Realtors...why don't they answer their phones???

[Michael Hicks]

I recently purchased a home a little further away than I normally do. I used a realtor familiar with the area. I was pleased and decided I would use her to list the home as well. I told her it would be ready in 3 weeks...be ready to list it. I followed up in 2 weeks, left her a message stating the home would be ready next week and asked her to take a look and let me know if I should make any changes. Never heard back from her. So, I call realtor #2. He is the top selling agent in the area. Called and texted for 3 days telling him it was ready to list,we needed to sign the listing agreement, and get it on the MLS. He finally emailed the listing agreement which I docusigned but 3 days passed and still not on MLS. So, I take pics and put on Craigslist and Facebook yard sales. Had tons of replies from qualified buyers which I forwarded to the realtor since I had already signed the listing agreement. We got a contract that night. Am I being unrealistic in my expectations? I've bought and sold several homes with the 2nd realtor in the past 6 months. I don't expect to be top priority but I do expect them to answer or at least give a prompt response. It's not just these 2 either. I don't know that I've ever called a realtor and gotten an answer on first call. Some never call back. I went through the realtor class but don't remember them teaching us not to answer the phone. Any thoughts?

[Marc Middleton]

Originally posted by @Mark Fries:

I have been trying to contact the listing agent for a 20 acre track in Yulee, Florida..

After multiple phone calls and emails I received an email response that was approximately one sentence long

"its available"....

I have now decided to try to contact the owner of the property directly and cut the realtor out... I know that's not very professional but after the service I got I don't really care!

One of the reasons I got my license in Miami was after 2 years of renting and dealing with lazy agents, I thought 'If they can make it, I can make it'. Fast forward 5 years and I opened my own company and sell $5ML a year. 

When I first got started, the #1 thing clients told me was "I used you because you answered the phone or called me back right away". People laugh, especially in other cities, when I tell them the 'secret' to my success was responding to people and being friendly. Maybe because I'm not from Miami (Born in Philly) or maybe because I worked in Hospitality for so long, but being nice and responsive just seemed like a basic tenet of being a human. 

Oh well for them, many agents since went out of business and blamed it on the economy, too many realtors, language barrier, etc. (I never learned to speak Spanish either) 

To this day I still deal with agents on a daily basis who DON'T answer their phones AND have full voicemail boxes! Its maddening but I remember that one of the reasons I'm successful Is their lack of professionalism, so its a double edge sword that I now embrace.