What do your clients really think of you? What would they say if they could tell you anonymously what they thought about the service you provided them? We asked, and here’s what they told us…good and bad.

by Scott Williams   Pat yourself on the back. Your clients like what you’re doing, or at least that’s the general impression they gave Texas REALTOR® during interviews with eight recent homebuyers and sellers from around the state.

They love your professionalism. They love your helpful personality, and they describe you as an honest, hard-working person with whom they "clicked." Many have recommended you to their friends, and they would use you again the next time they’re in the market.

Great, you may be thinking, people do appreciate the difference a REALTOR® brings to the buying and selling process!

Guess again. Most of the people we talked with had no idea what a REALTOR® is. They used the term interchangeably with "real estate agent," and the next time they look for someone to represent them, they’re more likely to choose someone based on personality and recommendations from friends.

Not all the comments were rosy, either. One woman interviewed for this story said she felt cheated by the first REALTOR® she worked with, and she and another woman said their REALTORS® either didn’t give them the respect they deserved or didn’t take them seriously.

An informal study

Our interviews took place by telephone in the first three weeks of May. We interviewed only people who had recently bought and/or sold a home using a REALTOR®.

To elicit open, honest responses, we promised not to use REALTORS®’ names and to use false names for the people we interviewed. We also avoided using information that might otherwise identify a REALTOR®. Though this is by no means a scientific poll or even an extensive survey, you can use these comments to learn what some consumers liked and disliked about their experiences.

Patience is indeed a virtue with first-time buyers

Like many others we interviewed, Susan Giles and her husband chose a REALTOR® recommended by a friend. They bought their first home, a four-bedroom house with an office, about a year ago.

"The woman who recommended her to us was also a first-time homebuyer," said Giles, "and we felt like she would have the patience to deal with us … through the whole thing. She held our hand and walked us through it step-by-step.

"She was patient with us and helped us narrow down and focus," Giles said. "She helped us do the trade offs and decide what was important and directed us toward ... the kinds of houses we should be looking at. I’m not sure we could have done it without her help."

The ability to make the process easier is what Bibi and Toby Rogers were looking for when they chose a real estate professional. They began looking for a new, larger home shortly after the birth of another child, and they wound up buying a four-bedroom house in the $150,000 range.

The Rogers, in their thirties, chose their REALTOR® when they went to look at a house and liked the woman who showed it to them. "She was very friendly and very down-home, not real uppity or anything," Bibi Rogers said. "In (our city) it seems like a lot of people are pretty uppity. If you can’t buy a $500,000 house they don’t want to talk to you."

They, too, appreciated the REALTOR®’s patience in dealing with them during the many months they searched for a house–patience that didn’t falter even when they backed out of a contract on another house.

"That was the best thing," Rogers said. "She wasn’t pushy and didn’t get all mad because we backed out of the first house. She was good, and she helped–and that’s what we needed."

Rogers said her REALTOR® was knowledgeable and thorough and kept them so well-informed, they rarely had to contact her. "We didn’t have to keep calling and saying, ‘OK, what do we do next?’ "

"Ready and willing" makes a good impression

An eagerness to serve is what Tony Hall, a fiftyish first-time homebuyer, liked about his REALTOR®. "The day I called him, he said, ‘OK, I’ll come on over and we’ll look at houses.’ I think I made the appointment for the following day, but he was ready to go that afternoon."

Hall bought a new house with his fiancée last month–a small house with guest quarters–for under $200,000.

"The thing with (our REALTOR®) was that if there was a question he didn’t know the answer to, he would call the owner and get back to me the next day, or sometimes within the next couple of hours," said Hall.

Hall said the best thing his REALTOR® did for him was to provide easy access to homes. "I suppose I might have been able to do it myself, but they’re listed with a real estate company, so you might as well make them work," he said.

Clients notice–and appreciate–an absence of pressure

Avery Allen, a late-forties father of two, relied on his REALTOR®’s knowledge of the city and neighborhoods when he relocated his family from outside Texas earlier this year. He and his wife purchased a large home in the $150,000 range using a REALTOR® recommended by a friend who had previously relocated to the area.

"The most important thing he brought to the process was just the expertise of knowing the town or knowing how to get to a place, and knowing whether it’s a good part of town," Allen said. "He also helped with the paperwork after we did find a house."

Allen said his REALTOR® worked long and hard for them and never pressured them to buy a particular home. His REALTOR® also remained patient, he said, while they searched for the right house over a six-month period.

REALTORS® as advocates

Grace and William Puckett, both in their forties, bought a four-bedroom house for under $200,000 a few months ago. The parents of young children, they moved because they wanted more room and a neighborhood that was more kid-friendly.

They described their REALTOR® as an advocate for them. Their REALTOR®, a good friend for the past several years, not only helped them with their paperwork, Grace Puckett said, but made sure the sellers completed their tasks in a timely fashion.

"She got things done that otherwise would have taken a much longer period of time," Puckett said. "She was really a strong advocate for us when we needed it. She was able to zero in on things that would work for us and what wouldn’t."

Although the Pucketts had lived in the same city for years, they found they didn’t know the neighborhoods nearly as well as their REALTOR®. Their REALTOR® also provided lots of good information about schools, types of houses, flooring, wiring, plumbing, and whether the home had been maintained well.

"She really had a lot of knowledge (about) how things would work out–arrangements of rooms. She helped us think through some things," Puckett said. "She seemed to be able to give us information on whether we would be happy or not."

The Pucketts’ REALTOR® was one of a few REALTORS® who went above and beyond the call of duty, according to those we interviewed. The Pucketts’ REALTOR® did some historical research at the county courthouse on their home, finding documents needed to complete the sale of their home.

The Giles also appreciated the extra efforts of their REALTOR®, who helped them make decisions on finishing out their home.

Clients want to know you are focusing on them

Giles did have a complaint about her REALTOR®, although she admitted it was a small matter. She said the REALTOR® seemed a little over-scheduled and tried to handle too many things at once.

"That wasn’t a huge annoyance; it was just one thing that I noticed," Giles said. "We’d be in the middle of an appointment and her phone would keep ringing. One time she had to leave early because she had another place she had to be.

"You just like to feel like when you’re with someone that they’re focusing on you."

Adrian Park, a divorcee in her thirties, has used two REALTORS® in the past few years. Some time ago, she and her husband bought a three-bedroom home for less than $160,000. Now divorced, Park is hoping to sell her home for a substantial profit and buy a smaller one.

She said the REALTOR® who helped her buy the home she has now didn’t do much to help her find a house, and she didn’t take her seriously recently when Park told her she wanted to sell it and buy another home closer to her job.

"Maybe she could sense that we weren’t really serious, and when we were serious, she wasn’t ready," said Park. "Maybe she didn’t have time to realize we were ready. I’m pretty quick at making my decisions."

Park said she chose a different REALTOR® to help her find a home this time, because she wanted someone who would search aggressively. She said her previous REALTOR® was very successful and perhaps had lost the necessary motivation to hustle for her clients.

"I now have a REALTOR® who is looking very hard for me," she said.

She likes the fact that her new REALTOR® can pull up listings for houses in particular areas, her knowledge of neighborhoods, and her ability to show Park how much profit she stands to reap from selling her current home and buying a newer, less-expensive home.

"I love that she can tell me how many days houses in my neighborhood have been on the market," she said.

Trust is key

Riata Reynolds, a divorced mother, said she learned the hard way how much better it is to have a REALTOR® representing you when buying a house for sale by owner.

She said her REALTOR® agreed to bow out of the process when Reynolds found a home she wanted to buy directly from the owner. The first thing the owner did, Reynolds said, was ask if she could get her REALTOR® to withdraw as her representative in the transaction.

Her REALTOR®, a friend, agreed, but warned Reynolds to be careful. Reynolds later found herself bidding on the house against other potential buyers after the owner led her to believe Reynolds had the house. The seller continued to solicit higher bids from others anyway.

"It may be legal," she said, "but it’s not ethical."

Louise Blake, married with children, wound up using two REALTORS® after she felt she could no longer trust the first one. She met the first REALTOR® when he showed her and her husband a house listed through the REALTOR®’s company.

The REALTOR®, she said, was neither nice nor pleasant and seemed to think the house the Blakes were selling wasn’t worth the trouble. "To him, our house was small potatoes, and he didn’t want to deal with it."

She later lost trust in the REALTOR® when she began to suspect he had shared with another agent at the same company the Blakes’ bid amount on a house they wanted to buy. That other agent’s client submitted a higher bid the same day.

Her REALTOR®, she said, then side-stepped questions about whether his colleague knew the amount of their bid, and since she felt she could no longer trust her REALTOR®, Blake decided to ask a long-time acquaintance to help them find a new home.

The new REALTOR® turned out great.

"She was real straightforward–a good communicator." Blake also felt that the fact that her new REALTOR® shared similar values would make her easy to work with.

She said the second REALTOR® helped find houses, made arrangements for them to have a look, shared her expert opinion when asked, and worked nights and weekends.

Blake, like the others interviewed for this article, said the fact that her agent was a REALTOR® didn’t play into her decision in choosing someone to help find a new home.

"It was more important to me that she was someone who would work hard on our behalf and have our best interests at heart … ."

Best interests. When it comes down to it, that’s really what it’s all about. And, if this informal sample of buyers and sellers is any indication, your clients know–and appreciate–when you are looking out for theirs.

Scott Williams is a freelance writer in Corpus Christi.

home   current issue    top 10    resources 

discussions   contact us   search

Buyers & sellers, visit www.texasrealestate.com.
REALTORS®, visit www.tar.org.