Yesterday, I met my client at a home he was interested in seeing. Upon meeting him, he told me of what another agent did that truly disturbed him. The story is as follows:
He and his sister were walking by a home that they were considering seeing. (Instead of a drive-by, they lived close enough that they were able to "walk-by" instead. Besides, it was a nice day.)
As they were walking around the outside of the home, an agent came out and spoke with them. (She was not the listing agent.) Upon meeting, they only gave the agent their first names. Seeing that they had an interest in the home, she gave them information about it. Now, I do want to mention that I already had sent my buyer the information on this listing, so they had the basics on the home.
My buyer then proceeded to inform me that this agent called the sister the next day and left a long message about how she can show them other homes like the one they were looking at. What was very disturbing was that niether my buyer, nor his sister, gave this agent their phone number nor their address, nor their last name. All that was said was that they lived in the area. They didn't even request that the agent contact either of them.
Plus, the sister's phone number is on the DO NOT CALL list. Yet, the buyer's sister was contacted.
What is disturbing the buyer is that somehow, this agent managed to find the phone number without their permission.
Upon meeting the agent, it did not occur to the buyer to mention that he already was working with an agent. The other agent should have asked. She didn't even ask for their phone number. Is this ethical? Was this all out of desperation to get clients?
This type of behaviour is what is giving the REALTORS a bad reputation and is totally unacceptable.
Agents, if you are looking for buyers and sellers, do us all a favor. Get out and work your tails off for your own leads. If you come across a person interested in a home, ask first if they are working with an agent.
Remember your ethics training!
Brigita,
That has to be one of the first if not the first question out of your mouth is about agency. I mean come on agents like that are the ones that give us a bad reputation.
I always ask the question...If another agent, I give any info they desire and tell them to call their agent. Why? because it is the right thing to do!
That is sad to hear but not uncommon. It's agents like that that give the rest of us a bad name. I'm sure that agent won't be around long with methods like that. Being aggressive is one thing but come on.
Larry:
It is definitely one of the first questions I ask.
Brigita
Hi Brigita, I think there are a certain number of bad agents out there in good times and bad. This market just gives them another reason to be aggressive.
Gary:
Exactly!
Brigita
Jared:
The sister wants to report her. I informed him that this agent should be reported to her broker.
Brigita
ahhhh Ethics ... my business has lost some ethics on both sides of the fence, from the customers to my competition that will say anything now to close the sale out of shere desperation, pretty sad out in the market lately ....but I will just keep focused and will out work all the BS :-)
Happy Selling !!
Bill:
Being aggressive is one thing, but not doing the right thing is another. No wonder many consumers don't trust real estate agents. I've heard that from many FSBO's.
Brigita
I had a agent see me and my clients walk into a rental and when the clients went to there car and I was locking up the other agent tried to steal them there and then. When I told her I was their agent she said that she didn't realize. But I saw her when I drove up and I saw her look at me when i parked plus the sign on my car could not be missed. Desperation maybe but still down right unethical no matter how you look at it.
Bob:
No matter what the times bring us, we still are professionals and need to show it. Without our ethics and professionalism, the consumer will lose trust and faith in us. As a matter of fact, some already have. I have heard a number of consumers complain that they are unahppy with their agent(s). This is why we are classified on the same level as used car salesmen.
Brigita
Ray:
That is awful! Stealing other agent's clients is not the way to do it. Working hard is how you get clients.
Brigita
Thanks for posting this we do all need to remember this as Realtors-how disturbing for these buyers.
Pat:
Maybe this will help some agents realize how disturbing it is to consumers.
Brigita
Brigita,
Unfortunately, it can work the other way as well. Last week, a man pulled up in front of one of our listings and engaged my husband in conversation. My husband was picking up leaves and doing some Spring clean-up. He asked lots of questions and then said that he would be coming with his wife and his agent to see the house the next day. My husband willingly gave him a tour of the home and pointed out all of the custom features and energy upgrades that the man's agent might not have observed. No real problem with that, however, it seems he forgot to tell his Buyer's Agent what he had done. Come to find out, this customer has his own home listed FSBO and needs to sell it in order to buy.
Guess we all need to remember that respect and communication are two-way or no way.
We all have a code of ethics to adhere to. Unfortunately there are some agents who put their own needs ahead of their clients and this makes it even harder to do an already hard job.
The agent you referred to in your post should be reported to your broker in charge so that he/she can make the appropriate phone calls.
Can you say STALKER? That whole scenario was wrong on so many levels.
Kathy:
I think we all have stories to tell.
Brigita
Craig:
The sister will be reporting her.
Brigita
Carol:
That's for sure!
Brigita
I have a list of 20 Realtors with whom I will not work, even if their Clients find me on the Internet rather than as a referral from the Realtor. Their ethics are colder than he**.
Russel:
I have a list of my own and unfortunately, it is growing. :-(
Brigita
It's sad, but I've seen it happen all too often! I always ask someone if they are working with an agent. My goal since the start (Oct. 2008) has been to always run my business in the most ethical, legal manner. I am starting to see the benefits and as a result am doing well for a rookie. I have, however, had several clients "stolen" from me by other agents. Times like these seem to have a couple of affects on people: 1) previously "good" agents resort to dirty tactics to keep their business going, 2) It really separates the agents that work hard from the "hobby" agents.