Boston Condos for sale
Boston condo buyers waiting for a response from a broker
When Boston condo buyers and even sellers contact me they are often surprised when I either pick up the phone, return their phone call within an hour or maybe two, or answer their email the same day or even the same hour that it comes in. Anyone who is in business and wants to stay in business as a real estate agent knows how important it is to respond to buyers and sellers.
Boston Condo buyers waiting for a response.
Buyers often complain that they wanted information about a listing but no one responded to their email. I had a similar experience last week. I went on the internet and I found one of my listings on Realtor.com and I filled in the little form and asked for more information about the listing. My email went to the local office of a big brokerage. That was five days ago. I have been checking my spam filters and still no response.
I used to work in one of those big brokerages and I understand why my email isn’t being answered. The inquiry goes to a central department that mainly works during daytime business hours. From there the inquiry may go to an office manager or directly to an agent.
If it goes to an office manager then he or she selects the agent that it will go to. The agent can accept or reject the “lead” if they accept it they agree to give the real estate company a significant portion of their commission and this is in addition to the cut that they already give the brokerage.
Boston Real Estate Leads
When I used to get the company “leads” I had to think long and hard about taking them. Did I want to do all of that work for almost nothing or did I want to go out and find my own clients? Leads are not a sure thing either there is work involved in getting them as clients and then getting paid less for the work. Sometimes finding better business is the best use of our time and sometimes taking the lead makes more sense. As a buyer, you don’t care about any of this you just want to see the house. If that is the case your best bet is to call the listing agent directly or contact the listing company. If they show you the house and you want to buy it you will then have to decide if dual agency is OK. Dual agency is when one agent represents the buyer and the seller. I won’t say that I am against the dual agency in all cases but I am against it for myself in most cases. I really don’t want to represent both parties.
Buyers should find an agent to work with early on in the home buying process. My buyers will tell you that when they ask about a listing any listing I get them answers quickly and if they want to see the home I can make that happen very quickly. They don’t have to wait for their inquiry to get routed through a call center and then onto an agent they go directly to the agent instead, an agent that they screened and that they trust.
Boston Real Estate and the Bottom Line
Buyers may think that I am not returning phone calls or emails with questions about my listings when what is really happening is the inquires are going through a third party and being held hostage in someone’s “lead routing” system. Homebuyers don’t always understand broker reciprocity which means that any agent can show any home that is for sale and listed in our MLS which includes most of the homes that are currently for sale.
If you have an agent and he or she isn’t responding to your questions find another agent and keep in mind that there are plenty of us.
Boston Condos for sale
I have a Boston real-estate confession to make. I tend to delegate many of my Boston real estate responsibilities to others. Okay, what does this mean? Well, I tend to slack off on some responsibilities and I don’t answer all my real estate internet leads. Err…but I do hand them off to my top-notch Boston real estate staff (just in case you were wondering). But this isn’t what I’m really ashamed of – What is – I can’t even tell you the last time I went to a Catholic Confessioner… Boston open house. But don’t let that worry you – that will all change today! I’ve seen the Boston real-estate light – and I also just received my Ford Realty Sovereign Bank February 2020 income statement. But that’s for another story.
This Sunday, I plan to visit three Boston neighborhoods that have open houses: Back Bay, Beacon Hill and the Boston South End. This is what I plan to do: I’ll provide to you my eye-witness accounts of what I noticed at these Boston open houses. But I need a little help from my Boston Real Estate Blog readers.
1. What price range condos should I visit for Beacon Hill? $300,000 – 500,000?
2. What price range for open houses should I visit for Boston Back Bay condos?
3. What price-range open houses should I visit for the Boston South End?
4. When I attended these Boston open houses, should I wear a disguise so no one recognizes me?
Filed Under: The Phantom Boston Real Estate Broker
