A relative recently had his house up for sale in New Jersey and near the end of the listing agreement had a falling out with his agent. There was about three weeks left to go before the listing agreement expired.
So, he calls Rich for free real estate advice, or at least hoping to get a family discount. I told him to call his agent and ask for a release from the listing agreement. Happens all the time. The agent had already taken the house off the market so there were no showings, and a slim to no chance of it being sold. I let him know that once a client/agent relationship sours, most agents are more than willing to just move on. Worst case scenario...it automatically expires in three weeks anyway.
As it turns out, the agent's broker said no. They would not release the listing agreement, even though the house was off the market and near it's end anyway. I was stunned as to why a broker would not allow a client to be released from a listing agreement with only a short period left.
Essentially, what turned out to be an issue between a client and an agent, has now been transferred to be an issue between a client and a brokerage. Why carry a listing in your inventory that has been taken off the market, and the client is adamant about terminating the relationship? I don't think it was just spite, but who knows. More likely it was just their "office policy."
The day before the listing expired, the broker called and wanted to know if my relative would re-list with them, but with a different agent assigned. Not only will they not re-list, if at all possible, they won't ever do business with that brokerage again.
Life is too short to hang on to a client who doesn't want to work with you.
Richard Iarossi, REALTOR®
Long and Foster® Real Estate, Inc.
Crofton, MD 21114
410-451-6255 Office
443-995-9595 Cell
Web: http://www.RichSellsHomes.com
eMail: Rich@RichSellsHomes.com
Annapolis MD Real Estate Specialist
Bowie MD Real Estate Specialist
Crofton MD Real Estate Specialist
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Rich Iarossi is a full time licensed REALTOR®, working in Crofton, MD. My coverage areas are: Anne Arundel, Prince George’s, Howard, Calvert, Queen Anne, and Baltimore City and County. I specialize in residential real estate, working with both buyers and sellers. Use the registration free search on my website at www.RichSellsHomes.com. If you’re not already working with a REALTOR®...I can help. Call me at 443-995-9595 (Cell) or 410-451-6255 (Office).
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A client may forget my name, may not refer to me due to that. But a client that is pissed off will always remember your name. They will be asked "What Realtor did you use"? Their responce will be (insert name here) "but I would never talk that &&&%* do you know what he did to me!
I'm with you, life is to short for an angry client. No need to force them to work with you.
Hi Richard,
too bad there are brokerages out there that don't really care about the client.
Rich...
Well, I hope that was a lesson learned ... what was there to gain from this policy?
I always tell my sellers that I want to make them happy. They need to communicate with me so that this will happen. If, after communicating with me, I can't make them happy, I will tear up the contract. My life is too short to work with irate clients. I will do everything humanly possible to make them happy, but sometimes, it's best to part ways.
I can see where the broker is coming from on this. But I think they've now put the client into a state where they tell everyone they know not to use that particular company. A better course of action would have been to cut their losses and move on.
Chad, When people are pleased they frequently don't do anything, but when they're mad, watch out. Everybody is going to get an earful.
Angelia, The good news is that most do though.
Richard, I don't think anything was gained, except ill will.
Susan, I work the same way but in the rare instance when it doesn't work out, it's better to terminate the relationship quickly.
John, I can see the broker's side here too, but in the end, even though they were legally right, they lost.
Richard, I use to work with a broker that really turned people off. In fact he squashed the first deal I ever made and my client went away mad the day of the closing.
Moving on and starting fresh makes better sense than hanging on to a dead apple tree...
Richard,
You are featured in Diary of a Realtor!
Thank you!
That's really odd, the way the brokerage handled it. Did they really expect the seller to say, "Sure, I'll stay with you guys and use another agent!" Seriously?
Hi Rich:
I don't understand that broker either. Why keep a listing for spite, when all you'll get out of it is a bad reputation. Negative word of mouth spreads much faster...
We have a few brokerages that do the same...doesn't make any sense...
There are not enough bridges out there to be going around and burning them . That is for sure. Dumb broker !!!
I have a 100% guaranteed satisfaction policy. If ANYONE wants out of the listing contract because of bad feelings/poor relationship they are OUT! Why keep an unhappy client?
This scenario does not make sense for the agent or the broker. Some things brokers do I can not understand.
Hi Richard, If the relationship has gone sour, best to go ahead and let the client move on, as you mentioned. No need to make a difficult situation more difficult. This only left a worst taste in this seller's mouth for this real estate company. No good!
Richard... I don't get it... that is not good business practice. And look, why would they think the client would want to re-list with them. I would have been embarrassed to have asked. I guess that's the difference between some of us... some people just don't have a consensus. Overall, I agree... if the relationship has gone sour, just let it go.... be a man about it, but think business also... think name. Otherwise, more people might bad mouth even more. That's a risk...
One of the things I offer my clients is a no-hassle exit guarantee. If at some point uring the listing agreement, the client wants to terminate the agreement, they can. All I ask is that the client give me some feedback. And even if they don't, that's fine, too.
Thus far, I haven't had anyone do it yet (and I hope they never do!).
Then during our Turning Point and Training Camp sessions as part of the Brian Buffini Working By Referral program, Joe Niego mentioned that he offers a hassle-free exit guarantee, too.
One of my friends who was going through a divorce, wanted to terminate the listing agreement they had with an agency when the agent started criticizing her home and was so insensitive to my friend's depressed state. But the broker literally yelled at her and would not let her out of the contract. So my friend stayed with them. But EVERY opportunity she has to relay this experience to her clients --- she owns her own hari salon --- she tells her story. This is word-of-moutn advertising in the worst way!
I'm with you...life it too short to try and do business with people when they don't want to work with you. We run into this a lot with getting people to sign a buyer agency agreement. We do all our contracts for 1 year, but we tell them if they ever decide they don't want to work with us, just give us 48 hours notice and we're done.
Rich-that is just terrible and I think greed sometimes overtakes the common sense and what is worse..its always these kinds of stories..that the public notices more than the triumphs and then we get labeled!
Wow, that does seem counter-productive, because as Chad said, they will ALWAYS remember that guys name! I understand not "clicking" with someone and your advice was sound, and would have created a "no hard feelings" win-win.