Buyer Feedback
No honest broker will promise the seller feedback from every showing. Yet in order to help secure a listing, some brokers will do just that. They make this promise even though this is not in their control. The problem is that feedback may not be in the buyer’s best interest, and so savvy buyers may not provide it. This may or may not be important to you. But it is a great little indicator of how honest a broker is.
Buyers should ask their broker whether or not he is providing feedback to the sellers on every showing. It is unfortunate that this is necessary. But many brokers will do this as a matter of course, never even discussing the matter with their client. They do this, supposedly, as a courtesy to the seller and the listing broker. Yes, they seem to forget for whom they work. Yet feedback may not be in a buyer’s best interest and may even weaken a buyer’s negotiating position. Again, this may or may not be important to you. But it is a great little indicator of a broker's integrity and how serious they take their fiduciary responsibilities.
~~~
When a broker goes out on a listing appointment to pitch their services they tell the potential seller client what they will do for the seller and why the seller should become their client. The list of services offered by the broker will vary from firm to firm and from broker to broker. As we have discussed, there may or may not be a correlation between service level and price. But there is one service that costs the broker nothing, and therefore, it is almost always included – no, promised, to potential seller clients: Feedback.
Mr. Seller, if you hire me, I will solicit feedback from any and all potential buyers and their brokers. And, we can use this invaluable information to help market the home.
But feedback is more than this. Often listing brokers will use buyer feedback to help the broker tell the now seller client something the broker does not want to say themselves, or something the seller does not want to hear, or something the broker has, in fact, told the seller, but the seller did not believe. So far, so good. Actually, sounds beneficial – and it is. For the seller and the seller’s broker.
But what about the buyer? When they are out viewing properties, are the buyers and their broker taking notes? Well maybe. It depends…on the buyers’ reactions, the accuracy of the MLS data, the style of the particular broker and of the particular buyers, etc. If the goal is to narrow the number of properties, it is highly unlikely that they are going to take the time to write notes about choices number four and five. Four and Five are out – really nothing further to discuss – let’s move on. Or, let’s go write an offer on Number One. Right?
But in any case, later when the buyer’s broker gets a chance to check her email, what does he find? Well, an inbox full of Feedback Requests. Now most real estate brokers want to be well-liked by their peers. So brokers will sit down and accommodate these requests.
Yessiree, they will sit right there and say things like, My buyers did not like the wallpaper in the hall bath, or We thought that the factory right behind the house was a wee bit loud, or even, Gosh, the price seemed a little high to us, but thank you ever so much for letting us see it. Or, they might say: Golly gee wiz, my clients just loved the place.
They might even say: My clients just loved the place and it is in right zone for the school where they want to send their kids. This actually happened to us once. And when we looked it up, the house was the only one for sale in that zone. Give that some thought. No really, give that some thought.
Believe it or not, this is standard operating procedure for most buyer’s brokers. I often wonder: Is it also standard operating procedure to inform their buyers of this practice?
Here I would like to propose the Savvy Buyer Feedback Maxim:
The more a buyer likes a property, the more likely honest feedback will only serve to hurt his interests.Corollary: The less a buyer likes a property, the less the buyer and his broker found noteworthy (good or bad).
Now, I wish this was the end of the story, but it’s not….
I typically do not provide feedback. The only way I will do so is when I am beyond certain that my buyer client has zero interest in a property AND I have the time and inclination to do a favor for the listing broker (yes, this does happen). Plus, I do have to remember the place, right?
But in my experience, if and when a broker fails to respond to the first email Feedback Request, yes, they will get another, and then another. And low and behold, if all those emails fail to do the trick, the listing broker, or one of his minions, starts calling. Yes, on the phone. After all, he promised his seller clients feedback. And, usually it is the broker from un-noteworthy choice number five, and usually this is two or three days later, and always when I am in the middle of something terribly important. And, they say, do you remember my listing….?
The conversation goes downhill from there….