We’ve talked about how agents have poorly represented aspects of a buyers financial credentials, often to the harm to their own sellers. Another thing we’ve seen is that agents and their sellers are unprepared for multiple offers. Buyers end up submitting an offer and expecting a quick reply, only to be told: (1) that the sellers have changed their minds and want agents to submit a new, better offer; (2) to add an escalation clause; (3) to come back with a new “highest and best” offer [we’ll talk about this one some other time, it’s a real interesting examination of buyer psychology]; (4) that the seller is (suddenly) unavailable to review offers promptly or has unexpectedly left town; (5) or to wait x more days for a response. A rare 6th situation that we’ve unfortunately also seen is when the sellers decide not to sell, since the ease with which they received 10+ offers makes them think they should wait a while for the prices to go up even more – yes, it’s unbelievable! Folks, there are few thing that piss buyers and their agents off more than changing the rules after we’ve invested time and emotion into creating a great offer. Good agents never forget who the bad ones are (heck, even the bad ones probably know who else is bad!), and that no doubt comes back to haunt them. We feel sorry for the buyers and sellers who work with awful real estate agents, but then again, they’re the ones that found and hired their agent. We’re seeing some big mistakes and misses made by agents on both sides of the transaction. Clear, frequent, competent communications between parties is more essential now than ever. And just do what you say and say what you do. Pretty simple, and will keep everyone happy and moving towards the same goals.
© Rich Tao Real Estate - since 2003
