I have always run business on the basic principle of “people are generally good,” and it has worked very well for a long time. I treat people right, and they treat me right as well (the majority of them, anyway.) For example, I’ve never had my buyer-clients sign employment contracts with me before going out to look at houses together. They understand that I’m working hard to provide a value for them, and when we find the right house, they’ll want me to represent their best interests in the transaction. A couple of times a year someone will let me down, but overall I’ve found that people appreciate what I do for them and reciprocate by being loyal to me. Well, this year (and especially this week!) hasn’t gone so smoothly…
Yesterday someone called me who was interested in one of my listings and asked if I could meet them in an hour to show them the home. Absolutely! This is one of the positives of my job – something the sellers did to prepare their home, or something I did to market their home, struck a chord, and someone wants to see it – that’s great news! I called the sellers to let them know what was happening and headed over to the home. Well, our appointment time came and went with no sign of these buyers. 20 minutes later I called them to check in, and their response was something along the lines of, “my wife remembered she didn’t like that neighborhood, so we didn’t bother stopping in.” OK, but thanks a lot for wasting my time.. If you don’t like the neighborhood you don’t like the neighborhood – I’m ok with that. But could you show some common courtesy for others?
Monday I spoke with a client of mine who had to share some bad news with me. It seems that even though we’ve been working together since before Thanksgiving to find her perfect home, she has also been working with another realtor in another part of town for even longer. Her plan was to work with the realtor from the part of town she ends up buying her home. But now she realizes how much time & engergy we’re both giving her, and she feels bad, so she has decided to use the realtor she met first regardless of where she ends up buying… Oh well, my loss. It’s part of the business.
Sunday I spoke with another buyer-client and received very similar news. This was a first-time buyer, so there was more involved than just looking at houses together. Which suburb of the entire Valley would be right for her? What’s the difference between what you can qualify for, and what you can afford? What are some of the hidden benefits and hidden costs of home ownership? Once we found the right neighborhood, and she was armed with lots of good knowledge, she decided to work with a realtor-friend of hers instead.
A couple of months ago, I had clients come into town who were moving here from California. We spent two months emailing & talking to get a feel for what was important to them in terms of price, home, neighborhood, etc. Their top two criteria were very important to them, but everything else was flexible. They came in for a weekend, and we looked at a ton of homes in a few different neighborhoods. Then, on the drive back to California, they stopped and bought a new-construction home without me. The new home did not meet either of the two criteria which they had made very clear were critcal to them, but it did have a criteria which they decided was more important (but which they had never mentioned to me).
These stories sound a little bit like sour grapes to me, and maybe they are. I’ve lost more clients in two months than I generally do in a year, so I am a bit frustrated. Have I already met my annual quota for being disappointed? Or is this a sign of things to come – an upward trend in general rudeness and disregard for other people’s time? I’m not sure, but I am going to make a change to my business practice.
Buyers, it doesn’t matter to me whether you buy the first home you see or the 100th. Whether the home selection process takes a weekend or over a year. Whether you’re very easygoing or very particular. I am absolutely committed to helping you find the right home – no matter how hard it is or how long it takes. But, my time is valuable, and I don’t bill by the hour. I only get paid when you successfully close on your new home. And for that reason, I am going to start using the buyer-broker employment contract with all my buyers.
-Chris
Chris Butterworth is: Realtor. Analyst. Husband. Father. Writer. Amateur Photographer. Triathlete. Soccer Dad. Big fan of technology, efficiency, and the Arizona Wildcats.
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Yes, I agree with Katie in that I think many Buyers don’t realize how much work goes on behind the scenes in finding them homes to look at. I know when I bought my house (before I was a Realtor) I had no clue how much time and effort was involved! I know better now!
I think along with the Buyer-Broker agreement, the best thing we can do is educate our clients as to how much time and energy is involved for us to represent them, and ask that with the contract, we are only asking for their commitment to us as well. I believe most people will understand once they know a little more about how the industry works.
I, too, have struggled with asking a potential client to sign a buyer-broker contract. I automatically assume that these potential clients will bolt at the first sign that I am trying to lock them into an agreement, and I would like to think that if they get a taste first of what my service is like then they will be more inclined to agree to the official commitment. Unfortunately, by that time, I usually decide against it because it seems like they have proven themselves loyal to me. I experienced the same situation this past year a few times. However, I have found that it wasn’t a case of disloyalty or dissatisfaction that caused these people to make a purchase without me, it was the naivete on their part of what it means to have a REALTOR represent them. The only thing I can blame that on is myself for not having informed them during our first conversation.
Over the years I’ve had other realtors tell me “you HAVE to use” the buyer-broker contract, but I always felt that giving super-good customer service was enough to keep people’s loyalty. In the last couple of months, though, it hasn’t been the case. It almost seems like you need to have super-good customer service AND a contract… If the carrot doesn’t work, try the stick!
Chris, I know what you are going through. I too have had the misfortune of loosing a client or two to a new build subdivision, a realtor-friend of theirs who all of a sudden appeared, as well as the occasional no-show at a showing appointment prompted by a sign call or call from our internet advertising. While in North Idaho working as a Realtor there it was very common practice to use a Buyer-Broker Agreement, which made it very clear what our responsiblities to the buyer was as their agent, as well as the buyers responsibility to us as our clients. However, in the Phoenix market it is much more seldomly used. I’ve used them in the past with certain clients and they seem to benefit both parties to the agreement. I am big fan of Buyer-Broker Agreements and plan to make it a practice of mine to implement the formal agreement as well.
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