Details Matter

I just got off the phone with another agent.  He was a mix of arrogant and lazy- not a great combination.  I had shown his home last week to a new buyer who found the home on Zillow.  I struggled to find the home on the MLS until I looked it up online and found the MLS number on Realtor.com and booked the appointment.  The showing went well and the buyer was interested, but taking her time to make the final decision as to whether she would move forward.  When this happens, I will check on the property every day or so to confirm status and update the agent with their interest level as needed.  It allows me to stay on top of the process to inform the buyer of any status changes, price reductions, or other pertenent information.

Sure enough, I looked the home up a few days later and it was listed as withdrawn.  As I normally do, I scroll to the broker remarks to see if I can get an idea of why this home is no longer on the market.  The remarks stated that the seller had decided to take the house off the market for a few months but would be open to possible showings.  I immediately let my buyer know and explained what that meant.  Then I emailed the agent to let him know that my buyer was still interested in the home.  I didn’t receive a reply back but since I was on top of it, and knew that I would be calling him in a day or two, I was not concerned.

Tonight, two days after my email, I called him.  This is where things get interesting.  He told me that the home was withdrawn months before and then put back on the market.  Then he gave me two different stories.  The first story is that the MLS wouldn’t let him put it back on the market and he can't figure out how to do it. Then he tells me that it is active on Zillow.  I let him know that I am looking at it and it says withdrawn so I just want to confirm that it is active and that the broker remarks that say that the seller is taking the home off the market for a few weeks are not accurate.  

His comment was that he doesn't have his computer in front of him.  Fair enough.

I was so shocked by his nonchalant attitude on how he seemed so unconcerned that his listing could be presented as not active.  So I decided to investigate.  It took me less than five minutes to see how this happened.  Less than five!  He submitted the address wrong.  So if an agent typed the address in the mls correctly, like most agents would do, it would show up as withdrawn.  If an agent messed up the address, it would show up as active.  Pretty crazy, right?

But here’s my point.  Details matter.  Not only should he have double checked the listing when he submitted it but he should follow up on his listings if someone asks about it.  For example, my email to him about the status should have triggered him to find out what I was talking about.  Sure, his seller might get a showing here or there but I bet that’s why they aren’t getting many showings after months on the market for the second time of listing it.

Sometimes in our effort to be the best, we look over or speed through what seems like minor things to us but can be a big deal to the client- like making sure that their house is active.  Pricing is another area where details get overlooked—sometimes because the wrong person sets the price. Here’s what happens when sellers take the lead on pricing. Details matter whether it be market status, showing codes, pictures, directions, typos, or anything else that might pertain to your listing please make sure that you are checking every detail.  It will keep your clients happy, potentially get you more sales or activity on your listings, and bring you more referrals.