6 Signs of a Crummy Real Estate Agent
While a savvy real estate agent can certainly help you sell your home more efficiently, not all brokers are created equal. And in today's feeble real estate market, it's all the more important that an agent go the extra mile on behalf of home sellers. But how can a homeowner tell if an agent is doing everything he or she can to get the property sold or is simply going through the motions? To answer that question, U.S. News recently spoke with a handful of industry professionals and compiled a list of six distinct signs that may indicate that an agent is not 100 percent committed to the effort.
1. Out of pocket. Just as in a marriage, communication is a key component of the relationship between a homeowner and an agent. If the communication isn't there, the relationship won't work. So if your agent doesn't return your phone calls in a timely fashion or disappears without warning for weeks at a time, you should probably find someone else. Some real estate agents will block out a single window of time—say, between 4 and 5 p.m.—in which to return all of their phone calls for that day, says Jay Thompson of Thompson's Realty in Arizona. "I've never really understood that," Thompson says. "That's not necessarily good if your seller or buyer wants to talk to you at 8 o'clock in the morning—they end up waiting a whole day."
2. No advice. Let's face it; even homeowners who have been through several real estate transactions can benefit from a little advice from their agent. But if an agent doesn't offer any advice, it could be an indication that he or she is not fully engaged in the process. "We're not shy people," says Elizabeth Blakeslee of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Washington, D.C. "If an agent doesn't suggest fixing drippy faucets or reducing clutter—that sort of thing—then they are just going to put [the property] in the multiple listing [service] and throw up a sign and hope." Not exactly the pathway to value in today's sluggish market.
3. Insists on affiliates. Real estate agents who insist on clients' using a particular lender or affiliated company for the transaction should also trigger alarm bells. "That's a huge red flag because odds are they are probably getting a cut on a referral fee," says Joshua Dorkin, the founder and CEO of BiggerPockets.com, a website that specializes in real estate information and networking. "Frankly, you should be able to use whoever you want to use."
4. Part-time gig. Just because a real estate agent has a license doesn't mean it's his or her full-time job. And while some part-time agents are certainly capable, "when you put food on the table for your family selling real estate, you approach things differently," says Mike Sannes of Keller Williams-Big Bear Real Estate in Big Bear Lake, Calif. "If your real estate agent is actually a waiter, waitress, or [another profession], then you are probably not going to be happy with where their priorities are."
5. Keeps it in the family. A real estate agent who shows buyers only properties that are listed with his or her brokerage could be subordinating the client's best interests. Since selling agents earn a separate commission off a real estate transaction, agents who make listings just from their company available may be trying to steer that commission to the brokerage as well. "[If] I only showed you my listings or [the company's] listings, that's a huge red flag because there is a lot of the inventory that you are not considering," Sannes says. "By limiting [the inventory], you are not doing your job representing a buyer."
6. Behavior problems. Every real estate agent is licensed by the state in which he or she practices. State agencies, meanwhile, keep the records of all disciplinary actions taken against their agents. By getting in touch with the agency that oversees the real estate industry in your state, you can find out if there is a disciplinary action on your agent's record. (Contact information for state agencies is available through the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials.) "It's like when you hire a contractor, you go to the state contractor board," says Barbara Cook of Keller Williams Realty in San Diego County, Calif. It's also a good idea to check with the state agency simply to ensure that your agent is in fact licensed—as scam artists have been known to pose as real estate agents to perpetrate fraud.
Reader Comments
Affiliates
The "insists on affiliates" is not accurate at all. As a mortgage broker who partners with real estate agents, there has never been one time when an agent has requested a kick back on any referrral I have received from them. Their motivation for the referral is so that the borrower (often coming from a different area) does not have to struggle to find a reputable ancillary service, of which there are several during any RE transaction, and thusly has a positive experience. Of course the motivation is also that the deal close, so they get paid, but that would be the case for anybody, unless they are red stripping at a hospital. Most agents know the service providers that are ethical and charge reasonable fees, because they have gone through it in past experience. Mr. Mullins, is obviously not an agent or understands how networking and business partnerships work in the real world or the motivation behind it. It is not to grease the palms of the referring partner. Agents, loan officers, attorneys, appraisers are all licensed and specifically dictates that practice is cause for loss of license. Now this article has shown up on MSN home page, for further spread of misinformation. This is poor journalism and just plain wrong.
Good and Bad everywhere
I am a professional real estate agent. I do have a fiduciary responsibility to my clients. I take it very seriously.I work hard and EARN every penny I make. I do not get paid unless a deal closes. I am the bank until then. My clients appreciate the service I provide.I have kept many people from making huge real estate mistakes and helped many get out of bad situations. We all have a responsibility to make our choices in an informed way. You should check out the agent before you choose them. Don't pick someone because they are your friend or your family relation. Choose based on their expertise. Interview them. Many people think they understand real estate but I find that most people don't know as much as they think they know about buying and selling homes. You are right that it is not extremely difficult to get a license. It is not extremely difficult to get credentials in many professions.(I know some bad Doctors too!) But I have the good sence not to go to them. Yes we do have a fiduciary to our client. But most people don't understand the difference between a client and a customer. We must retake ethics training on a regular basis. Just because a person takes ethics training does not make them ethical. Think about the person who cut you off in traffic or won't let you change lanes. Those people come from all walks of life. There are good and bad in every profession. I am dedicated to my profession, work hard and have many, many satisfied clients and customers. I am gratefull for the opportunity to actually help people make wise, informed decisions regarding the biggest investment they will ever make. My clients always make their own decisions based on all the "homework" I do as well as the expertise that I can bring. I can share with them things that may have a profound effect on their decision. I walk them through the process every step of the way and I protect their best interest at all times. I believe that it is my duty and honor to serve my clients with a valuable service. Be informed. Learn how to find a valuable "Realtor". Learn how real estate really works before you are so quick to judge, and take personal responsibility for your own choices.
Greed is what caused this mess - not real estate agents
My Granma used to say "life's little lessons." We experienced the same thing during the Carter years but apparently no one remembered. The people who lied about their income and the lenders who let them do it are responsible. The buyers who took out loans that were too good to be true and willingly bought homes that were way overpriced are responsbile and the investors trying to turn a "quick buck." The builders who overbuilt in communities while they had hundreds of homes still for sale and the lenders who let them do it are responsible. The agencies who let out too many building permits for the market. The list goes on. Who sets the price on a home - the buyer. Instead of using reason, the buyers were out purchasing homes they could not afford at prices that were beyond what a ressonable person would consider had a huge hand in creating this mess. It is exactely what happened before but no one remembered and threw caution to the wind.
You can't blame real estate agents for this mess. It was just a lot of greed and anyone with business sense knew what was going to happen but there was no one in control. Now everyone is playing the blame game because it was someone elses fault. The fault lies in the lenders who gave out loans that should never have been available and buyers who used no common sense and were willing to lie about their income, or if they didn't do that, they took out loans they should never have considered.
Now is when buyers should be buying homes when they have to verify their income, they have a down payment for the home, the prices of the homes are what they should have been, and they take out a fixed loan that they can afford.
If it is "too good to be true," then it is and any prudent person should be cautious when there were so many red flags - but no one paid attention.
The investigations into what was going on in the lending community should have taken place early on when things started getting out of hand.
When buyers were told they could get loans without verifying their income or they could have really low payments now but would be paying higher in the future, that's is a red flag.
I hope this situation will bring some reason and sense back to the buying public but I am not sure it will. It happened before and I guess it will happen again because no one looks back in history to the last time and remember what happened then.
When greed takes over - memory fades - and reason seems to go out the window.
So, if you want to blame someone for this mess, then the blame lies within all who gave out these loans, who took the loans, who willingly paid far too much for their homes & the builders and investors who overbuilt and created a false market in all the communities -it was a felloship of greed and lack of caution.
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