Ron,

I just had a similar situation but this was a 14 unit condominium development.  It had been on the market for over one year and there was not one contract on this building.  An awesome building that beat the socks off of most condominium buildings.  The listing information was not specific and you couldn't figure out what the numbering on the units meant and which floor and the direction/views the unit had.  Generalization.  

A great building has now been earmarked with a stigma because of no cotracts and leaves the perception in the public's eye as "what's wrong with this building?".  

The marketing?  What?  Where?  Ease of showings?  Are you kidding?!!  You had to beg to see the building.  

What agents do not generally realize is that they do not see the seller's overhead for carrying costs and when they are not making the financial commitments to that particular mortgage - they don't care (generally - don't go shooting me here guys).  

I put myself in the seller's position as if I were actually making that mortage payment.  

I think the other problem is that with major real estate companies, where the corporation pays for the majority of the marketing and the agent gets a lower commission split, there "appears to be" a lesser commitment due to lack of financial resources to market the property, limitations from the real estate company as to how you can market it.

I came from a small town where name recognition was built on reputation.  However, my home state is Michigan and right now name recognition doesn't mean a thing when the economy is running to the bottom of the barrel.

With ReMax and Keller Williams, it is name recognition but the agent is responsible for the advertising and when your money is on the table - you think about ROI.   Then is it shame on us because it takes our money to be responsible as Realtors?  How many of us were really right on top of it from the beginning?  While I agree with you Ron, remember even though there is no finger pointing - when it does happen - there are three fingers pointing back at us.  

Oh, and that developer?  He went from one frying pan into another.  Sometimes sellers don't listen even when things are explained in a proper way.  How did I not get the development?  This real estate company placed themselves at the top of paid per click while they were being considered and then once they were signed up for the development the high placement disappeared.  That's honest?

IMO

Many people have a great distrust for agents to begin with. When you try to tell them what they must know, they often ignore you and listen to those that tell them what they want to hear.

I practice in a smaller county where many agents say and do what thye want never concerned about anyone complaining. This includes bad mouthing other agents and compaanies, grossly overpricing listings, making it as hard as possible to show their listings, giving inaccurate information on thier listings, writing poor contracts, and on & on.

The brokers do not cmplain so what would the average agent who is trying to do it right do? And WHY would they step out and say something without support.

In this business people do not know often if they are being mistreated or worse until it is to late. By that time the agents involved have made their money.  They are off to the next buyer/seller to practice more of the same.

But who ever said life, real estate, or business is fair anyway!

Check this one out. My buyer sent me this:

"This Sunday the xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx home had an “open house” again. My wife and I went to the open house to take a look at the basement. The agent in the house (xxxxxxxx, Coldwell Banker, introduced himself as the listing agent working with xxxxx) was chatty and immediately started conversation about the house. He asked what do I think about the price. I said I could offer $550K. He said I should make an offer at $530K then he will get me the house at $550K. We both agreed $550K was a fair price and that the house is not likely to sell for much more. Later he asked if we had an agent. I gave indirect answer suggesting that I do. He started to work on me to make an offer through him. He said he would present the offer of $530K to the seller and convince the seller to accept $550K. (The seller is an old widow, who recently purchased a condo somewhere near xxxx). When we asked

if we could go with our agent he said that yes, but implied that in such

an event he will swing the seller the other way and reject the offer all

together. He also mentioned that there were no offers on the house so

far. As far as the basement is concerned he said it is dry (my comment: the disclosure statement stated that the seller would work with the buy on fixing the water issue) and the furnace is

3 years old (all not true). We followed up with xxxxxxxxxxxxxx today

mooring on the phone. We said that the offer was made last week already through our agent and asked if he could take a second look at it. He said he would not bother since this will cost him commission and hanged up the phone."

This is one of the nicer ones in my area. While working the same buyer another agent in the same office e-mailed my buyer about other homes she has listed.

It's war people!

Emil,

Please tell us that you are filing a complaint!!!!  IMNTBHO, that agent deserves jail time in addition to losing his license.  Unbelievable!

Hmmm Emil......that sounds like the same agent that told my broker once that if she could get him 3% commission on one of her listings that was offered at 2.5%, then he'd get his buyers to write an offer on it.  Otherwise, forget it!

Some of these people need to have the book thrown at them....along with a few rocks!

Emil - File a complaint now as well as with NRT about this unethical agent.  Generally with what goes on out there in our industry we could spend our entire career filing complaints but this one is way over the edge.

I am finding as the market slows here and the inventory keeps climbing the agents are doing things that are just unbelievable to try and sell something. In the busy market things were swept under the rug because we were all going strong and just kinda kept to the crazy things that happened.

Now that we have more time Hopefully some of these tactics will be exposed and reported as soon as they happen. We must all continue to police ourselves or suffer when our services are by-passed further due to clients with bad experiences doing it themselves.

Although it seems we do not like to bad mouth or put down these agents to others because of our teachings perhaps contacting your MLS board and even state licencing commission is going to be the way to slow this but it has to happen as soon as the violations occur.

It is a shame when others provide a poor quality of service, but the positive is that this customer had the option to find someone like yourself to take care of them.  The problem I find is why someone becomes a Realtor or Agent.  Most simply enter it with the attitude of "making money".  Well, there isn't a job out there that doesn't pay someone money.  I find the best approach is attack your profession with purpose and passion for serving customers with their Real Estate needs.  Everything I do relates back to taking care of the customer.  When I keep that front and foremost in my mind, all those "mistakes" and whatnots do not happen.  And I also think its ok to let another know about a mistake you came across even if they are with another broker.  Like you said, everyone impacts everyone.

In some ways it's a good thing to be someone's agent after they have had such a bad experience.  If you give good service, and I'm sure you do Ron, they are usually most grateful for all the things you do and you have the ability to make a good impression for all agents.  You can also educate people to know what they should be getting from their agents as many first timers don't really know.  

So the things you normally do for your clients seem over and above for the clients that have been treated poorly.  I know we have had clients who were very disappointed with their previous agents and were dumbfounded at the service we provided them.  

All we can do is our best once the client becomes ours.  And I would have no problem letting agents know about their mistakes on a listing if I were to see them.  I have let agents know if the address on their listing is misspelled as sometimes that's not even the agents fault..it's the person who inputs the listing who is often not the agent.

I have recently been contacted by 3 different clients to list their homes due to other agents "not having time for them".  On agent in particular called the client and told her "I'm just to busy to take care of your listing so I'm going to let xxxxx have it I hope you don't mind." My client said I do mind and was told then "just withdraw the listing I don't have time to talk to you anymore." This agent and client were friends. They even had Thanksgiving dinner together. I now have the house listed and we already have a contract on it set to close in 2 weeks. I'd like to thank all the rotten agents for all their listing. Of the 4 recent listing I have from rotten agents I have closed 2 of them and will close the other in 2 weeks. Marketing of the homes is what most agents aren't doing. I again say thanks. I now have people calling me to list their homes "because I got the xxx to sell and no one else could." I tell them I don't work miracle but if it is Marketed and Priced correctly it will hopefuly sell.

I agree... I posted a blog at my company blog site pertaining to a Realtor who, intentionally or otherwise, was giving FALSE information to prospective buyers at an open house she was conducting... this agent had many years in the business...

The incendent went like this: Open House, home with a waterview of the Bay, but NOT waterfront... the agent was telling a prospect that they could easily build a dock on the back land. The land behind the house that could be called waterfront is owned by the community association. When the President of the Association, who happened ot be there, with me, asked the Realtor at that time about why it was listed as waterfront, and that the dock was an impossibility, and informed her that the land was actually owned by the association, she said yes, but that the dock would be grandfathered in. Now, in my limited experience with law (my husband has 15 years in private practice) grandfathering invloves something that exists, and that pre-existed another situation. There is no dock there now, and the land is not owned by the homeowner. The land had been given over to the association when the first, original, development was completed, 35 years ago. There was no dock then, and there is no dock now. Not only that, but getting permits for a dock in that part of the woods is EXTREMELY difficult. None have been approved in 10 years. But that is a moot point, since the land is not included in the deed, and is actively managed by the community association.

Simply all false information.

What can you do?

Great and thought proviking post.

My opinion.  Every industry has good practitioners and bad ones.  Attorneys and accountants come to mind easily.  Some of the original post bothers me because frankly - it is not my job to watchdog other agents - and for us to illuminate the negatives that we all know exist in our industry may be giving new fodder to those (DOJ) folks who would rather we didn't exist in the first place.  Q? Is there something wrong with arranging your own showings? I attend every showing of every listing, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

My glass is always half full so I love bad agents.  Bad agents make me look great.  You can scan almost any MLS listing and find fault with it.  There is a very successful agent in our market that refuses to write any descriptive remarks on the MLS listing.  His explanation?  The home speaks for itself.  Room dimensions are often missing and incorrect. Heating systems, hot water sources, wells, septics are all up for grabs in the cobbled together listings a lot of agents throw out there.

When we obtain and complete a listing and can sit back and without hesitation say -  that we have absolutely nailed it - that there is nothing else we could possible say or do to market and sell each of our properties; then perhaps we can get on the stump and start being the Realtor police.

The cream always rises to the top. I can only control myself, not  other agents. The negative actions of the other agents will bring them down in the end.

The agents who are honest and good will endure and be appreciated by those who hire them.

In the meantime, we avoid the bad ones as much as possible. If we can't they can easily be outsmarted! Sometimes just by silence.

My goal is to do the best I can for my own job---that keeps me busy enough!