Expectations. How easy it is to have different ones. Both you and your Realtor have them, and sometimes they don't match very well.

What frequently happens is that buyers (or sellers) come to the table with expectations based on what they have "heard" about how real estate transactions/negotiations happen. Then they bump into reality. I always see part of my job as educating my client. Because I've been through it many, many times I have some expectations about what's "normal" but any one transaction almost never meets my expectations exactly. It's my obligation to explain to clients what is "normal", even though their transaction will likely deviate from that, sometimes at many points.

Example: I have a current buyer who did not want to get preapproved (not "prequalified" - different process, but that's for another post) for financing until they had an escrow opened. While that's technically possible, these days sellers want assurance that if they accept an offer the transaction will actually close, and part of that is knowing that the buyer has their purchase finances in order. My client thought it was a waste of time to go through the loan application before they knew they had a deal. Different expectations.

So a large part of my job is education and managing expectations. Of course I have high expectations for my own customer service, too.

So if you're unhappy, the first thing to do is sit down face to face with your Realtor and explain what you're unhappy about and why.  If that doesn't solve it, then you need to have a face-to-face with the Principal Broker, All transactions are legally the responsibility of the Principal Broker, who holds the individual Broker's license. It's not a typical employer-employee relationship, but the buck stops with the Principal Broker, and you should talk with that person. One last note, in any office there may be several agents who have a Principal Broker's license but are not functioning as THE Principal Broker for the office. It's a category of license that gives that ability. Every real estate office has a managing Principal Broker but every Principle Broker does not manage an office.

Helpful?