To Dumber Than Dirt Real Estate Agents…Prepare for Another Career

I and my team are currently in the midst of wrapping up a transaction with perhaps one of the most uninformed (she knows very little about her seller, the property, or the business), misinformed (what she does claim to know has proven to be incorrect time and time again), and plain ol’ brain dead examples of a real estate agent that I have had the displeasure of dealing with in my 16 years.  My assistant has only had to wait for three years to have this "charming" experience and she’s probably better off for it as she now understands that the largest percentage of agents that we work with are indeed competent.  Among the grocery list of stupidity that this agent has displayed are the following:

• Claiming 12 years of experience it seemed as though she had no clue how to prepare or present an application to the Board of Directors.
• Instead of disclosing that she knew nothing about the Co-op Board she misrepresented their (thanks for the edit "reader") requirements.
• She has been incredibly unresponsive throughout the transaction. (she even has a BBerry for goodness sake!) 
• Every conversation with her went in circles because she knew nothing of what she spoke.
• She made blatantly false statements about her sellers, the property, and the Board directly to our purchaser.
• And to her credit, she did occasionally respond to questions with "I don’t know," but when prompted to delve further to get an answer she seemed to not want to be bothered.

And just in case it seems like I’m just belly-aching about a colleague (make no mistake…I AM!) here are some recent email snippets from our buyer regarding his perception of this self proclaimed "veteran:"

• "Someone should let her know how incompetent and annoying she is to deal with."
• "I will give her a piece of my mind at the closing table."  (he won’t)
• "She’s a moron and needs help."
• (regarding the walk-through which she ultimately could not accommodate) "Being alone with her would be torture for me."
• "She’s getting on my nerves with her inability to function."
• "She could drive someone (me) to drink."

I just can’t believe that these sellers would have selected her to represent them if they knew how she handled this transaction.  It is going to close so some may suggest that she has done her job.  Perhaps, but she hasn’t done her job well.  I can only imagine the aggravation that she brought to the table for her sellers and their attorney as well.  What could have been a relatively pleasant experience for all involved became tainted by our dealings with this agent. 

So what’s my point?  I just can’t imagine that this type of agent is going to be able to survive much longer in a market where the consumer is demanding more and more of their real estate professional with expectations parallel to a stay at The Ritz.  Oh my, she would make an awful concierge!