Jennifer LeBow

3. They have no marketing plan.

   Listing your property on the MLS is one small part of marketing a listing. (As far as the listing, though, it absolutely needs to have high quality photography, video, drone shots and a floor plan in many cases, a well-written description highlighting the property’s best features, at the very least.) Any listing agent who is vying for your business should be able to show you examples of both print and on line advertising they’ve used for other properties. They should also be able to provide you with a marketing time line of which activities happen when. Finally, the best marketing is strategically tailored to showcase your property with regard to current market conditions and buyer preferences.

4. They make showings hard.

   Whether they simply don’t respond quickly to buyer agent requests for showings, or, if they insist on being present for showings and are not prepared to accommodate scheduling requests, you are doomed. If buyers can’t get in when they have availability, they may just pass your house by and look at others that they can see at their convenience. I have frequently had listing agents tell me that they can’t meet me at 5:45, (which is the earliest my client can come after work) because it’s inconvenient for them due to traffic and needing to make dinner. This particular point illustrates one very good reason why you don’t want your listing agent present at showings. Click here for more on this topic.

5. They don’t manage the details.

   Staying on top of the details (like contract deadlines, disclosures, inspections, appraisal coordination and the mortgage commitment) is vital to keeping a transaction on track and running smoothly. If your agent mishandles the details, closing may be delayed, stress levels will spike, you may need to make unexpected concessions and, at worst, your sale may fall apart.

6. They don’t know how to “Read the Room”.

   Real estate transactions are business, but very personal business to the buyer and seller. A home sale is usually an extremely emotional transaction for them. If your agent doesn’t have the emotional intelligence to assess the personalities involved (including the other agent’s) and make the right moves in negotiations and other communications, your transaction will be much more stressful.

7. Their needs come before yours.

   Even though the paperwork both you and your listing agent sign stipulate that they must put your needs ahead of theirs, not all agents follow through on that promise. The agent makes no money if the house doesn’t sell. As a result, many agents will pressure a seller to take a lower price just to get it sold. Remember, a $50,000 lower sales price is significant to a seller, but may only translate to $800-$900 in commission dollars for the agent. A good agent will work hard to market your property creatively to get you the best offer possible before suggesting a price cut. Similarly, if you get a low offer, a strong agent should make every effort to convince the buyer to increase it before suggesting you take it as is. 

8. They Don’t Play Well with Other Agents.

   As I mentioned earlier, if your agent doesn’t communicate well with other agents, you will bear the brunt of that problem. Agent to agent issues, though, go beyond communication. Just like in any industry, there are certain agents who have reputations as being difficult to work with. If you’ve hired one of them to represent you, you may have misstepped. Buyer’s agents prefer working with professionals who are responsive, organized, and collaborative. If your agent has a poor reputation in the brokerage community, your home may get fewer showings — and fewer chances at a strong offer — without you ever knowing why.

Most mediocre agents are not purposely delivering sub-par service. My opinion is that their most common failings are laziness and a lack of creativity. So, while it might be hard to evaluate exactly how a listing agent will behave once you’ve listed your property with him or her, if you can ferret out whether that person seems either lazy or uncreative, you might dodge a bullet by interviewing other agents.

2. They are uncommunicative/unresponsive.

   If your agent is difficult to reach and/or fails to respond to you, that’s a red flag. Make sure you express how you prefer communication. Clarify what you expect as far as whether you want regular check-ins or only want to hear from your agent if there is activity on the listing or something that merits a call. Your agent should be sharing feedback from showings and keeping you apprised of new competition hitting the market.

   Insider Tip: What may not have occurred to you is that if your listing agent doesn’t communicate effectively with you, it’s likely he is not responsive to other agents. Buyer agents may be trying to make appointments, ask questions about the property, obtain documents required for an offer, etc.. If your agent is unresponsive to those agents, your bottom line is likely to be negatively affected.  And you’ll likely never know it’s happening.

3. They have no marketing plan.

   Listing your property on the MLS is one small part of marketing a listing. (As far as the listing, though, it absolutely needs to have high quality photography, video, drone shots and a floor plan in many cases, a well-written description highlighting the property’s best features, at the very least.) Any listing agent who is vying for your business should be able to show you examples of both print and on line advertising they’ve used for other properties. They should also be able to provide you with a marketing time line of which activities happen when. Finally, the best marketing is strategically tailored to showcase your property with regard to current market conditions and buyer preferences.

4. They make showings hard.

   Whether they simply don’t respond quickly to buyer agent requests for showings, or, if they insist on being present for showings and are not prepared to accommodate scheduling requests, you are doomed. If buyers can’t get in when they have availability, they may just pass your house by and look at others that they can see at their convenience. I have frequently had listing agents tell me that they can’t meet me at 5:45, (which is the earliest my client can come after work) because it’s inconvenient for them due to traffic and needing to make dinner. This particular point illustrates one very good reason why you don’t want your listing agent present at showings. Click here for more on this topic.

5. They don’t manage the details.

   Staying on top of the details (like contract deadlines, disclosures, inspections, appraisal coordination and the mortgage commitment) is vital to keeping a transaction on track and running smoothly. If your agent mishandles the details, closing may be delayed, stress levels will spike, you may need to make unexpected concessions and, at worst, your sale may fall apart.

6. They don’t know how to “Read the Room”.

   Real estate transactions are business, but very personal business to the buyer and seller. A home sale is usually an extremely emotional transaction for them. If your agent doesn’t have the emotional intelligence to assess the personalities involved (including the other agent’s) and make the right moves in negotiations and other communications, your transaction will be much more stressful.

7. Their needs come before yours.

   Even though the paperwork both you and your listing agent sign stipulate that they must put your needs ahead of theirs, not all agents follow through on that promise. The agent makes no money if the house doesn’t sell. As a result, many agents will pressure a seller to take a lower price just to get it sold. Remember, a $50,000 lower sales price is significant to a seller, but may only translate to $800-$900 in commission dollars for the agent. A good agent will work hard to market your property creatively to get you the best offer possible before suggesting a price cut. Similarly, if you get a low offer, a strong agent should make every effort to convince the buyer to increase it before suggesting you take it as is. 

8. They Don’t Play Well with Other Agents.

   As I mentioned earlier, if your agent doesn’t communicate well with other agents, you will bear the brunt of that problem. Agent to agent issues, though, go beyond communication. Just like in any industry, there are certain agents who have reputations as being difficult to work with. If you’ve hired one of them to represent you, you may have misstepped. Buyer’s agents prefer working with professionals who are responsive, organized, and collaborative. If your agent has a poor reputation in the brokerage community, your home may get fewer showings — and fewer chances at a strong offer — without you ever knowing why.

Most mediocre agents are not purposely delivering sub-par service. My opinion is that their most common failings are laziness and a lack of creativity. So, while it might be hard to evaluate exactly how a listing agent will behave once you’ve listed your property with him or her, if you can ferret out whether that person seems either lazy or uncreative, you might dodge a bullet by interviewing other agents.

When you’re selling your home, it’s easy to assume that all agents do roughly the same thing — stick a sign in the yard, upload some photos, and wait for offers.
But in reality, the difference between an average agent and a great one can cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, the most costly mistakes often happen behind the scenes and sellers are never even aware of them.

Eight ways a bad listing agent can inadvertently sabotage your sale

1. They ask the seller to choose the price.

   To clarify, the seller should have the final say about the listing price. However, there should first be a discussion in which the agent provides market data suggesting a price range and explains the strategy of setting the list price at the high, middle or low end of that range. Just asking a seller, “So, what price do you want to list at?” without a conversation about comparable sales and what is happening in the market is a sign of a lazy (or truly inept) listing agent. Sometimes, there is another reason the agent sets the price where the seller wants: it’s called buying the listing (when an agent agrees to too high a price for the house in order to secure the listing). Sadly, what few sellers consider is that the agent who agrees to list at a higher price is offering no guarantee that it will sell at that inflated price. So the argument “I chose that agent because she wanted to list my house at a higher price” is a poor one.

2. They are uncommunicative/unresponsive.

   If your agent is difficult to reach and/or fails to respond to you, that’s a red flag. Make sure you express how you prefer communication. Clarify what you expect as far as whether you want regular check-ins or only want to hear from your agent if there is activity on the listing or something that merits a call. Your agent should be sharing feedback from showings and keeping you apprised of new competition hitting the market.

   Insider Tip: What may not have occurred to you is that if your listing agent doesn’t communicate effectively with you, it’s likely he is not responsive to other agents. Buyer agents may be trying to make appointments, ask questions about the property, obtain documents required for an offer, etc.. If your agent is unresponsive to those agents, your bottom line is likely to be negatively affected.  And you’ll likely never know it’s happening.

3. They have no marketing plan.

   Listing your property on the MLS is one small part of marketing a listing. (As far as the listing, though, it absolutely needs to have high quality photography, video, drone shots and a floor plan in many cases, a well-written description highlighting the property’s best features, at the very least.) Any listing agent who is vying for your business should be able to show you examples of both print and on line advertising they’ve used for other properties. They should also be able to provide you with a marketing time line of which activities happen when. Finally, the best marketing is strategically tailored to showcase your property with regard to current market conditions and buyer preferences.

4. They make showings hard.

   Whether they simply don’t respond quickly to buyer agent requests for showings, or, if they insist on being present for showings and are not prepared to accommodate scheduling requests, you are doomed. If buyers can’t get in when they have availability, they may just pass your house by and look at others that they can see at their convenience. I have frequently had listing agents tell me that they can’t meet me at 5:45, (which is the earliest my client can come after work) because it’s inconvenient for them due to traffic and needing to make dinner. This particular point illustrates one very good reason why you don’t want your listing agent present at showings. Click here for more on this topic.

5. They don’t manage the details.

   Staying on top of the details (like contract deadlines, disclosures, inspections, appraisal coordination and the mortgage commitment) is vital to keeping a transaction on track and running smoothly. If your agent mishandles the details, closing may be delayed, stress levels will spike, you may need to make unexpected concessions and, at worst, your sale may fall apart.

6. They don’t know how to “Read the Room”.

   Real estate transactions are business, but very personal business to the buyer and seller. A home sale is usually an extremely emotional transaction for them. If your agent doesn’t have the emotional intelligence to assess the personalities involved (including the other agent’s) and make the right moves in negotiations and other communications, your transaction will be much more stressful.

7. Their needs come before yours.

   Even though the paperwork both you and your listing agent sign stipulate that they must put your needs ahead of theirs, not all agents follow through on that promise. The agent makes no money if the house doesn’t sell. As a result, many agents will pressure a seller to take a lower price just to get it sold. Remember, a $50,000 lower sales price is significant to a seller, but may only translate to $800-$900 in commission dollars for the agent. A good agent will work hard to market your property creatively to get you the best offer possible before suggesting a price cut. Similarly, if you get a low offer, a strong agent should make every effort to convince the buyer to increase it before suggesting you take it as is. 

8. They Don’t Play Well with Other Agents.

   As I mentioned earlier, if your agent doesn’t communicate well with other agents, you will bear the brunt of that problem. Agent to agent issues, though, go beyond communication. Just like in any industry, there are certain agents who have reputations as being difficult to work with. If you’ve hired one of them to represent you, you may have misstepped. Buyer’s agents prefer working with professionals who are responsive, organized, and collaborative. If your agent has a poor reputation in the brokerage community, your home may get fewer showings — and fewer chances at a strong offer — without you ever knowing why.

Most mediocre agents are not purposely delivering sub-par service. My opinion is that their most common failings are laziness and a lack of creativity. So, while it might be hard to evaluate exactly how a listing agent will behave once you’ve listed your property with him or her, if you can ferret out whether that person seems either lazy or uncreative, you might dodge a bullet by interviewing other agents.