Should Realtors Let Sellers and Buyers Talk to Each Other?

Everything is not always hunky dory when sellers and buyers talk.

Should Realtors let sellers and buyers talk to each other during a real estate transaction? There are some buyers, I’m certain, who feel it is a big imposition to continually ask questions of their buyer’s agent when the agent doesn’t have the answer without asking the listing agent. The listing agent, in turn, then gets the information from the seller and delivers it back to the buyer’s agent who, in turn, relays the information to the buyer. In our world of instant gratification, it’s not unusual for a buyer to feel this is too long to wait for an answer, and things would be just  so much simpler and easier if Realtors let sellers and buyers talk to each other.

Now, depending on the Realtor, I can’t say this is automatically a bad idea. Because all Sacramento Realtors, for example, are not created equal. Some are on the job 24 / 7 and have years of experience, are dedicated, focused and communicate well. Others spend their time on the golf course, taking kids to soccer, mending inter-family riffs, going to school, or hanging out at the pool hall, hard to say, but they are not always available and they often sell 1 or 2 houses a year. That doesn’t give them much experience regardless of how long they’ve been licensed.

So, if you’ve got a bad agent who doesn’t communicate, it’s understandable that a buyer would want to talk to a seller. If you’ve got bad agents on both ends of the transaction, which is not unusual either, it’s no wonder one of the parties might think it makes more sense if the Realtors let sellers and buyers talk to each other. They might have a basis for asking Realtors to get of the way and let the transaction happen. But even under those circumstances, it’s still not a good idea.

People hire an agent because they want a buffer. A person with experience to manage the transaction. I share with my team members that managing an escrow includes managing and fulfilling your client’s expectations. It’s not an easy job, sometimes. Yet, most Realtors are equipped. We keep the peace. We advise. We try not to let our clients break the law. People sometimes come up with crazy ideas that violate real estate regulations and guidelines and California Civil Code.

They don’t know any better. But Realtors do. Realtors like me who sell 100 or so homes a year on average know far more about the business than a seller, for example, who maybe sells three homes in her lifetime.

If you’re a buyer with a bunch of questions, the best thing you can do is put those questions into writing. You never know, one could possibly need those answers in a court of law someday, and it’s always better to have the information in writing than relying on memory and say-so. Write them down, give them to your agent, and ask the seller to respond. It doesn’t take that long. We use digital devices. I will also add there is a reason in California why the “meeting around the closing table” is not in use like other parts of the country. Sometimes the parties are so mad by closing, they would kill each other if they came face-to-face. It hasn’t happened to me lately, thank goodness.