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Top 12 Things Buyers Do That Drive Realtors® Bananas
Helping someone buy a home can be a wonderfully rewarding experience, but it’s not without its challenges. From finding the perfect place and completing piles of paperwork to negotiating like a champ and doing plenty of hand-holding along the way, a Realtor®’s job is all-encompassing. And it’s often made that much taxing by the bad behavior of clients.
We asked agents to share some of the things buyers do that drive them absolutely crazy. If you’re a Realtor®, perhaps you can relate. If you’re in the market for a new home, stay on your agent’s good side by keeping this conduct to a minimum.
1. Wanting to shop before getting pre-approved
“I take pride in laying out what the buying process looks like, and help them understand the value of getting pre-approved first, however sometimes buyers, in the midst of the process (i.e. during credit repair) get excited about buying a home and want to start shopping before they’re ready to buy. The worst thing I can do is show a client a home they fall in love with and then let them watch it be sold to someone else because they can’t put in an offer yet. Most clients understand this…some I have to remind a few times.” — Katie Messenger , REALTOR® Keller Williams Louisville East
2. Ghosting
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“Being unresponsive when I reach out. This doesn’t mean I require my clients to answer every time, or call me back in 30 seconds, however don’t disappear for days at a time when we are mid-negotiation, or if we have a deadline. Most of this can be avoided in an initial meeting where expectations are laid out about when both parties are available or the best ways to communicate, however sometimes clients don’t understand the rules of a contract.” — Messenger continued.
3. Refusing to negotiate
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“When the buyer decides to walk because the two steps in front of the home does not have a handrail. Really?” — Cynthia Blackwell, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson, REAL Broker, LLC
4. Neglecting the kids
“Unsupervised children on showing appointments can be challenging. I try to watch my client’s kids, but there was this one time that a child picked up a toy in a house. His parents realized the mistake two homes later. Alas, I was showing mountain property and had to drive 45 minutes back up two canyons to the house where the toy was removed from. LOL. ” — Bob Gordon, Realtor® at Berkshire Hathaway
5. Dreaming too big
“It’s awful when a buyer client falls in love with listings for homes that are out of their price range. It sours them a little on the homes that are within their range, because the more expensive properties usually have something that makes them more desirable and hence more expensive.” — Flavia Berys, real estate broker and attorney.
6. Bringing pets along
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“Buyers who bring their little dogs ‘who are part of the family’ and the dog pees on the new/clean carpet.” — Linnie Smith, Managing Broker/Realtor at Windermere Professional Partners
7. Keeping info (too) close to the vest
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“Not wanting to disclose their financial situation or provide documentation when they have a lot of assets and complain about having to do it…EVERY TIME.”—Sarah Bhagwansingh, a real estate agent with Triplemint
8. Touring homes to pass the time
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“A gentleman who insisted upon seeing the most expensive condos in the building I was representing. It turned out he worked as a doorman and this was his day off entertainment.” — Melissa Assael, Real Estate Broker, Douglas Elliman Real Estate
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“Or people to spend two days of your time in 112° having to drive them around to explore the city to discover they don’t want to make offer.” — Karey Maniscalco, Realtor® at RealtyPath
9. Making insultingly low offers
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“Buyers who want to submit a ridiculously low offer on a home the first day it’s listed in a market where homes are selling at or above list price.” — Helena Cameron, Realtor® at Sibcy Cline
10. Experiencing a change of heart
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“Tell me to make offers only to change their minds once it’s accepted.” — Maniscalco added.
11. Trying to run the show
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“Buyers that do their own searches and send over tons of homes for us to look up that are already under contract, or way over their price point, or not even close to what they said their needs were.” — Darlene Schmitt, real estate agent at West USA Realty,
12. Leaving their manners in the car
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“Buyers that stand on the porch or discuss negative opinions inside the home without regard to video and audio recording devices. I had a seller that overheard a buyer ask their agent how low could they get the house…agent said watch me work my magic! Not cool.” — Debra Jourdan, broker associate at Luxury Estates Realty Group, LLC
