In this market, my job is a daily hustle and grind. I wasn’t a Realtor in the days of “Hey let’s sit in the office and wait for walk-ins, hand over a glossy brochure and sign a pre-construction deal.” I have had to hustle since day 1.
To me it’s not a problem, it’s like any other business. You have to learn your skill, do it better than anyone else, be professional and take care of your customers. I hope that at some during during my career I get to experience one of those crazy booms but I have a feeling it’s going to be later than sooner.
There is just something lately that is making me stew, it’s an annoyance stewing, stewing away inside of me. Lately some things have happened that have just stirred the pot too much, the temperature is up and this morning, the water has boiled over.
Why the frustration?
Yes it is a venting and something that never looks like one of the glossy websites or glossy brochures you may come across that says how wonderful it is to buy in Miami or Miami Beach. Venting is the real deal, setting the record straight. Sometimes venting needs to happen to make the process better.
So here goes…..
It’s time for all of us: The Buildings, The Agents & The Property Managers to dig in deep; be nicer to each other, be professional and work together through this difficult market.
1. Short sales are here to stay. Agents, to those of you who bitch and complain about short sales… I have a message for you, they aren’t going anywhere. They are going to be our market for some time to come. It’s a result of the hey day. Get used to them, learn how to do them properly and if you are not going to do them, refer them to someone who knows how to get the job done. There are people out there that know how to do it and they are successful. The market will get better when we all face the facts that there are many owners who need to sell and cannot because they are so upside down on their mortgage. The only way to sell for them is to short sale. I am sorry to say, but I don’t think that this is going to change any time soon. Educate your buyers on why they can be good deals and work with listing agents who are specialists. This will not only give your buyer a good deal but also help out our market.
2. To the Buildings. To those of you working in buildings. When Real Estate agents walk in with a client to show a property and you give us a hard time to show the property with a scouring look and less than best service, do you realize that the client who may be interested in buying in this building is standing right behind me? Taking notice of the way you are treating a guest? Do you realize that they will think this is how you will treat their guests and will probably not rent or buy in this building because of this first impression? Not everyone is like this I admit but even one or two a day is NOT okay.
3. To the Property Managers. I understand that you have a job to do. I would say that 98% of the time when you hand me an application, I turn it back in and completed 100% with no issues. I am sure not everyone is so diligent but if you know this, (and I know you do) why don’t you become a solution to the problem, rather than make issues for the agents who are trying to do business in your building? Business in your building equals more stability for the building and its residents thus also taking care of the staff which trickles down to you. Make the application process easy. Send out up to date applications with clear instructions. A full and complete checklist on the front of the page. **Note. If you are having a difficult time getting back completed applications, then maybe something is wrong with your process? Also when you are rude to my clients when they call in to check on applications, this does nothing more than to create another bad impression of the building.
whew… that one I just don’t get???
4. To the Buildings. Make it easy for agents to show property in your building. There is one building in Miami Beach that allows agents to leave keys in the office and when the office closes the keys go to the front desk. RESULT? Agents know it’s easy to do business in this building and guess what, there are A LOT of sales in the building. Now the property managers may be thinking that they don’t have the staff to do this. This particular office has three staff members and they do it. Guys please take notice.
Easy to show = more sales + rentals in the building = more revenue coming into the building = better stability for the current residents and staff. Isn’t that what a property manager and board is supposed to accomplish?
5. To the Listing Agents. Make your listings easy to show, be nice when agents are calling to show the listing and be professional. There are A LOT of listings on the market. Think about it this way. If I call to show your listing and have to jump through hoops to show it and then you are not so nice, why would I want to do business with you?
6. To Agents in Sales Offices. Think before speaking. I know that sounds rude but I don’t mean it to come off like that but I kind of do. I am sure you have multitudes of people in and out of the office but when I arrive with my client, I have made an appointment prior to and am bringing them in to see a property that I have planned for them to see that day.
Example 1. Yesterday I had a really busy client take a couple of hours at lunch to see a few properties. (I had made appointments prior to) and we walked in a sales office to see a listing. The sales agent looks shocked to see us with lunch in hand in bag and says,
“You know that is not really a two bedroom like it is listed on the MLS, it’s a one plus den, ” and then goes on the bash the unit.
So basically she just told my client that the listing was incorrect in the MLS, that I didn’t do a good job checking out the unit prior to and we just wasted our time driving across town to preview the unit. (In reality the unit was 100% ok but the agent just didn’t feel like showing it at the time.) Think guys think!!
7. Last but not least. To the Sellers & Property Owners. Be sure you are hiring professionals. Just like in any business we have good and bad employees. Hire good people! You don’t have to settle.
- It’s ok to ask if they have experience.
- It’s ok to ask how the property will be shown at last minute.
- It’s ok to ask your Board of Directors and Property Managers how they handle new sales, applications and showings.
- It’s ok to be sure your people are doing a GREAT job and ensure it!
I am sorry to vent but this market is too fragile for crappy people to be doing crappy jobs. There’s a lot of competition out there and EVERYTHING matters right now. First impressions are EVERYTHING. Nice, professional and good employees are IMPORTANT.
