUT of buying this home. Come on! You had the offer coming! If you had just stayed in your car and driven by.... Now, I have to go find them a new perfect home and you have to explain to your sellers why they didn't put in offer. By the way, I hope your clients enjoy the feedback form that I filled out and that states that they loved the home, but the last 5 minutes of the showing just turned them off to the home. (You can explain that was the time you showed up to help.)

So, please, if you are a listings agent and you have a buyer's agent showing the home, keep driving by and let the buyer's agent do their job and you do your job and answer any questions we may have WHEN WE CALL. If we don't call, we don't have any questions and don't need your assistance.

Would you have written the showing feedback form any differently?

Todd Clark - broker
Kastings & Associates
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739

Posted by Todd Clark (Broker) (503)524-9494 (Beaverton, Oregon Real Estate Expert) on 12/22/2008 01:26 AM

Comments (22)

Listings Agents in the Training Channel

listing agent, lost sale, buyers, showings

Originally posted at: Living Beaverton - Your guide to everything Beaverton: Oh, why did you show up and blow it for yourself?

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22 Comments on Oh, why did you show up and blow it for yourself?

DEC

Dear Todd,

Oh Dear!

I am also one of the dinosaurs who likes to present personally, if possible!

I can't believe what the listing agent did! How could he totally blow it so quickly?

I would love to know what he said to make this go down the tubes. If you feel uncomfortable doing this on blog, please contact me directly. Maybe you can rectify what he destroyed, I hope so!

My heart is bleeding for you and your buyers.

Listing agents can blow it...so can sellers that just either can't leave the house or can't keep quiet!

Gee's Todd...that does not sound like a good encounter...

Todd - this is sage advice to all listing agents. Unfortunately there are going to be way too many that refuse to see themselves in this scenario.

Personally, as a listing agent, I would not want the liability that goes along with poking your nose into this side of the deal - unsolicited.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Let me be honest, this listing agent sounds creepy. Why are they just driving by? Don't they have a business to run? As a listing agent I could not dream of doing that. As far as I am concerned they are your buyers and you can handle them.

Todd,

I have a feeling that the response back to the sellers will go something like this, "Well they liked the home BUT they found something they liked better!"

Its happened to us all once or twice. I usually dont want anyone interfering in the showings unless I have worked with them before.

Todd, here in MI we never show up, unless it is a Million dollar home and the seller requests it. Then we stay in the background and only speak when spoken too.

What did she say that talked your buyers out of that home?

Yuck - I've had the listing agent stop by as well before - total used car salesman mentality and completely BLEW the offer. Like you said, let me do my job if i have the buyer.

I think that this is the perfect time to assasinate a realtor. They're in the business to sell homes, not to kill potential deals.

Hi Todd... I have consistently found that a listing agent's participation in a showing is almost never a good thing (the one exception I can think of was a historic home and the agent actually did add some insights and interesting stories that I would not have known), but the rest of the time it just gets in the way of a deal. This is also why I hate listings without a lockbox that are "Agent to meet" showings!

Carol is right though when she states "Unfortunately there are going to be way too many that refuse to see themselves in this scenario."

Unbelievable.

That pretty much sums it up.

Barbara - Just started talking about how this house would be perfect for them and what they could do to it over the next couple years. "Hey, you guys could buy a high efficiency furnace in a few years and that will save you hundreds per year on your heating bills and hey, you can even update the windows. That is relatively cheap to do now if you wait for a sale," It was just the most amazing thing, my buyers loved the house, but the thousands were adding up in upgrades that as far as they were concerned were not needed until the listing agent said something.

Paula - My first transaction was that way, the buyer and seller had different political views and they were ready to put in an offer until they started talking politics and then it was "I will never give that idiot any of my money"

Patty - It was a little frustrating! I have to admit, I am thinking about sending the listing agent a bill for my gas.

Carol - I know if you say something and the buyer takes it as fact and doesn't check it out, you certainly could be held liable.

Carol - I think they just happened to be in the neighborhood and our lockbox keys alert us when someone shows one of our listings. Since she was so close, she just stopped off to "HELP"

Don - That is all I really did, I didn't want to go in to "They didn't buy it because your agent is too stupid to know how not to screw up a deal.

Laura - I don't think even then, I want help, it usually backfires.

Missy - We don't here either, so that is why I was so surprised to the listing agent walking in the door. I thought it was the owner coming back home early originally. (Check out my response to Barbara for what was said)

Morning Todd,

I hope the listing agent learned a lesson. Some are so impressed with themselves that they never recognize the fact that they just talk too much and most of it is at the wrong time.

Good luck on your second go around.

I agree, keep eveyone out except you and your clients. The rest just get in the way

It was just the most amazing thing, my buyers loved the house, but the thousands were adding up in upgrades that as far as they were concerned were not needed until the listing agent said something.

Ouch!

Todd - I suppose it wouldn't have been polite to have slapped the listing Realtor and kicked them out the door??? Just a thought. :-))

oh, you've touched a sore spot, for me...

I totally agree... let the buyer's agent do his/her job... Nobody knows the buyer better than the buyer's agent... and what the buyer is looking for, and whether this home fits. If we have any questions about the house, we'll assuredly ask.

I hear from listing agents who prefer to accompany all showings, that those agents who don't accompany aren't doing their job. Well, here's a perfect example of an accompanying agent (even though just driving-by)... where it turned out to be a drive-by-shooting.... he shot himself in the foot.

That's is awful, Geez... Agents in general should respect the other agents privacy and stay out of the picture, be it the listing agent or the buyers agent. Some buyer agents tend to get into the sellers face too... (Not meant hostile just stating a fact that I have experienced).

DEC

I present all my offers. Foreclosures are an exception. But If ther is a live person, i won't give the offer until I talk with the sellers personally with their agent!

DEC

Todd,

Did you follow up on this listing? when something weird like this happens, I tend to think the listing agent had a signed offer in hand and was trying to double end the deal by talking your clients out of buying this Home.

Todd, I agree with Carol that this agent was strange. Just dropping in unannounced and uninvited without your agreeing to it and then she talks them out of buying the house? It does make you wonder if she had another offer...

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