A friend of mine that has been looking for a home to purchase has been asking me some questions about where to look, what to ask, etc. He found a home that he was interested in and asked the agent as few questions. Here is the email that he sent to the agent:
HI There,
I’m interested in looking at your listing @ [address]… Can we set up a time to see it tomorrow or Tuesday?
Can you give me a little more information in the meantime?
What are your favorite things about this house, what are your least favorite?Thank you
Some pretty basic questions. All my friend had seen were some pictures on the internet and read a little description abut the home. Here is the response that he got from the agent:
sorry [address] sold for $920,000
The real estate agent
– did not address my friend by name
– did not use correct punctuation
– did not ask any questions about what he was looking for
– did not even answer his basic questions about the home
– did not offer comparable listings to view
– did not setup a time to talk on the phone
– did not setup a time to meet in person
My friend is not working with an agent, yet, but I would think that an inbound email like this could not be a better lead.
Here is a potential response that comes to mind:
Hi [first name],
Thanks for your email about my listing.
It actually sold the other day for $920,000. It had a really great coach house in the back and a little suite in the basement that will be a bit of a mortgage helper for the new owner.
Is that the kind of home that your looking for?
I would be pleased to meet up with you to understand more about your requirements and go through other similar homes. Did you have some time to meet?
Thanks for your interest and I look forward to speaking with you.
Sincerely,
Steve
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
1/27/2008 at 8:37 pm
Sounds to me like the real estate agent either does not know how to sell real estate or is too busy to handle internet leads. I believe most real estate agents know how to respond to an email inquiry like that but I guess not. It would be interesting to find out how long it took the agent to respond?
1/27/2008 at 9:00 pm
@ Tyler – it was quite a quick response, I believe he said it was within an hour of him sending the email.
1/27/2008 at 10:56 pm
I agree that your response would have been better. It is pretty surprising that the agent would respond that quick yet not bother to see if they could help the client look for other options.
1/28/2008 at 8:41 am
I think the realtor is busy spending his commision on the sale and not bothering to work for awhile. Shame on him he could of referred it to another realtor if he was busy or not interested.
We have become a society of short brief explanations especially those who are younger. The internet and text messaging have created a short but brief monster in responses to all. I think it should be considered the country other language. I bet this realtor was very young and somehow in there own mind responded to the client with the brief answer and somehow expected the client to request to see another house in response. Sad but true.
1/28/2008 at 11:41 am
Whatever the excuse is, it is not a good one for any agent who believes this is the way to do business. For the rest of us professionals who knows better, it is an advantage. The true professionals among us would have replied in a very similar way to your example. I am never too busy to help someone. If I can’t handle it, I would still reply and provide the person with a referral or info to help them with their search. It all comes back one way or another.
1/29/2008 at 7:04 pm
Hi Steve
I have an Idea for you….Wouldn’t it be interesting to document a complete purchase cycle from initial contact to completion? Blog about the whole process by way of photo,video & text. If your friend hasn’t found a house or an understanding agent as of yet…then it might be an unique opportunity.