Is your real estate agent rude?
Does your real estate agent play well with others?
These are important issues to determine when hiring an agent to represent you in the purchase or sale of a home. They can also be difficult questions to answer.
The first time you meet an agent, they should be on their best behavior. You should have an opportunity to both talk to them on the phone and meet them in person.
Are they polite?
Are they friendly?
Do you like them?
Yes, liking your agent is important. You'll be dealing with them for a while. If you don't like your agent, then the already stressful situation of buying and selling real estate will be that much more difficult. And, if they're not nice and friendly to you, chances are they will be even worse when dealing with cooperating agents who may just have the perfect buyer for your home.
Oftentimes, you'll need to go with your gut instinct to decide if this is the right agent for you and your home.
Here is what happened to me today:
I'll be showing homes later this afternoon. I scheduled all the viewings yesterday - a full 24 hours in advance, which is something we don't usually have the luxury of doing. One of the homes I would like to show is "By appointment only."
Now, I could write a whole separate post on why showing your home "By appointment only" is not wise. Why make your home difficult for buyers to view? It is definitely not in your best interest, if your goal is to actually sell the home.
Anyway, this listing agent finally returned my call to schedule this appointment - at 6:30 this morning. Gee, thanks for waking up my whole family...her call went to my voice mail.
I asked for an appointment between 2:30 - 3:30 this afternoon. Her message was "if you want to show it it must be between 1:00-3:00 because I think someone will be there holding an open house."
You think your listing will be open today? Perhaps you should be sure. I know most sellers would appreciate knowing whether or not their home would be open...
At 8:15 this morning she left me another message while I was getting my kids out of bed: "Are you showing the home or not?"
Oh, wow. Now, you know I have no desire to show this home. But, my buyers would like to see it, so I will try to arrange it.
I called this listing agent back a little before 9am. I kept my cool. I didn't tell her she woke up my family at 6:30 in the morning. Guess what? She was still rude to me! And, she kept calling me "Dan" even though I corrected her each time. That seemed to annoy her, too. Apparently, it is an inconvenience to her to have her listing be shown. Maybe that's why it has been sitting on the market unsold for 310 days.
Now, for the homeowners, here is the clincher: If my buyers decide to consider purchasing this home, will I tell them about my previous dealings with this listing agent? Absolutely.
My clients deserve to know that we will be up against a rude agent on the other side of the deal. My clients will be made aware that if it was this difficult to simply view the home, it will probably be just as difficult to negotiate the offer, schedule inspections, deal with repairs, schedule the closing, etc.
It will then be my buyers' decision as to whether or not to proceed. There are many homes for them to choose from in their price range. If this is their dream home, then we will move forward and get the deal done. If they have others they are also considering, then this may be the reason another home gets purchased over this one.
Is that fair to the sellers? Probably not. But, they are the ones who chose this listing agent. And that's a shame.
Make sure your agent plays well with others!
Don Fabrizio-Garcia, REALTOR
Connecticut Real Estate & Appraisals
Keller Williams CT Realty
203.746.1199
Connecticut Real Estate and Homes for Sale
