Am I being a cold hearted person? REA is sick

[hannamaren]

I had made plans with our Real estate agent to see a house on Wednesday. On Wednesday morning, he emailed me that he had come down with the flu and would cancel. No problem. 
On Thursday evening, I sent him a quick email asking if he was feeling better and even said "I know this flu can be really harsh" and then asked about 2 houses and whether there were open houses this weekend. 
He replied that he would check on that but he was still pretty house bound. 

He still hasnt replied. I would really like to see these houses tomorrow. 

Just to keep in mind, these houses can sell within days of being listed. Hot market. 

Should I wait? (There is a 70% chance I wont buy either house - I am fussy) 

[kwynn]

Can you see if there are open houses? If so, I would just go to them.

If not, I would ask if someone else in the office could do you a favor and show them or something.

My realtor just now told me he doesn't work weekends...seriously. I'm upset.

[Deleted]

Do you really want to come into contact with someone who has the flu?

Ask him if he has a colleague available.

[dexteroni]

If you expect him to go to the showings with the flu, yeah, you are being cold-hearted, and frankly unwise - why would you want to meet someone who has the flu? But he should offer to have someone else go with you. Or just have the seller's agent be there to meet you, or really any other arrangement that would let you see it.

[yellowbrkrd]

You don't need your REA to go to an open house. Just find out if they are holding one and go.

[mrshabious]

If it is an open house go, but do not sign in. If you want to see it with a REA, ask him to set you up with one. If you have signed a contract with him, you need to coordinate through him.

[beyoncepadthai]

The flu can knock a person OUT for like, two weeks. Your request was rude and foolish. Ask if another agent can show them to you.

[Deleted]

I'm impressed he even answered you on Thursday. He has the flu - of course he wasn't feeling better the next day...or today.

[hannamaren]

Okay, I dont want to see him with the flu. For sure.
I dont know how to check for open houses, I usually go alone. I guess I can email the seller agent.

I thought he should suggest a name/contact of an associate but he didnt.

[thinkofthesoldiers]

Am I being ridiculous? I mean the guy has a disease that is spreading like wildfire all over the US and parts of Canada and could kill my young child, but I WANNNNNNA see these houses. Shouldn't he suck it up and put everyone at risk because I want to see them? Honestly. And shouldn't he really come up with another solution despite the fact he is probably feeling like death warmed over?

You have yet again solidified my opinion that you don't really function well IRL.

[dexteroni]

Jan 18, 2013 21:42:19 GMT -5 hannamaren said:

I dont know how to check for open houses

Open houses here are indicated on the realtor's website and are listed in the Sunday newspaper. Or you can email the listing agent and ask.

[dexteroni]

Jan 18, 2013 20:50:31 GMT -5 mrshabious said:

If it is an open house go, but do not sign in.

Why not?

[bunch]

If you really need to see them this weekend call and have him set you up with someone who can show them to you.

[barefootcontessa]

In a fast moving market I would expect our REA to find a replacement to show us the houses.

[beyoncepadthai]

Jan 18, 2013 21:49:12 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

Jan 18, 2013 20:50:31 GMT -5 mrshabious said:

If it is an open house go, but do not sign in.

Why not?

I think it can be taken to mean you are signing on with the showing (sellers') realtor, and committing yourself to them pursuing you as clients. But we bought our house 8 years ago so that memory might be rusty.

[hannamaren]

Jan 18, 2013 21:45:48 GMT -5 thinkofthesoldiers said:

Am I being ridiculous? I mean the guy has a disease that is spreading like wildfire all over the US and parts of Canada and could kill my young child, but I WANNNNNNA see these houses. Shouldn't he suck it up and put everyone at risk because I want to see them? Honestly. And shouldn't he really come up with another solution despite the fact he is probably feeling like death warmed over?

You have yet again solidified my opinion that you don't really function well IRL.

I said I dont expect him to take me. However, I do expect him to give me another agents information or put me in touch with the correct info. I definitely dont want to see him while he is sick. 
We dont have openhouses listed for most houses in the paper and I emailed the selling agents - so far no reply. 

At my job, if I am sick, I find a replacement to fill in. We dont close the pharmacy and say "she is sick, do you want to catch it?" 

[Deleted]

Are you for real a pharmacist? Some days I wonder.

Open houses: www.torontorealestateboard.com/buying/open_houses/index.htm

If you really want to see something, ask if a colleague can cover for him for a showing or two.

[thinkofthesoldiers]

Jan 18, 2013 22:11:28 GMT -5 @tokenhoser said:

Are you for real a pharmacist? Some days I wonder.

Open houses: www.torontorealestateboard.com/buying/open_houses/index.htm

If you really want to see something, ask if a colleague can cover for him for a showing or two.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who think she's an idiot.

[Deleted]

We dont close the pharmacy and say "she is sick, do you want to catch it?"

C'mon, you know being a realtor and being a pharmacist are two completely different things. Don't you work for a chain pharmacy? A lot of realtors work for themselves, there might not be anyone to fill in, or he may be face down in a pillow wishing for death. Unless he's give you another reason to dislike him, I think having the plague is a pretty good reason to give the guy a pass.

You really don't need a realtor to go to open houses, and he's probably assuming that as an adult, you can navigate an open house on your own. That's what I would assume and I'm not even a realtor.

[dexteroni]

Jan 18, 2013 22:07:14 GMT -5 beyoncepadthai said:

Jan 18, 2013 21:49:12 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

Why not?

I think it can be taken to mean you are signing on with the showing (sellers') realtor, and committing yourself to them pursuing you as clients. But we bought our house 8 years ago so that memory might be rusty.

No, it doesn't mean you're signing on with them; it's just a marketing tool. It does give them the ability to contact you, but we don't list our phone numbers, just an email address so we can block them if they bug us too much.

[hannamaren]

I have been to countless open houses by myself. I dont like to bother my agent if there is an open house.
I didnt think my agent was dying. I thought a quick email to tell me a)whether a house was still listed and b) if an open house was scheduled wasnt a huge deal. I also never said I was going to fire him, be mad at him about this.

He works for re/max so .i dont think he has his own business. I assume he has coworkers and even a secretary,

I have been looking for 6mths and houses sell in 24 hours here. I can only see houses on my days off so I would like to see a house this weekend that I actually like.

And for the rude people - thanks for the website. You would think the listing site would list an open house, but they dont. You would think a listing agent would email someone interested in the house back, but they didnt. 2 different agents.

Thanks marle, bncha and barefoot and some others. I appreciate the helpful comments.

[hannamaren]

Jan 18, 2013 22:27:20 GMT -5 @songforyou said:

Jan 18, 2013 22:10:41 GMT -5 hannamaren said:

Don't respond to the troll.

I know. I know. I know. 

[thinkofthesoldiers]

Jan 18, 2013 22:34:17 GMT -5 hannamaren said:

Jan 18, 2013 22:27:20 GMT -5 @songforyou said:

Don't respond to the troll.

I know. I know. I know. 

I don't think you are capable of knowing anything, really. And the more you post here, the more I am sure I am right.

[Deleted]

Do you have a number for the office he works for? Can you call and ask for a temp agent to show you the houses? Since you don't even know if there are open houses I would see what you can do to get in touch with a backup (someone who will fill in for him, not take his job and commission from him) in his office while he is sick.

I definitely would not just sit on my butt at home all weekend in a hot market. It is unfortunate that he has the flu and I would not expect him to be working by any stretch, but I also don't think it is reasonable for you to have to miss out on a couple of houses that may sell quickly because he is sick.

I would just want to make sure everything is above board and you are respecting your working relationship and making it clear that he is still your agent.

[Deleted]

I just meant that surely you know the flu is, like, serious. Have you ever had the flu? You spend the first few days wishing for death.

4 seconds and google the words "toronto open house" and you have a clickable map of open houses. Go nuts.

[Deleted]

Jan 18, 2013 22:26:59 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

Jan 18, 2013 22:07:14 GMT -5 beyoncepadthai said:

I think it can be taken to mean you are signing on with the showing (sellers') realtor, and committing yourself to them pursuing you as clients. But we bought our house 8 years ago so that memory might be rusty.

No, it doesn't mean you're signing on with them; it's just a marketing tool. It does give them the ability to contact you, but we don't list our phone numbers, just an email address so we can block them if they bug us too much.

I think it's an unspoken rule amongst realtors that if someone comes to an open house without having a realtor that the selling agent has first dibs on them as a client. Both our lender (a retired realtor) and our agent told us that we should never sign in when we go to an open house unless our realtor was with us.

[Deleted]

Honestly, you can be indignant if you want but you have contacted this poor guy and asked him to work the day after he told you he had the flu. Work that he probably knows will not benefit him since you have been looking for 6 months and you are still 70% sure these homes will not work for you. If I were your realtor you would be no where near my top priority while I was so sick.

[DarcyLongfellow]

I would expect, at a minimum, an out of office auto reply to my email telling me who in his office I could contact.

Yes, the man is sick and deserves to rest at home. But he is also running a business and has clients with ongoing needs.

When I was practicing, I couldn't just ignore something that came in from a judge or opposing counsel. Someone else could cover for me, but I had to at least check my email to know something needed to be covered or ask my secretary to screen my email and calls for me.

I don't think you're unreasonable to expect *some* response, even if it's only -- here's the number for my main office, they will find someone to show you the house this weekend.

[starlily]

Jan 18, 2013 22:51:02 GMT -5 cuadrado said:

YMMV, but this is not the case at all where I live (SoCal). Selling agents certainly made a pitch to us when we showed up (and signed in) without a realtor, but there was no business relationship established by the mere act of signing in.

[dexteroni]

Jan 18, 2013 22:51:02 GMT -5 cuadrado said:

Jan 18, 2013 22:26:59 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

No, it doesn't mean you're signing on with them; it's just a marketing tool. It does give them the ability to contact you, but we don't list our phone numbers, just an email address so we can block them if they bug us too much.

I think it's an unspoken rule amongst realtors that if someone comes to an open house without having a realtor that the selling agent has first dibs on them as a client. Both our lender (a retired realtor) and our agent told us that we should never sign in when we go to an open house unless our realtor was with us.

What? That's silly. There is no secret signup protocol. Well, they can think they have dibs if they want, but they don't.  We'll use whoever we like best when the time comes. We've signed in at open houses whenever asked, and no realtors have bugged us beyond one followup email.  And anyone who bothered us incessantly wouldn't become our agent.