Yesterday I fielded a phone call from a real estate buyer on one of my properties for sale. At first I thought it was a normal phone call. It seemed to go ok. Matter a fact I scheduled an appointment to view the property this weekend. I also asked if the buyer found any more homes they would like to view and they said yes. Then they let me have it. They were mad about real estate agents falsely advertising their listings without disclosing their broker affiliation and contact information. They explained that they have been burned before and they wanted to stay away from a couple real estate agencies. They knew it was wrong and they were going to report the abuse to the real estate commission and Board of Realtors. I explained to the buyer that although an agent is required to disclose in their advertising their broker affiliation and contact information maybe there were a few mistakes.
That is when the buyer really let me have it. The buyer had been on the Kansas City Craigslist and many homes they called on were actually broker/agent listings. The buyer sent me via email a list of 30 listings from Craigslist that did not have the required broker affiliation information on them. Instead of having the buyer report the abuse to the real estate commission or the Board of Realtors, I asked them to allow me the opportunity to follow up on the list and inform the Realtors of the rules. A few agents responded back to me.
Here is the list of reasons from agents of why they didn’t put broker information on their Kansas City Craigslist ads:
1) I didn’t know
2) I was told by another Realtor we didn’t have to
3) I was told by another Realtor that I would get more leads by not adding my broker information
4) I didn’t have time to add.
5) My assistant did it.
6) It is easier to switch and bait buyers when they don’t know who you are.
7) I get more phone calls when I don’t add my broker information.
According to the Real Estate Commission and the Board of Realtors we are required to disclose to the public who we are, who we are affiliated with and how to reach our broker.
This buyer liked my honesty and has decided to list their Olathe home and buy another home through the Dowell Taggart Team. They did not report the abuse to my knowledge. Do you think they should have?
Information provided by the Dowell Taggart Team http://www.DowellTaggart.com