Gloria,

Bummer!  I think we all learn the hard way.

This is my new tactic.  Sign for one month.  At any time they can fire me just by putting it in writing, and faxing it to me with no reason whatsoever.  I don't care if it's my haircolor.  No questions asked. Otherwise, they search with me and me only.  And, yes, I do put it exactly that way.  I'm finding they appreciate my honesty.  The red hair helps, as well.  We red heads tend to get a little more slack on being blunt for some reason! I also include that they are gaining MY loyalty, not that I'm getting theirs.  If I have a client who has signed an agreement with me and a customer who hasn't, who's going to get  my attention?

Gloria, did they refuse to sign the BAA or did you just not ask them to?

Cathy, my husband says that redheads were all thought to be witches and drowned in the middle ages. (His ex wife is a beautiful flaming redhead.) I lmao when he told me this early in our relationship. Soon he found out that even a platinum blonde could be a redhead underneath, he he he. I think there's a reason I'm a strong swimmer (this life) ;)

I agree that with a BAA, a 7 or 30 days is usually all that's needed. Truly, if a buyer won't sign a 7 day, you can bet there's a reason.

Any longer than a 30 day makes me worry that I'm gonna be with professional lookers. . . . LOL

I think that's a great idea....how  many customers so far have you had success with?....I would want to know the reason if they didn't want to work with me...what if they are not planning to buy for another 6 months...do you wait until it is time to go out looking or ask for it upfront?

Gloria,

Isn't is astounding? I just don't understand the mentality. You established a rapport with them, they accepted dinner on your dime, and then they find another realtor.

I like Cathy's 30 day agreement plan. I find that when I finally meet my out of town clients, they have alrealdy spoken to many agents in the area. I guess theyo just don't understand commission.

Gloria... I, too, had a similar situation.  For 6 weeks had been showing homes, talking with, emailing a husband and wife with baby due that were fairly new in the area.  They always invited me into their home after our time together, I had given them an Entertainment book as a gift.  Like you, I thought there was a connection.

One day I had another appointment already scheduled, so they said they were just going to drive around to view the areas of the homes which I had sent them.  The next thing I know, they made an offer on a home that was being held open ... using that agent.

I was stunned.  There were other factors that came up, specifically that the open house agent offered to write it up and credit back 2 1/4 of the 3% commission toward their closing costs.  But that's a whole new blog.

But, I messed up.  I did NOT get the buyer's agency agreement signed.  This was before I took an ABR class that discussed this subject at length.  I now do not, will not, do business without it.

There are still no guarantees.  Rarely is in anything, huh?  But it would have added a level of commitment.  Signing ones name to a contract establishes an obligation.

I don't believe you can 'create customer loyalty'.  I think that is something that 'develops' over time, as in any relationship.

Try to put yourself in a buyers shoes and hear what they hear when anything is said from any agent.  I think explaining the need for representation to a buyer is good information, but means little to the buyer as far as a full-on relationship goes.  What agent doesn't say "I'm going to represent your best interests" ...and other stock lines, no matter how sincere?

Your question was "What do you do?"  My belief is you do what you always do.  Always.  Sometimes more, but rarely less.  It's usually when we violate our own rules when problems or heartbreak occurs.  

I know you participated in the posts on "Buyer Representation Agreements - who's responsible?".  Would encourage you to check those posts out again as there are some good thoughts expessed by many there.

I don't recommend to my agents that they do more than one 'reconnaissance-mission' tour with buyers more than 4 months out from their purchase.

I will take up a little more of my time, for instance if an agent has two buyers at the same time and one's not really ready, I will take them out for a little cruise, because it's good PR for my office.  But I want the agents to give top priority to assisting RWA buyers.

Set up auto listings, drip e mails, keep up communication but the worst thing is watching a buyer's heart break because they find a house and they can't buy it -- and when they are of course, it's gone.  Starts things off with a tone of disappointment, everything compared to 'the one that got away'.

I would get the BAA signed right before the touring starts. But my area is a resort area with a lot of vacationers who tour homes and tire kick as a distraction in between gambling and boating.  :)

It probably would be prudent to have one for longer with a relocating buyer in a metro area, for instance.

Candice, You "Platinums" are just "Reds" in disguise.  LOL. Tell your husband that one of my great-g-g-g- grandmothers died in Salem Jail accused of witchcraft in 1692!  He's probably not far off the mark!

Gloria, you look like you've got some "red" going on!  Just tell them Buyers to sign on the dotted line if they want to work with a real professional.

LOL, I am incognito . . . can't you tell I keep a low profile?

No Guts, No Glory....No B****, No Stories!  Oh, and BTW, not such a low profile.  Platinums never keep a low profile!  Who are you trying to kid?  LMAOL

Gloria. I am so sorry. This is just part of our business. Shake it off. Send them a nice card when they close at their new address.

I really think it is not personal. I think people are so wrapped up in shopping for a house they don't worry about who gets paid what, where or if. I really believe that.  That buyer agency agreement should be as easy to get signed as the listing agreement, what in the world are we doing wrong. Do they think it will cost them, do they think they can't shop without us because they can. I think if we solve this we will all be so happy.

What it comes down to, is I think we have exactly the business we are suppose to have. I hate spending time with a buyer only to have them run off when I wasn't watching. Why wasn't I watching? Because I can't watch them 24/7 but maybe we should think of them as poor innocent toddlers that need us checking on them constantly.

Is there anyone here who has had a BAA signed and then successfully made a buyer pay them commission after they bought a home without them?

Lucia - we have had several buyers purchase without the agent they signed with in our office and in Canada, unfortunately, the courts do not hold the buyers to their contract.  It is, partly, the other Realtors fault also though.  They are backstabbing each other and actually move forward to the sale even though they know the client is signed with another agent.  

Our BAA also sets us up for more liability, is incredibly biased towards the buyer and is required for a sale.

I generally talk to my clients and explain the relationship between Realtor and buyer, what I can and cannot disclose to them and others and all of the fun agency details.  They agree or don't and we work together or not. I do explain I expect loyalty as much as they expect to find the absolute best home for them.  Then I have them sign the BAA (because I have to) when I write up the offer.

We have had sellers sell their homes privately while under contract and that was not even held up in court.  I need their commitment to be from the heart up here - I can't rely on paper.

Another red-headed ex-wife......

Trista

I think Gloria's customer bought a new home. To me that is a lot tougher situation. It is not like they were not loyal and went to another realtor. New home sales are high pressure and want the folks to buy while there.

It is a rare occurance. That is why I am very careful to begin showing new homes unless I can be with them every step. Only advantage to buying with me on a new home is if they are from out of town and want me to follow up with the building and inspections, etc...

I would be willing to bet that most of us have had only one maybe two times we have lost a buyer in years. So why worry so much about the buyers agreement and alienating the other 99% of the clients who were loyal. I am not going to sue a buyer for the commission or a fellow agent. Not worth it. I do agree with a lot of your comments, for all the good reasons. And like Candace we are in a resort vacation area and if you are not careful you can end up showing dreamers all the time.

Gloria,

You didn't explain if your customers bought a “new home” through a developer's own sales rep or was it the resale of a new home in a new development through a Realtor®?  There is a significant difference for the answer you are seeking.

However, assuming this was a "new home sale" involvement situation, I think Lucia and Trista are right.

Cathy, I am not sure how valid and enforceable is your “read head” BAA if there is no monetary obligation on the buyer.  I’ve explained that concept in a previous thread, a while back, about the new BAA agreement every agent in SE Fla was talking about.  The concept is to asking the buyer to commit to a BAA with an up front fee ranging from $500 to $1000 which would be held in Escrow by whomever.  The buyer would oblige to work with the agent for a pre-determined period of time and, at the end of that period, if the buyer has not purchased anything with anybody, or has bought a property through another agent, or bought a FSBO, the agent will keep that money as a Broker’s fee (of course his/her broker would take their split off of that fee).  Because of its novelty approach, along with the hype of all other agents bragging about how great that works, I tried that BA many times on dozens of customers and only one went for it.  I presented them with a $1K and he got me down to retain only $500. The couple bought a condo from me in 2 days.  I am only aware of one case where a broker pursued it, went to arbitration, and had to release the money back to the buyer.

Those customers how would not sign my BA, I didn't have the nerves to tell them "in that case, find another sucker to work with".  So I worked with them, anyway.  The only benefit I got from presenting them with such a BA is that it made my buyers uncomfortable with me and they would drop me the next day.  Interestingly enough, I followed up with all of them and everyone whom I was able to talk to, they never bought anything, at all.

In Florida, back in July 2003, the State of Florida implemented a new disclosure called the “IMPORTANT NOTICE” (IN) which we had to disclose along with which ever agency representation we would work present to the customers before we engage in real estate practice with them.  The IN stated that any buyer or seller is NOT obligated to work with any broker nor do they have to disclose any personal information to the broker unless they engage into a transaction.  The gist of that notice was to relieve the customer from agents’ pressure or harassment after they would have pulled what happened to Gloria.

That created much tension with our Fla agents because of the IN’s good intention absolved the buyers from loyalty to anyone.  That IN was repealed in July of 2006.

John

I omitted an important detail in the BAA fee concept:  That fee will be waved if the buyer purchases through the agent.

John

If possible, I have my buyers sign an exclusive.  I tell them that if they attend an open house without me, they are to tell the host agent that they signed an exclusive agreement.  This will usually be enough for other agents to back off.  Once, though, an agent "tricked" one of my clients (don't ask!) into signing a purchase agreement on a house I had already showed them.  I was able to get a 25% "referral" fee from her when I threatened to take her to arbitration.  She had been in front of the board several times already (imagine that!), so she gave it to me without a fight.  

Gloria:  Sorry for your loss.  It hurts.  Less every time.

I think the trick may be to learn to recognize loyalty more than create it.

I used to day NEXT!  IT sounded kind of angry and sometimes took a few days to come.  Later it came sooner, but was not any easier.

From Buffini I learned to say "BYE BYE NOW".  It's gentler, more like what you say when you release a fish that is too small to keep.  

Generally, I will show houses once, to just about anybody who is pre-approved and/or motivated.  After that I explain that I work hard and am loyal to my clients, which is a commitment I can only make to the ones who will be loyal to me.  It's like dating.  They will get more out of the relationship with their Realtor if they go steady instead of date around.  So, I'll work hard for you and when you find your house, I will be your agent.... Press hard, there are two copies!  (No open house sign ins, no builder sign ins, sign my name not yours... Now that you have representation don't let anybody trick you into giving it up).

Once in a while, I don't have the form, or whatever, and I get 3 or more times in.... and then they drift off or buy from a builder or open house........  BYE BYE NOW...  

Less and less often.  Growth is good.  Progress not perfection.  Don't be too hard on yourself...  

I'm not a firm believer in the buyer agreement.  When I get one before an offer I too make them aware of the ease to cancel.  Some folks just don't click, for the same reason you gravitate to one salesman or another.  It doesn't happen very often.  It's their loss!