Agent Courtesy

There are quite a few things in our industry that I have heard agents talk about.  One topic that is often discussed is agent courtesy.  As an agent, communication is so important.  This applies not only to your clients, but other agents that you work with.  For example, I asked an agent about a rented water heater that was shown in a condition report.  Often, the water heater is owned and the water softener is rented.  I sent the agent an email, and he responded the same afternoon.  Apparently, I was not the only agent who asked, as I received an email the next day to notify all agents who have showings that the client had made a mistake and it was the water softener that was rented.  Good communication.

I also have had agents notify as to when they have received an offer to give me the opportunity to show the property to my clients that day, or to give my clients the opportunity to write an offer if they have already seen the property.  In my opinion, that is also the listing agent doing their due diligence to their seller.  It allows multiple offers to come in, and it also gives all buyers the opportunity to write an offer within a specific time-frame.  I have also had listing agents inform buyer agents that their seller will not even look at any offers until after the first weekend the property is live.  This also drives interest and sends buyers the message to submit their best offer for the property.  As a buyer, it can be frustrating to have to submit your highest offer right away, but at the same time it is even worse if an offer is accepted before you even had the chance to see the house due to work schedules.

It is also in good taste for agents to communicate right after an inspection.  Since the buyer's agent is at the inspection anyway, they are privy to information at the inspection.  Recently, I was at an inspection and it was brought to my attention that the foundation was in such bad shape that support beams would not even fix the problem.  My clients decided to stop the inspection after that, and I immediately called the listing agent to let him know what was found and let him know I would forward the inspection to him as soon as I had the report.  This way, the listing agent could communicate with his seller right away about the problem and start talking about their next move.  It also doesn't blind-side the listing agent to receive a cancellation notice or an amendment with multiple requests and/or severe price adjustment.

I personally try to let other agents know if there are any other showings going on at the time they requested to show the property.  It can get pretty awkward for buyers when there is more than one buyer in the home.  Feedback provided to me is that they feel they are not looking at the home in private and cannot discuss the home openly.  As agents, you also have the advantage of letting your buyer know ahead of time that there will be other people looking at the property as well.  It's something buyers appreciate.

Some of the items that the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors has also brought to our attention is that some of the agents' biggest pet peeves are when buyer agents leave the lights on in the house, not locking the door, not leaving a business card, and not providing feedback after showings.  Some are more obvious than others.  Not locking the door is just a safety measure.  Turning the lights off after a showing is a courtesy to let sellers know you did come to the property, and it also helps with their electric bill.  If the home is vacant, it prevents lights from burning out or over heating.  Leaving a business card also lets sellers know that the property was shown, and it also is a way for the listing agent to add to their database of agents.  In our line of work, the more agents we can reach out to with new listings or buyer needs, the better.  Feedback is also important to the seller and agent, as it will inform them of issues that may prevent an offer being written.  This might include suggesting the carpet be cleaned, the price is too high, a broken window, etc.  This is particularly important if the seller no longer occupies the property since they may not know of any issues that have happened since moving out.