Questionable agents

Evee71

New member
We are moving to Irvine in a month and our experience with listing agents has been just terrible.

For one house we wanted to see, the agent suggested a 2pm viewing on a Saturday. This was on a Tuesday. By Thursday, there were six open houses scheduled from 2-4pm for homes we wanted to see. I asked if he could move our private showing to earlier in the day, later in the evening, the evening prior or Sunday morning. He said the family rearranged their entire weekend schedule due to our showing and had a "very young child" at home so could not reschedule. We see the house and it's very clear there are no young children living there. The two children's bedrooms were clearly teenagers.
We offered on the house and the agent tried to get us to increase our offer by saying someone else offered $200k more but "they liked our family better." Not sure what that means but we declined. He told our agent okay they will go with the other seller. It's still on the market and they've dropped the price.

For another home we offered on, the agent from the beginning has been shady. Our agent had a tough time getting in touch with her for a showing. First red flag. When we got there for our showing, she was showing it to another family and another agent was also showing it to a family. In hindsight, we think she grouped the showings in the same hour, either because of the seller's request or she wanted to create a sense of demand. We had initially asked for another time but we were told that was the only time slot left to see it. Again, we liked the home enough to offer on it. She said there were multiple over asking offers. We initially offered at asking with an over 30% down payment. She said they probably wouldn't counter since they had multiple over asking. She came back to us and asked if we wanted to counter. We went slightly over asking. No response since then and it's still on the market a week later.

Lastly, we've dealt with several non responsive or rude agents. I texted one asking if we could view her (one and only) listing that has been on the market for a month. She replied "who is this?" hours later. I stated my name and no response back.

We just sold our home in another area and we would be appalled if our agents acted this way. Is this normal for Orange County?
 
Unfortunately there are a lot of agents that are worthless and/or shady (including listing agents) as I've run into many of those types.  I can count on 2 hands how many agents were a pleasure working with over years.  Hopefully this real estate downturn will weed out these worth realtors. 
 
The bar is very low to get a California Real Estate Salesperson's license. Even I have one! (vintage 1991 though)

Behavior like this is not exclusive to Irvine, OC, or even California. Having structured purchase loans across the country, I can assure you it's a systemic national issue. NAR's only herd thinning tool is the invisible hand of capitalism - sink or swim - rather than how it is for most other industries - rules, regulations, and consequences if these rules are not followed. Rare is the day when a realtor oversight board reprimands with significance their own kind. Because of this, reform within the real estate sales industry is long overdue. One should refrain from holding their breath for any real change within the practice.

The best you can do is be sure to retain a highly regarded Realtor with proven track records of both success AND customer service. Believe it or not there are many Realtors out there who still treat the job as a profession. USCTrojanCPA on the board here is one - with many real time confirmed examples of being the sort of Realtor one should expect when committing to a life changing purchase. I'm sure there will be other Posters with additional names to suggest. For example, if you were buying in Catalina I'd recommend the Etheridge team out of Re/Max - folks with 50+ years of proven customer experience. They, like Martin, have the same long view of customer relationship building.

It sounds like the problems you've had so far are the actions taken by listing agents rather than a Realtor who works with both buyers AND listings regularly. That dual work ethic brings a strong perspective of service to both sides of the deal. There really isn't anything you can personally do to avoid the sloppy ways of shiatty realtor - other than working with a buyers Agent who will take the brunt of the pain for you - as a good buyers Agent will. There are some high volume realtors in my area (Rancho Santa Margarita) who I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy - but they have the listings - so working with a buyers agent who knows the listing agent personally can help you navigate towards success.

Yes, we are in a price declining market. Yes, as well, demand is still high, but not for stooopid listings. Because of this the invisible hand of capitalism has not yet booted out all of these bad realtors, but time may be on your side. Many of these "area experts" and "top 1% producers" are acting the way they are because this is the only home in their pipeline, and bills are coming due quickly. Let's hope your wise choice of a buyers agent will yield you the results you are due as a consumer.

Best of luck out there!
 
A lot of agents here in OC. Many have their license in addition to their regular, full-time job: like me and SGIP.

It sounds like you should secure an agent like USCTrojanCPA to represent yourself and your family best. Even the "big names" in this area won't give you the time of day. They'll do an initial call with you and then hand you off to one of their assistants or team members to take you on showings, write offers, etc. This is why I decided to get a license for myself so that I could represent myself and my friends/families.

In this market - make sure you have an agent you can trust. The market is clearly shifting. There are still some gems properties out there that you'll need to overbid and waive all your contingencies for. But, for any aging listings, you don't need to be as aggressive - don't let any agent pressure you into that.
 
Tell me about it, I disliked the selling agents so much I just took the test and got my own license. Honestly I would recommend that, being able to see houses on my own terms have been much better. If you don?t have the time, I agree with the above, I would go with a full time agent like Martin USCTrogenCPA :)
 
OP, you aren't alone.  There are a few top Irvine agents that I dread working with because they don't have the common courtesy to communication timely back to me after I submitted an offer and/or you get a lot of BS and lies when I ask questions or follow up on my offers.  With one of these agents, I got so sick of her crap of ghosting me that I contacted her broker because enough was enough.  Funny thing is that within an hour of speaking to her broker on the phone, she called me and questioned why I went to her broker....well, you were ghosting me and you weren't responding to my emails, texts, and calls (couldn't leave a voicemail as her voicemail was full).  Just like SGIP mentioned, a good agent will deal with all the BS on the other side and save their clients from having to suffer through it. 

There are 3 types of agents out there....1) good agents who are a pleasure to work with, 2) serviceable agents who can get things don't if there's no speed bumps or detours, and 3) the agents I dread working with and rather put my head through a wall. 
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Forget the stories... I want names! :)

I rather not say as chances are I'll be running into them again so I don't want to put my clients at a disadvantage because they'll hold a grudge for calling them out.
 
Poor realtors are coming to grips with the end of the gravy train.

Have Interest Rates and Inflation Affected the Real Estate Boom?

[youtube]https://youtu.be/AZhNpTSmhS8[/youtube]
 
Liar Loan said:
Poor realtors are coming to grips with the end of the gravy train.

Have Interest Rates and Inflation Affected the Real Estate Boom?

[youtube]https://youtu.be/AZhNpTSmhS8[/youtube]

Just like in 2008-2010, it's good for the industry to weed out the weak links out of the system.
 
As an update, the agent who lied about the age of the kids and the other buyer with a higher offer, texted me and my agent last week asking if we still wanted the house for the price we offered. Neither of us responded and now the house was taken off the market.

Another home we offered on, they countered with the Multiple Offer Counter. We also declined to counter as we gave our best and highest for that house. The next day, they reduced the price to what they claimed they already had a competing buyer offering and it's still listed. How is it allowed to lie so blatantly?

We are currently in escrow on a home that we were told has a cash offer. They accepted our offer a week ago but it's still showing as active. Now the agent is saying the cash offer gave a "higher offer and different terms" so we better keep on schedule. How is this bullying allowed? We know in this market we are overpaying for the house too; it's pretty crazy they act like this. We are asking for some credits for repairs and are ready to walk away if they don't agree. Another house will come along.
 
definitely call it bluff unless it is a dream house then I would not fuss it over few grands.
I think the seller agent says that to prevent you from walking away and lose the deal, as they expect the price to go down in the near future.
If it is just a dime in a dozen then you can walk away as the price trend is down and mortgage rates seems to be stable (assume you are not cash buyer).
 
What? You are in escrow for a week but the listing is still showing active? Are you sure? That?s definitely not allowed and you can make a complaint with the DRE. You have to pay the deposit to actually be considered to be escrow, you already wired your deposit in escrow?

Evee71 said:
As an update, the agent who lied about the age of the kids and the other buyer with a higher offer, texted me and my agent last week asking if we still wanted the house for the price we offered. Neither of us responded and now the house was taken off the market.

Another home we offered on, they countered with the Multiple Offer Counter. We also declined to counter as we gave our best and highest for that house. The next day, they reduced the price to what they claimed they already had a competing buyer offering and it's still listed. How is it allowed to lie so blatantly?

We are currently in escrow on a home that we were told has a cash offer. They accepted our offer a week ago but it's still showing as active. Now the agent is saying the cash offer gave a "higher offer and different terms" so we better keep on schedule. How is this bullying allowed? We know in this market we are overpaying for the house too; it's pretty crazy they act like this. We are asking for some credits for repairs and are ready to walk away if they don't agree. Another house will come along.
 
melodypowell said:
What? You are in escrow for a week but the listing is still showing active? Are you sure? That?s definitely not allowed and you can make a complaint with the DRE. You have to pay the deposit to actually be considered to be escrow, you already wired your deposit in escrow?

Evee71 said:
As an update, the agent who lied about the age of the kids and the other buyer with a higher offer, texted me and my agent last week asking if we still wanted the house for the price we offered. Neither of us responded and now the house was taken off the market.

Another home we offered on, they countered with the Multiple Offer Counter. We also declined to counter as we gave our best and highest for that house. The next day, they reduced the price to what they claimed they already had a competing buyer offering and it's still listed. How is it allowed to lie so blatantly?

We are currently in escrow on a home that we were told has a cash offer. They accepted our offer a week ago but it's still showing as active. Now the agent is saying the cash offer gave a "higher offer and different terms" so we better keep on schedule. How is this bullying allowed? We know in this market we are overpaying for the house too; it's pretty crazy they act like this. We are asking for some credits for repairs and are ready to walk away if they don't agree. Another house will come along.

Yeah, I change the status of my MLS listings as soon as the deposit hits escrow.
 
melodypowell said:
What? You are in escrow for a week but the listing is still showing active? Are you sure? That?s definitely not allowed and you can make a complaint with the DRE. You have to pay the deposit to actually be considered to be escrow, you already wired your deposit in escrow?

Evee71 said:
As an update, the agent who lied about the age of the kids and the other buyer with a higher offer, texted me and my agent last week asking if we still wanted the house for the price we offered. Neither of us responded and now the house was taken off the market.

Another home we offered on, they countered with the Multiple Offer Counter. We also declined to counter as we gave our best and highest for that house. The next day, they reduced the price to what they claimed they already had a competing buyer offering and it's still listed. How is it allowed to lie so blatantly?

We are currently in escrow on a home that we were told has a cash offer. They accepted our offer a week ago but it's still showing as active. Now the agent is saying the cash offer gave a "higher offer and different terms" so we better keep on schedule. How is this bullying allowed? We know in this market we are overpaying for the house too; it's pretty crazy they act like this. We are asking for some credits for repairs and are ready to walk away if they don't agree. Another house will come along.

Yes, EMD was wired six days ago.

Another home we offered on, also had an active listing over a week after the listing agent said she accepted another offer (not ours.) We thought that was strange but now it's happening to us so maybe not so strange.
 
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