Cooperating with Agents Not On Your MLS

Great post, Cara. I agree we need to serve our clients and not make an issue about the other agent.

As I was so rudely interrupted by the weather (lost some power) I ran into a situation with an obknoxious non-cooperative out of MLS. He didn't want me to show it but would be more than happy to show to my buyer. His actions through email response just turned my buyer off. Buyer really liked the property and said he'd wait till something better came along. We kept looking and the property came back on the market through a different agency and our MLS. Showed the property had paperwork in place presented the offer and closed a few weeks later. I also had my buyer agreement in tact and it covered that area for searching and marketing. Seems the seller was not happy with the former agent. I call and ask and send forms for non- MLS but cooperating agents. It isn't so much the MLS as it's the agent's discretion. The point is what is best for the client. Often whish I could tell them to quit being such an ass.

My main focus if I have a listing is doing what is in the best interest of my seller, even if it means showing their home for another agent outside the area. 

Cara Marcelle Mancuso

As a rule, we accommodate all showings regardless of origin. That said we have a bias that local agents are more useful to a buyer than those from outside who don't really know the area and are of little real value to a buyer.

Not where I thought this post was going...but I agree, it's important to sell the listing for our clients, so make it easy. 

I am members of 2 other mLS systems outside my preferred area.  I have had trouble getting into homes as well even though I am a member some agents will not cooperate when they see you are not from the area.  I think you are doing a good job .  Hoping mindsets will change towards out of area agents. The goal is to sell the home no matter who sells or wants to buy. Some buyers are not sure of what area they want to be in.  So they prefer to look in surrounding areas as well as my own.

Sorry, I'm not too disposed to show a another Realtor/Agent's client if they are too frickin' lazy to get off their butt and come to MY area and show the house. They usually don't KNOW the marketplace and are simply GREEDY! I had a fellow "CRS" call me from the Eastbay once and asked me to provide her with comps, show her clients property and take a 25% referral fee because her clients just wouldn't work with anyone except her! That's a very lame excuse.  And putting a "contractor's Combo" box on a property and giving out the code is sheer lunacy. I can't tell you how many REO guys tried that ploy. We had a company which worked the entire Northern California REO market and constantly used combo codes and gave out the codes to just about anyone who wanted to see the house; agents, buyers. Suffice it to say security was breeched very often with much copper wire and what ever was left after eviction taken from the property. Not to mention endangering  client's and our fellow Realtors and agents showing these properties. I figure if I can't get in with a lockbox, then I'm not livign up to my standard of care to the clients.

Awesome attitude, Cara.  Thankfully, I believe your thinking is more the norm than the exception. However, the exceptions are sometimes frustrating and hard to forget.  Thanks for posting!

Tucson does have different access rules or scenarios.  I learned the hard way that most rentals don't allow other agents to access and won't pay a commission on them.  I had a friend moving to Tucson and tried to help him from Phoenix, but no go.  He had to end up at a property manager's office. I tried to send him listings, but couldn't help.  It sounds like your buying issue is similar. Access is different in your city! I agree with Chris above - great attitude!

My feeling on cooperation is this...as a listing agent I have a fiduciary responsibility to sell my clients property...in that I will work with any-one. But I'm not required to share the published commission to a non-licensee (not from the same state 0 who is not licensed to practice in my state but is in others)...in that case I would offer a referral...not a co-broke.

Wow, lots of interesting comments, however, I agree with Diana, #35 and Karen, #37.

Is your buyer pre-approved? Can you send me a copy? Yes, I show the house. No, see ya.

Oh, and on my schedule. (I've got other things to do.)

We use electronic sentrilock boxes here. Easy to assign one day codes to contractors non-MLS agents, etc.

Wow - the comments here have taken a few twists and turns. Did everyone actually read it? My thought when I was an agent and when I was a broker was "Just get the house sold. It doesn't matter who brings the buyer. As long as they're licensed, I'll pay them their fair share." 

I wish you good luck in getting access to the home your family member wants to see. I think you should call the listing agent's broker and talk it over. 

I actually just ran into this on some land down in there. Our broker belonged to the local MLS so that worked out. On some of the comments, yes some agents are lazy and want you to do the work but trust me, you don't have to have a different MLS for that to happen, we get this weekly here in Maricopa as agent will not drive the hour to show their clients. We get calls all the time 

When does real estate become non negotiable? That is what happens when us as Realtors/Agents refuse to pay co-broke fee to non MLS members. We are violating our fiduciary responsibility to sellers & buyers. Too many times I have had a cash investor ready, willing and able to buy now. The agent of another MLS refused to pay co-broke or even a referral to a fellow Realtor/Licensee of the same state. I don't care who you are, you should not practice real estate. Your responsibility is your clients and closing the deal. I do what it takes to bring both parties together and close.

I work w/ them all and try to make things as easy as possible. It will pay off in the long run.

Cara, I was looking at the responses above and perhaps I am reading your question differently. First, thankfully all 5 MLS's here that cover multiple counties have access to each other so we can use the Supra Codes or access lockbox information without a problem. The issue in our market is getting an agent to answer the phone when you have a client who is interested and wants to present an offer. I thought your question was when you don't have cooperation among realtors in another MLS, is that accurate? I can understand how frustrating that is.