Unhelpful agent feedback - why bother?

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[Post New]10/26/2015 10:50
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Anonymous
I don't agree feedback is useless just because it's about an unchangeable aspect of the home. I want to know why my house is not selling, even if I can't do anything about it, because maybe I need to change who I'm targeting as a purchaser, or maybe I need to think about a price reduction.
[Post New]10/26/2015 11:02
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I don't agree feedback is useless just because it's about an unchangeable aspect of the home. I want to know why my house is not selling, even if I can't do anything about it, because maybe I need to change who I'm targeting as a purchaser, or maybe I need to think about a price reduction.


I think this is why there should be an agent with experience to filter things though. If three prospective buyers give feedback about not liking the flooring, then maybe you can offer a flooring credit. Or if a bunch of buyers don't like something unchangeable such as the lot, layout, etc., then the agent can discuss a price drop because the house isn't appealing to a broad market.

But if just one person wants to rag on not liking the color scheme, hating the landscaping, or other routinely fixable things (or things very specific to on person's taste) then I don't see any reason to bring the sellers down. Sellers don't really need to hear unhelpful feedback like that.
[Post New]10/26/2015 11:11
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Selling our home and 90% of the feedback has been great. 5% was somewhat critical but nothing major. Then there is just the totally unhelpful agent feedback the goes to justify everything people thing is wrong with agents. Today was a perfect example. Got a long, rambling email from a agent that started by saying their client was not interested in the house but then went on for 3 paragraphs with items about our home they didn't like, none of which are helpful or fixable (we want more baths, we don't like the color of your siding, etc). 3 paragraphs, not one helpful piece of feedback. Oh, but apparently we are priced right.

Seriously, why? As if selling a home isn't stressful enough. What is an agent thinking when they submit this? Isn't "the home doesn't work for my clients" enough?

Just venting.


siding can be changed
[Post New]10/26/2015 11:15
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Selling our home and 90% of the feedback has been great. 5% was somewhat critical but nothing major. Then there is just the totally unhelpful agent feedback the goes to justify everything people thing is wrong with agents. Today was a perfect example. Got a long, rambling email from a agent that started by saying their client was not interested in the house but then went on for 3 paragraphs with items about our home they didn't like, none of which are helpful or fixable (we want more baths, we don't like the color of your siding, etc). 3 paragraphs, not one helpful piece of feedback. Oh, but apparently we are priced right.

Seriously, why? As if selling a home isn't stressful enough. What is an agent thinking when they submit this? Isn't "the home doesn't work for my clients" enough?

Just venting.


siding can be changed


The helpful comment of the day award goes to you - are you the buyer's agent in OP's post?

Of course siding can be changed - so can room color. But a seller doesn't need to hear about it unless it is a universal opinion relating the seller's egregious bad taste or something that is universally noted as an issue (see PP's post above about flooring).
[Post New]10/26/2015 11:26
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Anonymous
I sold my first house several years ago and we listed through showings.com. I got to see all of the comments as well. The reason that agents respond when your house just isn't appropriate is that one of the biggest complaints realtors get nowadays when a house isn't selling, is that they never got feedback or enough feedback on why the house wasn't selling. The point of a note like that is that tthere wasn't something you needed to change, but that the house just wasn't a fit for that buyer. It also suggests that if this realtor has another client looking for a similar type house, that (s)he would bring that client back to see the house. That's also useful information. It means you're priced right and the house may be a good fit for someone, just not that client.

Same thing for the person who had a house listing, but the client wasn't interested in the house, but asked about the contractor/designer. They liked the work that was done, but your house didn't suit their personal tastes or personal requirements. Not that your house wasn't good, just it wasn't a fit.

This type of feedback usually says, you just have to wait for the right buyers, not that the house needs work to sell. That, by itself, is useful information.
[Post New]10/26/2015 11:35
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Anonymous
Our friends were selling their house on Old Town and had one off-street parking spot. Someone who came to see it said it didn't fit them because they needed three off-street parking spots. Despite the fact that the number of spots was on the listing, good luck finding that in Old Town unless you're willing to spend a lot of $$$.
[Post New]10/26/2015 11:39
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I don't agree feedback is useless just because it's about an unchangeable aspect of the home. I want to know why my house is not selling, even if I can't do anything about it, because maybe I need to change who I'm targeting as a purchaser, or maybe I need to think about a price reduction.


But the potential buyer also needs to take responsibility for the houses they're targeting. If you don't like the number of bedrooms or bathrooms, why are you even looking at the house? Maybe you want to see if there's room for a remodel to add the extra room, but then why complain to the seller that the buyer is looking for more bedrooms? The seller isn't going to remodel the house for you.
[Post New]10/26/2015 13:04
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Anonymous
When we sold our place last spring - using a private non-Redfin realtor - several redfin agents wrote reviews of our property. Most were accurate and descriptive. One was just factually wrong - mentioned dated bathrooms when they had all been completely professionally remodeled, and said it only had 2 baths when it had 3.5 baths. Whatever. It was a "hot home" and sold within 10 days. But yeah, annoying and useless.
[Post New]10/26/2015 14:10
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REALTOR4U
Member Offline
Many of us use a service called Centralized Showing Service or to a lesser extent, Showingtime to schedule showings on our listings. After a showing, the showing agent will receive an email requesting feedback. At our discretion and consultation with our selling client, we can have feedback sent exclusively to us or the seller as well. Sending agent feedback to the seller simply allows them to have the feedback upon receipt or on a weekly basis depending upon the settings. There are pluses and minuses to sharing the feedback. I have been known to give extensive feedback but I bluntly honest. If I feel there is feedback that can help a seller improve the home, I will share it but sellers don't always want to hear it.
[Post New]10/26/2015 14:23
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Anonymous
REALTOR4U wrote:Many of us use a service called Centralized Showing Service or to a lesser extent, Showingtime to schedule showings on our listings. After a showing, the showing agent will receive an email requesting feedback. At our discretion and consultation with our selling client, we can have feedback sent exclusively to us or the seller as well. Sending agent feedback to the seller simply allows them to have the feedback upon receipt or on a weekly basis depending upon the settings. There are pluses and minuses to sharing the feedback. I have been known to give extensive feedback but I bluntly honest. If I feel there is feedback that can help a seller improve the home, I will share it but sellers don't always want to hear it.


There is no point to being bluntly honest about aspects of a seller's home that cannot be changed. None. If you think the house is over priced given lack of updates, size, location, number of baths, say that. But brutal honestly about an aspect of a seller's house that are not changeable make is not helpful. You can be honest, but at least try to be useful. We aren't talking about feedback that could help someone sell.
[Post New]10/26/2015 14:38
quote
REALTOR4U
Member Offline
Anonymous wrote:
REALTOR4U wrote:Many of us use a service called Centralized Showing Service or to a lesser extent, Showingtime to schedule showings on our listings. After a showing, the showing agent will receive an email requesting feedback. At our discretion and consultation with our selling client, we can have feedback sent exclusively to us or the seller as well. Sending agent feedback to the seller simply allows them to have the feedback upon receipt or on a weekly basis depending upon the settings. There are pluses and minuses to sharing the feedback. I have been known to give extensive feedback but I bluntly honest. If I feel there is feedback that can help a seller improve the home, I will share it but sellers don't always want to hear it.


There is no point to being bluntly honest about aspects of a seller's home that cannot be changed. None. If you think the house is over priced given lack of updates, size, location, number of baths, say that. But brutal honestly about an aspect of a seller's house that are not changeable make is not helpful. You can be honest, but at least try to be useful. We aren't talking about feedback that could help someone sell.


You are correct about giving feedback about aspects that cannot be changed. However, decluttering, repairing signs of water damage, stained or damage flooring, paint choices and more can be rectified. More often than not, minor adjustments can greatly improve a home's desirability.
[Post New]10/26/2015 14:41
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:If I want 3 bathrooms, why on earth would my agent waste my !@#$ time showing me places with 2 bathrooms?


I'm the PP that got that feedback, yes, it was bizarre! Did they think a 3rd bathroom and more square footage would appear once they got there?

At the time I had a baby and toddler that I had to get out of the (cleaned!) house for showings, and it incensed me to no end that I did all that work for someone that knew ahead of time the house wasn't for them.
[Post New]10/26/2015 14:45
quote
REALTOR4U
Member Offline
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If I want 3 bathrooms, why on earth would my agent waste my !@#$ time showing me places with 2 bathrooms?


I'm the PP that got that feedback, yes, it was bizarre! Did they think a 3rd bathroom and more square footage would appear once they got there?

At the time I had a baby and toddler that I had to get out of the (cleaned!) house for showings, and it incensed me to no end that I did all that work for someone that knew ahead of time the house wasn't for them.



You would not believe how often I get showing requests from my clients for properties that simply don't meet their criteria. At times, we simply have to show them regardless in which case its a waste of the sellers, buyers and my time. I do feel you pain and hopefully you will get an offer soon.
[Post New]10/26/2015 22:32
quote
Anonymous
REALTOR4U wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If I want 3 bathrooms, why on earth would my agent waste my !@#$ time showing me places with 2 bathrooms?


I'm the PP that got that feedback, yes, it was bizarre! Did they think a 3rd bathroom and more square footage would appear once they got there?

At the time I had a baby and toddler that I had to get out of the (cleaned!) house for showings, and it incensed me to no end that I did all that work for someone that knew ahead of time the house wasn't for them.



You would not believe how often I get showing requests from my clients for properties that simply don't meet their criteria. At times, we simply have to show them regardless in which case its a waste of the sellers, buyers and my time. I do feel you pain and hopefully you will get an offer soon.


Another agent and I totally agree. Buyers are notorious for saying they want one thing and then going off on their own to search for something totally different. Sometimes if the house is really great they will sacrifice that extra bedroom or whatever. If the house isn't great, then the bedroom they wanted becomes the sticking point.

Look - we've all dated people who ghost out on us and we want to know why. If that person said, "well you're a brunette and I really prefer blondes" - it may not help you if you love your dark hair and have no plans to bleach it, but it helps because it explains the "why" part of why they didn't want to go out anymore. If you're a seller who doesn't want to hear the unhelpful feedback then ask your agent to filter it for you. But then don't blame the agent when they don't tell you something they deem insignificant that you don't. We're agents, not mind readers. And that goes for buyers and sellers. If you're a buyer who wants to up your price or look for something different - tell your agent so they can better help you instead of scouring Zillow and sending us a bunch of shit that's under contract and hasn't been updated. And if you're a seller and you want your feedback spoonfed to you, say so.

This isn't hard. Really.
[Post New]10/26/2015 23:12
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
REALTOR4U wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If I want 3 bathrooms, why on earth would my agent waste my !@#$ time showing me places with 2 bathrooms?


I'm the PP that got that feedback, yes, it was bizarre! Did they think a 3rd bathroom and more square footage would appear once they got there?

At the time I had a baby and toddler that I had to get out of the (cleaned!) house for showings, and it incensed me to no end that I did all that work for someone that knew ahead of time the house wasn't for them.



You would not believe how often I get showing requests from my clients for properties that simply don't meet their criteria. At times, we simply have to show them regardless in which case its a waste of the sellers, buyers and my time. I do feel you pain and hopefully you will get an offer soon.


Another agent and I totally agree. Buyers are notorious for saying they want one thing and then going off on their own to search for something totally different. Sometimes if the house is really great they will sacrifice that extra bedroom or whatever. If the house isn't great, then the bedroom they wanted becomes the sticking point.d

Look - we've all dated people who ghost out on us and we want to know why. If that person said, "well you're a brunette and I really prefer blondes" - it may not help you if you love your dark hair and have no plans to bleach it, but it helps because it explains the "why" part of why they didn't want to go out anymore. If you're a seller who doesn't want to hear the unhelpful feedback then ask your agent to filter it for you. But then don't blame the agent when they don't tell you something they deem insignificant that you don't. We're agents, not mind readers. And that goes for buyers and sellers. If you're a buyer who wants to up your price or look for something different - tell your agent so they can better help you instead of scouring Zillow and sending us a bunch of shit that's under contract and hasn't been updated. And if you're a seller and you want your feedback spoonfed to you, say so.

This isn't hard. Really.


OP here. Really? You don't think that, as an agent, it may just be best not to write out the unhelpful feedback? If your buyers decide to waste everyone's time viewing a house that doesn't meet their basic requirements, just say that. But don't go on for three paragraphs with things I can't fix.

Listen, I said in my orgional post that not all feedback was postive. But about half of the negative feedback was useful. I don't need things spoon fed to me, I just don't know why an agent wastes everyone's time with unhelpful feedback. Just say "not right for my clients" and move on. As a seller, I am just going to assume the house wasn't a good fit. i don't need to know that your buyer only wanted blondes - if it isn't fixable, and it can't be remedy by price, it's a useless comment. Just answer the canned questions on the feedback form and move on.
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