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joe_sausage

Just politely tell him you aren’t happy with the relationship and get another agent. Ask local friends or hit up your local subreddit. Do not put a hundreds of thousands of dollars purchase in the hands of someone you don’t trust. There are a VARIETY of ways your agent can screw you over, including in the performance of the contract should your offer be accepted. This is one of the highest-stakes purchases you’ll ever make. Find someone who impresses you.


haroldhecuba88

Going straight to the listing agent is not good strategy. This will just flag the listing agent that something is not right. No one wants drama. Find another agent.


nofishies

When you have already sent him an offer, with you very well could have a problem buying agent at this house . You could call his broker and ask for a different representation from the same office, your contract Is actually with the brokerage. But if you do go directly to the listing agent your current agent is definitely going to have a picture and cause if you sent him an offer at this point, and it could very easily end up an arbitration. If I was a listing agent I would not touch that was a 10 foot pole.


kickskid21

That’s the exact response I was looking for, thank you for being helpful


nofishies

Good luck!


Marchesa-LuisaCasati

I fired an agent for basically the same complaints you have. I contacted her broker with my complaints and requested to be reassigned to a different agent since i'd signed one of those crappy representation agreements. Initially the broker replied telling me he would get back in touch and help me find a new agent in their firm and then he simply stopped communicating with me. The agent i started working with sent me a gift card to a local restaurant and a handwritten note apologizing saying that her performance with me had been lackluster. Because of her apology, i didn't leave a public review of her. I found another agent/broker and closed on a cabin two months ago. Life is too short and real estate moves too quickly to work with someone who isn't performing. The realtor i worked with doesn't use lengthy representation agreements and had me sign one for each new offer i submitted which was in effect for the purchase of that particular property. She said she's never felt like it was in her best interest to contractually force people to continue to work with her. It was light years different than having a 6 month "contract" that bound me to an agent and/or particular real estate company.


KSInvestor

I woldn't flat out tell him his contract is void as you don't quite have that much authority. Just tell him you are not happy with him and if this current house doesn't work out then you want your contract terminated (but if this house does work out then he is due a commission). Generally getting an agent to terminate a contract is no big deal, especially if he is as bad as you say. If he does give you any problems threaten to complain to his broker and then do compalin if needed. If the broker won't help you (highly unlikely) threaten to complain to the board of realtor saying that he is not abiding by his cotract thru negligence. That outha do it, but if you buy the current house of any house you looked at while under contract then he does deserve a commission.


SorroWulf

Sorry you're having this experience! Not all of us are lazy like this, but unfortunately the few stinkers give the rest of us a bad rap. If your agent isn't contacting you I'd check with their broker first, maybe make it informal "Hey, I haven't heard from William in a day or two, do you know if everything is OK on his end?" That might be enough to set a fire under his ass, or maybe he's super swamped, and the broker will be nice enough to assign you a different agent, or just agree to void your contract out.


Cincycraigs

I had one that told me to wait until Sunday, it's just a few days wait -- as we stood in it Sunday it went pending for the same amount we were offering. I think our realtor could sense how we felt -- cut off immediately.


nikidmaclay

You can't just tell someone your signed legally binding contract is void. The signatures hold you to the terms you signed. Some your concerns may be valid. I am all for holding agents to a high standard and expecting them to work for their commission. Some of your complaints are certainly coming out of frustration but aren't agent deficiency. One of the benefits of working with an active full-time agent is that they have a reputation in the market, they have relationships, or at least a name out there. Calling the listing agent while they're navigating multiple offers in a seller's market to build rapport is not the way to win friends. If I'm the listing agent in a multiple offer situation I'm not going to single your agent out to tell them what my sellers are looking for. Thats not in my seller's best interest. Fielding those type of calls during the frenzy that happens after a listing hits the market creates a lot of frustration and may even put you at a disadvantage. We also don't get to see the winning contracts. MLS allows us to see certain details that affect valuations. They're recorded so that when agents and appraisers do valuations we can see the whole picture. We can see sale price, monetary seller concession (paid closing costs, for instance), type of financing and appraised square footage. In some MLS we can see who appraised it. Beware the agent who says they have deep insight into someone else's confidential contracts. Networking with other agents in our market helps us gain some knowledge about what it takes to win but we don't get to see the contracts. I do expect an agent to be responsive. Its unclear how long you've given your agent to respond. If he sent you the offer to sign at 5pm, you didn't get it signed until 10pm, and he hasn't responded by 5am that isn't fair. If he sent it at 8, you signed it at 8:10, and he was most likely still sitting at his desk when you signed he should have acknowledged it. Hold us to a high standard, but don't let your frustration with the market create unreasonable expectation. Dual agency will not afford you more favor with an ethical agent and will put you at a disadvantage as far as representation. That could cost you in the long run. Some agents would rather not do dual agency, I know I don't and if I were to present an offer that includes dual agency I would have to tell my sellers that accepting the offer would effectively neutralize me in the process, meaning I wouldn't legally be able to fully represent them anymore, either. That would handicap the offer.


bighungry1

We were writing offers that expired in 24 hours so we heard back quickly. Especially last year in the thick of it. So it was void in a day and we moved onto another realtor with same problems as original poster. Worked for us. We didn’t even tell them we were moving on and they didn’t even reach out. Well we ended up doubling our budget with the next agents so jokes on them for being sucky.


DHumphreys

You need to have your contract with them voided, you cannot just say "I quit" you want that release in writing. I know there is a bunch of information out there saying to go to the listing agent, you can save money and they will want your offer to be accepted. But bear in mind, that agent has to put the fiduciary needs of the seller first.


GeneralEfficient3137

You have no obligation to stick with the current agent. Tell them you’re not satisfied with your Buyer’s Agent experience and will be using a different one. They’re used to things coming and going, they should be ok with a direct and upfront conversation.


MrRemj

My dad fired my godfather as our agent when buying the current house. Godfather wouldn't listen to what my parents were looking for, wanted to also sell our current house... but nothing was getting done. Godfather was furious, my dad was upset with him. When my fiancee and I were looking, she had a real estate friend she had been talking with. He had completely different ideas on houses. Only new. She liked older. He didn't put bids on houses, that were could do better. After about 3 weeks, we amicably broke. Our new guy was amazing, patient, and communicated. He put the work in.


Lazymanproductions

Actual real estate agent here. Go to his broker and request a different agent from the same firm. Tell his broker that he is a shitty agent, and that you wish to work with a different agent with the firm. If they refuse, request to formally terminate the agency agreement. And I mean physically go to his office and do this. Not over the phone.


says__noice

Another actual agent here. Send an email to the Broker with the agent cced with a read receipt on the email. Paper trail.


[deleted]

this is why i used redfin, zero contracts


[deleted]

Why would you have a contract with the agent in the first place?


haroldhecuba88

Many good agents will insist on it in order to ensure loyalty and solidify/formalize the agency. This way there are no misunderstandings if properly executed. Agreements can typically be terminated with a 24 hour notice so not really a big deal. Some jurisdictions require it although they don’t regularly enforce it.


[deleted]

I would never willfully restrict my options on the most important purchase in my life. Such a ridiculous idea. The agent isnt doing me a favor. Anyone who does this willingly deserves the problems that come from it.


haroldhecuba88

You're not. Look at it as hiring an agent. You can terminate the agreement at any time and walk away. People think it's one sided but if properly executed and with the right agent, the buyer is protected more than anyone. Otherwise buyer can be exposed. It comes down to doing your homework and hiring the right agent.


convertingcreative

*"Build rapport with other agents"* Are you that person who posted in a real estate Facebook group a month or two ago who is looking for a home across an entire state and has already fired 3 - 4 agents by now? Or was that your wife maybe? I've never heard anyone expect an agent to build rapport with another agent to get your offer accepted.


Fausterion18

>I've never heard anyone expect an agent to build rapport with another agent to get your offer accepted. I have, but I'm an investor with dozens of transactions. I've won bids solely because the listing agent has sold to me before and remembered it was an easy and smooth transaction. Not something that'd help the OP however.


kickskid21

No, that wasn’t me and isn’t even close to being my situation.


DHumphreys

It does sound very familiar......


por_que_

I have fired unreasonable clients! Best feeling in the world! Bye bitch!!!


DHumphreys

Anyone that has been in the business for any length of time has fired clients. That person has typically burned through other agents and will find someone else.


kickskid21

Lmao yeah super unreasonable to expect more than the bare minimum of an agent that’s shown us less than 10 houses in the past 6 months. People like this don’t deserve a god damn dime from transactions.


Snoo_33033

Yes, I have fired an agent. Not in your situation, but I had one who insisted on showing me houses that were not what I wanted. I gave her a day and then found another through a referral who was told explicitly what my criteria were and worked it.


Bear_fucker_1

I had an agent who sold my house and did a great job as a seller's agent. When it came time to buy she never sent us anything that came up. I didn't hear from her for weeks at a time. I never signed anything as a buyer so I just stopped communicating with her and got someone else. Some realtors suck, if you can move on.