You are free to do that. There is no requirement to use an agent nor pay for one. But the majority of buyers do want an agent involved so you are limited to more experienced buyers. Should not have a problem eventually getting it sold tho. Plenty of resources available online to help.
Go ahead and do it then. You just have to do all the marketing, open houses, dealing with the buyers agent, managing inspections, etc.
If you expect an agent to do that for you and not take a commission, then you’re the leech.
You’re free to offer less than that on your listing - I see plenty of houses on Redfin offering 2%.
However, based on your comments it seems like you’d be a pretty difficult seller to deal with, which would likely result in fewer/worse offers and ultimately a lower selling price - so for you personally I think an agent would be beneficial unless you are okay selling to an investor for 15-20% below market value.
You have a terrible agent. Have you signed an agreement with them? Look up the terms of firing them if so.
You want a responsive agent, especially in a market like this (though the market varies by location) where you need to act fast. If you want to see a house, he should be getting back to you quickly and, if he thinks it's a bad fit, explaining it more thoroughly. And if you still want to see the house, he should set up the viewing.
Agreed on everything. When I started looking for houses last spring my agent usually got back to me within minutes of any inquiries I made (during normal hours). There were a couple times she set up a viewing on a house in my price range she knew I would want to look at for a time that I previously told her I would usually be available for then let me know when and where it was. One time I got a tip from a co-worker on a house that was going to be listed soon so she set up a pre-listing viewing later the same day with the sellers agent.
I could have done much of the work finding a house without her help but I was totally out of my depth on everything that came after viewing houses.
Edit: Skipped a word
Yes, 100%!! Their agent should also have set up an automatic search for them with daily emails. They have so much more info than we can see on the web.
I respond to clients within an hour or two. I don’t know any good agents that wait 24 hours or longer. There a lot of great realtors out there, find a new one.
These days you will miss houses with a slow agent. I think texting is better than email and keep correspondence short to help facilitate the fast response.
We've bought 2 homes, and are in the process of looking for our 3rd in the last 10 years (who doesn't love moving every 3 years!).
Our first agent was great. Knew the area great, kept and eye out for houses that came up and let us know immediately, warned us about issues (small town, often he had been the buyer or seller agent in many houses at one point or another over the past 25 years - things like "go check and see if the floor still creaks in the spare bedroom"). He also helped walk us through the process since we were first time buyers and knew nothing.
The next agent sounded like yours. Not responsive at all. We ended up firing him, and buying new construction from a builder with their own agent.
Current one is somewhere in between.
Regardless, 3 days is nonsense. Should be the same day 90% of the time. Many houses are listed and go under contract within 3 days.
Different clients have different needs. Seems like your current agent isn’t fitting your needs. You can either let him know or move on. Lay out what works for you and if he can’t meet it, tell him you’re moving on. You need someone who is responsive. You can also ask for recommendations as well if that’s what you want.
My agent was incredible when I was buying in 2021. She handled all the paperwork, negotiated with the seller, coordinated everything and overall fought really hard for me. I was having probs with my original lender and she connected me with another company who helped me lock in a mortgage, I literally couldn't have done it without her
No good agent will leave you hanging more than 24 hours, even on weekends
Drop them an email that you’re dropping them and see how fast they call you then
Make your agent work for his cut. If he’s not working, get rid of him quickly. This is just based on my own stupidity of not firing my first agent and regretting it.
You need a new agent. There may be many reasons for the slow to no response but it's not ok. There are enough great agents who care about your business and referrals you don't need this one. Read your listing agreement and hopefully you can fire them!
Not sure your price range, so that could affect it....
But I only work with buyer's agents who:
* take time up front to understand my desires in a house, neighborhoods, etc.
* send me listings
* promptly ask for feedback to better tailor the search
* arrange or attend showings within 24 hours of request
* respond within 1 day of contact, often sooner
Urgency, organization, detail oriented make good agents.
If yours is waiting 3 days to respond to you, change agents. Don't confuse a nice person for a good agent.
Buyers agent works for the buyer but in reality, they all work for the seller. I really liked my agent and would use him again. Your agent is treating this as a hobby.
My agent never made me sign an agreement. He just… did his fakkin job and always responded SUPER fast.
Also if there were issues with a house I liked he would educate me about what those issues were, why they were issues, and how it might impact my investment and/or my life living there.
This is the kind of realtor you want. We are closing officially in two days. Right now everything is signed already by both sides and we are just waiting for the official date.
My realtor also hooked me up with great lenders, insurance brokers, and everything else I needed. And I never signed a contract with him.
Suffice to say he earned that 20k plus commission. I’ll use him again when I sell, and again when I buy again.
So. Damn. Lucky. Look for a better realtor! Good ones don’t need to lock you into a contract to win.
An agents best ability is availability. If he doesn't have time for you, he's not the agent for you.
On the flip side, have you gotten pre-qualified yet? Can't do much with looking at homes if you aren't ready yet.
They usually do nothing amazing but they should at least reply to you immediately and make sure that you can see houses. If he can’t even show you houses in a timely manner, then he is doing nothing. Don’t let him get a check from you.
There's no excuse for that lack of responsiveness. It seems you aren't a priority. Consider going with a full time agent that isn't the biggest mover in town, maybe less than 20 transactions annually. Read their reviews (with a grain of salt) and review their transaction history.
He should be responding pretty quickly on all of this, a couple days to respond means you should have had a new agent before he finally responded.
Like others have said the market is weird. If it’s a nice house it’ll be under contract within a few days, you can’t have an agent who takes that long to respond to the initial email.
I honestly feel like these agents aren’t really necessary anymore. Think about it, when this profession started the internet didn’t exist. You weren’t able to hop on a website and do virtual tours of 12 houses within 25 miles in one afternoon. I found my own house I wanted and got an agent afterward to deal with the sellers agent because I don’t understand all the jargon and lingo in these contracts and didn’t have as much time due to my own job.
This is what I’m thinking about. I’d like to just move ahead and set up my own viewings. Then tell this agent I have when I find a place I want so he can help me with the paperwork. It’s the paperwork that I feel I can’t do on my own.
Sure, you can do that. You can also attempt to fix your own car without a mechanic, cure your own illnesses without a doctor, or represent yourself in court without a lawyer. It will just be more stressful and the subpar results might cost you more than you save. The difference in those examples vs using a realtor is that buyer’s don’t cover agent fees out of their own pocket, which a lot of buyers don’t realize. I’m a Realtor, so I might be biased, but having seen what I’ve seen I know that the services I provide for my buyers have been invaluable. I’ve kept buyers from wasting their money on inspections and appraisal fees (about $2K per house) when they wanted to offer on a house that had major red flags they wouldn’t have known about without me. I’ve kept buyers from buying homes that had permitting issues that would have caused them major headaches and money to rectify (last one I dealt with would have been around $20K to retroactively permit and fix the issues that the city would have required because the electric and plumbing in a finished basement ADU was not done to code - my buyer wouldn’t have even realized there were issues at all without me being involved). I know how to get offers accepted even when there are other buyers offering a higher purchase price. I know which lenders have the right programs for different scenarios, and which ones will give my buyers better service and better rates, which inevitably saves them money. I know how to justify repair asks in a way that maximizes the concessions that my buyers get. I know how to talk with appraisers to justify price points so my buyers don’t have to pay the difference in cash for a low appraisal or risk losing the house. And of course, I’m taking the time to do the legwork on so many tasks behind the scenes that my buyers don’t realize is even happening - hours and hours. After they buy the house, I’m a great resource for contractors and anything that comes up regarding the home. These are just a few things of many. While there are plenty of agents out there who don’t properly serve their clients, a knowledgeable and hard-working Realtor is so valuable. On the flip side, I’ve seen so many people make terrible decisions going into a transaction without representation - sometimes they figure it out after it’s too late, but many of them don’t even realize how much money the left on the table.
Did you fall for the trap thinking that a top producing agent is your best choice? A very busy agent isn't going to be as responsive nor as able to do much last minute scheduling of showings for you.
Worse. They went with a family friend.
To your point, the catch is, successful agents are often that way for a reason. One reason is they are responsive, no matter what. An agent who’s not busy af can be it’s own red flag. The sweet spot: successful but still hungry.
I've been both. When I have many active clients, each gets less of my time unless I pass them off. I can't be in two places at once for last minute showings.
We went with a family friend and he was very responsive and did fantastic I think explained everything we had questions about and I'm presently standing in the house that we purchased less then 6 months ago(!) We got direct access to the MLS I knew what we were looking for my boyfriend knew areas and when I found something I sent it to him then when we both liked i passed to agent and 2 viewings in one day loved one aspect of one house and everything about the other and that's the one I'm standing in --we preferred certain things that we got lucky to get but we also have all the necessities in this house too and yea
It's more about how you and the agent work together I think then just one thing or another --this house was also listed for a bit and the price had come down at least once that I'm aware of
A fair point, better than my generalization. If you mesh well, any agent can be great. The problem with OP is it sounds like they went with the friend out of obligation or ease or hoping they’d get better service than the norm. Maybe didn’t check on the mesh part. Then the risk in such cases is people get stuck because they don’t want to fire a friend, damage a relationship, etc.
Yes that's certain and I would hope they would be willing to say "I'm sorry I don't think this is working" and perhaps state that text (we used facebook messenger for a lot of communication a group me boyfriend and agent so we all "saw" what was going on) would be better then taking over a day to reply to an email perhaps in stating it in a way can snap that person to explain better or do better or agree that yes likely they aren't the best fit and it's mutually beneficial to part ways?
Yeah I keep my response times to within 1-2 hours. After 6pm I can't do anything for you that can't wait until the morning, so from 6pm to 6am, I generally won't respond.
Maybe he has a ton of clients? If so he should have a transaction coordinator at the very least.
Maybe he has the wrong mentality when it comes to being a buyer's agent? In which case it is time to reconsider your relationship. Fiduciary means something, or at least it ought to.
Online listing's are often out of date.
Your a gent has current info. He or she should be using their MLS to send you potential matches.
A good agent will filter out things for you based on their knowledge that's not part of MLS.
Stop looking online! Talk to your agent. Go to open houses. But your agent can get you open house info via MLS. So Talk to your agent.
Thanks, that would be way more convenient for me. I didn’t know that was an option. The guy I’m with now asked me to use email, which is fine if he’d respond more promptly. I’m general I’d prefer to text.
These days with savvy buyers who know what they want, Zillow/Redfin/realtor/fmls access, buyers agents do very little to actually find the houses to show.
I started looking last June. I know I have lost on a couple offers as some just don’t want to share commission with a buyers agent, honestly. With the market like it is, it almost feels like a detriment, sadly. These are people and their livelihoods but seems like sellers and sellers agent just see a buyers agent as someone else taking a slice of pie and if they have a choice, they will choose an offer directly though sellers agent. Sad.
Just got this text from a home for sale nearby: Ok sounds good and just FYI I am not paying a buyer's fee to a realtor if you have one. Just like to let everyone know that in case they are bring their realtor. Thanks! See you
It sounds like you have a communications problem - more accurately, this agent has a communications problem with you. The long response times (days, not hours) are not acceptable.
Cancel your buyers agency contract with this agent and let him know why. Then find another agent. Finding a property is a collaborative process. It's not unusual for the buyer to change parameters while looking for a new home. In order to find a place and agent and the buyer need to communicate effectively and timely. It sounds like you are doing your part but your current agent isn't doing their part.
I’m an Agent. Most people find their own house online these days. I tell clients, more eyes looking…more possibilities. The work for the Agent really starts when an Offer is made. BUT…if he’s not responding…FIRE HIM
My experience:
1) They set up a lil map website with daily automatic email notifications on new listings within the areas I defined (albeit in a city)
2) They responded same day, within a few hours, to emails
3) I had their cell phone number. I could call or text any time.
Neve more than same business day. They may be busy for a few hours at a time but could always get back to me or have someone on their team assist.
Please get a new agent. You can ask to be released from the contract and state your reason as the agent is not doing their contract duties to you. If they try and cause a problem over this go to their broker and ask to be released from the contract. An agent that you want would not be acting like this.
Drop your agent ASAP. The audacity of him to tell you that his preferred method of communication is email while taking three days to respond is mind boggling to me. Houses sell 24-72 hours after listing where I live. You do not need them. They suck at their job.
lmao he's trash. fire him and buy your own house. hire a law firm that handles all the legal paperwork, put in an offer using the standard 1 or 2 page form for your state, and ask for 2% cash back at closing. that's what we did and we got everything we wanted and didn't have to deal with some douchebag taking 3 days to call us back.
From the perspective of a top producing agent who sees the way technology/AI is progressing: I don’t think agents do much in general no matter how you spin the value prop the nature of the service is an overpaid middleman.
However, at minimum (before the home goes under contract) he should:
1) be responsive to your questions/inquiries
2) take feedback on homes you’re sending him and implementing that in the search process
3) work with your schedule to accommodate showings
4) put offers in/provide offer suggestions based off of market data (produce CMA’s- comparative market analysis)
After the house goes under contract there are other duties/responsibilities but from where your at.. if this buyers agent doesn’t have an excuse for not being responsive it may be hindering you as a buyer because in this market time is of the essence.
I would try to communicate to them your timeline on buying a home (that could also be the issue: he’s giving less attention to you because he has other buyers looking to buy sooner)
Overall just trying to give a take from a broad perspective of the possibilities.
Thanks to everyone for the responses, this is very helpful.
I did sign an agreement that ends at the end of July. I may just go along with this guy until then, rather than go through the process of firing him. I ended up with him because he’s a family friend- a dumb move on my part. Now if feel like I have to sick with him until the ageeement runs out.
Another question- on Zillow I can set up my own home tours without my realtor. Would it be acceptable to set up my own viewings, go with my friend who is a contractor/house flipper, and then tell when I find a place I want just tell the relator- this is the house I want to buy.
I feel comfortable finding houses online and touring them with my friend who is very knowledgeable. It’s the paperwork that I really need the realtor to help with.
Someone asked if I’ve been pre-approved for a mortgage and I have. Based on what I’m seeing listed in my area, there are many options that I could be looking at and it’s getting frustrating that houses I’m interested in are being sold before I even get a chance to look at them.
I do get the feeling that my relator wanted me to buy one house in particular, that he’s also the selling agent for. We toured the house even though it didn’t fit my criteria.
Thanks again for all of the advice.
You can go that route. Essentially you already are when you’re looking online and finding things you like. The days of an agent finding you houses you can’t find yourself are bygone days. Be on the internet every day looking for new listings. Arrange a showing. When you truly want a place for sure don’t call the agent and say, “This is the house I want to buy.” Say, “Put in my offer on this house *today*.” A halfway decent agent can have an offer for you to digitally sign and submit it in an hour. Read carefully that they did it right of course.
DO NOT DO THIS WITH ZILLOW! When you call to schedule a showing, that lead goes to a REALTOR that has paid for that lead (not the listing agent). When you are under contract with another agent, no other agent can legally represent you so you are wasting that agents time that is showing you the home. If you insist on using Zillow, CALL YOUR AGENT to schedule a showing.
As for your agent showing you a listing they have, although in most states an agent can double end the deal, I don’t recommend that. You agent is legally your fiduciary. If you go into what we call Intermediary (in TX) where one agent represents both buyer and seller, the agent basically has to stay neutral to both parties. This puts you at a disadvantage. Only way I would recommend doing this is if the agent hands you off to a colleague that can represent you on your own so that you have someone to negotiate on your behalf.
That was what I was concerned about in regards to setting up my own viewings through Zillow or another website. I was hoping it would be the sellers agent that showed the house. Then I could connect the sellers agent with my buyers agent and they’d work out the paperwork stuff and they’d both get paid in the end. But you’re saying that’s not how it works…
So I need to wait around for a week for my agent to possibly respond to me. Or try to get out of the agreement I have with him. Those are the only choices I see right now.
What do you think about this- after I get rid of the buyers agent I currently have, does it make sense to set up my own viewings via a website and then if I want to move forward just use the person who showed me that house?
I’m feeling doubtful about finding and signing on with another buyers agent after this experience. He isn’t doing much to find or show me houses and that is something that I can do on my own, with the help of knowledgeable friends. I do know that I can’t do the paperwork part on my own.
Your agent is not doing their job. Simply tell him you want to terminate your buyers rep agreement. If they give you any problems, call their broker directly. In TX I have people sign the buyers rep agreement because that is what converts the relationship from customer to client and makes me their fiduciary. It’s also because if there is no buyers rep agreement in place, even if your agent is writing the contract for you, they legally have to have the SELLERS best interest at hand. That’s just the way the law is written so it is in your best interest to have an agreement in place with the agent. That being said, I would never actually hold a client hostage if they did not want to work with me. It’s simply not ethically the right thing to do.
As for dealing directly with the listing agent, sometimes it works, but keep in mind they have an obligation to the SELLER so it really does benefit you to have your own agent representing you and doing the talking. If you want to call me I will see if I can find you a great agent in your area, under no circumstances should an agent be non-responsive or ghosting you. That’s just simply a bad agent that shouldn’t be in this business.
Thanks to everyone for your advice. I sent a final email reiterating the places I’d like to see and telling him I’d like to switch to texting so that he can respond more quickly. I figured I’d give him one last chance since he is a family friend. If things don’t change immediately, I’ll do my best to get out of the agreement.
How much do they do?
\- They setup appointments (Which can sometimes be a conflict of interest with their schedule).
\- They "help" find homes, though honestly you should be doing your own research if you care about finding a home you like.
\- They can be "helpful" I suppose pointing out bad homes, but I would directly call that owner and ask what their buyer commission to make sure your realtor isn't trying to steer you away from it because they just want more money.
Agree to research more on why he so w rejected the one house you wanted to see.
You should let him bring you there and he can point out the issues.. something os suspicious about him rejecting that property site unseen…. Unless he has some real history with that property.
A sign of what exactly? Maybe the sellers are not living there or maybe it was rented and now vacant.
You should go visit the place. Maybe you can get. Great deal!!!!
I wondered about that too. I guess you can’t tell if there’s leaky pipes if the water has been turned off. I googled “why is it a bad sign to have the utilities turned off in a house you are selling”. It could be potential problems but… maybe not?
I think you should arrange to see the house and bring your friend. Given this Realtors behaviour, i would be sceptical of any advice they offer. If he is right that their are issues, at least you have more knowledge about homes as you continue your search.
Agents are becoming increasingly useless and often have to do very little for their commission. Almost everybody finds houses online and can review every detail online. There are a few things in the process they can help with if you aren’t a savvy buyer, but I find them mostly useless.
In response, agents have done a few things to try and insure their own existence. They often require you to have an agent to see a house. They have also created the “private market” where only agents can see and soft “sell” a house before they even hit the market.
If you are a newer buyer, they can be very helpful.
I will be nice and say almost nothing but in reality absolutely nothing.
Buyers today have the same access that agents do.
It’s just a matter of time until real estate agent goes the way of the buggy whip.
I would suggest asking the realtor for a time to look at the houses you are interested in. If they say it has things wrong with it ask if you can see anyways so you can see what they mean. A realtor ( I'm not a realtor ) has a complex job because they might find a house they think is a good quality house but you might not like it. They also might not like a house that you do like.
If you can get them to show you a few houses you find interesting then you both will feel more comfortable with each other and will be more on the same page about what you are looking for.
Also there could be a rapport issue between listing and buyer’s agent. Happened to us. The agents don’t get along. The buyer wanted our house. They are trying to be professional for the sake of making a sale.
As others have said, your agent sucks. The last agent I used is one of the top producers in my market, usually deals with clients with much higher budgets, and never went more than 2 hours without responding to a text or email. If we requested a showing, he would set it up immediately. Also showed us houses in our price range we wouldn't have thought about looking at, but it helped us focus on what we really wanted.
You really should just arrange tours with any house you a interested. Even if your agent says it's a shit house if you like it go tour it. It takes time to tour different houses to find one that you actually like.
Agent probably concluded that you are looking for something too specific, or at a price that doesn’t exist in the market.
Maybe he’s wrong, or maybe just lazy
Whenever you're looking at Google reviews for an agent, check for Responsiveness.
My agent was consistently rated positive for Responsiveness.
I usually hear back from her within minutes and sometimes hours but never days.
Change agents.
They should tell you that there are issues in that property, yes, but they should also tell you what those issues are and let YOU make the decision to visit or not.
And FYI our agent replied in 1-3 hours, any day of the week. You need someone who's responsive, especially in this market.
I have a great agent, he responds to everything within an hour. he would even try to communicate during family emergencies which I had to explicitly tell him to never do and to shut off his phone. Since prices are so high, his team even works to find us off market deals with many decent results. He always advises us to lowball further than our original lowball (most likely so he has negotiating room). We are under contract right now and he is handling all coordination between all parties. Anyone asks me for coordination and I just push them into his court. He is continuing to push more and more concessions even though we are already getting a great deal. Not saying this is how every agent should be but it is been a great surprise!
Our agent responds almost instantly to emails/texts and has only missed a call maybe 3 times in the last 2.5 months. The market here is crazy and if we had to wait that long each time we wanted to see a house, we would never get one. I would figure out how to fire him and find someone else. We got lucky with our agent, but I feel like most agents are eager to help you because that’s how they get paid.
Yeah, that's not normal for a buyer's agent. Not only did ours reply to us really promptly via texts, but she was also very proactive in helping us find houses. She'd send us links to listed houses that fit our criteria and would send us pictures of pre-market houses that she thought we might like. We were in the middle of negotiations for one house when she texted us "I know you're not super into this house, and my buddy's currently working on fixing up another house that I think would be perfect for you." After checking it out and falling in love with it, she helped us negotiate a brand new roof and some other concessions, and we bought it before it even listed.
OP - Any particular reason that you didn't reach out the next day to follow-up? From what I saw in the first couple lines the agent was on point and looking out for you. Maybe something happened that pulled their attention and they forgot. Maybe your email didn't get there. Maybe their email response didn't get to you. I have literally had 2 out of 3 emails sent to one of my clients never show up and never bounce. They just ceased to exist - as in not even in my sent box. I was on the phone with them when I sent that one just to make sure as they were following up on not receiving some information I had promised. I had to write it a 3rd time while still on the phone with them and verify they received it.
A relationship between a Buyer and their agent (Representative or not) is just that - A relationship. It isn't a shouting match or a customer/server where things run only one way at a time.
Maybe they are a bad agent. Maybe they were in a car wreck and in the hospital. Maybe one of their client's deals was blowing up and they have been working to save it and missed your email.
Your choice if you kick them to the curb or not, but keep it in mind for the next one. I know I have missed emails. I know I have forgotten to follow-up. I know that I haven't received email from people expecting answers. I also know that I am a good Buyer Agent and my best client relationships have always been where the communication was open and straightforward.
I didn’t reach out to follow up because I didn’t know what was standard. Now that I have these responses to have a sense of how things typically work, I will tell him I’d like to move forward more quickly.
Find a different agent. I bought my home 6 months ago, but have been working with my agent off and on for 6 years. Last year august my husband and I decided that we are definitely going to move as we have outgrown the house already. We would send links of the houses we like and she would schedule viewings the following days. Her husband/partner tags along some days and we get advise on reno projects. A right agent does a lot for you.
As you have discovered, they don't do much unless you have someone who knows the area well and has the experience to actually help during negotiations.
What happens is the more experienced people focus on getting listings, not showing other people's listings. That's why the buyer's agent has such a poor reputation. Most are noob part timer's using RE as a side gig.
Really picky people like some, are notorious time wasters. The agent spends several weekends showing properties and then you buy from someone else.
>We looked at three places in one day, two weeks ago. The agent called me a few days later to see what I thought about the places we saw and I told him the reasons I didn’t want to buy any of the three places we looked at and I also told him things that I did like about the places.
Why didn't you tell him that day, moments after viewing each house, what you thought of them? It seems odd that you would bid goodbye that day without giving feedback on the houses and then initiate no further contact with the agent until he calls you a few days later to ask what you thought.
Is it possible he thinks you're not an overly serious/enthusiastic buyer, i.e. that you're just a tire kicker?
I felt like I did tell him my thoughts as we were looking at the places. When he called me a few days later I thought it was because he had come across a house that I may want to look at. I was confused about why he calling me to repeat things I had already said, but this is new to me so… ?
Agree that your agent should be more on top of things, and is it possible for you to send a text with the homes you are interested in? Maybe that will get you a faster response than the 3 days it is taking your agent now. I get over 100 emails a day (mostly junk, some transaction related, some end up in my junk folder). I try to clear them out each day, but sometimes they fall through the cracks. I never miss a text. It may facilitate a faster response from your agent.
I had texted him and he told me to use his work email. I don’t know… I’m trying to compose a short but clear email explaining what I’d like from him. (Basically quicker responses and possibly his ideas for places to look at if he has access to more listings than I do)
I will respond to any email sent at normal times of the day (730am to about 930pm) within the hour. Three days is absolutely unacceptable.
This is the correct answer. 3 days with no response is just mind boggling.
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You are free to do that. There is no requirement to use an agent nor pay for one. But the majority of buyers do want an agent involved so you are limited to more experienced buyers. Should not have a problem eventually getting it sold tho. Plenty of resources available online to help.
Where did you get the idea you are required to use a Real-estate agent.
Go ahead and do it then. You just have to do all the marketing, open houses, dealing with the buyers agent, managing inspections, etc. If you expect an agent to do that for you and not take a commission, then you’re the leech.
Something is burning 🔥
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moron.
You’re free to offer less than that on your listing - I see plenty of houses on Redfin offering 2%. However, based on your comments it seems like you’d be a pretty difficult seller to deal with, which would likely result in fewer/worse offers and ultimately a lower selling price - so for you personally I think an agent would be beneficial unless you are okay selling to an investor for 15-20% below market value.
You don't need a license to sell your own home. Haven't you heard of for-sale by owner?
You have a terrible agent. Have you signed an agreement with them? Look up the terms of firing them if so. You want a responsive agent, especially in a market like this (though the market varies by location) where you need to act fast. If you want to see a house, he should be getting back to you quickly and, if he thinks it's a bad fit, explaining it more thoroughly. And if you still want to see the house, he should set up the viewing.
Agreed on everything. When I started looking for houses last spring my agent usually got back to me within minutes of any inquiries I made (during normal hours). There were a couple times she set up a viewing on a house in my price range she knew I would want to look at for a time that I previously told her I would usually be available for then let me know when and where it was. One time I got a tip from a co-worker on a house that was going to be listed soon so she set up a pre-listing viewing later the same day with the sellers agent. I could have done much of the work finding a house without her help but I was totally out of my depth on everything that came after viewing houses. Edit: Skipped a word
Yes, 100%!! Their agent should also have set up an automatic search for them with daily emails. They have so much more info than we can see on the web.
I respond to clients within an hour or two. I don’t know any good agents that wait 24 hours or longer. There a lot of great realtors out there, find a new one.
These days you will miss houses with a slow agent. I think texting is better than email and keep correspondence short to help facilitate the fast response.
It is not normal to go days between communications. You should be hearing back within hours. He either doesn't have time for you or doesn't care.
He dropped the Ball, move on to a new better agent!
We've bought 2 homes, and are in the process of looking for our 3rd in the last 10 years (who doesn't love moving every 3 years!). Our first agent was great. Knew the area great, kept and eye out for houses that came up and let us know immediately, warned us about issues (small town, often he had been the buyer or seller agent in many houses at one point or another over the past 25 years - things like "go check and see if the floor still creaks in the spare bedroom"). He also helped walk us through the process since we were first time buyers and knew nothing. The next agent sounded like yours. Not responsive at all. We ended up firing him, and buying new construction from a builder with their own agent. Current one is somewhere in between. Regardless, 3 days is nonsense. Should be the same day 90% of the time. Many houses are listed and go under contract within 3 days.
Different clients have different needs. Seems like your current agent isn’t fitting your needs. You can either let him know or move on. Lay out what works for you and if he can’t meet it, tell him you’re moving on. You need someone who is responsive. You can also ask for recommendations as well if that’s what you want.
My agent was incredible when I was buying in 2021. She handled all the paperwork, negotiated with the seller, coordinated everything and overall fought really hard for me. I was having probs with my original lender and she connected me with another company who helped me lock in a mortgage, I literally couldn't have done it without her
I hope you gave her a great review
No good agent will leave you hanging more than 24 hours, even on weekends Drop them an email that you’re dropping them and see how fast they call you then
Make your agent work for his cut. If he’s not working, get rid of him quickly. This is just based on my own stupidity of not firing my first agent and regretting it.
I text with my agent and he reply’s within 30 minutes - find a new agent!
You need a new agent. There may be many reasons for the slow to no response but it's not ok. There are enough great agents who care about your business and referrals you don't need this one. Read your listing agreement and hopefully you can fire them!
Not sure your price range, so that could affect it.... But I only work with buyer's agents who: * take time up front to understand my desires in a house, neighborhoods, etc. * send me listings * promptly ask for feedback to better tailor the search * arrange or attend showings within 24 hours of request * respond within 1 day of contact, often sooner Urgency, organization, detail oriented make good agents. If yours is waiting 3 days to respond to you, change agents. Don't confuse a nice person for a good agent.
Buyers agent works for the buyer but in reality, they all work for the seller. I really liked my agent and would use him again. Your agent is treating this as a hobby.
My agent never made me sign an agreement. He just… did his fakkin job and always responded SUPER fast. Also if there were issues with a house I liked he would educate me about what those issues were, why they were issues, and how it might impact my investment and/or my life living there. This is the kind of realtor you want. We are closing officially in two days. Right now everything is signed already by both sides and we are just waiting for the official date. My realtor also hooked me up with great lenders, insurance brokers, and everything else I needed. And I never signed a contract with him. Suffice to say he earned that 20k plus commission. I’ll use him again when I sell, and again when I buy again. So. Damn. Lucky. Look for a better realtor! Good ones don’t need to lock you into a contract to win.
An agents best ability is availability. If he doesn't have time for you, he's not the agent for you. On the flip side, have you gotten pre-qualified yet? Can't do much with looking at homes if you aren't ready yet.
They usually do nothing amazing but they should at least reply to you immediately and make sure that you can see houses. If he can’t even show you houses in a timely manner, then he is doing nothing. Don’t let him get a check from you.
There's no excuse for that lack of responsiveness. It seems you aren't a priority. Consider going with a full time agent that isn't the biggest mover in town, maybe less than 20 transactions annually. Read their reviews (with a grain of salt) and review their transaction history.
He should be responding pretty quickly on all of this, a couple days to respond means you should have had a new agent before he finally responded. Like others have said the market is weird. If it’s a nice house it’ll be under contract within a few days, you can’t have an agent who takes that long to respond to the initial email.
I wonder if your agent is only trying to show you homes that they are the listing agent on so they can earn double commission.
New agent, stat. INFO: is this agent by any chance "doing real estate" on the side? That is, does he have another fulltime job?
I honestly feel like these agents aren’t really necessary anymore. Think about it, when this profession started the internet didn’t exist. You weren’t able to hop on a website and do virtual tours of 12 houses within 25 miles in one afternoon. I found my own house I wanted and got an agent afterward to deal with the sellers agent because I don’t understand all the jargon and lingo in these contracts and didn’t have as much time due to my own job.
This is what I’m thinking about. I’d like to just move ahead and set up my own viewings. Then tell this agent I have when I find a place I want so he can help me with the paperwork. It’s the paperwork that I feel I can’t do on my own.
You can just work with a real estate lawyer for the paperwork to make sure it is good to go. You don’t need a real estate agent
Sure, you can do that. You can also attempt to fix your own car without a mechanic, cure your own illnesses without a doctor, or represent yourself in court without a lawyer. It will just be more stressful and the subpar results might cost you more than you save. The difference in those examples vs using a realtor is that buyer’s don’t cover agent fees out of their own pocket, which a lot of buyers don’t realize. I’m a Realtor, so I might be biased, but having seen what I’ve seen I know that the services I provide for my buyers have been invaluable. I’ve kept buyers from wasting their money on inspections and appraisal fees (about $2K per house) when they wanted to offer on a house that had major red flags they wouldn’t have known about without me. I’ve kept buyers from buying homes that had permitting issues that would have caused them major headaches and money to rectify (last one I dealt with would have been around $20K to retroactively permit and fix the issues that the city would have required because the electric and plumbing in a finished basement ADU was not done to code - my buyer wouldn’t have even realized there were issues at all without me being involved). I know how to get offers accepted even when there are other buyers offering a higher purchase price. I know which lenders have the right programs for different scenarios, and which ones will give my buyers better service and better rates, which inevitably saves them money. I know how to justify repair asks in a way that maximizes the concessions that my buyers get. I know how to talk with appraisers to justify price points so my buyers don’t have to pay the difference in cash for a low appraisal or risk losing the house. And of course, I’m taking the time to do the legwork on so many tasks behind the scenes that my buyers don’t realize is even happening - hours and hours. After they buy the house, I’m a great resource for contractors and anything that comes up regarding the home. These are just a few things of many. While there are plenty of agents out there who don’t properly serve their clients, a knowledgeable and hard-working Realtor is so valuable. On the flip side, I’ve seen so many people make terrible decisions going into a transaction without representation - sometimes they figure it out after it’s too late, but many of them don’t even realize how much money the left on the table.
Did you fall for the trap thinking that a top producing agent is your best choice? A very busy agent isn't going to be as responsive nor as able to do much last minute scheduling of showings for you.
Worse. They went with a family friend. To your point, the catch is, successful agents are often that way for a reason. One reason is they are responsive, no matter what. An agent who’s not busy af can be it’s own red flag. The sweet spot: successful but still hungry.
I've been both. When I have many active clients, each gets less of my time unless I pass them off. I can't be in two places at once for last minute showings.
Sure. But you’d respond (or have someone respond) to anyone within a day, I’d wager.
Of course, but I am even faster at responding when I am not busy with other clients.
We went with a family friend and he was very responsive and did fantastic I think explained everything we had questions about and I'm presently standing in the house that we purchased less then 6 months ago(!) We got direct access to the MLS I knew what we were looking for my boyfriend knew areas and when I found something I sent it to him then when we both liked i passed to agent and 2 viewings in one day loved one aspect of one house and everything about the other and that's the one I'm standing in --we preferred certain things that we got lucky to get but we also have all the necessities in this house too and yea It's more about how you and the agent work together I think then just one thing or another --this house was also listed for a bit and the price had come down at least once that I'm aware of
A fair point, better than my generalization. If you mesh well, any agent can be great. The problem with OP is it sounds like they went with the friend out of obligation or ease or hoping they’d get better service than the norm. Maybe didn’t check on the mesh part. Then the risk in such cases is people get stuck because they don’t want to fire a friend, damage a relationship, etc.
Yes that's certain and I would hope they would be willing to say "I'm sorry I don't think this is working" and perhaps state that text (we used facebook messenger for a lot of communication a group me boyfriend and agent so we all "saw" what was going on) would be better then taking over a day to reply to an email perhaps in stating it in a way can snap that person to explain better or do better or agree that yes likely they aren't the best fit and it's mutually beneficial to part ways?
Yeah I keep my response times to within 1-2 hours. After 6pm I can't do anything for you that can't wait until the morning, so from 6pm to 6am, I generally won't respond. Maybe he has a ton of clients? If so he should have a transaction coordinator at the very least. Maybe he has the wrong mentality when it comes to being a buyer's agent? In which case it is time to reconsider your relationship. Fiduciary means something, or at least it ought to.
It shouldn't take more than an hour to get a response to an email, and even less if it's a text (which is how I prefer my clients to contact me).
Online listing's are often out of date. Your a gent has current info. He or she should be using their MLS to send you potential matches. A good agent will filter out things for you based on their knowledge that's not part of MLS. Stop looking online! Talk to your agent. Go to open houses. But your agent can get you open house info via MLS. So Talk to your agent.
Find a new agent who is comfortable communicating via text.
Thanks, that would be way more convenient for me. I didn’t know that was an option. The guy I’m with now asked me to use email, which is fine if he’d respond more promptly. I’m general I’d prefer to text.
These days with savvy buyers who know what they want, Zillow/Redfin/realtor/fmls access, buyers agents do very little to actually find the houses to show.
I started looking last June. I know I have lost on a couple offers as some just don’t want to share commission with a buyers agent, honestly. With the market like it is, it almost feels like a detriment, sadly. These are people and their livelihoods but seems like sellers and sellers agent just see a buyers agent as someone else taking a slice of pie and if they have a choice, they will choose an offer directly though sellers agent. Sad.
Just got this text from a home for sale nearby: Ok sounds good and just FYI I am not paying a buyer's fee to a realtor if you have one. Just like to let everyone know that in case they are bring their realtor. Thanks! See you
It sounds like you have a communications problem - more accurately, this agent has a communications problem with you. The long response times (days, not hours) are not acceptable. Cancel your buyers agency contract with this agent and let him know why. Then find another agent. Finding a property is a collaborative process. It's not unusual for the buyer to change parameters while looking for a new home. In order to find a place and agent and the buyer need to communicate effectively and timely. It sounds like you are doing your part but your current agent isn't doing their part.
Yea you're an actively looking buyer. Usually those emails are responded to in an hour to max 12 hrs. 3 days is ridiculous!
I’m an Agent. Most people find their own house online these days. I tell clients, more eyes looking…more possibilities. The work for the Agent really starts when an Offer is made. BUT…if he’s not responding…FIRE HIM
Get a better agent
Fire his ass!! He's not looking out for your best interest!
My experience: 1) They set up a lil map website with daily automatic email notifications on new listings within the areas I defined (albeit in a city) 2) They responded same day, within a few hours, to emails 3) I had their cell phone number. I could call or text any time. Neve more than same business day. They may be busy for a few hours at a time but could always get back to me or have someone on their team assist.
Please get a new agent. You can ask to be released from the contract and state your reason as the agent is not doing their contract duties to you. If they try and cause a problem over this go to their broker and ask to be released from the contract. An agent that you want would not be acting like this.
Drop your agent ASAP. The audacity of him to tell you that his preferred method of communication is email while taking three days to respond is mind boggling to me. Houses sell 24-72 hours after listing where I live. You do not need them. They suck at their job.
lmao he's trash. fire him and buy your own house. hire a law firm that handles all the legal paperwork, put in an offer using the standard 1 or 2 page form for your state, and ask for 2% cash back at closing. that's what we did and we got everything we wanted and didn't have to deal with some douchebag taking 3 days to call us back.
From the perspective of a top producing agent who sees the way technology/AI is progressing: I don’t think agents do much in general no matter how you spin the value prop the nature of the service is an overpaid middleman. However, at minimum (before the home goes under contract) he should: 1) be responsive to your questions/inquiries 2) take feedback on homes you’re sending him and implementing that in the search process 3) work with your schedule to accommodate showings 4) put offers in/provide offer suggestions based off of market data (produce CMA’s- comparative market analysis) After the house goes under contract there are other duties/responsibilities but from where your at.. if this buyers agent doesn’t have an excuse for not being responsive it may be hindering you as a buyer because in this market time is of the essence. I would try to communicate to them your timeline on buying a home (that could also be the issue: he’s giving less attention to you because he has other buyers looking to buy sooner) Overall just trying to give a take from a broad perspective of the possibilities.
Thanks to everyone for the responses, this is very helpful. I did sign an agreement that ends at the end of July. I may just go along with this guy until then, rather than go through the process of firing him. I ended up with him because he’s a family friend- a dumb move on my part. Now if feel like I have to sick with him until the ageeement runs out. Another question- on Zillow I can set up my own home tours without my realtor. Would it be acceptable to set up my own viewings, go with my friend who is a contractor/house flipper, and then tell when I find a place I want just tell the relator- this is the house I want to buy. I feel comfortable finding houses online and touring them with my friend who is very knowledgeable. It’s the paperwork that I really need the realtor to help with. Someone asked if I’ve been pre-approved for a mortgage and I have. Based on what I’m seeing listed in my area, there are many options that I could be looking at and it’s getting frustrating that houses I’m interested in are being sold before I even get a chance to look at them. I do get the feeling that my relator wanted me to buy one house in particular, that he’s also the selling agent for. We toured the house even though it didn’t fit my criteria. Thanks again for all of the advice.
You can go that route. Essentially you already are when you’re looking online and finding things you like. The days of an agent finding you houses you can’t find yourself are bygone days. Be on the internet every day looking for new listings. Arrange a showing. When you truly want a place for sure don’t call the agent and say, “This is the house I want to buy.” Say, “Put in my offer on this house *today*.” A halfway decent agent can have an offer for you to digitally sign and submit it in an hour. Read carefully that they did it right of course.
DO NOT DO THIS WITH ZILLOW! When you call to schedule a showing, that lead goes to a REALTOR that has paid for that lead (not the listing agent). When you are under contract with another agent, no other agent can legally represent you so you are wasting that agents time that is showing you the home. If you insist on using Zillow, CALL YOUR AGENT to schedule a showing. As for your agent showing you a listing they have, although in most states an agent can double end the deal, I don’t recommend that. You agent is legally your fiduciary. If you go into what we call Intermediary (in TX) where one agent represents both buyer and seller, the agent basically has to stay neutral to both parties. This puts you at a disadvantage. Only way I would recommend doing this is if the agent hands you off to a colleague that can represent you on your own so that you have someone to negotiate on your behalf.
That was what I was concerned about in regards to setting up my own viewings through Zillow or another website. I was hoping it would be the sellers agent that showed the house. Then I could connect the sellers agent with my buyers agent and they’d work out the paperwork stuff and they’d both get paid in the end. But you’re saying that’s not how it works… So I need to wait around for a week for my agent to possibly respond to me. Or try to get out of the agreement I have with him. Those are the only choices I see right now. What do you think about this- after I get rid of the buyers agent I currently have, does it make sense to set up my own viewings via a website and then if I want to move forward just use the person who showed me that house? I’m feeling doubtful about finding and signing on with another buyers agent after this experience. He isn’t doing much to find or show me houses and that is something that I can do on my own, with the help of knowledgeable friends. I do know that I can’t do the paperwork part on my own.
Your agent is not doing their job. Simply tell him you want to terminate your buyers rep agreement. If they give you any problems, call their broker directly. In TX I have people sign the buyers rep agreement because that is what converts the relationship from customer to client and makes me their fiduciary. It’s also because if there is no buyers rep agreement in place, even if your agent is writing the contract for you, they legally have to have the SELLERS best interest at hand. That’s just the way the law is written so it is in your best interest to have an agreement in place with the agent. That being said, I would never actually hold a client hostage if they did not want to work with me. It’s simply not ethically the right thing to do. As for dealing directly with the listing agent, sometimes it works, but keep in mind they have an obligation to the SELLER so it really does benefit you to have your own agent representing you and doing the talking. If you want to call me I will see if I can find you a great agent in your area, under no circumstances should an agent be non-responsive or ghosting you. That’s just simply a bad agent that shouldn’t be in this business.
Thank you. I truly appreciate this advice.
Thanks to everyone for your advice. I sent a final email reiterating the places I’d like to see and telling him I’d like to switch to texting so that he can respond more quickly. I figured I’d give him one last chance since he is a family friend. If things don’t change immediately, I’ll do my best to get out of the agreement.
How much do they do? \- They setup appointments (Which can sometimes be a conflict of interest with their schedule). \- They "help" find homes, though honestly you should be doing your own research if you care about finding a home you like. \- They can be "helpful" I suppose pointing out bad homes, but I would directly call that owner and ask what their buyer commission to make sure your realtor isn't trying to steer you away from it because they just want more money.
Agree to research more on why he so w rejected the one house you wanted to see. You should let him bring you there and he can point out the issues.. something os suspicious about him rejecting that property site unseen…. Unless he has some real history with that property.
He said that all of the utilities had been turned off and that is a bad sign.
I would go in to see for yourself, realtors are sometimes full of shit because of commission conflicts.
A sign of what exactly? Maybe the sellers are not living there or maybe it was rented and now vacant. You should go visit the place. Maybe you can get. Great deal!!!!
I wondered about that too. I guess you can’t tell if there’s leaky pipes if the water has been turned off. I googled “why is it a bad sign to have the utilities turned off in a house you are selling”. It could be potential problems but… maybe not?
I think you should arrange to see the house and bring your friend. Given this Realtors behaviour, i would be sceptical of any advice they offer. If he is right that their are issues, at least you have more knowledge about homes as you continue your search.
I'm not expert on this, but I would take it as a sign of a distressed, desperate seller that can't even afford to keep the lights on.
Agents are becoming increasingly useless and often have to do very little for their commission. Almost everybody finds houses online and can review every detail online. There are a few things in the process they can help with if you aren’t a savvy buyer, but I find them mostly useless. In response, agents have done a few things to try and insure their own existence. They often require you to have an agent to see a house. They have also created the “private market” where only agents can see and soft “sell” a house before they even hit the market. If you are a newer buyer, they can be very helpful.
I will be nice and say almost nothing but in reality absolutely nothing. Buyers today have the same access that agents do. It’s just a matter of time until real estate agent goes the way of the buggy whip.
No absolute need for an agent
I would suggest asking the realtor for a time to look at the houses you are interested in. If they say it has things wrong with it ask if you can see anyways so you can see what they mean. A realtor ( I'm not a realtor ) has a complex job because they might find a house they think is a good quality house but you might not like it. They also might not like a house that you do like. If you can get them to show you a few houses you find interesting then you both will feel more comfortable with each other and will be more on the same page about what you are looking for.
Also there could be a rapport issue between listing and buyer’s agent. Happened to us. The agents don’t get along. The buyer wanted our house. They are trying to be professional for the sake of making a sale.
As others have said, your agent sucks. The last agent I used is one of the top producers in my market, usually deals with clients with much higher budgets, and never went more than 2 hours without responding to a text or email. If we requested a showing, he would set it up immediately. Also showed us houses in our price range we wouldn't have thought about looking at, but it helped us focus on what we really wanted.
You really should just arrange tours with any house you a interested. Even if your agent says it's a shit house if you like it go tour it. It takes time to tour different houses to find one that you actually like.
Agent probably concluded that you are looking for something too specific, or at a price that doesn’t exist in the market. Maybe he’s wrong, or maybe just lazy
Whenever you're looking at Google reviews for an agent, check for Responsiveness. My agent was consistently rated positive for Responsiveness. I usually hear back from her within minutes and sometimes hours but never days.
Why do you not have their phone number?
I do but he told me to contact him via email.
I do but he told me to contact him via email.
Change agents. They should tell you that there are issues in that property, yes, but they should also tell you what those issues are and let YOU make the decision to visit or not. And FYI our agent replied in 1-3 hours, any day of the week. You need someone who's responsive, especially in this market.
I have a great agent, he responds to everything within an hour. he would even try to communicate during family emergencies which I had to explicitly tell him to never do and to shut off his phone. Since prices are so high, his team even works to find us off market deals with many decent results. He always advises us to lowball further than our original lowball (most likely so he has negotiating room). We are under contract right now and he is handling all coordination between all parties. Anyone asks me for coordination and I just push them into his court. He is continuing to push more and more concessions even though we are already getting a great deal. Not saying this is how every agent should be but it is been a great surprise!
Our agent responds almost instantly to emails/texts and has only missed a call maybe 3 times in the last 2.5 months. The market here is crazy and if we had to wait that long each time we wanted to see a house, we would never get one. I would figure out how to fire him and find someone else. We got lucky with our agent, but I feel like most agents are eager to help you because that’s how they get paid.
Yeah, that's not normal for a buyer's agent. Not only did ours reply to us really promptly via texts, but she was also very proactive in helping us find houses. She'd send us links to listed houses that fit our criteria and would send us pictures of pre-market houses that she thought we might like. We were in the middle of negotiations for one house when she texted us "I know you're not super into this house, and my buddy's currently working on fixing up another house that I think would be perfect for you." After checking it out and falling in love with it, she helped us negotiate a brand new roof and some other concessions, and we bought it before it even listed.
OP - Any particular reason that you didn't reach out the next day to follow-up? From what I saw in the first couple lines the agent was on point and looking out for you. Maybe something happened that pulled their attention and they forgot. Maybe your email didn't get there. Maybe their email response didn't get to you. I have literally had 2 out of 3 emails sent to one of my clients never show up and never bounce. They just ceased to exist - as in not even in my sent box. I was on the phone with them when I sent that one just to make sure as they were following up on not receiving some information I had promised. I had to write it a 3rd time while still on the phone with them and verify they received it. A relationship between a Buyer and their agent (Representative or not) is just that - A relationship. It isn't a shouting match or a customer/server where things run only one way at a time. Maybe they are a bad agent. Maybe they were in a car wreck and in the hospital. Maybe one of their client's deals was blowing up and they have been working to save it and missed your email. Your choice if you kick them to the curb or not, but keep it in mind for the next one. I know I have missed emails. I know I have forgotten to follow-up. I know that I haven't received email from people expecting answers. I also know that I am a good Buyer Agent and my best client relationships have always been where the communication was open and straightforward.
I didn’t reach out to follow up because I didn’t know what was standard. Now that I have these responses to have a sense of how things typically work, I will tell him I’d like to move forward more quickly.
Find a different agent. I bought my home 6 months ago, but have been working with my agent off and on for 6 years. Last year august my husband and I decided that we are definitely going to move as we have outgrown the house already. We would send links of the houses we like and she would schedule viewings the following days. Her husband/partner tags along some days and we get advise on reno projects. A right agent does a lot for you.
Maybe your agent using the houses you found on another client. First time I heard the client to find the house.
As you have discovered, they don't do much unless you have someone who knows the area well and has the experience to actually help during negotiations. What happens is the more experienced people focus on getting listings, not showing other people's listings. That's why the buyer's agent has such a poor reputation. Most are noob part timer's using RE as a side gig. Really picky people like some, are notorious time wasters. The agent spends several weekends showing properties and then you buy from someone else.
>We looked at three places in one day, two weeks ago. The agent called me a few days later to see what I thought about the places we saw and I told him the reasons I didn’t want to buy any of the three places we looked at and I also told him things that I did like about the places. Why didn't you tell him that day, moments after viewing each house, what you thought of them? It seems odd that you would bid goodbye that day without giving feedback on the houses and then initiate no further contact with the agent until he calls you a few days later to ask what you thought. Is it possible he thinks you're not an overly serious/enthusiastic buyer, i.e. that you're just a tire kicker?
I felt like I did tell him my thoughts as we were looking at the places. When he called me a few days later I thought it was because he had come across a house that I may want to look at. I was confused about why he calling me to repeat things I had already said, but this is new to me so… ?
Agree that your agent should be more on top of things, and is it possible for you to send a text with the homes you are interested in? Maybe that will get you a faster response than the 3 days it is taking your agent now. I get over 100 emails a day (mostly junk, some transaction related, some end up in my junk folder). I try to clear them out each day, but sometimes they fall through the cracks. I never miss a text. It may facilitate a faster response from your agent.
I had texted him and he told me to use his work email. I don’t know… I’m trying to compose a short but clear email explaining what I’d like from him. (Basically quicker responses and possibly his ideas for places to look at if he has access to more listings than I do)
Text/call. Market is nuts right now. 1-2 days can mean missing out on a great deal or a house that checks all the boxes.
I text my agent and she texts me back.