M'boro Realtor explains. Common complaints about real estate agents. Middle TN for Buyers & Sellers

June 4, 2010 - PRLog -- Common complaints we get about real estate agents

mbororealestate.com  

Home of the no risk contracts. When you let us help you buy your new home we will allow you to cancel the contract at anytime. The number one reason buyers who are thinking of moving into a new area are hesitant to sign up with Real Estate Agent is they are afraid of the long term contract that locks them in to that agent for months. Now we’ve removed that problem. We will allow you to cancel the contract at anytime. If we are not living up to what you expect from a realtor or if for some reason you change your mind we will cancel the contract that day.

Hopefully none of these issues will happen to you, but you should be aware that they are common. These are the most common complaints about real estate agents:

•The buyer's real estate agent continuously tries to get them to buy houses for much more than they told the agents that they wanted to pay. One person we know specifically told his agents $160k was the top limit. But the agents kept dragging them to homes priced at $180k. The agent might tell you "Come on, just take a look anyway, it will give you ideas for other houses". Translation: Once I get you into this house to look around, I can get you to buy and I'll get a bigger commission. Any agent that rushes you is just looking for a quick commission. Unfortunately, selling real estate takes a lot of patience, and if they don't have patience, they need to choose another profession, and let the Real estate agents who do have patience take over.

•The real estate agent tells the buyer there are no houses in the area in their price range. But gee, there some for only $15,000 more. The savvy buyer then fires the agent and finds plenty of houses in the area in his price range by searching for homes on the Internet real estate classifieds.

•If you're selling the house yourself, real estate agents start calling you stating they have a client waiting to buy the house, the agent just needs to come take a quick look before they bring them over. This is a scam, there is no buyer. The agent shows up and tries to get you to sign an exclusive contract naming them as your listing agent. The buyer calls a Real Estate Agent to hire them for buying a house. But the agent never calls back after several calls. Ever since the recession of the early 1990's I have been repeating my brilliant observation that businesses might sell something once in a while if they would just return a phone call. I could swear that the reason we have recessions is because people don't return phone calls.

•A potential buyer emails an agent about hiring them, but the agent never responds back, even after several emails.

•The listing Real Estate Agent used too much poetic license and embellished the description of the house. In one case one of our visitors reported the listing described "hardwood floors", but it was cheap plastic imitation wood, only in one room.

•Agents didn't show disclosure forms buyers stating who they were working for.

•The buyer's real estate agent starts to grow impatient and complains if the buyer has not made an offer by the 3rd house. Most experts recommend that you visit at least 10 houses before you make a decision.
Questions to ask a prospective real estate agent

•Ask if they are licensed and if it's up to date. I actually thought this one up on my own! A no brainer.

•First of all, ask if they are part time or full time, because you want a full time agent to assure you get the most attention. Look at it this way: if they only work part time, your house is only marketed part time.

•Ask them what type of training they take to stay current, and ask them how good are they at using the Internet, and what type of training they have for marketing homes on the web. Since many consumers now use the Internet to locate homes, you better have an Internet savvy real estate agent. In many cases, people reported back to us that they were more savvy at finding homes to look at than their agent. There are several highly trafficked home classifieds web sites. They better know how to get your house listed on them.

•Ask them if they'll take a lower commission. If you're selling a $150,000 home, every percent point less that you can negotiate down on their commission saves you $1500. Not bad for a few minutes worth of work.

•Ask them if they are a broker or an agent. Brokers are more experienced, and it's more difficult to become a broker, so they are more resourceful.

•Home buyers and home sellers should both ask their agent if they will get them a printout of all the recent selling prices AND the original listing prices of homes in their area, showing what the owners paid for them, how much they sold for, and full details on the homes. Selling price is useful, but knowing what they listed for and how much the sellers dropped in price is a great gauge of the real estate market in your area.

•For sellers, ask the agent how they plan to market and sell your house. Get it all in writing, absolutely no verbal promises. You want them to blitz the market and get your house into the premium listings and the free listings, and all the online web sites. You want your house to be found. You want no surprises or excuses later on. Pin them down and get their battle plan in writing now. This is a major source of miscommunications and resentment when the seller is expecting several things to be done, and all the agent does is list it in the MLS.

•Ask if they are willing to offer more commission to the buyer's agent. There are
many savvy buyers agents just looking for houses whose selling agent pays that extra 1/2% or more. This incentive can help sell the house quickly if needed.

•Ask if they will accept a contract for 90 days or less. Many agents will force you into exclusive contracts for 6 months to a year or more. But what if your agent sucks? Then your house sits there for a year not being marketed, while you keep paying mortgage payments. I don't think so. We tell them to stay out of long term leases. A lease is a contract, if you get a bad car, you're stuck. The same strategy applies to real estate agents. A 60 day contract is the max that you want, and ask for all their disclosure forms to study first, BEFORE YOU SIGN! Just tell the agent that they won't need more than 60-90 days if they are really as good as their flapping gums are making them appear.
Do NOT sign a long term contract, and DO NOT pay money up front.

Real estate agents get paid by commission when they sell the house. If they do not sell the house, they don't deserve any commission, so there's no need whatsoever to pay in advance or any other time for a job not done. No commission when there is a deposit, only when there is a closing, no exceptions! No Excuses!
If you ever have any questions or need help with any real estate needs or know someone who does please feel free to call or email me anytime. I would love to have the opportunity to be your neighbor and realtor.

I never force a seller to continue to use me as their agent if they are not comfortable with my style or methods. I will allow you to cancel our contract at anytime you are not happy with me or you just change your mind.

Please feel free to call or email me anytime.
Mike O'Donnell
615-473-5684
Tema@comcast.net

mbororealestate.com

Home of the no risk listings. The number one reason home owners who are thinking of selling are hesitant to sign up with Real Estate Agent is they are afraid of the long term contract. Now we’ve removed that problem. When you let us help you sell your house we will allow you to cancel the contract at anytime. If we are not living up to what you expect from a realtor or if for some reason you change your mind we will cancel the contract that day. Now that’s peace of mind.

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As a FULL TIME realtor in Murfreesboro TN, I can and will devote whatever time is needed to help you meet your real estate needs.
I treat each client with respect and dignity whether the property you are interested in is worth $5000 or $5,000,000.