real estate blog lab

I don’t really understand a listing agent calling me and asking for feedback on their listing.  The first time it happened I had no clue what they were asking.  “What do you mean by feedback?”  What do you think of the house. What does it matter what I think of the house.  It isn’t my listing.  I’m not buying the house.  Sometimes I like to say, “I didn’t like it”  Of course that isn’t enough the next question you all know “What didn’t you like about it?” 

I’m pretty new to being a Realtor. As many of you know my background is more real estate technology. My main roll when we go out showing homes to our buyer clients is

1. Open the car doors
2. Open the doors on the home we are viewing
3. Take care of filling out the sign in sheet
4. Look for potential issues with the property

I don’t spend time talking with the clients. The other part of our team focuses on them, not me. Maybe teams showing homes is a new concept. It is obvious from the sign in sheet we are together, but maybe some agents don’t make that connection.

Personally, I would never ask an agent for feedback. I compare it to me spending my time creating a website or blog then asking an agent for feedback on the website.

•  ”Oh I like the colors.”
•   ”Oh it is pretty.”
•   “Oh I like the pictures.”
•   ”Oh those drop down menus are really nice.”
•   ”I really like the flash.”

The average real estate agent has no clue what to look for to tell me if this is a good website or not.
I can take two minutes and look at most agent websites and tell you if they have a good site or not. I know what to look for.

• I know to look at the title tags.
• I know to look for a site that is all flash or Javascript.
• I know to see home many pages are indexed, etc. etc.

Would you ask for feedback from someone that has been an agent for a month, or even a year? What is the value of this feedback.

I took all of my classes to be an agent and Realtor.  There were no classes or questions on my exams about feedback. I took our brokerage “Academy” classes, there was never a mention of feedback.

Is this just a Tucson thing?  I have no clue when they ask me for feedback on a house. I mean they listed the house, don’t they know if it is priced to high or low; don’t they know if it is too dark inside, or has too much wallpaper all over the place. Don’t they know it smells like a zoo inside because of all the pet urine in the carpets?

Do you want someone else to be the messenger of the news that you should have told your clients in the first place?  Do you want me to give you feedback so you can tell them, “The feedback I’m getting is your house stinks”

I always get the question, “What did your clients think of the house?”  Most of the time we show anywhere from 5 to 20 homes when we go out with clients.  I’m concerned about making sure the appointments to show are all made.  I’m doing a lot of things as we move from home to home but I’m not asking what they think. I’ve tried asking that question I usually get something like, “Well, lets see some other ones.” or “Hum” and when I’m standing in that home that smells like a toxic waste dump I understand what “hum” means.

You need feedback for this. 

• It is dark as a cave,
• it stinks to high heaven,
• it is filthy,
• the place is a disaster. 

I got a call yesterday from an agent.  The house was dark inside with a very small kitchen, next to a school with lots of elementary kids, buses, speed bumps, and school crossings with 15 mph signs.  The agent wanted feedback.  My first thought, she must be blind and deaf, but she called me on the phone.  I told her the home is dark with a small kitchen.  Her question, “Were you with clients?” On the sign in sheet there is a P for preview and S for show, she called me so she must have had the sheet there, Yes, I was with clients.  Well what did they think. They were in the home less than a minute and thought it was dark, the kitchen was small and it was close to a school.

Are you telling me this listing agent didn’t know it was dark with a small kitchen, etc. etc.?

Honestly out of the 35 or so homes I might have been in the past week, I don’t remember or care what it looked like, or what I thought about it.  I just don’t spend a lot of time thinking about a house. 

I’m thinking,

• Did I sign-in,
• are we behind schedule and I have to call ahead and change the time for all the rest of the homes we want to see. 
• Did one of them slip outside for another look at the backyard and leave the slider or side-door unlocked.
• Did I just lock the door and leave the key inside with my ekey? 

I think you get the picture.

These are the things I’m concerned about.  I don’t see the value of any “feedback” that comes from me.  If you are asking about  your website or blog, “Yes”, about your listing “No”.  Would you ask your butcher if you should have that open heart surgery or not? Then make or even consider making your decision based on the “feedback” from the butcher. 

I think the listing agent is doing a great dis-service to their client if they carry anything I say to them about the house back to their clients.

My usual response, “I’m sorry, I was in so many houses I don’t even remember yours.”  Good enough, NO

1. Oh, it was the one with stucco on the outside,
2. the two car garage and
3. the gravel in the backyard 

“Yeah, I remember it now.”  So what did you think.  “I don’t remember.”

It seems a little egotistical to me, when they get angry because I don’t remember their listing.

I’m working on a new strategy, “Oh you haven’t heard? we are using the newest approach to showing listings in real estate, we show as a team, I take care of all the details, while my partner interacts with the clients.  I’m sure you will be calling her next since her name is right after mine on the list. Have a nice day.”

I think this one has potential.