I suspect I will get flack for this, but I'm gonna say it anyway. Is it too much to expect agents to read? Is that an unrealistic expectation? The two most often overlooked and information-worthy items in a MLS listing are the showing instructions and the confidential agent remarks. Yet, I know that some agents seem to skim through MLS listings without reading them.
Although I attach documents to most of my listings -- documents that generally provide crucial information to a buyer's agent -- I don't get my knickers in a twist if agents don't open them. In a recent website update, our MLS has moved the link for attached documents, so it's not easy for agents to find. Plus, it requires an extra click, and not every agent has the patience to wait for a PDF document to load. But my patience is tested when I receive daily phone calls from agents who ask questions that are clearly answered in the listing itself.
Last night I received an email from sellers who said they had pulled my for sale sign from the yard and thrown it in the garage. Why? Because an agent waltzed unannounced into their home while the sellers were in the middle of dinner. The listing instructions stated "No More Showings."
I accessed the lockbox records online and emailed the agent for an explanation. His excuse was he had mixed up the MLS print-out with a pile of print-outs of vacant homes. Translation: he didn't read the listing. He was deeply apologetic. I passed on that apology to the sellers but it doesn't change the fact that those people are still miffed.
Sellers reading this blog might wonder if this sort of thing happens very often and whether it's safe to put a lockbox on their home. After all, most of our listings in Sacramento are shown by accessing a lockbox. I can say that probably 99.99% of the time there are no problems associated with a lockbox. The bigger problem is real estate agents who don't read MLS listings. Some brokers need to do a better job of training their agents. It reflects poorly on all of us in the industry when they don't.
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Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.
The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.
Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice. It could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.
