Hi Abrar, agree with prior poster, visiting Open Houses is a great way to "interview" agents - super opportunity to gauge your comfort level with them and also test their knowledge. When you find "your agent" then commit to working with her and she'll do the same. Time and knowledge are what we agents have to make money, and so we have to invest our time wisely. I tell prospective buyers that I will strive to earn their trust and commitment and when I do, I very much appreciate their commitment in return. You will benefit greatly from the services of a great agent, so go find her/him and good luck to you!

Best,
Jeannie Feenick
"Unwavering Commitment to Service"
Search the MLS at http://www.feenick.com

I agree with Anna. Interview agents in the area and commit to one who will do the digging for you.

One great way to find an agent is to go to Open Houses and spend 5 minutes questioning them on the property they are representing at the Open House. Talk about tax rates, hoa fees, short sale issues, etc. Listen to their answers and choose one who is knowledgable.

Anna Brocco said below,

"oftentimes I get calls, and the call back number is said so fast, I have no clue what to to dial."

Thanks for that reminder, Anna. It does happen.
--------------------
I know of one Real Estate Agent who says on her Voice Mail, "please say your telephone number TWICE",

and I know another who says, "Please say your Telephone Number SLOWLY and CLEARLY".

I may go in and update my Voice Mail with one of those responses.

Thanks Again,
Fred
--------------

Are you working with a Realtor, if not now is the time. Unfortunately some inquiries may go unanswered for many reasons, is the mail going into spam, if the e-mail address is unrecognizable and there is no indication of a property inquiry it may be perceived as junk, etc., are you clear as to exactly what you would like to know, if leaving messages on the phone are you speaking clearly and repeating your call back number slowly, oftentimes I get calls and the call back number is said so fast I have no clue what to to dial. With that said if you decide to work with a Realtor all inquiries and showings will be taken care of on your behalf.

Anna

many agents are part time, others swamped, perhaps the listing you enquire about is long gone,they are on vacation or perhaps they want to know you are serious and throw the job of pursuit upon you?
Add all the tech areas for potential and that contact info is wrong. I had a phone call a couple of days ago and the email address I heard was wrong (before the line went dead). It may be old fashion but there is no substitute for face to face.

Hi Abrar, that is a very poor hit rate and disappointing indeed. Responsiveness is so central to quality service. Agents that are not responsive simply do not deserve your business. It baffles me but I do run into this myself. There are terrific agents and then there are some that do not seem engaged in their business. Why these agents are selected to list homes is a mystery to me. When I am interviewed as a listing agent, I remind sellers to test out the responsiveness of agents they are considering. If they do not promptly respond to their calls and emails, you can be sure buyers and/or agents will experience nothing better. Lack of responsiveness on the part of the agent negates the effectiveness of any marketing program.

Increasingly I beieve that agent effort is a key ingredient to you, the buyer or seller, achieving success. Sounds so simply, but as you have experienced first hand, some agents just don't seem to get it.

Best,
Jeannie Feenick
"Unwavering Commitment to Service"
Search the MLS at http://www.feenick.com

HI Abrar
I can't shed any light on what other agents do..........I only know that I am over zealoius when it comes to checking my email for messages....and promptly getting back to someone. The same goes for cell phone voice mail id I should miss a call......Consumers want a quick response.....My sellers expect me to offer that quick response, and I do.......I am never too busy to return a call or send an email (and I hate automated responses).
Debbie

Don't tell them about the pregnancy, don't tell them about the birth, just tell them about the baby.

Keep it short, have your questions ready and be ready to listen.

I also make many phone calls a day, both for inquiring on others' listings, as well as taking calls. I am very courteous and kind, but can relate to your question. Some agents just don't respond in a timely fashion.

Perhaps you should look for an buyers agent to represent you who will do the digging and find out the information for you.

"I must have received 200 phone calls ... and I'm tired of this.
My phone bill is through the roof ... so I don't want to talk to anyone anymore!!"

Aside from the lack of professionalism, etc.

Has this person not heard of UNLIMITED MINUTES on your phone?


Good grief, LOL

Hello Abrar, and thanks for your question.

Although there should not be any excuses for not returning phone calls or calling back a potential buyer or buyer's agent, I do find that--especially in areas where homes are getting multiple offers--the agents are simply inundated with phone calls and many choose to return only serious inquiries from buyers rather than questions from those who may be interested but have not yet seen the home. As an example, I called the agent representing a short sale last week on behalf of my client and it took four phone calls to finally reach her. When I did, she snapped at me, "I must have received 200 phone calls on this home and I'm tired of this. My phone bill is through the roof and the lender already has been given four offers, so I don't want to talk to anyone anymore!!" To say the least, I was dumbstruck by the agent's response, so I thanked her and suggested that she might want to put a "note" in the MLS listing that no further offers were being accepted at this time, so that agents and buyers would stop calling her. That evening, she did change the listing, but you can see how some agents are just being worn down by the calling. Personally, I make between 30-50 calls A DAY, so I'm used to high volume, but I can see how the constant ringing of the phone (if you're not used to this) can really cause an agent stress.

So while I do understand your frustration, please know that sometimes there is actually a reason for the lack of response.

If, in the future, you find it difficult to reach the agent with a question about the home, have your agent contact the listing agent. Often an agent gets slightly quicker response than that of a buyer inquiring about a property.

Good luck!!

Sincerely,
Grace Morioka, SRES, e-Pro
Area Pro Realty

Find yourself a realtor who will get back to you and then stick with them. Although they too might have difficulty getting in touch with certain agents, they're familiar with the market and have other avenues available to gather information for you.

Good luck! It's realtors and brokers that you speak of that give the whole profession a bad name.

Laura Giannotta
Keller Williams Atlantic Shore

I am not surprised to hear this - This lack of communication extends to other agents as well. I often ask myself if the sellers know how they are being represented. In some cases I have had to call other agents 2-3 times before getting a response.

Most of my calls are returned within the hour at most and I am available 7-days a week.

Greetings from Florida:

In this day and age,
there is almost no excuse* for a Real Estate Agent / Real Estate Broker to NOT reply
to a question or inquiry on their website.

Studies show that when most people complete an Info Box on a web page,
or text message an agent,
or leave voice mail,
or otherwise trying to contact a real estate agent,
they expect an answer in less than ONE HOUR.

If they don't get answered,
that person will move on to another real estate agent.
--------------------
Yet, it is astounding that some real estate agents appear to ignore or delay replying to "leads" or inquires
from their websites or web pages.
-----------------------------------

My email accounts are tied into my Blackberry.
The minute that an email from any of my websites comes in,
the red indicator light starts blinking.

I may not have time at that moment for a lengthy conversation,
or maybe I can't stop just then to type out a long response,
but I at least call back, or text back, or Auto Reply > Email to the person,
and inform them that I will get with them shortly (and I do).

-------------------------------------
* Excuses that are justifiable:

Email went into the "spam folder", or into the black hole of cyberspace.

Or, as Lukasz said in the earlier post, the person provides a wrong email address or incorrect telephone number.

There may be other technical reasons or glitches or human error involved, but they are rare.

Another reason for a possible DELAYED response: there is a major time zone difference
(for example, the questioner is in Hawaii or Alaska and the Real Estate Agent is in Florida).


------------------------------------------

By the way, I am training some new Agents,
and will use your question here on Trulia to show them
the frustration that people experience when they don't get recognized.

Thanks and Best Wishes to You,
Fred
-------------

I always get back to a person who needs the information and sent me a request.
My goal is not to get new customer/client, but share the info that I have and help in this way or other.
If this person is interested to work with me, I am more than happy and do the best I can to assist him/her in his/hers real state needs.

I get alot of inquiries through my office website, Trulia, and NJMLS.com and respond to all of them that I can. Problem is, that alot of people input incorrect information, like the email address or phone number. Also only about 10% of the people that I write back to actually reply to me again. Usually once I answer their question, I never hear from them again. It's more miss than hit but I like the "who knows" philosophy. Maybe, just maybe this person will want to buy a house :-)