Patty cakes, you've been on the market for two weeks and you want another realtor? From your other post, you've stated your commission rate is less than the customary. Why not offer the customary commission before switching your realtor to see if that makes a difference.

As for this question, if you randomly call a real estate office, yes, you get whomever is on floor time or phone time. You do not get the whole office working on your behalf.(This is not the best way to find an agent).

Linda, thanks for claryifying for me. I thought that was probably the case.

It will be 5 weeks on Tuesday that my condo has been on the market. When my only offer to date came in, my agent was ready to take it, without even a counter because he 'thought it was a good offer'. The buyer wanted me to pay $19,000 in closing costs, giving me $376K for the property, and commissions being another $20,000. Needless to say, I gave hime a flat out 'no way'!

He's not brought in one single person, and when I pointed that out to him, he mentioned the one couple who happened to 'stop by' when I had an *unadvertised* open house. That in itself was enough to pi** me off!

He's clearly NOT doing his job, ahd there is no way in hell I would EVER offer him the 6%, but I may when I get a new agent. For an agent to not do his best job in getting a property advertised/shown because of the commission is clearly unethical, so if that's his MO, it ain't working with me.

Trish, didn't I leave you some names / offices in one post? I'm pretty sure if you do the realtor.com search with the info I left you will see the agents that had enhanced listings like I did.

I have to agree with thinking about replacing him. He's doing things half a$$ed, and wasting your time. In this market you can't afford to have a realtor that doesn't do it right.

Just for clarification, its not that unusual for your listing agent not show your property. Of course we would all like to sell our own listings, but that doesnt always happen. Im sure if he had a fit for it, he would be more than happy to show it. Also, some agents prefer to steer clear of dual agency.

If you like the pictures and the written descriptions of a particular listing, but there is no name, call the office # and ask to speak to the listing agent for that particular listing. At least this way you'll know they can take a decent picture and write it up well. I have to think there are better ways to find a realtor though.
Jo

Linda, it's more then that from what she's been posting. here's the link to the post about the open house / commission.

Trish, I did the search for your area. Looks at the enhanced listings, then call the agents to get an interview.

Now, if you go to the main realtor.com page and put your zip in, there are 2 agents that pay for the box on the left side advertising:
listing link
Tony Dulawan
Office: (619) 589-4833
Caldwell Banker
From his CB profile - Since 1976 he has dedicated his efforts to being a full time Real Estate Professional. A Top Producer since 1977 he has achieved the status of Presidents Circle and the Presidents Club giving the best service to his clients.

Listing link
Gigi Ferguson, Realtor, SRES, e-PRO
Bringing People & Homes Together since 1986 - 20 yrs experience
Office: (619) 840-6769

Here is a link that might be useful: Realtor.com search

I think you learned a really good lesson, that we ALL need to learn (who are selling our properties). You should INTERVIEW the perspective agents. And I mean, grill them with questions that matter to you:

Stuff like: In my case, what would you consider a good deal from a buyer?

What types of marketing are you planning for my property?

How many open houses do you plan on having and how do you propose you are going to get people to the open house?

How many times a week can I expect a call from you updating me on the status of my property?

What types of things do you expect from ME to help you?

There are dozens of questions you can ask to get a good idea about how this person operates and if it's a good fit for you.

My girlfriend and I learned this the hard way when she sold her house. She was listed with an agent, but we might as well have done it FSBO . . . cause we did all the marketing, a virtual open house, a website, flyers, etc. But our efforts really helped things along because she sold her house in about 5 weeks. If we would have waited for her Realtor, we would STILL be twittering our thumbs.

When you contact those people roselvr directs you to, make sure to take the time to interview them and let them know what YOU expect from them. It's all about the communication in matters like this.

Trish, what I've found is that most of the usual questions are answered when we sit down to talk - commission w/ split, if they will negotiate commission if it's in house, the marketing is usually covered also. You'll find out how much they use the internet and what tools (photos, virtual tour) as well as how they feel about paper advertising. Almost all of the agents said that the paper advertising doesn't work nor has a buyer come in using it. Same thing with opens; they all agreed that the internet and realtor.com were very important.

Also be prepared for some to say it's unethical for them to speak to you while you are under contract. My response was that I was interviewing agents and I'd selected them after researching because I was unhappy with my current agent. I also let them know that I would like to speak to them because I was moving on and would they still like to see me. These weren't my exact words...

After dealing with this agent, you have an idea of what you need. For me it is email replies, I like to do my business this way but will do the phone if I have to. It's so much easier to email at any time then to have to play phone tag. I know agents are very busy showing houses and having closings plus I can respect that they need family time too. With emails I don't feel like I am interrupting their precious family time as some clients don't think twice to do at all hours of the day / night. I do recall that while you said the agent was great with phone calls before you signed, he wasn't so great after.

pattycakes - if you dump your realtor, be prepared to be bombarded with realtor calls after your listing is released. I got calls from most top producers in the city, but I think they go by listing volume and I wanted something with more personal service.

Are you a member of USAA? (Rose, don't shoot me!! ;) ) They have a very good Realtor referral service. Do you have friends who can refer realtors?

Sparkals, do you know where USAA gets those realtors? Years ago, I used to do relocation referrals referrals. Most of the time its agents that don't have a lot of business and agree to do the "referrals".(agents take them because they think they will be getting alot of business, after awhile, you learn its alot of time spent that you don't get adequate compensation for. Most of the experienced agents don't want to do these referrals because USAA and others take 35% to 40% of the commission if the agent agrees to do them. That coupled with the commission their broker takes, makes these referrals not worth their time. The best way to find a realtor is personal referrals from people who have used one.

Linda--are you or your office a preferred agent/office for USAA? Have you done any USAA referrals this in the past 2 years? If not, then I don't appreciate the inference that USAA agents take these referrals because they don't have a lot of business. Even if that is the case, one certainly can make the argument that the client or customer would get great attention. You should know that EVERY single office in the country operates differently. What might have been standard practice in your office is NOT true for all offices. I'm one of the top producers in my office, which is number one in our city btw. I am trained to take USAA referrals. Only about 10% of us in the office work with these clients. One must be a agent for at least 2 years prior to being eligible for the training. My office has some additional criteria. In addition, each agent is evaluated by the client after the transaction. I would say there is some incentive to do good work.

The reason I do work with these clients has very little to do with how busy I may or may not be. My USAA clients have been, and continue to be some of my best sources for future referrals. They are some of my best clients. Most of them have been through the buying/selling process in the past and every single one of them has been prescreened for a mortgage. When I call another agent with an offer from one of my USAA clients I can honestly tell them that the financing is in great shape, and it will close on time in terms of the mortgage. That goes a long way during a tough negotiation.

Linda--are you or your office a preferred agent/office for USAA? Have you done any USAA referrals this in the past 2 years? If not, then I don't appreciate the inference that USAA agents take these referrals because they don't have a lot of business

Rrah, I stopped doing corporate referrals many years ago. The company that I worked for was a preferred broker for USAA and probably still are. I did them years ago, found it wasnt worth it. I worked very hard and made very little money. I didnt mean to offend you or anyone else who does referral work, only sharing my experience as I know it from my days at Coldwell Banker. The broker offered the training to "select" agents and then you could do these referrals. They made it sound like it was some great thing. In the end, you worked very hard and got paid very little. The experienced agents wanted no part of it, they had their own business and didnt need to give 35 or 40% of their money away doing these referrals.

Linda - I think rrah was able to answer the question better than me. I did get calls from 2 USAA referred agents and I was told by Mover's Advantage that they are pre-screened and have had a background check. With USAA, they have a standard of service to uphold, so I would think that they would find decent realtors. Having said that, I'm sure some duds squeak through, but that is the case with any occupation.