Any realtors on here ? Am I being unrealistic in expectations of service ??

So - starting the house hunting search in Ohio - and I’m already on the search for a new realtor for the SECOND time !!

So - first realtor was an absolute dud. Referred from our local realtor here to one in Ohio who sells for the same franchise their. One short phone call - promise to set up a search (never did) and 3 calls and a few text with no reply - showed me enough to know this is not someone I’m comfortable with and we moved on.

Found another realtor - this one seemed somewhat more responsive. Talked to them yesterday and discussed what we are seeking - areas/price/wants/etc.

I mention when we will be in the area next - coming up on a Friday and leaving on a Monday. Now I understand people have a life and weekends can be busy - but also know most open houses are on weekends and most showings are weekend or after business hours unless a home is vacant.

Anyway - she proceeds to tell me she would be happy to show me anything we want IF ITS AVAILABLE TO SHOW ON FRIDAY BEFORE 4 OR MONDAY BEFORE 4 ! DOESNT WANT TO WORK LATE OR WEEKENDS !!

I’m just like ok - and thinking I need to find someone else right now. I mean I get it - the real estate market has been hot and a lot of people have made some super easy money - but cmon. This is ridiculous - and don’t work weekends and expect to “earn” 3% of a 350k purchase for a few hours work?!?

Am I unreasonable expecting someone to both actually suggest a few places (I know with the low inventory and things selling quickly this might be challenging) and more importantly i expect someone to work when it’s convenient for me and others - which likely will mean dedicating a Saturday morning 1 or 2 times to show 3-5 homes. I’m not saying I expect you to schedule showings late afternoon on weekends - nor am I saying I expect you to rush out and do a virtual walk around on every new house to hit the market - but Jesus, is it too much to ask to block off 3 hours on a weekend 3 weeks in advance or be available to do a virtual walkthrough of something pops up in the meantime ?!?

Just feels like no one wants to actually do any work and expects you to show up and be ready to spend money. I mean it’s don’t expect someone to drive around weekend after weekend chauffeuring me and wasting their time - but I also don’t feel I should do ALL the legwork nor should I feel bad for expecting them to show me 5-6 houses potentially before I decide which I like best and make an offer on. It’s worse than car dealers were in the oandemic - acting as if they don’t need you, another sucker will be along in a second to hand over their money.

Again - I don’t think I’m being unreasonable based on past experiences- but has the role of realtor changed that much in 3 years ? Could be I’m wrong and expecting entirely too much of people.

 

IMO you are spot on! Probably sitting pretty at the moment and it is winter too. Might have kids and sort of picks and chooses. As with most things, sometimes you get lucky, but most often not. I wouldn't think twice about moving on.

 

Your post was grounded and realistic. Maybe the thirds times a charm!

 

When we moved from AZ to VA we had a 3 day window for house hunting. Our realtor busted her ass, showed us 23 places. Granted, she was contracted by GOV. She was amazing.
If your realtor isn’t willing to hustle for your money, they don’t want it. Move on to a realtor that’s hungry.
Just my opinion.

 

I agree with all said here. A lazy realtor that is not willing to work with me will not get my money.... or the bank's money

 

You aren't looking for a friend. You're looking for a service. If they cant provide the service, move on. If you were local, flaked out on a couple of mid week showings, or were all over the place/ unrealistic with your expectations of homes, then yeah they've got the right to not want to mess with you on the weekend. Part of the allure of real estate is the work when you want to, but you've got to understand that it's not just gonna be a 9-5 thing either. People selling 7 & 8 figure homes even work weekends despite likely *not* having to.

 

Im sure there is a realtor out there that will work with you on your time line, just not sure of the fast simple method to find one. They only benefit by working with you.

I have a family member who did what you are doing, except they bought a place in Tampa as a VRBO unit, which has been profitable for them.
They live here in Ohio and looked up some locations around Tampa and contacted some realtors and one worked with them.

They flew into tampa and spent the weekend looking at several homes available and made an offer - DONE... Now we all have a vacay spot to go to
whenever we want, as long as its not rented for that time.

Only thing they did was spell out when they will come in town and here are the places we want to see, can you arrange that for us? If no,
move on to the next...

Good luck on your search...

 

Realtors are like car salesman.. Some are duds and some are studs… Just gotta keep looking. The RE market is not crazy as it was last year. They just get a bunch of leads and it’s their job to follow through.

If you’re serious and want to show them you’re a serious buyer, have a list of the places you want to see, proof of funds/loan approval. That will get them on their toes.

If you don’t want to be represented by a realtor, just call up the listing realtor and tell them you’re not repped (that’ll mean double the commission for listing agent.. if their house allows that). Sometimes it’s frowned upon, every market is different.

But do have your proof of funds, loan app already processed… And please get a 3rd party inspection in your feasibility period.

 

3% commission? Where are you getting such low numbers? I was quoted 6%-7% recently which is real madness honestly.

 

Good luck! We were quite lucky. When we moved to ATL from So Cal we were living in a hotel (with two kids, a parrot and a dog!) for several weeks. Our realtor would spend the day showing houses in the area to my wife (w/ the kids) while I was at work and then a spend time in the evenings taking me back to the one's the wife felt were a second look. Thankfully we had a great experience and I hope yours gets better.

 

Buying and selling agents typically get 3% each.

 

Assuming they are splitting a 6% between selling and listing agents I'm guessing. It's rarely the same.

 

In a lot states this is illegal as both sides of the transaction need to be represented but different folks in the transaction. Ran into this buying land in Tennessee to build on. Also correct the commission is generally split between buying/selling agents and because the cost is generally born on the seller side, makes pricing a little more stickely

 

I cannot imagine that it is illegal to contact a listing agent about a property and have them sell it to you. Why do they put phone numbers on the for sale signs?

 

Why would anyone move to Ohio?

 

I can see both sides. Did you speak ahead of time about needing to do showings on weekends to confirm that worked with their schedule? I’m not giving up my Saturday or Sunday on a whim.

 

As Stated,

Find another realtor..

We NEEDED to find a home quickly after Ian and the search required SPOT on timing as we were relocating at least 2-4 hours away & wife still

works..

The 1st realtor busted their asses for us BUT the seller backed out on house # 1..

2nd house came on the market on a Friday and realtor # 2 made dam sure we were 1st in line for refusal ...

We have since purchased # 2 as our home and the young Lady earned her pay as she took care of every small detail ; extra keys, warranty

paperwork for the entire place....

Devil's in the Details and she stepped up..

And now we have been Blessed with realtor # 3 whom s listing / selling our damaged property and that is now set too Close in February..


My LONG way to get there, yes... It took 3 realtor's BUT they had our backs each time .... Don't settle for anything less

 

6/7% is the “standard” BUT it typically gets split - 3-4% for listing agent and 3% for the buyers agent. Unless they sell you a house they have listed - they are only getting 3%.

There are “low cost” services out there - like $995-1500 and they get you on the MLS site and in their clearinghouse for showings - but that’s about it as a seller. The buyers agent will always demand 3% for bringing you a buyer. No negotiation there - some will give you a kickback though as a buyer.

 

To get out of Florida - amongst other hellish locales.

 

It’s not - in fact they encourage that - double dip on commission.

Of course calling 5-7 different people and coordinating showings gets real challenging real fast. That’s why you typically use a buyers agent - handles all that scheduling and represents your interest solely. Technically a dual agent has to maintain a “Chinese wall” in negotiations and not favor either side and ensure both are treated equally - but I never trusted that. Ditto when the agent is a family member or owner of the property - they are gonna play favorites and it won’t be in your interest.

 

Honestly - when we moved here the realtor we found was great - drove us all over - suggested neighborhoods and pulled listings to gauge what we liked and what we didn’t.

This time - we know neighborhoods so we are good there - it’s just finding the exact house we like - and that’s easier with more flexible budget and willingness to take on some renovations.

It seriously shocks me how some people cannot do the most basic repairs to a house they are hoping to sell. I mean - I get it - your 78 and your house looks like someone’s grandparents - decor needs updated - no biggie. I’m talking the leak in the ceiling that’s never been repaired - like seriously - how much is a can of white paint and a day laborer cost ?

I’d actually prefer “needs updating” over all the poorly installed subway tile - shiplap and other half assed “upgrades” done by some wanna be flipper. A lot of houses bought at the height of the market and the slight slowdown has got them panicked. Have a feeling some flippers just rushed to get stuff out there as quickly and as cheaply as possible to hopefully cover their investment before the bubble pops.

And for the record - I do not think we see a complete pop - rather - I see low end stuff struggling as high rates effect the low end buyers and high end remaining weak as the high earners in fields like tech and finance deal with job insecurity. Great time to be a cash flush buyer in a market like Manhattan I guess - or maybe not. Could be the beginning of a seismic move and people working remote becoming a permanent thing.

 

Sorry , not going to argue , we looked BUT nothing except moving back to New Hampshire is going to "Fit for us" and being I'm retired

F@@k Snow...


Two hurricanes later Yes , I have moved back into Central Florida and am Loving Life again...

You have to take care of you & yours and that is ALL that matters..

And to answer the 3%-6% question... our contracts have that in writing...the bigger number is split between the broker and the selling agent..

It used to be a BIG bargaining Chip to help sales move along; When we sold our first NH home our realtor used our 3% as the down payment so

my younger brother could qualify.. The RIGHT realtor can make things happen...

 

You are absolutely NOT out of line to expect showings on Friday, Saturday, Sunday (probably just afternoon), AND Monday. The housing boom probably brought in a bunch of leeches looking for easy money in real estate. That is drying up so you have to wade through those idiots to find the old school real estate agents.

 

FULL TIME MALE REALTOR HERE IN TULSA OKLAHOMA- you got a couple of duds.

 

Someone lied to you. It's not illegal in Tennessee to have an agent represent both the buyer and seller.

 

I wouldn't even say it would be different if you're moving locally. Both realtors I worked with when my wife and I were house shopping were happy to show us houses on the weekend. We both work full time and they understand that you can't look a place over properly in the dark so weekends are the only option.

Shamrock, if you know anyone who lives there who's bought a house recently, see if they can recommend someone. The best realtors are the ones who survive on referrals and don't have to advertise.

 

Exactly why I buy directly from the owner no middleman everyone involved benefits from this.

 

Every State is different in regard to real estate. Leave generalizations out unless you are very active in buying and selling. "Never use a Realtor"- okayyyyyy...ever wonder how many properties you never heard of as an opportunity? I'd be happy to show anyone my expenses for advertising "0.00". It's a trust, awareness, eliminate hassles and be my advocate business" - unless I've had it all wrong for 20 yrs.

 

My grandmother opted not to use a realtor when she sold her house. Sure, she saved the 7% fees or whatever they were but how much did she lose because she had to settle for $500k instead of the $800k it was assessed at?

 

Im regards to referrals - trust me - I’ve been offered a 1000. Real estate is one of those things where EVERYONE knows someone - and 90% of them are just not good at what they do. Just because someone says their niece/neighbors son or hairdressers granddaughter is good doesn’t mean they really are. Same with mortgage brokers - realtors all pushing you to use “their guy” - it’s all a game of kickbacks.

I’m feeling out another - hopefully 3rd times a charm. Got a name from our mortgage broker - he admitted as much regarding some realtors - basically said f I’m looking at one area use this one - if another has another name but first one is very good.

Spoke with first and they seem very reasonable - like o have said - I don’t expect you to work magic or pretend I’m your only client - but at the same time with 3 weeks notice I think it’s perfectly reasonable to block off 3 hours to schedule some showings and if something pops up - be available within 24-48 hours to either do a virtual or meet either us or a family member to do a showing occasionally.

Good realtors shouldn’t need to advertise. In general - I’m wary of any “pro” who gets the majority of leads off advertisements. If your a single person operation / you should be able to get most of the work you need via word of mouth/referrals. I don’t care if your a contractor, an attorney, a proctologist or a realtor. The fact you have to plaster your face and phone on the side of a bus to get business is a not a positive to me. Now if we are talking 100 person operation - different story - but 1 person can only do so much.

And yes - agree a realtor makes a difference many times. Too much game playing - a good realtor cuts through that and has ability to get your offer to top of the stack or to REALISTICALLY tell you how much your home is worth. Would not believe the number of places I’ve looked at from these discount realtors that were priced 20% above market - all because the seller thought they were “smart” and going to save that big commission. Even worse - it feels like most met with realtors who told them their house was a 250k home - and they “knew” they were wrong and decided to list on their own for 320k. So the house sits forever with no interest - they drop the price a few times and buyers take that as a warning something is wrong until the seller winds up with a ton of lowball offers and no serious buyers. Sometimes it’s better to price 5% low and attract interest in a hot market and then let buyers bid rather than overprice and think someone is going to offer slightly less.