What makes a good realtor?

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
irvinehomeowner

irvinehomeowner

Well-known member
In today's IHB, Larry discusses realtors and SGIP posts a comment that along with a recent thread looking for realtor recommendations prompted me to start this thread:
http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/blog/comments/realtors-treated-as-lackeys-and-maids-grovel-for-6/
Astute Observation by Soylent Green Is People
2010-08-27 07:07 AM

While I enjoy a good realtor bash now and then, swabbing the deck is going a bit far. A seller should have more dignity in their ownership of a property than to wait for the maid?uh..realtor? to take care of this for them. Certainly anyone who pokes a sign in the ground and inputs crappy descriptions with shiatty pictures into the MLS does not deserve 3 to 6 percent commission, but on the other hand slave labor isn?t called for either.

A post on what would make a good Realtor may be in order. I know first on my list is ABSOLUTELY NO FINANCIAL ADVICE SHOULD BE GIVEN whatsoever, unless you also hold a CPA degree, or an MBA in tax policy. Second would be open communication. One realtor I work with has a blocked (aka Private) number. I never answer that call directly, but counter with Voice Mail. realtors who don?t post accurate email addresses, correct phone numbers in their response messages, and other contact issues should start actively seeking other employment. There are plenty of other ?must have?s? in a good Realtor, so let the discussion continue either in a post, or in replies.

My .02c

Soylent Green Is People.
Click to expand...
I bolded one of the things in SGIP's post above that is important to me.

Some others (in no particular order):

1. Tech savvy:
I've said this before but if you can't use email, a mobile phone, a computer and don't know how to surf the web... you should just be a barber or sell encyclopedias door-to-door.

2. Realistic:
This is a vague term and you can probably lump "honesty", "integrity" and other stuff like that into here but basically someone who understands your situation and keeps you on track. I've spoken about this before but there have been several occasions where my realtor pushed me into a direction that was better for me and less (or zero) profitable for him. Just recently I got excited about a short sale but after talking to him about the surrounding factors, the motivation of the seller and other things... he helped me understand it may end up as an exercise in futility. He was still willing to make the offer if that's what we wanted but it turned out his instincts were right as that property has been delisted twice so who knows what was going on there.

3. Knowledgeable:
Don't you hate it when you know more about a house/neighborhood/city than the realtor? That was my problem with my previous realtor... but I can't really fault him for it because Irvine wasn't his area. All you people who have cousins, uncles, friend of a friend realtors know what I'm talking about. Sure... they have a license, can get you access and even give you a "rebate"... but they can't tell you about the specific tract, what kind of schools are close by, where the nearest basketball court is etc etc.

Opinions?
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Just recently I got excited about a short sale but after talking to him about the surrounding factors, the motivation of the seller and other things... he helped me understand it may end up as an exercise in futility. He was still willing to make the offer if that's what we wanted but it turned out his instincts were right as that property has been delisted twice so who knows what was going on there.
Click to expand...


Ha I probably know which one you are talking about.  Is the street number 12?:-)))
 
Here are some of the basics:

1) Effective and timely communication
2) Isn't greedy and puts their clients needs in front of their potential commission
3) LISTENS to their clients
4) Observes what the clients like and takes mental notes
5) Good negotiating skills
6) Personable
7) Knowledgeable of the market and current market conditions
8 Thinks out-of-the-box to make things happen
9) Strong analytical skills
10) Proactive and flexible
 
obviously realtors are in it for the commission, I doubt there are many people out there who can afford to spend that much time with someone for free. 

Regarding number 8, I was recommended one lady who was not terribly knowledgable but she was unbelievably aggressive about getting her clients the house they wanted at the price they wanted.  And when I say aggressive, i'm talking "wait is that legal!?" aggressive.  Offering behind the scenes cash to seller's agents, using her attractive asian lady ways to "be friendly and chat" with the male realtors and get them to tell her things about the situation that they probably shouldn't have, etc.  My friend who used her to buy his place was quite happy with her but my boyfriend and I were a little uncomfortable with her.  We kind of operate under the assumption that all transactions we make in our day to day lives are on the up  and up.    But i mean, it was certainly "out of the box" and it made things happen ....

I also think knowledgeable about the market and about the properties of that type in the area is really important.  Everything I saw with that lady she'd just kind of be SO excited about how inexpensive it was compared to before, but she didn't seem to have a firm grasp on the reality of hte new prices.  Everything just looked like a bargain to her, compared to before.

I think its easier to identify things to specifically AVOID rather than create a magical list of perfection since that can vary depending on what you want - my friend that recommended the lady realtor to me LOVED her.

I don't necessarily expect a realtor to know all the nuances of every neighborhood in cities outside of Irvine/newer south county.  Neighborhoods in the older cities are smaller and more diverse -- walk a few blocks and things change quite a bit.    It would be nice - awesome in fact - but I just don't really expect it in my case because we are looking for a particular type of property but not in a particular city, and i wouldn't expect a realtor to know more than a few cities quite that well.    Like maybe you know someone like me (not htat I'm a realtor) that is really familiar with Fountain Valley, HB, most of Costa Mesa  and some of santa ana, but when you throw me into orange or tustin I have no idea what the neighborhoods are really like.  And the only reason I know those 4 cities is I've lived there, had sleepovers with friends there, worked there, spent time out at night there, etc.  I can drive around orange and get a feel for the neighborhoods at certain times or days but i couldn't tell you how quiet it typically is at night, or what the neighbors are like, or what the schools are like beyond the scores that any one can look up for themselves online (and which are far from a comprehensive view into what the school itself is like).

So, you know, there are things that one person might consider a compromise or a nice to have that another person might consider a must have.  We just resigned our lease though so I'm probably not going to be looking very hard this winter, unless there's another price collapse or something EVEN THOUGH CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS WITHIN THE HOUSEHOLD SAID WE WOULD ....but I didn't fight the lease re-sign very hard.  We really like our apartment.
 
I went through 7 (yes, 7) Realtors in 18 months as a buyer.

My biggest issue is that after a few months some of the Realtors started slacking; they wouldn't follow up on offers. They arrived late to appointments. They would ply me with very nicely-done bounded booklets of the homes I was going to view; then after a few weeks I would stop getting them (not a huge deal, of course, but it was a nice touch). One Realtor started bringing her bratty, whining kid to our showings.

I was upfront and honest with each and every one; I told them that I didn't care how long it took, I was going to take my time to find the home that's right for me. I think after a few months of showings the majority of the Realtors decided I wasn't worth their time, and their commission wasn't coming fast enough.

Another reason why things didn't go well with some of them is because our client/service provider relationship would eventually turn into a friendship, so perhaps they thought it was OK to take a lax attitude with me. Who knows.

I "fired" one Realtor because the math on his offers were ALWAYS wrong!!! And he used a computer program to do his offers!! One morning he emailed me 3 offers in a row to sign, and all of them were wrong. That was the last straw. I told him to either hire an idiot savant to do his calculations or ask his 7-year-old to proofread his work. I was so happy to finally get rid of him.
 
Some terrific responses. I'd add one more: Silence. The ability to know when to STFU and let me think about this really goes the distance with me. Realtors and Mortgage Hacks are simply one evolutionary step up from car salespersons, yet I will always buy from a guy/girl on the auto lot who stands by to answer questions and refuses to upsell.

My .02c

Soylent Green Is People.
 
Thats a good one SGQIP --  or at least that can tell you clearly what your options for upselling are - "this will make your cost X more expensive, a lot of people really value it but if you don't care about it either way then don't bother, it wont' affect the value of your purchase and it will affect your bottom line".  I don't mind being upsold if it makes sense, but I want my sales person to be able to tell me WHY it makes sense.  Or why it doesn't.   
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top