Don't like your agent? Fire them!

Each month, the Coeur d'Alene Association of Realtors hosts "Finally Home', a class about all things to consider when preparing to buy a home. We have had over 150 people benefit from this class and often they are enlightened, having had the serious side of home buying exposed to them. Often, someone in the class will asks, "What if you don't feel like your real estate agent cares about you?"

Sometimes, people are disappointed that they have not found the perfect home. Maybe they have set their criteria too high and that "perfect" home does not exist. Certainly, their agent cannot be blamed, provided they have shown them everything in their price range and in the areas they have chosen. Usually though, that is not the complaint. "Our agent showed us everything that they have listed and nothing else, even though none of the homes they have listed are what we want." Or, "Our agent doesn't listen. We told them what we wanted and they keep showing us houses we can't afford or are nothing like what we said we wanted.'

At other times, the dissatisfaction stems from a personality conflict or scheduling issues. "Our Realtor is never available to look at houses when we have time." Or, "Our agent seems more interested in selling country club homes than in showing us an affordable home in a decent neighborhood."

As described in the Agency Law brochure discussed here a few weeks ago, "The law requires all real estate licensees to provide the following "Customer level" services to everyone:

"Perform necessary and customary acts to assist you in the purchase or sale of real estate."

Although the list continues and broadens when you have a written agreement, some feel they do not get this, the most basic of service from their agent. There is a simple solution, yet most in our classes - and therefore maybe prevalent amongst the public - do not understand it; Fire them!

That is your right. If you are dissatisfied with your Doctor, you quit seeing them. If you don't feel your lawyer is going to win your case, you probably find a new lawyer. Why should hiring a professional to help you buy, or sell, a property be any different?

There are always going to be people we do not see eye to eye with. We are not going to like some people because they communicate differently or are unable to relate to us. There is no law that requires that we continue the discomfort or endure their lack of ability to perform to our expectations. Fire them!

If you are under a written agreement (contract) with an agent and you are unhappy, all it usually takes to cancel the contract is a letter or telephone call to their broker. Brokers are interested in maintaining the reputations they have usually spent years building. They know that reputation depends upon the efforts their agents and staff put forward and by the levels of service they help to uphold. If there is a problem, they are usually quick to fix it.

This is not to say that a broker will be a push over. Any broker could tell you stories of clients wanting to cancel a listing agreement because they have found an interested party wanting to purchase a property - often through the brokers marketing efforts - and feel they can save the commission for themselves by canceling the listing. The law protects brokers from this type of activity and from those who are not moral or ethical enough to honor their agreements. In a situation though, where dissatisfaction is genuine, most brokers will cancel that contract in the interest of customer service.

If you are about to select an agent, take some time to interview them, just as you would take time to interview any contractor. With over 800 agents in the Coeur d'Alene Association of Realtors, you have an excellent chance of finding someone who suits you. When you don't get the level of service you expect remember, it is up to you to fire them!

Trust an expert....call a Realtor. Call your REALTOR or visit www.cdarealtors.com to search properties on the Multiple Listing Service or to find a REALTOR member who will represent your best interests.

Kim Cooper is a real estate Broker and the spokesman for the Coeur d'Alene Association of REALTORS. Kim and the Association invite your feedback and input for this column. You may contact them by writing to the Coeur d'Alene Association of REALTORS, 409 W. Neider, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815 or by calling 208-667-0664