The "Rebound Realtor"

Realtor-Client "Second Marriages"

Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread.

--Alexander Pope

A second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience.

--Samuel Johnson

"Rebound relationships" seldom work out because one of the people in the relationship usually hasn't had time to get over the last one.

Is the same thing true in real estate?

In my experience, it depends on two things: 1) who the client is; and 2) who the last Realtor was.

(As they say, "Duh!)

In fact, there are four main scenarios:

One. Bad Realtor/Good Buyer.

There aren't that many bad Realtors out there -- they tend not to able to make a living at it! -- but there are some. There are also Realtors who are overextended, burnt-out, inexperienced, or simply inattentive.

"Inheriting" a client who's just had a bad experience with one of the above takes a little extra effort upfront, to establish trust.

However, once that exists, I've found such clients to be very gratifying to work with -- and extremely appreciative.

Two. Good Realtor/Unmotivated Buyer.

For a Realtor, this is by far the riskiest scenario to step into, because ultimately what any Realtor has to sell is their time -- and unmotivated Buyers devour it!

Fortunately, there's an easy way to establish whether a particular Buyer is unmotivated.

I simply ask: a) how long have you been looking?; and b) how many homes did your last Realtor show you?

If the answers are "more than a year" and "more than 50 homes," respectively, I pass (note: unmotivated Buyers have been known to fudge the foregoing numbers).

Three.

Good Realtor/Unrealistic Seller.

Like the unmotivated Buyer, the unrealistic Seller is also usually easy to spot.

Typically, their home didn't sell for one reason: it was priced too high.

When that's the case, no amount of marketing, staging, or salesmanship is going to produce a Buyer.

When it's obvious that that's going on, the key issue becomes: are they now willing to price at market? (which also begs a secondary question: why wouldn't they price at market for their first Realtor?)

Four. Bad Realtor/Good Seller.

I don't see this often, but there are saleable homes on the market that nevertheless are lingering because they're not being properly marketed.

The photos are grainy and unflattering; the sales literature is full of typos; the homeowner is amenable to staging, but the "incumbent Realtor" never even brought it up!

Being the successor Realtor in such situations (like scenario #1) offers the opportunity to really be a "hero" to the typically beleaguered homeowners.

Other Scenarios

Are there other scenarios?

Sure.

Just like in real relationships, sometimes Realtors and their clients have style and/or personality clashes that get in the way of their working together.

Usually, that becomes apparent during the interviewing process -- but not always.

The "X" factor in all of the foregoing scenarios is the identity of the former Realtor (which I'll always ask).

If I know them and their reputation . . . I can usually skip all the other questions.

"Need an Open/Have an Open"

Fewer, More Seasoned Realtors

It's more anecdotal than scientific, but a useful insight into exactly how many Realtors are out there chasing business at any given moment is what I'll call the "Need an Open/Have an Open" index ("open" as in "open house").

If you didn't know, holding (Sunday) open houses is a time-tested way for new(er) Realtors to find clients, and generally establish themselves.

Unbeknownst to the general public, most of the time, the Realtor hosting the open house is "pinch hitting" for the listing agent, who is representing the Seller. The hosting agent only gets a commission if someone coming through the open house -- and who doesn't already have an agent -- decides to buy it. Or, more realistically, hires them to represent them and ends up buying another house at some later point.

A few years ago, when the market was at its frothiest, the open house "ratio" was heavily lopsided in favor of Realtors seeking open houses.

Today, it's the reverse: many established agents can't find enough less experienced agents to hold their open houses.

So exactly what does that mean?

My read, at least, is that the real estate downturn has now winnowed out a big chunk of newer Realtors (which I define as having less than two years experience). Too, there have now been enough stories about Realtors eking out a living, pulling their hair out handling short sales, etc. that the industry hasn't attracted much new blood the last 2-3 years.

That leaves the "survivors": experienced, more seasoned Realtors, who are accumulating listings and are finding themselves spread too thin on Sunday's.

Or, maybe the newer Realtors just took off most of August . . .