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Health & Fitness

Annoying Real Estate Agents

What's annoying about Realtors? Apparently lots of things, and this is only a partial list.

Let’s face it, real estate agents can be annoying. I ought to know, I can be an annoying agent. Hopefully you won’t find this blog too annoying, but at the risk of alienation here goes nothing…

What do you find most annoying about real estate agents? Perhaps it’s answering the cell phone at the most inappropriate times like in the super market checkout line or at a restaurant table? Completely oblivious in inconsiderate of everyone around them, some agents make a habit out of answering the phone anywhere and everywhere. What could be worse than unwittingly listening into an agent try convince a buyer that the wreck of a house they previewed earlier in the day is worth $50,000 more than a seller is asking for it?

How about when a real estate agent answers the phone, or texts someone while driving? That’s dangerously annoying. I know one agent with six tickets from talking on the phone while driving. One time knowing the agent was on the way to my office, where a motorcycle cop was waiting behind a pillar in our driveway to ticket unsuspecting cell phone drivers. I called the agent to warn her as she approached the driveway. She had to hang up on another caller to take my call. “Get off the phone, the cell phone cop is waiting in the lot!” I warned her urgently. She hung up on me seconds before rounding the pillar, saving her from her seventh ticket. She now owns a Blue Tooth, finally.

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Personally what I can’t stand about real estate agents is when they don’t answer the phone. I can’t understand that either, because every call represents an opportunity to do business, to make a living. Some of these agents have their voicemails full too, so you can’t even leave them a message. Surprisingly some these agents are top producers as well. Who would hire a real estate agent like that? Apparently lots of people would.

My biggest pet peeve in working with real estate agents is their arrogance and ignorance. Perhaps you’ve met or worked with an ignorant or arrogant agent. Maybe you’ve worked with one who is both, as the traits do go together like two peas in a pod. What’s worse for any astute agent? Not having any agent to work with…

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Still it can be challenging to work with someone who is a phony baloney, which is also extremely annoying. There are a lot of potential buyers that come to open houses who try to avoid talking to the real estate agents like they are carrying some type of infectious disease. It’s like we are lepers, and these buyers would prefer to walk around us in protective suits. Can you blame them? It’s important to have a lot of useful information for potential buyers: about the house, the neighborhood and schools. Nobody wants to hear any of that potentially coming from the mouth of a lout.

There are a lot of really good Realtors selling properties in our markets. These are the Realtors who are a pleasure to work with. They are reasonable, intelligent professionals who approach issues with open minds and positive attitudes. As far as the annoying agents are concerned, they’re doing their best to make the rest of us look good.    

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