Agents not returning calls!

Profile picture for Beerman0514
I am a FSBO and I had 4 showings last week.  I called the buyers' agents to ask for feedback from the showings.  3 out of the 4 agents have not called back!  Am I being disrespected because I am a FSBO?  Is this normal?  I seems unprofessional to me.
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April 10 2011 - Richfield

Replies (48)

Profile picture for robin398
Hi Beerman0514,

Unfortunately agents do not give as much credence to an FSBO as to a listing on the MLS.  They will show the property but it's all about the money.  Even if the potential buyer isn't interested they should have the common courtesy to let you know. 
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April 10 2011
Thanks for your question.  I can not say you are being slighted because you are a FSBO because it happens to agents as well.
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April 10 2011
Profile picture for MikeEmery
You would probably have more luck sending the agents an email.

Even then I sometimes only get a 50 percent response, with some agents being less than truthful about even showing up at the property, much less having shown the property.

And as always, take feedback with a grain of salt. If their buyers are interested in the property, they're not going to tell you it's under priced, fabulous and an absolute steal.
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April 10 2011
Profile picture for MikeEmery
You would probably have more luck sending the agents an email.

Even then I sometimes only get a 50 percent response, with some agents being less than truthful about even showing up at the property, much less having shown the property.

And as always, take feedback with a grain of salt. If their buyers are interested in the property, they're not going to tell you it's under priced, fabulous and an absolute steal.
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April 10 2011
Profile picture for John_King
Not that I neccessarily agree 100%, some agents will NOT give feedback as they believe it could weaken their buyer's position.

Such as: "They Loved It", and it's 2nd on our list so far.  What if they come back and buy it, now you know "They Loved It", and could be a little more firm on your pricing.

For feedback, I typically followup with an email, then a phone call.  After that, they're just not giving it.

Hope this helps.
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April 10 2011
Profile picture for RachelRosen
Try creating a feed back flyer that is available for agents and buyers to fill out on the spot. You can also leave cookies or candy out. The power of reciprocity is huge. If you give them something...even something as little as a candy bar, they will feel more obligated to help you out as well.
You can even say you'll email them an online gift card for their time ($5). Of course, only say that if you mean it.

Agents aren't slighting you, there is just nothing in it for them to stop what they are doing to tell you their buyers weren't interested.

Good luck!

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April 10 2011
Send them an email asking a few basic questions regarding the showing.  I think you'll get a better response.
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April 10 2011
Welcome to the world of real estate!

Being a FSBO probably has little to do with why you're not getting feedback, however if you had your property listed with a good Realtor, you wouldn't be having these issues.
 
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April 10 2011
Profile picture for Pete Cook Realty
It takes persistence to get feedback for showings of my listings.  Email is probably the better format.
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April 10 2011
Since most FSBO's are FSBO's because they don't want to pay Broker's  commissions, what was your gripe again?

If you are expecting Brokers to provide feedback to you, after showing yourself to be going out of your way NOT to pay Real Estate Broker's Commissions, I wouldn't advise holding your breath for feedback.

If you list your property with a good Broker, you'll probably be more concerned about the different aspects of offers being received than seeking feedback from disinterested showings.
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April 10 2011

As a Realtor we are duty bound to work for the client.  All sellers with their homes listed by other agents are indirectly our clients.  We work to sell their properties first.   Giving you feedback which could help you sell your home does not assist our clients.

 As a buyers agent my job is to get the best deal for my buyer. I am no longer bound by duty to a seller.  I am however duty bound to see that my buyer gets the best price, and that the transaction is smooth.  If my buyer decides to purchase a FSBO the chances are great that the transaction will be a roller coaster ride.

If you are representing yourself in the sale I have to assume you "think" you know what you are doing.  Your ability to take my direction or meet deadlines cannot be relied upon.  It adds more responsibility for me but no more compensation. 

I show a FSBO when the buyer asks me to or if I feel it will meet their needs.   It also gives me the opportunity to evaluate the FSBO and try to negotiate representation with the seller later.

If four agents have shown your home and none of them have called back to talk to you about listing your home I have to suspect something is wrong. 

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April 11 2011
It's not necessarily because you are a FSBO. Yes, you were considerate in letting agents show the home, and you do deserve feedback regardless of how you are selling the home. If they have a contract with the buyer they might be leary as to what feedback they give should the buyers be interested in the home. Some agents aren't really good about getting back to you with feedback. Try making a general feedback form you can email the agents. Have a rating system of 1-5 and make it simple so they'll fill it out. Make sure you ask for suggestions too, but be prepared for it because it's not always sunshine and roses.
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April 11 2011
Profile picture for mckylie
I agree with all of the above in that you are not alone.  We had an Agent at one time and he always followed up and rarely got calls back.  Then did the FSBO and same thing.  I emailed and rarely got responses.
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April 11 2011
Profile picture for vmigos
As an agent, it has happened to me by other agents.  That is my one complaint.  In my area, there are a lot of short sales and some agents have quite a few listings.  I wish they would just take on what they can handle.  I am truly sorry to hear that is happening to you!
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April 11 2011
Profile picture for jimtoddhomes
Sorry to hear your about your plight!  But as an agent I have the some "bad" uck w/ feedback.  Even w/ a simple 4 question, e-mailed questionnaire the usually come back incomplete or not at all.

Best of luck in your home sale adventure!
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April 11 2011
Profile picture for Sharon Lewis

We don't like fsbo's for several reasons. I just dealt with a fsbo and basically the seller doesnt know what they are doing,....we are the buyers side, and the seller kept asking me for my advice to help them...but I work for the buyer. not the seller. FSBO's  resent our commission, but we do earn it,and then we give part of it, to uncle sam, and our real estate firm etc.
 fsbo's miss the mark, they sit on the market for a long period of time, and then when they don't sell they hire us, but they have missed their market by then.  If you were my client, I know in the end you would be getting more money on the sale of your house than you will as a FSBO.
we are professionals, I don't try to practice medicine or fly a passenger jet. 
We know what we are doing and there are some amazing realtors out there who could get you on your way.
Good luck on your fsbo. We will show your house, but most of my clients are concerned about fsbo's, they think you are hiding something, so they don't want to deal with you.
 

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April 11 2011
Profile picture for Ben001
I would take it as they are not interested. It maybe because of commission, lack of property value, or both.
consult your realtor to rectify the problem(s).
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April 11 2011
Profile picture for Kim Nwachukwu
If they haven't gotten back with you then their client wasn't interested.  I would take that as unspoken feedback, and do exactly that many times on my own listings.  I really don't care what the buyer's agent or the buyer has to say: - they are either interested in the house or not (although many times the seller wants to hear the feedback).  Anything in between "interested" and "not interested" is irrelevant - an written offer in hand is the only feedback that has any worth at all.  In my opinion, the only time agent feedback has any value is when it supports an idea or suggestion that I've already talked over with the seller, but they have refused to implement (you need to paint, clean, landscape, whatever).  You know what your property is, and what it isn't - why do you need to hear it from someone that isn't interested in the property? If you are looking for collaborating testimony on something your home needs, why not just trust your own gut and do whatever it is that needs to be done?  Just curious.
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April 11 2011
Profile picture for jeff kendrick
Good evening. I would say if the agent did not call you back. Then the buyers are not interested at this time. You may want to email your request to the agents. That seems to get more responses then calling. Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck.
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April 11 2011
I like the idea of creating a feedback form at the house but honestly most of the time the buyers agent would not do it. Better to have something like that you can email them that will "jog" their memory of the property.

And yes as a listing agent this happens to me all the time too so don't worry about it. I have the luxury of a system that will automatically keep sending out reminders every day until a response is given.

Just have thick skin and know that if buyers agents don't give you feedback it is because their client is not interested in the property and move on.
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April 12 2011
Profile picture for ConnieK_Oklahoma

email then call again as a follow up.
it may just be that they are sidetracked and if the feedback is that the clients weren't all that excited....then it doesn't stay in the front of the mind to call.  It's not specific to being a fsbo.  I've had to nag to get feedback before and I know I've forgotten to provide it a time or two...the nice thing about email is if they are up doing something late in the evening when it's too late to call, they can still politely email you the feedback.   - After kids are in bed, house is clean etc...mind is clear and planning/follow ups can be done electronically.

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April 12 2011
Profile picture for mckylie
Sharon Lewis's generalization about FSBOs is as bad as when people generalize Agents and say they don't earn their commissions, they are greedy, they are bad....  Not all FSBOs are like that.  We had an agent and our house sat on the market for over a year.  Not one offer.  9 months later we did FSBO and got an offer the first week.  2 offers later we were in contract within a month and a half.  We didn't "resent" paying the buying Agent her 3%.  And we had done our research and didn't ask for "advice".  We did have a few questions but none that put her relationship with the buyer in jeopardy and she was very good about answering them.  And because of how wonderful she was we would use her if we ever decided to put our new house on the market and will refer her to any of our friends in need of an agent!
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April 12 2011
Profile picture for CallChrisToday
You've received many great answers here and any of them could be the real reason you didn't get feedback. But there is a much simpler reason that hasn't even been mentioned. I'll explain....

Typically, when a Realtor shows houses they show a bunch of them all at once. I'd say 4 - 6 is a common number of homes shown in one trip. Your house is but one of many shown. The Realtor could have shown 25 homes by the time you asked for feedback. The fact is they don't even remember your house! And if they do they don't have any feedback. We don't push our buyers during showings to give feedback on every property we visit. The feedback is non-verbal much of the time. The buyer scrunched up their nose and said, "Nah, not for us. Next." Only a fool would push this buyer to bullet-point everything they don't like about the house just to give feedback to a seller.

You're not getting feedback because there probably isn't any feedback. Even though your home is special and important to you it isn't to anyone else. Buyers are out looking at houses and the majority of them aren't going to be appealing to them. But they don't necessarily have feedback to voluntarily offer on each. They just don't like it. They don't see themselves living in your house. Stuff like that.

To be honest I'm surprised any Realtors are even showing your FSBO. Most FSBO's are beyond clueless with pricing, contracts, laws and procedures. More than likely you are too. Do yourself a favor and hire a professional to do the job. There is a good reason you don't see many FSBO signs these days.
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April 12 2011
Profile picture for RachelRosen
@ christopher block-
"I like the idea of creating a feedback form at the house but honestly most of the time the buyers agent would not do it."

My two cents on the last part: As a former agent, I would have rather done it on the spot (if I was going to do it at all). When you show a bunch of homes in one day, the memory gets fuzzy on what was what. Especially if you don't get the "jogging" email til the next day or after that. If I loved the home, everything is remembered. If I don't like the home, retaining the homes flaws in my head just to tell the seller is bottom of the priority list.
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April 12 2011
Profile picture for Dunes....
@ mcklylie of the Cat People
Well said..Thumbs up

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April 12 2011
Profile picture for mckylie
Again - with the not showing FSBO crap!  So, Chris, you are saying that if there was a FSBO house that meets your clients price range, location, description... you would not show it to your client if they did not find it and ask to see it?  Are you really giving your clients your best service????  I would not hire a Buyers Agent if they wouldn't show me ALL the houses in my range of what I wanted!!!!!
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April 12 2011
Profile picture for CallChrisToday
No, I definitely wouldn't go out of my way to show my clients FSBO's and any Realtor that says they would is lying.

1. With FSBO's my commission is not protected. I have to negotiate commission on every FSBO separately. Highly inefficient.

2. With FSBO's I have to worry about my buyers going behind my back and making an offer directly with the seller. Yes, buyers do that all the time.

3. FSBO's are almost always priced too high. Their logic is, "Hey, I am saving on real estate commission so I can ask more for my home."

4. With FSBO's I have to go on a guided tour of the property with the seller pointing out features that my buyer probably doesn't care about or want to see. FSBO's take much longer to show because everyone is worried about offending the seller.
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April 12 2011
Profile picture for Dunes....
"any Realtor that says they do is lying"

and that's not lying?
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April 12 2011
Profile picture for mwilbanks
Feedback is hard to come by these days.  What you need is to interview several agents and then pick the one honest agent that will tell you why your house is not selling and then offer up suggestions on how to get your home sold.  I don't just stick a sign in the yard, I go over a plan with my clients on what might be an asset and what might be a deterent for their home.  WE actually go through the house and downsize personal items.  I then have a personal home stager that comes in and makes 'what you already have' look a little more inviting and 'staged' for a sale. 
Do you need to paint? Clean clutter?  Repair the wood on the house, or fencing or shutters?  Should you plant some bushes or flowers?  Update some lighting? A good thorough house cleaning?
There are many things that an agent can show you....if they are a good agent with your interest at heart.
The better I do for my clients, the better my business is because they will think fondly of me and refer me to their friends and family.  That is the ultimate appreciation.
And YES, I do show FSBO's.  I have sold only 5 of them over the past 10 years but I knew that the home was what my client was looking for because I go see them and treat them as any other listing, as long as the seller is willing to co-op with my company to make sure that I am paid for my contribution to their sell.
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April 12 2011
Profile picture for CallChrisToday
OK, allow me to restate...

"No, I definitely wouldn't go out of my way to show my clients FSBO's and any Realtor that says they would is lying or a fool."

Yes, sometimes I show and sell FSBO's, but for the most part pursuing FSBO's is a huge risk and highly inefficient. I'm not talking about pursuing them as potential listings. I'm referring to showing FSBO's to buyers.
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April 12 2011
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