We’ve certainly heard nightmares about clients working with inexperienced or unprofessional REALTORS. Unfortunately there are agents who haven’t learned enough about time management and communication to meet the needs of their clients. In those situations, it would be time for the home buyer or seller to move on to a new agent. But what about the reverse? Is it ever possible that a REALTOR needs to let go of a buyer or seller?
The short answer is yes. Most successful REALTORs take pride in their people skills and strive for 100% satisfaction when working with a buyer or seller. A good agent is a hard-working, determined professional that knows how to go the extra mile to ensure a good experience for clients. However, there are some situations where a REALTOR may need to hit pause and decide if it might be better to let go of a client.
- Respect – Both clients and agents need to respect each other. Buying and selling a home is an emotional event and each party should hold respect for the other’s role in the process. While REALTORs need to be consistent with communications and time to clients, clients also need to reciprocate. Clients who never call back, always show up late or don’t show at all aren’t showing respect for their agent. While agents are working on behalf of clients, they are also professionals whose time is quite valuable. Same is true of a person who agrees to work with you and then starts talking to another agent at the same time. It shows a lack of respect to BOTH agents.
- Unreasonable – Naturally every buyer wants to find a perfect home at a perfect price and every seller wants to sell quickly for the highest profit possible. This is part of real estate. If a client cannot come to understand the difficulty of meeting EXACTLY what they are asking for, it might be time to let them go. Clients with completely unreasonable demands cannot be satisfied and may lead to a lot of wasted time and effort on the agent’s part. The same is true of the client that has no boundaries for your time as an agent. If they expect you to be on call 24/7 it’s probably not going to work out.
- Lying – No professional should have to deal with unethical behavior such as lying. If a seller lies about things in order to sell the home or does not want to provide full disclosure, it’s time to move on! If a buyer lies on the mortgage application in order to secure financing, it’s time to move on! Bottom line – no REALTOR wants to get involved with clients who are less than truthful.
It’s not done lightly, but these are are some of the main reasons a REALTOR may need to let go of clients. Truthfully, it’s a rare occurrence and unfortunate for both parties. At DeSelms Real Estate we take great pride in having very few instances of this. Thanks to a committed team of agents and support staff, we take great pride in being able to meet the needs of most of our clients. If you would like to discuss becoming part of our real estate team, call today at 615.550.5565!