Find Out Why Your Real Estate Agent Does Not Return Your Calls
REALTORS® use a variety of marketing tools to market themselves and their listings. If you’re running into communication problems with your agent, first find out if you’re calling or emailing their current and preferred phone or email. If you’re calling their office line, they may not check that voicemail box often.
Listing agents are often inundated with calls, texts, and voicemails when they have an active listing. This is a great thing if they’re selling your home, but it can make getting in touch with your agent a challenge.
If you’re a buyer, odds are your agent has their ear to ground looking for the perfect home for you. When researching a listing a buyer’s agent may need to verify information with a municipality or they could be waiting to hear back from the listing agent and that can take time.
If you’re inquiry is non-urgent or maybe requires input from their broker, you may not receive an answer on the weekends. If you’re in an active negotiation and you need immediate assistance reach out to the agent’s broker or office manager. Sometimes agents designate someone to back them up if they need to take time away from their duties. There may be a simple miscommunication that can be easily resolved with a call to their office.
Schedule A Meeting With Your Agent
Sometimes meeting face to face can help clear the air and build a better rapport with your REALTOR®. Reach out to your agent by their preferred contact method and let them know you’d like to schedule a meeting. When leaving a message stay calm and avoid jumping to conclusions. If they don’t respond after 2 business days, follow up with another phone call or email to remind them of your request.
Express Your Concerns Diplomatically
Before you meet with your real estate agent, write down your communication concerns. Be sure to include specific examples of good communication and times when you felt unheard or ignored. Give them a moment to process your concerns and respond with their perspective. A key component to a successful working relationship is the ability to communicate open and honestly. If you mutually agree to move forward and continue working together, it’s important to establish expectations and boundaries to avoid these issues in the future.
Establish Clear Expectations For Communication
Outline your preferred contact method, the best times to reach you, and times when you may be unreachable. Letting your agent know your preferences helps them provide you with good customer service. If your family eats dinner together every evening at 7 p.m., let your agent know that that’s a special time for your family and you would prefer calls before then.
Your agent may have their own guidelines and boundaries as well. If you’ve mutually agreed to continue working together, communicating effectively will require work from both you and your agent.
