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Anyone change RE agents?
We have been searching for a home for 2 1/2 months now with no luck yet. Put in several offers, but didn't get them. One house we almost got but it didn't appraise and we had to walk away. (We are going FHA)
We got referred to our RE agent by our mortgage lender. She told us this lady was in our area and had worked with her before. An internet search showed that she covered our area, but didn't say where her office was physically located. So I emailed her and told her where we currently lived and what areas we wanted to look in. She said she would be happy to work with us and we officially started looking.
We found out several weeks after we had been working with her that she actually lives (and has her office) about 45 minutes away from us. Which means that every time we find a home to look at, we have to schedule a time for her to drive here. The houses are getting snatched up so fast that I feel like we are wasting time waiting for her to get back to us and make the drive. Sometimes it takes a few days between the time we find something online and when we can actually go out.
We went to an open house the other day on a whim, and met another realtor who lives right around the corner from where we are. She knew we were already working with someone, so she didn't try and work with us, but I listened to her talk to other folks coming in and I really liked her. She is able to meet meet when things pop up, and can be in our area in a matter of minutes. She is exactly the type of realtor that I feel we need.
It's nothing personal, because I like our current realtor, but her distance from us really hinders us in searching. She's been working with us for months, so at this point I am beyond frustrated but have no idea how we could let her go. It's just not in my personality to do it, and I know it's a crappy move. I know we have every right to work with who ever we want, but I just don't know how to go about this. Also, she knows our mortgage lender well, so if we went with someone else, she'd definitely find out. What do I do??
Re: Anyone change RE agents?
I switched midway through for a lot of the same reasons. As long as you didn't sign a contract with your current realtor than you can switch easily. You may have signed yourself into a contract when you made offers. I think if you sat down and talked to her she would probably understand.
Did you sign a buyer's agency agreement? If so, I'd explain to the current real estate agent that you are just not a good fit together and that you want to work with an agent who is local and near you. Tell her you appreciate the time and effort she has given you but the distance is the big hinderance.
As an agent myself, we don't have clients sign the agreement until we rigth an offer for them because we put our Faith into our clients. We also tell them when they do sign it, that we will rip it up at anytime if we are not 'gelling' with them. It has never happened but we do give them the option.
I also know that in my area (Madison, WI) the market has been crazy lately and houses are flying within a few days of coming on the market. Also, when requesting a showing on a property, the seller has the discretion to not allow a last minute showing - not that this is your case, I'm just saying. This March I set up showings on 4 properties for Saturday showings - 3 of those houses got offers before we could get in the door.
Good luck! I know it can be frustrating, as I've been a buyer myself. PM me if you need anything!
I think your issue is less about distance and more about your current REA's workload. Maybe she has too many clients to be able to guarantee you a "drop everything and be there" type of service?
We did the opposite of what you are considering. Our original REA had an office 3 miles away and lived 5 miles away. And yet he let a house slip right through our fingers by not getting us there in time. We switched to a REA whose office was 40 minutes from our home and an hour from our search area. The distance wasn't an issue at all. If we wanted to see a house, she made it happen. But sometimes we also had to make it happen by taking time off of work to see a house before it was snatched up. We had to work with her schedule, and she with ours. With our first REA we felt like we were stuck working on his schedule, and that we were not his priority. With our second REA we knew without a doubt that she would bend over backwards to find our home and make the deal happen. Switching definitely helped our success.
I agree with the person who said workload is a problem. I think its always a good idea to interview a potential realtor and see what they are currently working on and give them your expectations of response time and that sort of thing. I am a Realtor myself so I ask clients for that up front, it makes the relationship easier. Even if you did sign a contract its pretty easy to get out of unless they are using some form that is their own. The standard form in PA only requires you notify in writing that you are ending the contract.
With all of that being said , I would sit down with the realtor and explain your concerns and see what she has to say. After all she only gets paid when you buy something so she has worked for free for a few months. Give her a chance to change and if she doesnt then she cant be upset about it. Working for commission only is a difficult position to be in so it would be the kind thing to do. Certainly you want someone who can respond quickly to your needs.
It is also important to note that many realtors, at least in my area work in a radius of about a 1 hour drive from their office/home. Best of luck!