10 Reasons a listing agent can't give an answer on your offer within 93 hours

Kristin,

I dealt with the same thing earlier tihs spring.  I submitted an offer and had much the same results you did.  In fact, the agent told me he would be home to receive the offer but when I called to confirm and that I was on my way over, guess what?  Yep, he forgot and was out of town!!!!!  Give me a break!  That is bad for his clients, my client and my temper...lol.  Then we waited again while "another offer" was being submitted.  Fortunately our offer was not accepted (I could not have dealt with that type of response while we worked toward closing) and we put an offer in on another home and got it accepted first time around.  Plus the accepted offer was on one of my firm's lisitngs!

Kristin, yeah, I also fax and email it and email it to myself -- that way I always have a copy of the contract close at hand.  I've often taken all of my folders on "vacation" with me.  :)  No excuses -- in fact, I have one under contract now and suddenly the L.A. has disappeared -- someone else called me yesterday for an update -- I called her back and left her a message, asking her to call me back -- so far it has been 24 hours and I haven't heard back.  We're in the Option Period -- I need to get in touch with her!!!  Ok, I need to make another phone call and send another email.  Maybe one day we'll be able to work on a transaction together -- woohoo -- at least I know where to find you!!!  hehe

I can feel you on this one, I hate it when I put in an offer and don't get a response in a reasonable amount of time. There are few excuses for this, barring of course extenuating circumstances.

No excuses... Offers Are The first priorty and should be for all parties involved.  Thanks for sharing

Kristin, This past weekend I was in Chicago and one of my clients wanted to write an offer, which they did with our owner. That was on Saturday. No response Saturday. No response Sunday. Finally on Monday we get a thanks but no thanks. Two days to tell us they were not interested in our offer..I feel your pain!

Kristin - That's a long time to wait.  If you called me and I had any reason why I couldn't back to you with an answer, I would at least give you some sort of reason (seller out of town, seller is pondering it, I'm sitting on a beach in Tahiti - anything!).  I was going to suggest (like others) you call the broker (although I should know you'd think of that anyway), but I know how much good that does sometimes.  I couldn't get a hold of an agent for days, so I called the broker - broker's phone number (from the MLS) was a cell phone that they didn't answer.  A day later I got a return call.  By that time, we had moved on.

Oh, please, Kristin!  He does't get back because he's a total jerk!

Kristen - It seems like Patricia just added a good one to the list.  Great post and thanks for the laugh.  It is amazing when that happens sometimes.  I always wonder is it the agent ?   Or the seller ?  I always try to respond asap as I love to close deals : ).  If I know the response might be delayed for some reason, I will let the buyers agent know up-front but that is a rarity.  In this day and age, it is not that difficult to get in contact with someone to go over the terms of the offer. 

In any event, keep us posted on the deal.  Maybe it works out after all ?  Also, great list post !  I just got in not too long ago after a long day so I plan to do a list post in the morning to catch up !  ~ Chris

Ok...made me laugh again!

I remember needing to present an offer once and had the folder with me, but had to go to the hospital to give birth (is that how you say it?) to Trenton and presented the offer after that!  Seriously, is that dedication of what?  I was so concerned that I was giving my Seller the net correctly cause they give you all kinds of pain pills!   I'm sure he wouldn't have done the same...

heck he hasn't even given birth!

Great top ten list! I don't normally deal with commercial properties, but I have had a couple of instances when I have. Your top ten list actually applies to the commercial agents I have worked with in my town. Definitely No.s 1 & 2 apply (No Joke!). 3 & 4, maybe. They act like #'s 5 & 6, and there is some correlation applicable to the rest. Unbelievable, but true.

K...yes for sure I have dealt with agents that are non-responsive.  Especially when you ask for feedback from showings.  Its a shame but all of the excuses are probably accurate.  I wish I could take Friday after 12, Saturday & Sunday off myself!  :)

Kristin, I run into them all the time.  And every time it happens, I'm always just as irritated and frustrated as the time before.  I used to think those kind of people would eventually be weeded out of the business, but not so.  They're actually all over the place.  Go figure...

KristIn:  Your list is great, and "right-on".  Any excuse is a bad excuse.  In instances like these, I'd love to just "yank" the offer - especially one that was as good as yours.

There is just no reason for it! Unfortunately when the seller is a bank, this is pretty typical, only the difference is you never get a person, only voicemail hell of going in circles (sounds like you experienced that). Tina just went through a similar situation. It was so frustrating!

Ok, it is now WEDNESDAY, any status?

Frequently, an extended silence when waiting on a response can mean that the seller is shopping your offer to another buyer - another reason to put on short deadlines and stay on top of the process.

So, you guys think a broker can make a listing agent's seller give you an answer?  How funny!  It is never the seller is it, it is always the agent?

This happens more often than I would like but there are great agents out there too. I keep track of the non-responsive agents and adjust my strategy accordingly.

Thanks for the visit to my post about cell phone recycling.  If there is not a place in your community, set one up.  I think the main center is in Oklahoma and I can get those details if you need them.

These type of agents frustrate me to no end. A text, e-mail or anything is better then nothing. I have to go with the fact that he was lonely and wanted all your voice mails....his own private stalker made him feel special.

I work really hard to be ultra-responsive to all offers, so was shocked to get a call one recent Saturday morning. A buyer's agent wondered if I had a response to an offer that I knew nothing about!

He hadn't called prior to showing the home and then used a combination lockbox on Thursday evening (so no electronic notification to me about the entry). Offer was written up late that night so he didn't want to "bother me" at home. He then faxed it to a number totally unlike the one in the listing - who knows where it went...

Now, Kristin, it is clear you didn't make any of these errors - you gave that agent every possible heads up and your follow-up was thorough.

I felt sorry for the buyers this knucklehead was working with - but only until I got the offer in hand that Saturday afternoon and saw it was 45% below list price :-)

Irene