How do you deal with difficult agents?

Hi Katie,

I am so sorry that this happened to you. There are many kinds of people that call themselves a professional industry member... yet they are far from being that.

I would keep a good record of all your attempts to contact the listing realtor... and talk to your broker.

 I like to have everything in writing and documented. Have your tried corresponding via email? 

Sincerely yours,

Eva 

Every situation is different so i would have to understand what has transpired.

Thank you everyone. It’s our office’s policy to print out all emails and document all phone calls on the file folder, which I have done. The other agent is based in another county under a completely different MLS. My broker is aware of the situation. 

This is unfortunate, but does occur on occasion.  Hopefully this is the exception not the rule in your market area.  I would brief my broker and seek some advice as well as possible assistance.  In many cases there is a network,  wherein your broker may know this agent and/or the broker he/she works for.  Regarding the relationships w/difficult agents, I believe candor, professionalism and perseverance is very important with regards to the communication exchange and hitting deadlines / meeting expectations.  It's also very important, in the interest of our client, to be the bigger person, never take it personal and always think of it in terms of a business relationship.  Sometimes easier said than done, but these are my thoughts, suggestions and principals that I know are effective in the business place and worthy of striving to achieve.  Executing and modeling the aforementioned is essential in establishing a better relationship w/the other agent, however in reality if that person is of poor character and does not (respond favorably) you know you did your job with no regrets.

Hi Katie,

Communicate with your client about the delayed response.   Defintely involve your manager if phone calls and emails to the other agent go unanswered. Rise above one rude agent.  Most are there to move the transaction to a successful close. 

I would ask to speak to her managing Broker. 

When working with a foreclosed  or bank owned property, there will always be an addendum to the the contract.  Many times they are not filled out.  The reasoning is that they want to be sure your clients understand what will be required of them prior to accepting the offer.   Have your client review it with their attorney before signing. Just so you know, if your client does not agree to all terms, they will not get the property.  If you change anything in the addendum, they will not get the property. Once you submit the addendum signed and they accept your offer, they will complete the addendum and send it to you for signatures again and request earnest money.  I usually get the addendum ahead of time (sometimes they have it in additional items on the MLS) and let them read through it and talk to their attorney.  If their attorney is an experience real estate attorney, they have seen these before and can put your clients at ease.  Basically if your clients are uncomfortable, stop looking at bank owned properties and stick to traditional sales instead.

Hi Katie! 

      I'm sorry you are having to deal with that. Unfortunately, difficult agents are part of our business for sure. I find that agents that do high volume, or have teams, often don't have a great level of customer service, or attention to detail. And, unfortunately, since it's a foreclosure, they are likely not making their typical full commission, and banks are notorious for not being good at responding. So, it's likely a combo of a pain in the butt seller, and an agent that doesn't care much. There are often extra addendum with a foreclosure, but if your buyers don't feel comfortable with those, than I would encourage you to either lower the offer price, or directly negotiate. Some banks won't move forward without certain terms being met, and as a result, foreclosures aren't always the best options for certain buyers. The most leeway you may have is with price. I encourage you to not make an offer without a proper inspection contingency, unless your clients have had it pre-inspected, and make sure there's enough of a gap in the price offered to cover any issues. You can always pull out if it's not feeling right. 

As far as the difficult agent, stay on them. Remind them in gentle ways that you are on the same team when you actually speak with them, especially if they are being rude. But, don't let them bulldoze you either. If they get really combative, I would stand your ground with them, and ask if they want to get this deal done? and if so, lets work together in a way that makes that happen. If they don't want to, that's a whole other issue. As far as them not responding, just stay on them. If they don't respond at all, and it's still on the market, see about contacting the sellers. Know however, that with offers, time-frames protect you and your buyers also. Sometimes list agents won't respond if an offer has been rejected. They will just let the time-frame run out. This isn't a good practice, and I often still follow up with them. However, it happens, a lot. I hope this was helpful!

FIRST, it's wrong to assume how an agent runs her business - always stay positive and never disparage a fellow agent. If you are not getting a response, be sure to cover all your bases - text, email and phone calls and document them. Then get your broker involved - Foreclosures are different transactions, and the bank has forms they require that are usually in teeny tiny print and hard to read, are totally in their favor and override the sales contract and are 99.9% of the time non-negotiable. I have always filled in the blanks and that way I know it is correct. Once you fill it out, send the copy to your clients and their attorney and that way they have a chance to read it and ask their attorney questions. I work with a lot of investors, and have done plenty. There are good agents out there, and bad ones too - in every profession. You just have to treat everyone how you would want to be treated, and move on. I've always found if someone seems rude, you never know what's going on with them at the moment, and just be businesslike, and smile, and wish they were having as good a day as you are.  Good Luck! 

Next! There are a lot of houses for sale out there. Why put up with someone who obviously is incompetent or could care less.