Realtor to Realtor Etiquette and Professional Practices

We believe that every Realtor should adopt the following professional and social graces when working with other Realtors. These practices work to create a more positive experience for our clients and a more enjoyable real estate climate.

Showing a Home

Missed showings - Agents should always call a homeowner back when the client changes their mind, or some other issue means that they will not be showing the home. Too often, the agent will not call to let the homeowner know and so the homeowner is put out without any notice that they can return to the home.
If the homeowner has young children, you can imagine that this would impact nap times and other routines, especially given that the heat doesn’t allow many places that the homeowner can go. As well, missed appointments during the dinner hours can mean that the homeowner was needlessly forced to eat out at their expense. Agents shouldn’t be surprised to get the phone call from an irate homeowner because you put them out and didn’t give the courtesy to call.
Agents should always leave a card when showing a home. This lets the homeowner know that the agent was in the house for sure. Often times, homeowners will leave for the specified time and come back, so it is important for them to have some way of knowing you were actually there.
Stick to your appointment time or call to give an update. - Occasionally, an agent will schedule like the Sears Repair Man - “we will be at your house from 10-2pm today.” Agents should tell their sellers that it is okay to ask that the agent give them a more definite timeframe as this can put the homeowner out greatly. Another trick is to ask th agent to call 15 minutes before their arrival to give the homeowner time to leave the home.
When an agent shows a listing and the listing agent calls for feedback, the showing agent should do their best to oblige them. Agents can get very busy at times and this becomes difficult to do. However, if the agent has called at lease two times, then the agent should absolutely return their phone call. Since emails for feedback requests are often auto generated and don’t take any effort on the part of the listing agent to perform, the showing agent doesn't have as compelling obligation to provide feedback unless they choose to.
When an agent shows a client a property a second time, the agent has an obligation to the listing agent to let them know how the showing went if the listing agent has called for that exact reason. An agent who doesn’t return the call or show any courtesy to call lacks professionalism and professional courtesy.

Negotiations

When writing an offer or counteroffer, indicate the response date and time as the date and time that is completely acceptable. I once had an agent who gave my client two days to respond but then called me two hours after receipt of the faxed offer to say they needed an answer ASAP.
When dealing with the ‘extreme’ buyer, where there is a ridiculously low offer and terms, a buyer’s agent should be conscious and considerate in your practices as the homeowner is likely to get trampled in the negotiation process given the nature of this buyer’s market. Agents have a fiduciary to their client of course, but that doesn’t mean that the agent takes on an aggressive and offensive tone and doesn’t take stock of how the seller will get treated in this process.