WWTLD

I pride myself on having a metaphorical pillow on my couch.  When in doubt, I look at its initials “WWTLD” and ask myself the question it implies: “What would Ted Lasso do?”

Would Ted Lasso complain about other real estate agents?  Heck, no, amigo!”

So I won’t kvetch, or moan, or whine.  I’ll just share a few things that perplex me as an real estate after twenty years.  Behavior that I don’t understand, behavior that is counterproductive to moving deals forward.  If real estate agents have a bad reputation in general, this is the kind of stuff that does not help one bit!  I’ll also provide some alternatives, some positive actions, that take little time and make a big difference.  So here goes:

is this the open house?

My Top 5 List of Irritating Things We Agents To Do Each Other

5) Ask what the sublet policy is for a co-op listing – before anything else.

This is a pet peeve of mine.  I don’t think that buyer agents intend to drive me, or any other listing agent crazy, but I would say at least five times a week, I get this question:  “What is the sublet policy for this cooperative building?”  Usually, that’s the entire content of the email.  Not about setting up a showing, nor about whether the apartment is even available.  Just this request for one nugget of information.

Immediately, I have questions back for that agent:

• Why is that the first question?
• Is the buyer interested in subletting the apartment out from day one?
• Do you have other questions, or is that the only one?

In a vacuum, I can imagine some poor agent having a client who wants to buy an investment property, but doesn’t have the budget for a condominium- a building whose rules allow for subletting.  Instead, this buyer is trying to Frankenstein his or her way into becoming a rental landlord- in the wrong kind of building.

An alternative reason could be that a buyer is concerned about being relocated for work, or options down the road when it’s time to sell.  That’s logical, although without any color in that email, my default would be to assume the former reason.

While there usually is an answer to the question- the coop does have a policy, after all- what if the policy changes?  The board of this building could change its rules at any time.  My answer, then, would be completely null.  If a buyer is hanging his purchase (or investment) on my answer, that’s a pretty rusty nail.

My suggestion to agents asking this question?  Add in a few more.  Give me some background.  And even more importantly, teach your buyers that cooperative building are notoriously challenging to those shareholders looking to rent out their units.  And help me help YOU.

4) Being Late- without communication.

My buyers are late.  They’ve even told me, “Scott, we’re usually fifteen minutes late, so you know.” I’m late with buyers, too.  We get stuck spending time at another apartment before the next appointment, and just like that- poof! – we’re running behind.  For years, I was known in my family as the guy who was always late.  So I get it.  Completely.

Listing agents, on the other hand, have more control.  They just need to show up, turn on lights, and wait for the buyer agent and her customer to show up.  Seems like a recipe for punctuality.  Yet, at least 50% of the time, the listing agent is late, too.

What, dear reader, is there to do?  This seems like an unsolvable problem, right?  Umm…of course not.

We have these magic things in our hands that allow us to be in touch.  ALL THE TIME.  Use them to tell the other person that you’re running late.  Or even better, show up on time, and use the smartphone to take care of other emails and business.  Maybe you can compose a more detailed email to a listing agent, the kind that I’m recommending in #5 above!

3) Lying.

“My client is only in town today.”

If your buyers are from Long Island, perhaps they’re here on a Sunday and not for the rest of the week.  But your buyers from elsewhere?  Really?  They’re only in town one day?  I’ve had clients who will take a few months to find an apartment, one touring day at a time.  So there’s merit to this one.  For the rest of the whoppers I hear, they may have a frisson of truth, but not much more than that.  I’ll share a few of my favorites:

“I can only show at one time.” – this is one that both buyer and seller agents tell.  Really?  Or is it that you just don’t want to show at another time?

“We have another offer.” – this is a great one.   The apartment has been on the market for 5 months without a price reduction, and just when my client is interested, you have another offer?  Coincidence, or a bluff?  It does not take long to figure out which is which.

“This is my client’s best offer.” Yeah, this one is true occasionally, but more often than not- NOPE.

I could go on and on, but I’ll pause here.  Brokers lie, brokers bluff.  I would encourage them to walk carefully into this corner.  At some point, it’s hard not to get pinned down.

2) Agents who do not read- or who do not listen.

I’m not talking about illiteracy.  I’ve found that some of the most successful agents can hardly throw three sentences together.  But if I mention on a call, or in an email, that a property needs a COMPLETE, top-to-bottom renovation- and your client walks in and promptly walks out of the unit- who is served by your lack of listening?  You? The client?  The listing agent?

This drives me crazy.  We love selling apartments.  We want to present them in their best light.  But if they need a lot of work, we share that information.  It’s best that you read our one line emails, or the listing descriptions, or digest that important data point in our phone call to you. “The unit needs a full gut.”  We don’t pull punches.  Stop wasting everyone’s time.

1) Agents not responding to emails, texts, or voicemails AT ALL.

Well, this is the winner of all bad behavior.  I know you’re busy, fellow agent.  I know it’s a crazy day out there.  But I have clients who run global law practices, who manage hundreds of attorneys and deals.  When I email them, they respond within ten minutes.  I used to be completely baffled by it.  But let me share what I realized: You don’t have to say much, if anything.  You can say “Thanks! I’ll be back to you.” You can have canned shortcut responses in your phone if you want.  The one thing that you really can’t do, if you want to build up relationships in the business, is nothing.  Being hard to reach doesn’t make you fancy, or cool, or a more successful agent.  It just makes you rude.  There is no upside to it.  It’s just that most basic “Do Unto Your Neighbor” stuff that makes the world better- or worse.

There’s SO Much More

I could go on and on, but I’ll leave it there!  I love the brokerage community.  We treat them like gold.  We respond as quickly as we can.  We go above and beyond to get them into our listings.  We ask lots of questions to make sure the properties we see with our buyers are appropriate.  We prepare.  We do our best not to be late.  We walk our talk.  And it makes the buyer and seller experience that much better.  That’s what Visionary Brokerage is all about! -S