Regina Puckett, Panama City Realtor

Earlier today, I received a call from a gentleman asking for information about a house that my company has listed.  I introduced myself, asked him which property he was interested in, and politely asked him his name.  He replied that he would not give me his name until after he had received the information.  While waiting for the information about the house to come up on my computer, I continued chatting, and explained that I just liked to know who I was talking to and asked if he was working with another REALTOR.  He replied that he would only work with a listing agent on a property and that he had been looking for over 6 months without finding an acceptable property.  He also commented that he didn't believe in dual agency (which we don't have in Florida anyway), although by insisting to work "only" with the listing agent, he was creating the closest thing to dual agency that we DO have in our business.  Now, I am sure that his feelings are the result of a bad experience with a former REALTOR, but it is important to note that most people are quite happy when dealing with a caring and competent agent.

 

Now, of course it is no surprise to me that he has been unsuccessfully looking for a home for over 6 months.  By employing his philosophy, he is creating a huge burden upon himself in having to research all of the homes by himself by driving around, looking on the Internet, newspaper, etc.  Then he has to contact each listing agent for more information about the property instead of having one point of contact to find out about multiple properties for him at once.  

 

By establishing a relationship with a REALTOR, Buyers can save themselves a lot of time and headaches, because the REALTOR begins to get a feel for what they are looking for and can eliminate some homes without the Buyer having to do a lot of their own research, and the REALTOR may be able to see promise in a home that the Buyer may have never considered on their own.  Also, once that relationship has been established, the REALTOR is more likely to work hard to make sure that all of a Buyer's needs are met.  REALTORS do not make a salary, or hourly wage.  The way that they get paid is by matching a buyer with a property, and then working to make sure that the Buyer has a smooth and painless transaction.  When a REALTOR is confident that their buyer is loyal to them, then that Buyer becomes the most important person in that agent's business, and therefore the agent works doubly hard to make sure that the Buyer's satisfaction is paramount.