You hired a real estate agent and not a REALTOR®. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of great real estate agents out there that aren’t REALTORS®, but if you don’t have a REALTOR®, then you don’t have access to the MLS. Having access to the MLS is a huge must have when shopping for a home.
Your agent doesn’t return your phone calls or emails in a timely manor. How many times have you tried calling or emailing your agent for something and you don’t hear back from them for a day or two? Once? Twice? Have you lost count? Once is one time too many. Your agent should be returning your phone calls or emails as quickly as possible. I try to return all phone calls within an hour, and in most cases, it’s usually less than that.
They don’t have an email account or a cell phone. Folks, this is 2008 and if you’re working with an agent that doesn’t have an email account or a cell phone or if they do have a cell phone and everytime you call it, the voicemail box is full so you can’t leave a message, or the agent never checks their email, it’s time to call me. Not having an email account or a cell phone in today’s day and age is comparable to a REALTOR® not owning a car. How do they do business?
Your agent seems to work bankers hours M-F 9am-5pm. Ever called an agent at 6pm on a Friday night about something and they don’t answer their phone or call you back again until 9am on Monday morning? This isn’t the banking business, this is real estate. If they want to work M-F 9-5, then they need to go find another career. If your agent isn’t willing to work with you on evenings and weekends, then it’s time to find one that will work around your schedule. I understand that the majority of buyer’s work M-F 9-5 and the times they need to view homes are evenings and weekends. I work around your schedule. I will show you homes when it is convenient for you.
They aren’t a buyer’s agent. If they mainly work with sellers and have a whole lot of listings, then more than likely their focus will be on their listing inventory and not putting 100% effort into helping you find a home. A true buyer’s agent will only represent you and must be loyal to only you in a transaction.
They always seem to be too busy to show you any homes. Ever called to try and see some homes but were told they had several other appointments and didn’t have time to squeeze you in? In fact they were booked full of appointments for the next week solid. If so, they are too busy to work for you! Find someone else that has the time to show you homes and not make you feel like they need to rush you through a bunch of homes so they can make it to their next appointment on time.
They haven’t helped you get pre-approved. Have they recommended yet that you need to contact a Mortgage Broker to find out for certain how much you qualify for? No? Then dump them. Part of my job is to put you in touch with licensed Mortgage Brokers that are qualified to let you know how much of a home you can afford, what your payment and interest rate will be and how much money you will need to put down if any. This is one of the very first things that needs to be done when starting the home buying process.
They are pushy, rude or unprofessional. Is your agent pushing you to write an offer? Are they making you feel like you have to buy a home right now? Are they ever rude to you for any reason? Are they unprofessional? If you answered yes to any of those, then it’s time to call me. I am not a pushy agent. I will never make you fell like you must buy a home through me. I will never under any circumstances be rude to you and I will never be unprofessional.
They aren’t emailing you listings from the MLS. Why aren’t they? Chances are you’re missing out on new listings when they come on the market. You should be getting regular emails of every new listing that fits your criteria as soon as it comes on the market emailed to you. If you aren’t, find a new agent!
They are emailing you listings from the MLS, but the emails don’t contain the addresses. Ok, I never understood the purpose of this. Why take the time to set up a search for someone if you aren’t going to do it the right way? Why do they need to hide the addresses? Why do they feel the need to email you listings without the address? So now you have to take time to make a list of every single home you like and call the agent to get the address for it so you can drive by and check it out. What a waste of your time! I will email you anything available in the MLS and you will see the full address with it. I don’t try to hide things from anyone.
You are doing all the work. Are you the one doing all the searching and calling the agent with a list of homes you found that you want to go see? Why? That’s their job. That’s what you have hired them for. If you’re doing all the work, then it’s time to call me! Let me do the work for you.
They are constantly late for the appointments they have with you. Being late for appointments is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. It’s rude and it shows that they do not value your time. You respect my time, and I certainly respect your time. I will always be early for appointments, never late. I allow enough time in between my appointments that I don’t have to rush to get to the next one and don’t have to rush my buyer’s through a home so I can get to another appointment after yours. Being late on occasion does happen, but if it’s a regular occurrence, than it’s time to find someone that will be on time for your appointments.
You never hear from them. Is your agent MIA? Have you not heard from them since the very first day you talked to them? Do they not call or email every now and then to follow up with you? Chances are they are too busy to work with you and it’s time to find someone that will stay in touch with you.
They only show you the homes they have picked out for you and not the one’s you have picked out. Now this one, I can debate with several agents over. Many agents like to pick which listings to show you, instead of letting you see them all. What’s their excuse for this one? They want to filter out which homes they think will best suite you? Ok, why? Who’s buying the home? Them or you? I will never filter out which homes I think will best suite you. I will send them all to you and let you decide. After all, you’re the one buying the home and you’re the one spending the money, so why should I decide which homes to send you? Sometimes buyer’s will change their mind about what they want midway through the process and decide they like homes they first said they would never look at. It’s my job as your REALTOR® to show you everything that is available to you that you want to see and let you filter out the one’s you don’t like.
They won’t show you FSBO’s or New Construction. If your agent refuses to work with FSBO’s (For Sale By Owner) or New Construction, then plain and simple you need to find another agent! If you want to see a FSBO home or a New Construction listing or see what the New Constructions companies will offer you, I’m more than happy to take you!
They don’t offer to buy a Home Warranty for your new home. Every buyer that buys a home through me will get a FREE one year Home Warranty on the home they purchase.
They don’t explain the entire home buying process each step of the way to you. Part of my job as your REALTOR® is to explain every single step of the home buying process to you to ensure that you fully understand and you are comfortable. If your agent isn’t doing that, get rid of them!
They don’t explain the current market conditions to you. In the ever changing market conditions of real estate, you need a REALTOR® that will explain what the current market conditions are like, so you understand. If your agent isn’t doing this, call me!
Your agent doesn’t listen to you or about what you want. Have you explained what it is that you are looking for, but it seems to have gone in one ear and out the other because everything they email you is everything you aren’t looking for? Are they hearing you but not listening to you? If so, call me!
Your agent isn’t familiar with the area you are looking to purchase in. One of the worst things you can do is work with an agent that is totally clueless about the area. They have no clue where anything in that area is, much less to know how far those things are from a home you are interested in. They have no idea where any other subdivisions are at nearby in the area and the only reason they know where they are currently standing is because MapQuest or the GPS told them how to get there!
Your agent doesn’t go out of the way to help with things if needed. Are they not willing to go the extra mile for you when you need something you don’t have time to get? Like get a copy of a plat map from the county or pick up some documents from somewhere that need to be signed and returned in a timely manor? If not, find another agent!
Your agent is part time and not full time. Ok, I’m sure I’ll take some heat from this one from the part timers, but I don’t really care! You need an agent that works this business full time, not part time. Real estate is not a part time business. It’s not something you do from 12-3pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It’s an everyday, all day job! I’m a full time agent that works my business 7 days a week if needed and as many hours as it takes!
You have to pay for their services up front. Run and run fast!
You do not feel comfortable working with your current agent. Trust your gut and your instincts. Ever been in the presence of someone that you just don’t have a good gut feeling about. Something isn’t quit right, but you just can’t put your finger on it? Ever worked with someone that made you uncomfortable in any kind of way? If so, trust your gut and drop them. Find someone else that you are comfortable with and can trust. This is a big decision, and you need to be able to comfortably communicate with your agent any fears or concerns.
Your agent doesn’t normally sell homes in your price range. Does you agent normally sell million dollar homes and you are a first time home buyer looking for a $200,000 home? The agent that normally sells million dollar homes may not put as much time and effort into finding you a home because of the price range of home you’re looking in. Find an agent that sells homes in your price range.
Your agent doesn’t provide other services to you. Is your agent not willing to schedule the termite and home inspections for you, so it’s two less things you have to worry about doing? Does your agent expect you to take the contract and escrow check to the Title Company, instead of doing it for you? Do they not have a list of preferred vendors that they can recommend to you, such as: Termite Companies, Home Inspectors, Title Companies, etc..etc..etc..If not, find one that will provide you with the extra services and can recommend vendors to you.
Your agent has no clue what he/she is doing and can’t ever seem to answer any questions you have. Does your agent seem to be totally clueless and everytime you ask them a question, the answer is “I dunno”? If so, it’s time to locate a new agent!
Your agent won’t be attending the closing once you find a house and it closes. This is something you should ask up front. Ask them if they attend the closings with their buyer’s. If they say no, then find someone else. Many problems arise at the closing table and if your agent isn’t there to make sure everything is taken care of correctly and isn’t there to answer any last minute questions, then you are getting short changed. I attend every single one of my closings. I am there all the way through to the end in case any problems arise.
Your agent isn’t willing to do a CMA of the neighborhood of a home you are interested in, to make sure you aren’t offering more than you should. This is a big one, especially in today’s market with prices changing the way that they have. Ask your agent to run a market analysis on the neighborhood and provide you with the comps so you can compare with other homes in the neighborhood. If they say no and tell you that you don’t need that, find another agent.
They show you homes that are more than you can afford. Ever had an agent show you homes that were above the price range that you want to spend? Frustrating isn’t it? Why are they dragging you to homes you can’t afford? It is wasting your time. Some agents will do this in hopes to get you to spend a little bit more money or to max you out at the top of your budget. Be careful so you don’t over extend yourself!
They won’t write up an offer for you based on the price you want to offer. Did you find a home you wanted to make an offer on, but you wanted to lowball it to see how motivated the sellers were, and the agent told you that was a waste of their time and refused to write it up? If yes, then it’s time to call me.
They aren’t familiar with all of the correct disclosures, addendums and/or the purchase contracts. Be careful in making sure that your agent has been in the business a while and also understand the purchase contract and how to fill it out and they know all of the correct disclosures and/or addendums that you will need. Ask them when you meet them if they can explain the purchase contract to you thoroughly. If they are struggling through trying to explain it to you, that means they don’t understand it. How can they explain something to you that they clearly don’t understand?
They aren’t a strong negotiator. Does your agent appear to be timid or not aggressive when needed? It could also be a sign that they are a weak negotiator. You need an agent with strong negotiating skills to ensure that you get the best deal possible.
Your agent can’t or won’t provide you with past customer or client testimonials. The either don’t have any testimonials to provide you, or they won’t provide them to you. It should raise some red flags. Any agent that has a great track record will be more than happy to provide you copies of past customer/client testimonials or names and numbers for you to call them. If your agent won’t provide them to you, yes, you guessed it. It’s time to find another agent!
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*Disclaimer: Now, if you have read through this entire list and you are saying to yourself that one or more of these things apply to your current agent and now you have decided you want to find someone else, yet you haven’t signed a Buyer Brokerage Agreement (BBA) with any agent, then you are free to do whatever you want. HOWEVER, if you have signed a Buyer Brokerage Agreement (BBA) with an agent, you need to very carefully read through that BBA before you go firing your agent. There may be a cost to cancel that agreement and if you break the agreement and purchase a home that the agent you had the BBA with already showed you, then they could be due a commission. A commission that you may have to cough up. You need to carefully read through it and understand what penalties there may be if you break the agreement.
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