Two Sides to Every Story

Randy Goetz, Esq., a seller wrote a letter that the St. Paul Areas Association of REALTORS reprinted with permission from "The Listing Agent and Her Seller".   Randy politely suggests a few things that he thinks buyers' real estate agents should do.  His list includes:

1. Show up for the scheduled showing or make sure to cancel the showing.  This one is obvious.  Each showing request is an emotional roller coaster for sellers, so showing up is a good idea!  Not to mention, it's also polite.  Many sellers go to great lengths to have their house ready to show and to be gone during the showing.  Calling to cancel is definitely a sign of respect.
2. Leave a business card or note.  This one is difficult.  Some real estate agents consider leaving a card as soliciting the seller to become the other agent's client.  The entire real estate industry can't decide on which is best practice for everyone as the opinions are so divergent.  Leaving a note is even more like soliciting the seller's business.  Most St. Paul listing companies give instructions to leave a card. When there are no instructions against leaving a card, I usually do leave one.  Occasionally I have run out before my showing day is done.  On those occasions a note might be appropriate.
3. Provide prompt, helpful feedback.  If I've seen twenty 3 bedroom two story houses that day, and the feedback request comes by phone . . . ?  The caller had better be able to tell me something distinctive about the house so I can remember it.  I don't take the notes; my clients do.  If I can remember the house, I will definitely give feedback.  If I can't . . . well, send me an e-mail with the link to the listing and I'll definitely get it right!
4. Turn off the lights.  IF I am instructed with the showing instructions to turn off the lights, I will.  If I am not, I won't.  Why is that?  Because there might be another showing right behind mine and the lights should be on for that one, too.  How do I know if someone else is coming in or not?  IF turning off the lights is important to the seller, then give the buyer's agent the instructions to do so.

These things are mostly common courtesy.  My rule of thumb is to leave the house in the condition I found it.  If the lights are on, I leave them that way unless instructed to turn them off.  If the stereo is on, I certainly don't pretend to be a technician and start turning buttons to turn it off.  If the door is unlocked when I get there and there is no lockbox, I will leave the door in the same condition I found it upon my arrival.  If I find the agent before me neglected to close the lockbox so the key is accessible to the public, or if the door is not properly locked, I correct that error.  If it is obvious the homeowner has left the door open, I will hope they are walking in the back yard and will return soon to secure their unlocked home.

The statement that Randy Goetz said which felt insulting was "As a seller in today's market, I am so over buyer's agents."  Those words felt "so" like fighting words.  I do my best to bring a buyer into their home so they can reach their goal of selling the house and Mr. Goetz is "over buyer's agents"!  Much like Mr. Goetz, I spend a lot of time preparing the showing tour for my buyers.  Guessing the amount of time a client will spend in each home is impossible.  Allowing some lead time and overlap time (which I do) helps, but is not a perfect system.  Invariably sellers will expect me to rearrange my 20 St. Paul area houses so I can get to theirs an hour later than requested.  The homes are mapped in the most efficient way possible.  Back tracking is time consuming and sometimes impossible.  Some sellers won't allow showings except between 2 and 4 PM on weekdays (when my clients are at work)!   When I'm on the 18th house of the day and I'm only a few minutes late, consider it a miracle.  That day is a good day.

My suggestion to sellers is to be thankful there is an agent with the buyer.  Who is going to watch to make sure your valuables are not stolen? or your prescriptions?  Who is going to make sure little Johnny doesn't wreck the 1000 piece lego set it took 3 weeks to assemble?  Who makes sure the buyers remove their muddy shoes when they enter your home?  Who spent 2 hours the previous day arranging for the showings?  Who makes sure the buyer is pre-qualified for a loan before inconveniencing the seller and creating the emotional roller coaster a showing causes?  Whose life is in jeopardy if the buyer is dangerous?   Whose gas is bringing the buyer to your house?  Who pays for those cards you want left behind?  Do you expect your agent to come to your house for each showing?  The buyer's agent comes to every one of the showings their client has.

My point may, or may not, be obvious:  There are two sides to every story.  The seller is inconvenienced but has a goal in mind.  The buyer sometimes creates the seller's inconvenience, but brings the solution to the goal.  Let's work together to accomplish that goal, to find a buyer for the seller's house!

Comments

[Bonnie Erickson]

Michele,

Thanks for your kind comments and the link back. Congratulations on a quick sale of your home! It sounds like you did the preparation that was needed to sell a home in today's difficult market. It's especially encouraging to have someone say they love their REALTOR. Until someone encounters the full service of a good agent, they have no clue what they are missing. I firmly believe the real estate agent can remove a ton of stress from the process for their client! I hesitated to even post this entry today because I didn't want to sound whiny, but there truly are two sides to the difficult process of selling a house!

[Michele]

Dear Bonnie,
I wanted to write and tell you have much I enjoy your blog. While I don’t live in your area, the information you share has helped me to understand the process from a Realtor’s point of view.

And I sooo love my Realtors!! The listing agent that sold our home is a gem, she knew the market and knew the value of our home. She helped calm my husband down when an obnoxious roofer showed up for the Buyer’s home inspection, only to say “your roof is leaking from the inside out, and here can I sell you a new roof.” She’s been on top of everything that’s come our way.

Or my Realtor (transaction broker) who’s is handling the purchase of our new house some 100 miles away. Running over to the house meet the housing inspector, helping to coordinate turning on the water with the city, dealing with a long distant seller. I am grateful to have these Realtors, seasoned professionals in my life, in this market.

After reading your post on Short Sales, and then selling our home in 3 days (http://www.newmoonjournal.blogs.com) I decided we didn’t want to enter a short sale- been there, done that.

And the post on vacant homes-when we put a contract on a vacant house (18 months) I used the information shared at this blog to get a more thorough home inspection done.

Today I linked to your blog in this article I wrote for those of us living in Florida- my insights from both from a buyer and seller’s perspective.
http://newmoonjournal.com/adobe/house.pdf

Keep on writing, it’s worth it.

Warmly,
Michele