Is your agent selling you short? Once again, I'm standing up to say that the agent you hire MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE. Sorry for the shouting.
I am a little riled up about this one. A few days ago I came across a couple of listings in the MLS that I find not just irresponsible, but bordering on malpractice. I know that mistakes can be made, but big ones like these cost sellers a lot of time and money. A good Realtor is worth every penny she earns, and most days I don't see anything like this. Let me make it clear that this is the exception not the rule.
- A Birmingham home has been on the market for months. I bet they don't get any showings. The listing agent listed it with NO BASEMENT. In these days of the computer searches, there are usually 3 primary boxes an agent clicks when they are looking for a home for a buyer:
- Price Range
- Location
- Basement
Yes, there may be more criteria, but those 3 are just about always there. So this Birmingham home is not coming up on the search results of agents or homebuyers who have ticked off the 'basement box'. It just so happens that the listing agent is from outside of the Birmingham market and does not use our MLS as his primary MLS. Looks like he never checked the listing after it was entered. The seller will never know why her house isn't getting any action. She'll lower the price a couple of times and get frustrated. In this case, an agent who uses the dominate MLS in the market every day would probably have caught it long ago.
- On another Birmingham home, I saw the agent list it with no basement, no garage and no fireplace. I knew for a fact that it had all three. He didn't even write the descriptive blurb that goes in the MLS. He just copied it from a prior listing. He must have been too busy that day. My only guess is that he is working really cheap for the seller so he is trying to make sure he gets paid on both the buyer's side and the seller's side. of the transaction. He's made the odds of another agent or a buyer finding this house in the MLS very low.
- From my ultra-lazy agent file: an agent put "mapquest.com" in the driving directions on the mls. Hello!! Usually we put something like North on Adams to Derby, left on Norwich to house. I do everything I can to make it easy for another agent to find my listings so they can show them and sell them. I don't assume that the agent knows the area and I don't assume that the agent will take the time to mapquest every home they are showing. I know that even a little thing like having mapquest.com in the showing directions will result in less showings. It takes me two minutes to write the directions so there is really no excuse not to do it right.
I could probably come up with a few more, but you get the point. As a consumer you can protect yourself by asking your agent to send you a copy of your mls listing as soon as it is posted and any time there is a change. Some agents might do this automatically. I am guessing that the ones I've mentioned above certainly don't.
The locations of these listngs have been changed to protect the guilty. Or to protect this blogger.
As for those agents, the Queen has spoken. Off with their heads!
Off with their heads was taken by iam4ranny
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