Realtor obligations: Return phone calls to interested buyers. The R/E Maven

 

 

It simply amazes me how many real estate agents can be so caviler and inefficient in the way they conduct themselves.

A listing realtor has a sworn duty and responsibility to work in the seller’s best interest.

How do many of these realtors justify this obligation when they do not even return inquires of interest concerning the very properties they are supposedly working in the best interest of a seller to sell. If they do not communicate the sales process either stalls or dies on the vine.

Return communication is the second step in this process. The first step is advertising, either through signage or print/Internet. Most firms have someone assigned to perform these duties and they do usually get the word out that a particular property is available for sale. It is in the second step of communication where realtors constantly fall down.

 

Case in point.  I recently responded to a full-page advertisement in the New England Real Estate Journal. This full-page advertisement was placed by one of the offices of the largest real estate chain in the country. This full-page ad contained only one agents name, picture and contact information and it had two parcels of land that I was interested in. I called this Realtor and left two unanswered messages over the course of four days. About the seventh day she finally answered the phone and I attempted to gain some information about the properties. She was not at her desk and her memory concerning the facts was shaky at best so she asked me to send her an email and said she would send the pertinent information back to me upon receipt. I did so the next day and honestly I then forgot about her and these properties. A week later I received mail from her about some totally unrelated real estate. I was put on her automatics mailer but had still not been sent the information I was promised.

 

I made the effort of four contacts seeking information about some unfortunate sellers land that I could now care less about. I feel sorry for the property owner for trusting this realtor. I made more of an effort (4 to 0) to get information concerning this property than the realtor did. For this property it is just too difficult to do business this way. Someone wasted $1,200 for a full-page advertisement and the seller is still the party that suffers from poor agent representation. 

 

 

As a group realtors suffer from a bad reputation. One of their largest sins is their not returning property inquiry phone calls. It is extremely frustrating when potential buyers put more effort into seeking information than the listing realtors does in providing the information. This lack of communication is not in the seller’s best interest.

Some Realtors are thrown under their own bus!

 

 

The National Association of Realtors recently released the survey results from a poll that they partnered with Harris Interactive to have performed.

This poll shows that 96% of Buyers prefer “one stop Shopping” as claimed by home mortgage consultant Brian Skelly.

One stop shopping is where the larger, usually nationally branded real estate sales offices also offer other products such as mortgage services, insurance, and home protection plans. These offices can either be affiliated with these service providers or they may partially or wholly own the other businesses. In either case the real estate office and perhaps the agent are making more money if their customers purchase these additional services.

The large chains have customers sign an acknowledgement that they have received an “Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure Statement” at listing time. This form basically is saying that the consumer was told that the brokerage office will make more money by selling other services.

What is the problem with this? Nothing from a business stand point that effects the consumer but what about from the ethical side that effects the other Realtors?

Many Real Estate offices do not own a mortgage company. What about these offices? Is it fair that their own National Association of Realtors would publicly announce that the vast majority of Buyers prefer the services that other offices offer and they do not? Don’t these Realtors and their smaller offices pay the same amount of dues that the “Full service offices” do and to the same National Association of Realtors?

Are the smaller offices not entitled to the same loyalty form the same National Association of Realtors that all the other larger or national offices receive?

A recent Harris poll survey also showed that only 7% of the buying public completely trusted their Real Estate Agent. Is it any wonder?

 If the Realtors themselves cannot trust their own National Association then how can the consumer trust them? If they do not do the right thing for their own what can an outsider expect for treatment?