John,
I could not agree with you more! I deal with this a little to often and it makes all of us look bad! Real estate sales is not a Mon-Fri 9-5 job. These REO agents are being spoon feed deals and can't handle them. I can't believe the banks have no idea what is going on. This is just making things worse in a market that already has so many problems.

Hi John. I can understand your frustration and not even being able to leave a message is not acceptable. Like I said in my earlier post, REO agents should have an assistant and they should have someone on standby to answer questions or have at least an answering service where you can always leave a message. Nobody should be so busy that they can't clear their messages. The only consolation is that nobody else can leave a message either. Unless this agent is the broker, I would have my broker contact this REO agent's broker and alert the broker to this problem. Good luck.

Twenty four hours later and it's still the same song and dance. Right into voicemail, no ability to leave a message. I'm not trying to babysit an agent, I'm trying to sell a property and keep my buyer happy. Three words for the REO agent who would rather spend time with their family on the weekend or take some personal time: HIRE AN ASSISTANT!

Hi John. I think that a lot of REO agents work very hard and some also work smart on top of that . I personally believe that when you handle a lot of REOs, it's imperative to have someone on call during reasonable business hours. The mere fact that your calls went into voicemail first does not mean that the agent is not working. The telephone is one of the biggest time traps and I think if you constantly answer the phone throughout the day, your productivity suffers greatly. The real question here is, how long does it take this agent to return your call? If it's within only a few hours, I think that's reasonable, especially on a weekend. If the answer is "never" that's unacceptable. I once had a very interested buyer for an REO. After the trustee sale, I called the bank to find out who the listing agent was going to be (it was not easy to get that information, but after repeated calls to different people, I finally got the name of the agent). I called her and left her a message that I had a potential buyer. I realized that she still had to put it in the MLS, but I would have expected at least a call back. Never heard from her. Then I saw the property come on the market (yes, it was that same listing agent). I again called her to let her know I had a buye, but I had a few questions that I needed answered. She never responded to my calls, period. My client eventually decided that he did not want to make an offer on this property because he did not want to deal with her lack of response. He had run into another agent who previewed the property (my client lived near the listing) and the other agent reported the same troubles. This agent is still listing REO over a year later which goes to show that the asset managers don't care. They just want their properties sold.

I feel your pain, Thats why I dont work with bank owned properties and or short sales. the time needed to close these deals, you could have closed three additiional sales. Better to refer it to another agent, get a referral fee and focus on what you do best. Baby sitting and following up on delinquent professionals is a waste of your valuable time

John,

Unfortunately, you cannot dictate the work ethic of others. I work 7 days a week, usually 10-16 hours per day. I have other Realtors say to me that "your clients don't respect your free time" because of this.

Does that mean that I am a hard worker and the other Realtor is just lazy? Or, Does it just mean that I am insane? Maybe they put in 60 hours during the week and save the weekends for their families. Aren't they entitiled to time off too?

Although I am highly disappointed when I can't reach somebody when I think that I should be able to, I try to remind myself that maybe they are spending quality time with their families and that we can't all be slaves to our career.

To answer Heidi: Some of us are sick. I am pretty much available 24/7 for my clients, and I know that my family suffers for that. I am hopeful that I can break this pattern of negative behaviour. I justify it by saying "I have to be this way in a tough market to succeed." Yeah, we all need to find balance.

Heidi,
Yes there are certain circumstances that limit what an agent is able to do. However, my voicemail box is never full so, if for some reason I am not able to answer my phone, somebody can at least leave a message and I can tend to it as soon as I can. Agents are at the beck and call of their buyers and sellers, because if we weren't, they would go somewhere else. There is a difference between being reasonable with an agent and expecting too much from them at once. I for one do not feel it is asking too much to see a vacant foreclosed property at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. I also do not feel the need to give 24 hours notice to show a foreclosed property if I myself don't have 24 hours notice. My aggrevation does not lie with other listing agents who cannot drop a call to answer mine or take a few hours to get back with a confirmation. My frustration lies with this REO agent (and any other REO agent), who gets business from banks that many other agents (myself included) would kill for and cannot deliver the very most basic level of service by answering their phone or allowing a means of contact to set an appointment. You cannot possibly compare doctors switching shifts to ensure competency to an agent simply answering their phone. A true professional wouldn't have a stuffed voicemail box, no way to set an appointment on a Saturday, and absolutely no other way for contact. Most importantly, a true professional wouldn't put their needs in front of the needs of a client's. It's making that sacrifice that keeps us in business and earns a good reputation and referrals.

Common courtesy would tell you to clear your voice mail and yes this agent sounds like they are extreamly unavailable anf perhaps you should concider informing your local board of you feel you have been deneyed access because of inability to contact agent. We have all felt the crunchto get someone is to a house quickly. Common courtesy also should dictate however, that you give 24 hours notice to show. I am aware that many buyers just do not give you that opportunity but it is just respectful to give proper notice and buyers should know that they may not be able to get into some of the homes they want because of inproper notice.

Since when did sellers and Realtors become the servants of buyers, at thier beck and call? No agent is 24/7 if they are thier familys must really feel left out. There is no time ever that a showing needs to be set at midnight, I do not interupt one apointment to set another, I eat my dinner with my children, in peace, and be sure I do not take my phone into church with me. Our firm employes a service so that I will recieve pages 24/7 that does not mean that I have to get out of bed at 3 in the morning to answer one of them. All of my customers are aware of my hours which are 9a.m. to 9p.m.and how to get ahold of me in the case of an emergency. I work weekends and answer my phone just like any other day but a proffesional controls thier schedule. Even doctors who hold lives in thier hands take turns being available at night and on weekends because we all have to live lives as well Make no mistake I believe there are bad apples in our professional basket we all have a mental list of the ones we just wish we never had to work with again but we do have to work with them all you can control is the reputation you have. I can't imagine believing you have to be that servant to provide service. Preparing both buyers and sellers for the approperate process is the best kind of service as everyone knows where they stand. We all make exceptions to our rules but there must be some rules.

I could not agree more with John. In my area ,which is a rural coastal community, we are faced with a few bad examples of agents who want to treat this business as a hobby. It always amazes me that REO companies don't do quality control. In the beginning they set very tight time frames for the agent's response and then sort of forget about the service aspect of the business. One of the reasons my company leads our MLS in production is that we are all on call 24/7.

John,
I truly agree with you. I am an REO Listing Agent, my phone is on 24/7, if it's after office business hours and you call me to see a property, I take your information and tell you go go show. I feel that these no weekend offices should not get the properties.

I know of few agents, whether full time or duel career that answer their phones immediately. What happened to the service end of of industry? I agree with you. Deb Fleming in Baltimore, MD