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My Pet Peeve - Lazy Agents a Major Client Disservice

By Donna Galinsky

Real Estate Agent with Allen Tate Company

January 22, 2009 03:05 AM

I am not a huge Active Rain contributor yet but I read many of the blogs daily and have gotten so much great information but I just have to get this off my chest and thought this would be a good forum.

As I go through our MLS daily to look at houses for customers I can believe how much bad and missing information is on the various listings. How little time so many agents take to properly display their clients homes on MLS.

For example - I have a customer looking for a house in the $ 1 million plus range - we went on to look through the homes and were amazed at the number of listings that only have one photo of the front of the house. Not a single interior picture. Our MLS supports up to 12 pictures. When I take listings I try to use every one of the 12 PLUS a virtual tour. She was very reluctant to go look at homes without photos, and I can;t blame her.

Another one: On MLS the agent lists the rooms on each floor. She mentions the basement, the main floor, the attic, but forgets to mention bedrooms. Unreal.

Then there are the agents who instead of giving directions say visit Mapquest. Come on - you have a responsibility to your clients. Just put in a few lines on how to find the house.

And I haven't even touched on the inaccurate taxes, misspellings, blurred and dark photos, inaccurate showing instructions and more.

When I take a listing I fell that it is MY RESPONSIBILITY to do my best to sell this home. When I enter the information into MLS I include every available bit of information, I use all 12 of the available pictures, I give my client input into editting the listing if they feel it is inaccurate. I also do and post a virtual tour. I do Broker's Open Houses so other area agents can preview the house. And this is just the beginning...

MLS is the first venue for agents and many customers. It is also picked up by dozens of other sites. If the information on MLS isn't eight then it will be incorrect all over the internet.

Next time I go for a listing call on an expired listing, I am going to take their old MLS sheet with me, show them the inaccuracies, and show them one of my listings so they can see the difference.

Is this just me or my area? Or are you seeing the same sort of thing, I will have to call it laziness in your area?

I'd love to hear your comments.

Donna Galinsky
One Stop for all your Nassau County Real Estate Needs
www.FindYourHomeLI.com

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Martin E. Kalisker, Esq.

Natick, MA

Real Estate Law From A Practical Perspective

We always show potential sellers what our listing sheets look like versus our competitors (especially if we know which company and agent we are up against). You can imagine their surprise when they see the "Real Estate Queen's" listing sheets with only a few pictures, poorly worded (or inaccurate) property descriptions and incorrect pricing strategy (we show the sellers the entire market history for similar properties marketed by our competitors, as well as ours). I say, let these agents keep on doing what they do - I love being the second realtor that expireds use!!!

Jan 22, 2009 03:10 AM

Victoria Carter Guaranteed Services

TwoMoveYou Guaranteed Real Estate Brokered by Century 21 Percy Fulton Ltd., Brokerage - Brighton, ON

TwoMoveYou

Hi Donna,

I completely agree with you. I think it is the responsiblity of the REALTOR to take accurate and complete listings. I have seen a quite a few places that have stayed on the market forever because of the poor listings. For example, one day I was taking a client around and went to the address only to find that the house number did not exist. The funny thing is that I even confirmed with the listing agent as to where this place was because it was really unclear. Long story short, I took my client to the COMPLETELY wrong end of the city. It was an hour away in a different location. Don't Realtors check that the address is right? GEEZE.

Two nights ago I took another client around and could not for the life of me find the lockbox. Nobody bothered to put on the listing that the lockbox was on the BACK door. Eventually, climbing through snowbanks and circling around the house we found the lockbox... but guess what... IT WAS EMPTY! I immediately called the listing agent and it took him 2 hours to call me back!

Sometimes I think that there are very few who care about the details... but that is what the client needs from us... someone who WILL be meticulous and look after all those little details!

Victoria Carter

www.TwoMoveYou.com

Jan 22, 2009 03:19 AM

Suzanne Gantner

Realty Texas - Round Rock, TX

GRI, E-Pro, SRES, SRS, ABR, CNE, REDS, CPS, WCS

Don't you just love the lazy Realtor who can't even get out of the car to take an exterior. The picture they display on the MLS is then one with their rear view mirror and them taking the photo. Then there is the potty shots with the toilet open to the world...hmmm, doesn't everyone know what a potty looks like? At least clean it or close the lid. I could go on and on.

I am flabbergasted when I see these photos or just one or two bad shots. I lost a listing the other day because I wouldn't list it until they de-cluttered so I could get some good pics. Instead of me, the guy hired a Realtor who is still living in 1980, who came in and took random, small shots (one included the TV which was on), the house was still cluttered, the pictures were dark and indistiguishable. I just don't get it!! Drives me crazy, oh and I love the hairbrushes, lotions, medications, soap, blow dryers, cosmetics taken on the bathroom counter tops....Don't get me started. Have a great day!!

Jan 22, 2009 03:20 AM

Kris Kombrink ~ The Kombrink Team

RE/MAX Excels - Chicago's Western Suburbs - Geneva, IL

Amen, Donna! The same is true in our local MLS here also. When our team takes a listing I probably spend a good hour digging up all kinds of information on the property.

Jan 22, 2009 03:22 AM

Pat Champion

John Roberts Realty - Eustis, FL

Call the "CHAMPION" for all your real estate needs

I know how upset you are we owe it to our sellers to give them the best possible service we can to sell their home-that means giving as much information available to the buyers out there.

Jan 22, 2009 03:37 AM

Addie Scharff

Beautiful Homes Realty - Los Banos, CA

HomeStaging REALTOR - Beautiful Homes Realty

Ha! This is too funny because my next entry was going to be on this very same subject! DITTO on all your points and the one about lockbox placement. It's almost as if they're trying NOT to sell the house!!

The other thing that is true here, is that it is NOT ONLY the agents who are lazy and could care less, but the SELLERS AS WELL! If the seller cared about who they hired, things would change fast, but I guess they can afford the extra money they're leaving on the table by accepting substandard service. I have pesonally had sellers who simply are not motivated to lift a finger to get the house ready. I will still list and do my best with the photos, but being an Accredited Stager Realtor, this drives me insane!!

Thanks for a good article! :)

Jan 22, 2009 03:53 AM

Donna Galinsky

Allen Tate Company - Cornelius, NC

Make Lake Norman Your Home!

I am so glad to hear that I am not alone!

It gets me so upset how these homeowners are not being serviced. And I am not even talking about discount brokers. These are full service Brokers doing this.

And I agree with lock box placement as well. Also, wrong codes - so many times I have gone and the code has been wrong, or the box is broken. What a time waster.

Jan 22, 2009 04:05 AM

Kelly Bovi, Charlotte Area Real Estate

NavMak Enterprises, LLC - Charlotte, NC

I have been surprised myself at the number of listings I come across with incorrect information, little to nothing in the description, no pictures. I can't imagine how a person expects to draw people to a house when the MLS listing looks like garbage! I was thinking the other day that the next time I went on a listing appointment I would take the old MLS sheet if it was an expired listing.

Great post!!

Apr 02, 2009 10:36 AM

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Donna Galinsky

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