What to do if your real estate agent "drops the ball"?

You would think that since a real estate  agent works only on commission that they would be hungry  for a deal, especially in today's market. Those experienced agents like myself understand that putting a deal together in this market requires a bit more work, and what you may not have had to do a few years ago is now SOP (Standard Operating Procedure)

Communication is key to any transaction- and silence is absolutely deafening. There is  nothing more frustrating to a home seller or home buyer when they put their trust into an agent who "drops the ball" on their transaction and loses the deal altogether. Trust me, the other agent is not happy about it, either. So what can you do?

Pay close attention to your very first clue that something could be amiss in any type of communication at all. This should start at the interviewing process, when you initially select your agent. So if you have even the slightest inkling that there is a communication issue at your very first meeting with your agent, DO NOT DISREGARD IT, and do not hire that agent!  It is a well known fact that people repeat behaviors.  It will only get worse, and that could end up costing you a lot of money. Hopefully, it hasn't already.

A couple of notes on poor communication or miscommunication:

FALLACY: A team of agents is NOT Necessarily better than one. Have you met all of the agents on the team that will be assisting you? Are you supposed to contact certain team members for certain questions? Do certain team members handle only certain things? If you don't have this in writing at the first initial meeting, let them go. They are not organized- if they are not accountable to themselves, for heaven's sake, how can they be accountable to you  if they don't have their duties clearly outlined?

FALLACY: You just cannot tell me that after a buyer's agent submits an offer on their client's behalf to your listing agent, that after a couple of rounds of going back and forth that the buyer's agents suddenly does not return phone calls, and the buyer disappeared without explanation. Face it, your agent is not tracking  down the buyer's agent because your agent was too lazy to make the call. There are NO EXCUSES.

On the VERY RARE occasion that I could not reach the buyers agent or the sellers agent, I have called the office manager, simple as that.

Finally, if you are not getting the representation you deserve, give your agent an ultimatum. Shape up or ship out.
Tweet