Reasonable Expectations from an Agent

[Stephen Schoon]

I've got a question for you agents.  It's basically, what are reasonable expectations I can have of my agent?  Allow me an anecdote to specify.  I plan to move to a different city (1hr away) soon.  My approach is to purchase a fixer upper with cash, live in it while I fix it up, refi, move and rent it out (blrrr).  With this in mind, I ask my current agent if he knows any investor friendly agents in the area in which I'll be moving.  He sets me up and I have a meeting with a veteran agent who's worked with investors a lot and has done a little bit herself.  She seems sharp, organized, and still hungry.  

A few days after the meeting I give her a list of a couple houses I'd like to see, but she replies to my email and says she's on her way out of state to a cousins funeral and asks if it's ok if her colleague can show the properties in her absence.  Of course it's fine, I reply.  I then talk to this colleague who, it seems, has been given no information about me, my plans/situation, financing, etc...  and I get the distinct impression on the phone that she's not a 'substitute' agent, rather a replacement. A couple days later, Saturday, I get a dotloop doc to sign... a new exclusive buyers agreement. Whatever, I'll play along for now.

Sunday afternoon my wife and I drive the hour to see 3 properties.  The agent acts scared and says things like "I don't go into abandoned or vacant houses especially when the power is off."  We definitely needed a flashlight and she's freaking out a little, not tons, but a little.  

One of the first questions she asks us is, "so is this what yall do?"  I began to wrack my brain trying to imagine a scenario where that question is SOMEthing other than the obvious.  She had no idea what/why we were looking at these houses.  Throughout the first house she was asking us all kinds of questions too.  I can't for the life of me remember exactly what they all were, but they blew my mind.  In my opinion, no one calling themselves a real estate agent should be asking me 'whats that?' when the answer is 'mold.' 

After the showings (and throughout) she was definitely under the impression that she was our for-reals agent.  

I'm a new investor, I get that. And I can even understand not giving me your best agent because I've got no track record and statistically I will waste yours time for weeks/months then just disappear, never to be heard from again.  But what is this bait/switch hand off thing? Is this common practice?  Am I a jerk or something? oh, and please note: The last agent I had did the exact same thing. I had coffee planned with him, but he had to reschedule and sent a colleague in his place, and the colleague is who I got stuck with. 

I'm not very experienced in the REI field, but I have done quite a few things around the house over the years and I'm not stupid. I can hold my own in a REI conversation, I've listened to all the BP podcasts, I've attended many local meet-ups, and 2 of my 3 'best' friends are active investors. I can accept being given a new agent since I'm a new investor, but should I have to drag her along? What I want and need is an agent who knows more than me and is more experienced than me. Not necessarily a 40 yr veteran/expert, but someone who's at least been in the game for a little while. I need an agent who, when she says she'll get me comps tonight (on sunday) actually DOES that (it's tues eve and I still don't have them).

So I ask you agents, what are reasonable expectations in this scenario?  what advice do you have for me?

Thanks!