Buyer/Realtor Education 101

Here is something one of my agents ran into:
Ok….this will irritate some fellow realtor’s on how some home buyer’s still perceive us, but I felt a need to share this story with you!
So this “gentleman” (I use that term loosely) calls me and proceeds to ask about a property I have listed. He tells me another Realtor in the same County I work in referred him to me since I was the listing agent. Ok, so I am thinking this is odd….why would another realtor pass along a potential buyer and take the chance of losing them? Well, I was soon to find out why!
So I tell him about the house and answer his questions, then proceed to ask (like I always do) if he was currently working with a realtor, and he proceeds to tell me “No, I’m not working with any one particular realtor, I work with a lot of realtors”. And he explains to me that whatever agent has the home for sale with his/her name on the sign is who he is going to call.
He told me he has been searching for a home since July of last year…..well gee I wonder why!
I explained to him that a realtor will be as loyal to him as he is to them. I explained to him that we earn a commission. We do not have a salary paycheck, or an expense for a car or any of those other luxuries. We work on commission only. So, if a Realtor doesn’t feel like you are going to be loyal to them, we are not going to waste very much time and effort in you since we are not confident it will result in a sale. So he then proceeds to tell me the following…..
“Well, the way I see it is Realtors sell homes for PLAY MONEY”. And when I have to bust my behind to earn a penny, I’m not wasting it on a Realtor.
SO…..by this point, I am quite irritated and told him, well you know the reason you probably are still looking for a house 6 months later is because no one wants to waste time and energy on someone that isn’t loyal to them and isn’t going to result in a sale. I do not do this for play money, this is my career! This is how I put food on the table and pay bills! So, by this time he is still going on and on about how he won’t be loyal to just one person. So, I tell him Good Luck with your house hunting process and hung up on him while he was still running away at the mouth!
So after I hung up, I'm thinking to myself. Why is it that alot of the buyer's out there still think we do this just for the heck of it? This is not a hobby! We don't wake up in the morning wondering, gee...what should I do today? Go play golf, go ride around on my yacht? Or, go sell Real Estate today! We live in the real world right along with you. The majority of us do not live in mansions or own a yacht. The majority of Realtors live in the same neighborhoods that you do. We go to work to earn a paycheck everyday the same as you do. Sometimes working for free if a deal falls apart. Because if a deal does not close.....WE DO NOT GET PAID! People....WAKE UP! This is our career. This isn't a flip of a coin to see what sounds better to do for the day. If we don't sell.....we don't get a paycheck! Plain and simple.
SO….potential home buyers…let this be a word to the wise…. While the one’s that choose not to be loyal to one particular Realtor will spend much more time, effort and gas (for the car and all that driving around you are going to do looking for a home), there are the one’s that are loyal who can sit in the comfort of their home’s and all the available homes that fit their criteria land in their email FREE OF CHARGE the same day they hit the MLS! No time, effort or wasted gas on their part to get them this way!! Just the willingness to be loyal to one Realtor.
After all……if I find out about a home that comes on the market…..who do you think will be the one I will contact to let them know about it first?
And some buyer’s wonder why they just can’t seem to get a heads up before anyone else does!
It doesn’t cost you anything to use one Realtor…..but it may cost you a lot if you use several! It will probably cost you the lose of numerous homes, and the chance to get a hold of those “Hot New Listings” we love to give our loyal buyers!
So.....do you see now, why he is still looking for a home 6 months later?

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