Realtors...why don't they answer their phones???

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Realtors...why don't they answer their phones???

Michael Hicks
Real Estate Investor · Rossville, GA · Member since 2014 · 218 posts · 96 votes

I recently purchased a home a little further away than I normally do. I used a realtor familiar with the area. I was pleased and decided I would use her to list the home as well. I told her it would be ready in 3 weeks...be ready to list it. I followed up in 2 weeks, left her a message stating the home would be ready next week and asked her to take a look and let me know if I should make any changes. Never heard back from her. So, I call realtor #2. He is the top selling agent in the area. Called and texted for 3 days telling him it was ready to list,we needed to sign the listing agreement, and get it on the MLS. He finally emailed the listing agreement which I docusigned but 3 days passed and still not on MLS. So, I take pics and put on Craigslist and Facebook yard sales. Had tons of replies from qualified buyers which I forwarded to the realtor since I had already signed the listing agreement. We got a contract that night. Am I being unrealistic in my expectations? I've bought and sold several homes with the 2nd realtor in the past 6 months. I don't expect to be top priority but I do expect them to answer or at least give a prompt response. It's not just these 2 either. I don't know that I've ever called a realtor and gotten an answer on first call. Some never call back. I went through the realtor class but don't remember them teaching us not to answer the phone. Any thoughts?

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Marc Middleton
Residential Real Estate Broker · Miami, FL · Member since 2014 · 214 posts · 106 votes
8y
Originally posted by @Mark Fries:
I have been trying to contact the listing agent for a 20 acre track in Yulee, Florida..

After multiple phone calls and emails I received an email response that was approximately one sentence long

"its available"....

I have now decided to try to contact the owner of the property directly and cut the realtor out... I know that's not very professional but after the service I got I don't really care!

One of the reasons I got my license in Miami was after 2 years of renting and dealing with lazy agents, I thought 'If they can make it, I can make it'. Fast forward 5 years and I opened my own company and sell $5ML a year. 

When I first got started, the #1 thing clients told me was "I used you because you answered the phone or called me back right away". People laugh, especially in other cities, when I tell them the 'secret' to my success was responding to people and being friendly. Maybe because I'm not from Miami (Born in Philly) or maybe because I worked in Hospitality for so long, but being nice and responsive just seemed like a basic tenet of being a human. 

Oh well for them, many agents since went out of business and blamed it on the economy, too many realtors, language barrier, etc. (I never learned to speak Spanish either) 

To this day I still deal with agents on a daily basis who DON'T answer their phones AND have full voicemail boxes! Its maddening but I remember that one of the reasons I'm successful Is their lack of professionalism, so its a double edge sword that I now embrace. 

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  • Vaughn Smith
    Property Manager · NJ · Member since 2017 · 786 posts · 396 votes
    8y

    @Michael Hicks Great question! I ask this question of myself often, I'm an agent in Northern NJ  and when i'm on the buyer side I experience similar frustrations with agents who don't follow up, communicate in a timely manner or get documents to you in a timely fashion. I'm not certain why this happens, if it brings you any comfort know that this happens to agents too, sadly, client satisfaction and salesmanship seem to decrease as time goes by, but luckily there are resources like BP, hopefully you can find a more helpful agent here

    0Reply
  • Bruce Runn
    Investor · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2014 · 743 posts · 927 votes
    8y

    My only comment is I love buying when dealing with uninformed, lazy realtors when they are on the listing side.  I've got some screaming hot deals because they don't communicate well, take short cuts, don't understand difficult situations so they just put lower prices and their clients don't know the difference.  As we say, my job isn't to teach them their job.

    1Reply
  • Michael Hicks
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Rossville, GA · Member since 2014 · 218 posts · 96 votes
    8y

    @Bruce Runn, agreed!  I picked one up on Friday where the agent listed the wrong address and didn't post good pictures.  60k below list.  Pure laziness on their part.  

    0Reply
  • Bruce Runn
    Investor · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2014 · 743 posts · 927 votes
    8y

    @Michael Hicks

    I asked a broker friend what the deal is with these realtors who basically don't know anything and it was explained to me that the "3 week" training they get is essentially focused on how to market yourself, get clients, ect. and just cursory overview on laws, regulations, best practices, ect. so obviously the realtor association doesn't care about being qualified, just getting members. Crazy that a licensing board is also that lazy. It's almost like they want to see how little work they can actually do. Kind of like being a listing agent and thinking all you have to do is post it on the MLS which they take as earning their commission-LOL, In the end, I don't care as my realtor is super smart and aggressive on finding properties.

    I got a property recently and the listing agent was supposedly experienced but I bought it for full list at $132,000 under assessed value because the listing agent apparently didn't think you could get a loan on it since it was two duplexes on one parcel.  Got it under contract in less than 24 hours and after the PA was signed, she call my banker to ask how I could get a loan since she comes from a very big office with experienced realtors and they couldn't figure it out.  My banker said, well you can't get a traditional loan but he's getting a commercial loan and she was just dumb founded.  Apparently she must have put such a low price since she didn't think anyone could come up with "cash" to buy it.  This falls under- you just can't make these things up.

    3Reply
  • Nancy N.
    On the road. · Member since 2017 · 35 posts · 9 votes
    8y

    Travis, thank you. Agent #3 is with Preview, as I understand Preview is 4% split between buyer/seller agent. I will get clarification on commission. The challenge is this is a private estate, on a private road with two homes on 5 acres. Homes are individually metered, separate septic, separate propane, no HOA's, No association, both ranch style and the 2004 home is an aging in place home with Digital Health and established, listed Airbnb. I'm in no hurry to get it sold, its unparalleled property and the potential buyer is buying a lifestyle, not just a property. The buyer will be a particular one seeking this type of layout and arrangement, therefore it may stay on the market a little longer. Prices are going to stay stable and continue to rise for the next 8 years here, low inventory, few rentals available, the huge growth with new passenger terminal (Paine Field), Las Vegas-style bowling alley being built nearby, Pacific North West largest water park being built at Quilceda, and the new Arlington Manufacturing Industrial Center hub consisting of 4,000 acres pushes RE steadily up. That being said...Neighbors house is assessed at 1.1 million. Thank you, everyone, for schooling me, it's genuinely appreciated. (I sorta went down a rabbit trail here) forgive me. And Travis...Thank you for serving in the military. Have a great day everyone. N'

    0Reply
  • David Fernandez
    Real Estate Agent · Vienna, VA · Member since 2016 · 289 posts · 253 votes
    8y

    One of the top selling agents im my brokerage told me that if I answer the phone/return emails/reply texts within 10-15 min max and show up on time to my appointments, I can beat 90% of the competition. 

    At the time, I thought he was joking around since it seemed so easy to do. After working a few years as an agent, I realized that by doing that you can beat 95% of your competition. 

    It amazes me how some people spend ton of money advertising themselves and their properties and then fail to service their clients or get the best results for them. 

    3Reply
  • Antonio Artusa
    Rental Property Investor · Oakalla, TX · Member since 2015 · 67 posts · 24 votes
    8y
    I always have this issue. I have a great agent now but when she needs to set up with another agent to see a property she sometimes can’t get a response from them. It’s crazy. It’s as if they don’t need the business.
    0Reply
  • Brandon L.
    Real Estate Agent · Falls Church · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    8y

    @Michael Hicks it happens. You would probably save money next time selling the home yourself. 

    0Reply
  • Brie SchmidtBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    8y

    It is mind blowing.  As an agent, one of my biggest hurdles is getting agents to respond to showing requests.  I think 24 hours is acceptable but I have had situations where I call / email / text about 5 times over 10 days to show their listing and don't get responses 

    Podcast Guest on Show #132
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    0Reply
  • Ryan Evans
    Rental Property Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2016 · 653 posts · 769 votes
    8y

    Geeze! And I can't believe how many agents even in the hot market I'm in won't pick up the phone even for things like setting up showings or answering questions about a listing.

    I'm curious, what's the price point of these properties you're talking about? The higher end market agents you'd think would be quicker going after the big commissions. But I know agents in the sub 100k markets who don't put much effort into taking listings that will only put a couple thousand bucks in their pocket

    0Reply
  • Michael Hicks
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Rossville, GA · Member since 2014 · 218 posts · 96 votes
    8y

    @Ryan Evans, I think I posted this thread about 3 years ago and it's somehow managed to resurface.  I deal with properties from 120k-250k but primarily around 150k.  The agents I was dealing with then were the agents selling in that price range.  My wife is licensed now and she's easy to reach lol.  

    1Reply
  • Kumar Tummalapalli
    Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 172 posts · 47 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Bruce Runn:

    @Michael Hicks

    I asked a broker friend what the deal is with these realtors who basically don't know anything and it was explained to me that the "3 week" training they get is essentially focused on how to market yourself, get clients, ect. and just cursory overview on laws, regulations, best practices, ect. so obviously the realtor association doesn't care about being qualified, just getting members. Crazy that a licensing board is also that lazy. It's almost like they want to see how little work they can actually do. Kind of like being a listing agent and thinking all you have to do is post it on the MLS which they take as earning their commission-LOL, In the end, I don't care as my realtor is super smart and aggressive on finding properties.

    I got a property recently and the listing agent was supposedly experienced but I bought it for full list at $132,000 under assessed value because the listing agent apparently didn't think you could get a loan on it since it was two duplexes on one parcel.  Got it under contract in less than 24 hours and after the PA was signed, she call my banker to ask how I could get a loan since she comes from a very big office with experienced realtors and they couldn't figure it out.  My banker said, well you can't get a traditional loan but he's getting a commercial loan and she was just dumb founded.  Apparently she must have put such a low price since she didn't think anyone could come up with "cash" to buy it.  This falls under- you just can't make these things up.

    @Bruce Runn  - When you say "Assessed value" - is it the Tax Assessed value ? Also when 1-4 unit is considered residential , will the two duplexes be not "residential " - Thanks

    0Reply
  • Kumar Tummalapalli
    Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 172 posts · 47 votes
    8y

    To add to this discussion - I often see Realtors bashing Posters on trulia and quora - irrespective of the qn they say "get an agent" - As though that is the end of all problems and as though your agent is experienced in all areas. 

    I do get that , in any profession , we have only few who are really knowledgeable , but is more obvious in the case of real estate agents

    One of houses my colleague was looking- the agent kept saying you have to bid 5k to 10k over listing price as she could not get the offer accepted . I know there could be many reasons for this but the agent just tried to mislead . So I had to get MLS access through some creative way and then pulled a report for past 6 months - and compared "original list price" vs "sold price" - there are only 2 properties which were sold over list price. I had to spend 30 mins to show her how to get the report from MLS

    0Reply
  • Kumar Tummalapalli
    Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 172 posts · 47 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Michael Hicks:

    @Bruce Runn, agreed!  I picked one up on Friday where the agent listed the wrong address and didn't post good pictures.  60k below list.  Pure laziness on their part.  

     @Michael Hicks - How did you find this in your search and how did you find the right address? Might give some ideas to search for in our markets :-)

    0Reply
  • Bruce Runn
    Investor · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2014 · 743 posts · 927 votes
    8y

    @Kumar Tummalapalli

    David, it was listed $132.0 less than tax assessed value.  In Minneapolis, assessed value is at least a 2-3 years trailing number to real value since values have been going up so quick.  I just finished the renovation of +$120,000 and have an appraisal of over $800,000 so it was clearly worth at least $600.0 to start.

    0Reply
  • Kumar Tummalapalli
    Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 172 posts · 47 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Bruce Runn:

    @Kumar Tummalapalli

    David, it was listed $132.0 less than tax assessed value.  In Minneapolis, assessed value is at least a 2-3 years trailing number to real value since values have been going up so quick.  I just finished the renovation of +$120,000 and have an appraisal of over $800,000 so it was clearly worth at least $600.0 to start.

    Got it.. Thanks for clarifying that - Good rule of thumb to quickly chk if a particular listing is a "Deal" . But just to add , the listing price itself didn't tell that it's a deal , because there might be a bad roof or whatever , once it came in your radar , you took a look at it and from viewing the property you found that it's a true deal - is this a fair understanding ?

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Princeton, TX · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    8y

    If I am the agent's client and they do not call me back I will be contacting the broker very quickly.  If the broker does not call me back the same day I will fire them the next day.

    If the agent's client is the other side in the transaction, I am not even that nice.  If I do not get a call back within about 4 business hours, I leave a message that I will contact their client if they do not call me back.  Believe me sellers love to hear that their listing agent does not call people back.  I have been known to give listing agent's broker's cell numbers out to their clients.  LOL

    0Reply
  • Bruce Runn
    Investor · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2014 · 743 posts · 927 votes
    8y

    @Kumar Tummalapalli

    A couple clarifying answers. I know the areas I invest in extremely well. This property happens to be 1 house off the Mississippi river in an extremely popular neighborhood near downtown and by the University of Minnesota. List price was $500.0 so it moves off the radar for a lot of investors who don't even look at more expensive places. I only buy places I can renovate for condition which this one didn't need or renovate for expansion and I go into every property that may meet my requirements. (you can't ever know if something is a deal unless you go in). People that disqualify based on what a realtor puts on the MLS miss a lot of deals and this is why I say I love lazy realtors.

    I added 2 bedrooms/1 bath to each unit so they went from 2/1 to 4/2 units.  The rent hadn't been raised in 15 years so it reflected really bad returns but I realize that right away so each unit was under rented by $400.  This is exactly the type of deal  I look at but that lots of people dismiss immediately since it doesn't flash as a deal immediately.  I went in within 3 hours of it being listed, ran into the owners, and gave them a verbal full price offer on the spot with my agent which they accepted.  He got the PA over to the listing agent almost immediately to be signed.  

    I've looked at MLS listings that don't look like a deal at all until I go through them so better to waste a little time than miss a killer deal. We bought another duplex last year that was an illegal triplex but legal duplex and the agent just left the bed/bath count and square footage of the illegal unit off the listing-LOL. We put in a PA that day and just combined the illegal portion into another unit which added $1,200/month in rent. Post renovation with new tenant and new rent, it appraised for $150,000 more than we bought/renovated it for.

    2Reply
  • Ian WalshBusiness Member
    Lender · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    8y

    It's an individual business.  I know a lot of Realtors that are very responsive and a lot that aren't.  There isn't a standard.  It comes down to the person.

    0Reply
  • Amber Gonion
    Real Estate Broker · Hugo, MN · Member since 2016 · 688 posts · 596 votes
    8y
    According to the national association of realtors the average time time to respond is 917 min and 48% are never answered. We just did an email evaluation of our clients on the topic and most said we respond within minutes every time. I don’t see why it’s so difficult. Of course I can understand that sometimes you can’t talk on the phone, but unless I am sleeping I can always find time within a hour to text to let someone know I got the message and will call when I am available. Who doesn’t see a text on their smart phone for 15 hours? They are ignoring it. I had my appendix out and from the tome I first had symptoms until I was out of surgery on my phone wasn’t 15 hours! I can’t imagine not responding 48% of the time either! Who do they think they are? Society has gotten very rude and on the commercial side I have seen some of the worst, dishonest people in my life. The problem is that they all are ICs and don’t answer to anyone, and can run to another broker if they do hold them accountable. I always make sure to let agents that are professional on deals know that it is appreciated.
    1Reply
  • Miguel Castillo
    Investor / Real Estate Agent · Aurora, IL · Member since 2015 · 170 posts · 42 votes
    8y

    Well if you ever need an agent in the Chicagoland or Illinois, in general, my phone is glued to me, I'll answer in 0.02 seconds. 

    0Reply
  • Sean Cole
    Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2012 · 506 posts · 331 votes
    8y

    I don't get why other agents don't answer calls from repeat customers, or at least shoot a text right away with a planned call back time. We do, however, get TONS of junk solicitation calls because every brokerage, MLS, Board, etc. sells our info. It's a defense mechanism for most of us to not answer all calls from number we don't recognize.

    0Reply
  • Ron Faulkner
    Real Estate Agent · Brighton CO · Member since 2018 · 1 post · 0 votes
    8y

    I believe that one of the reasons is that most Realtors are part-time and work at other professions outside of Real Estate. Though that is not a reason to not at least return the call it is why so many don't answer when you first call them. As an agent who is full time and hungry, I answer my phone unless it's after 9 PM and then I return the call the next day. In other words, I can be reached 24/7 as long as it is between 7 AM and 9 PM.

    0Reply
  • Matt Honeyford
    Investor · Rochester, NY · Member since 2017 · 206 posts · 175 votes
    8y

    I have a rule; If I have to chase you down to give you my business, then you don't deserve it.

    3Reply
  • Joe SplitrockPro Member
    Moderator
    Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
    8y

    It is not just realtors, but really any profession. It is getting worse every year as younger generations are phone-phobic. Some people respond better by text, so one option is try texting. 

    Last year I wanted to replace two roofs. I called five different roofing companies, all companies that advertise locally. Only two of the companies called me back. They both said they would get me a quote and only one actually got me a quote. 

    My realtor always takes my call or will send me a text telling me he will call me in a few minutes. I couldn't work with a non-responsive realtor. Good deals just move too fast.

    2Reply
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