Evil Realtor

[Biscuitsmom31]

This weekend my husband, our 3 three kids, and I were out looking at houses. We want to move into a better neighborhood and have more space for our large family.

Well, we pull up to an open house and stop to go in a have a look. The realtor comes running out and immediately tells us the price with a very "letting you down easy" tone. I was like "okay" and we started heading for the house. Then she stops us again and says "are you pre-approved for that amount"?

I said "no, but we've had a mortgage for several years - and I don't think it will be a problem".

Then she says "Well, it's not just that. It's based on your income too."

We hadn't even gotten to the door yet.

Why would she instantly assume we couldn't afford the house? Irritating!

 

[ilovejack02]

Oh heck no, I would call her bosses if she works for a company and not herself and let them know you can def afford house but wont be buying it because of her crappy attitude.

 

[agnes!]

I would pull a Pretty Woman on her. Go back when you HAVE bought your house, like Julia Roberts did when she got all dressed up in those niiiiiiiiice clothes from the second place and then went back to the first snooty boutique..."Big mistake, lady. HUGE."

The best revenge would be to find a better realtor who knows customer service and doesn't ASSume.

It's like what some stoopid car salesman do. I just take my checkbook elsewhere and make SURE the manager knows *why* .

agnes!

 

[ducklite]

My guess is that she didn't want the kids in the house.

When we were having open houses we didn't want kids in the house, nor would we allow anyone to walk through on their own.

She probably should ahve been more tactful if that was the case and just stated that the owners didn't want children in the home during the open house. I think that most people could understand that.

It doesn't usually happen during an open house, but I have known people who wouldn't allow thier home to be shown to anyone who wasn't pre-approved.

Anne

 

[shortbun]

My guess is that she didn't want the kids in the house.

When we were having open houses we didn't want kids in the house, nor would we allow anyone to walk through on their own.

She probably should ahve been more tactful if that was the case and just stated that the owners didn't want children in the home during the open house. I think that most people could understand that.

It doesn't usually happen during an open house, but I have known people who wouldn't allow thier home to be shown to anyone who wasn't pre-approved.

Anne

What's the point of an open house if people can not walk through on their own? When we were looking at houses, if a realtor even came close to bugging us, we walked right out the door. We bought a home that we first saw in an open house. We spent lots of time there on our own. We do not like pushy/needy sales people at all. Many people feel the same way. That's why lots of the homes in our neighborhood sell after an open house. Realtors here seem to know that they need to be present but intelligent and calm. I'm glad. I've never seen children misbehave in an open house but I'm sure it's happened. I can not imagine keeping families out though. I guess if you don't mind limiting your customer base in that way...seems counter productive.

 

[ducklite]

What's the point of an open house if people can not walk through on their own? When we were looking at houses, if a realtor even came close to bugging us, we walked right out the door. We bought a home that we first saw in an open house. We spent lots of time there on our own. We do not like push sales people at all. Many people feel the same way. That's why lots of the homes in our neighborhood sell after an open house. Realtors here seem to know that they need to be present but intelligent.

We didn't want people having access to potentially stealing from us. With an open house you never know who will show up. We had a few people who I definitely didn't trust.

It obviously wasn't a problem, we ran open houses on Saturday and Sunday and had a signed contract with check for a 10% deposit Sunday night after a three way bid war that went thousands over our asking price.

Anne

Anne

 

[laurie31]

If the seller didn't want anyone to tour the house who wasn't pre-approved, that could have been simply stated, in just that way. Not a "you obviously can't afford this so don't waste my time" kind of way, which is what I gathered from the OP.

I have no idea if this is even relevant, but I have lost quite a bit of weight, and am continuously amazed at how I'm treated now (by strangers). I never thought I was being treated rudely before, but now - wow, what a difference. Reading the OP made me recall a specific instance where I was treated rudely, however. I went into a store and asked to see an item out of the case. The salesgirl (I call her "girl" because she was a junior in college - I know this because she was too busy having a private conversation with another store employee to be bothered with me) rolled her eyes at having her private convo interrupted and informed me that she could only take things out for people who were serious about buying them. Ummmm....what made her think I wasn't serious? Did she think I couldn't afford it? Was it because I was pooh-sized? I have no idea, but I can tell you I left and bought the item elsewhere. Back then I was too shocked to say anything, but now I would have given her a piece of my mind!

So...I have no idea if the OP is pooh-sized or a size 2, but my experience has been that salespeople apparently think thin people earn more

ps - I don't mean to hijack the thread - if we want to talk about discrimination against overweight people let's start a new thread

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

ughhh! i can't stand 90% of the realtors out there! We are looking for a bigger home and we go to open houses every now and then since we are in no hurry and when we get those pesky ones that feel the need to breathe on you the entire time, we just turn around and walk out.

OP, i CANNOT believe you were treated that way! that would have made me soo mad!

 

[honeymom]

I think the realtor could have handled things differently if there was a problem.

Re: realtors - I am one. We work very hard (it is a 7 day a week job) and most of us are extremely nice people. There is a big misconception that an open house will sell the house. They rarely do. They are really an opportunity for the realtor to find potential clients. They do want to try to engage you. Not because they are trying to push you into buying the house that you are in, but because they are trying to demonstrate their expertise and determine your needs. Some realtors are better at this than others, and sometimes it is just a matter of finding the right chemistry. You won't get much of a feel for a realtor if you refuse to talk to them. If you are that uncomfortable, just tell the agent that you are already working with another agent. Most ethical realtors will not try to streal another agent's customer.

 

[nannerbadnanner]

We had the same kind of thing happen we were looking for our first house several years ago. We visited a new neighborhood that was being developed. We told the on-site agent which plan we liked. She assumed that we couldn't afford it, and kept saying mentioning the smallest house plan as a "better fit for us." Whatever, crazy lady. The kicker was the she started telling us about a government program that assisted first time homebuyers. We told her that we had looked into it, but our income was well above the maximum limits. She had the audacity to look at me and say "Well, you should quit your job and then you could qualify on your husband's income." I politely explained that my husband's income alone was also well above the maximum amount, and even if it wasn't, I certainly wouldn't quit my job in order to receive governmental assistance. Seriously, we weren't dressed to the nines that day, but I have no idea why she thought we couldn't afford to live there.

I still remember her name, and I have advised many people to run if they see her. We would have seriously considered buyiing in that neighborhood if not for her attitude. She only hurt herself.

 

[Beca]

One time we were looking at new homes in AZ. We do pretty well financially, but you would NEVER know that by looking at me. I just do not "get into" clothes. Maybe it's because I used to be an actress and had to wear tight costumes ALL the time, but I simply cannot stand restrictive clothing, and I don't see the need to spend a lot of money on clothes (especially considering my dd was 6 months old and was always spitting up on my clothes). So, unless I have a good reason to dress better, I tend to run around in sweats.

Well, I walked into this new home community that was WELL within the range that we were pre-approved for. There is a male realtor sitting behind his desk. He looks up at me and rolls his eyes....honestly, he ROLLED his eyes at me!!! I thought, "Okay, maybe he is having a bad day and just didn't want anyone coming in right now." I go and look at the models. They were BEAUTIFUL and very much like what we were looking for. I came back in (yes, I was carrying my 6 month old) and he was working with someone else, showing them the available lots. I leaned over the display to see what lots were still available, and he said, VERY impatiently, "May I HELP you?" I responded, "Yes, I was wondering if you had any packets of floor plans and available options." In a very condescending voice, he asked, "Have you ever heard of the Internet?" Confused, I replied, "Yes." He said, "Well, you can go online at www.whateverthewebsitewas.com and view them there." I asked, "Don't you have packets available for possible home buyers?" He said, "Possible home buyers?, absolutely." I asked again if I could have a packet, and he said, "I'm sorry, I just don't have any for YOU."

I went to my car, completely STUNNED by the way I was treated. I started to go, and then returned to the office with my dd. He looked up and said, "Did you forget something?" I said, "Yeah....I forgot to tell you how RUDE you were to judge me. Just FYI, my dh and I are pre-approved for a great deal more than what you are asking for your homes, but there is NO way I would purchase from you now. However, I do need your first and last name, as well as the corporate office number.....no, never mind on that last part....I'll just get it off the, what was that word....oh yeah, the INTERNET."

I'm sure my little "attitude fest" meant absolutely nothing to him....but, it seriously made me feel SOOO much better.

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

It definitely didn't have anything to do with homeowners. It was a model home. They had several plans to choose from and even when we did get inside, she kept steering us to the cheapest plan.

I can't help but wonder if it had something to do with my husband being handicapped. Maybe she thought our huge van w/ wheelchair lift was not what the neighbors wanted. Or, maybe she just thinks that a family with a three kids and a guy in a wheelchair couldn't possibly afford one of her houses.

 

[ZPT1022]

I am sorry that you were treated that way. We're a young family and we've gotten that a few places before. It's mostly been in stores and for large ticket items. I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoy calling a manager over and getting better service and then watching the salesperson squirm when I then pay in cash for said large ticket item. Things like that are so stupid because you really can't presume to know what someone's financial situation is. I know plenty of well to do people that dress rather simply, and I also know people without the money to spare who wear nothing but designer clothes. I also had a comment one time because I was driving our old minivan. I happened to be driving it for a combo of two reasons- one I had just had surgery and it was easier to get in and out of and two, once I was starting to feel better the roads were getting icy so no reason to drive a new car in crappy weather when you have an alternative. Oh, and my husband has a restored classic car sitting in the garage. It just goes to show that you can't just judge by first impressions. I don't know what you look like or why she would have had that impression but obviously she made a bad impression on you and I would have to guess she lost a potential sale because of that. I hope you have better luck elsewhere and like the other poster mentioned, I would think about calling her real estate office and letting her manager know what had happened. Best of luck with the house hunt!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Wow that was so incredibly rude of that realtor. DH and i are looking for a new home now. Sometimes I dress up when DH and I look, sometimes not. If we don't have the kids then we take DH's car which is a 1992 Grand Am with 172,000 miles on it. Some of them probably instantly think , here come the white trash.

But in reality they don't know how much you can afford. Just because you wear Anne Klein and drive a BMW makes you a millionaire. I don't think so.

A man who donated millions for a cancer center here in Pittsburgh drives a 1972 Jeep. So clothes and cars do not mean squat.

 

[Hixski]

I can relate to this big time. When DH and I got married we decided to build a house in an area that was starting to be built up. There were quite a few new home subdivisions. DH and I were just in our mid 20's at the time. We had a 20% down payment and were approved for quite a substantial amount. You can't believe how many times we got the snooty brushoff. Everyone just knew we were A) too young to build a new home. B) did not have a down payment C) could not be approved for the amount of the home we wanted.

A realtor friend of DH let us know about a new subdivision that he thought we would like. He told us who to talk to there and had already told him we had a down payment, were approved, etc. It was a good thing he was nice as we loved the houses and built the one we still live in today. Our house is 20 yrs old come July. We think it must have been fate that someone called us just when we were getting frustrated with everyone else.

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

i hate when people automatically assume things like that based on no opinion what so ever.

*next time just say "Christo" to the person. if their head starts spinning, you know not to bother with them!*

 

[BuckNaked]

It doesn't usually happen during an open house, but I have known people who wouldn't allow thier home to be shown to anyone who wasn't pre-approved.

Anne

Yep. I know when we were looking, there were a number of houses that had little signs that said basically (with as much tact as possible) if you aren't preapproved, don't waste your time looking here.

Of course, that was at the height of the real estate boom. The open house would end on Sunday at 4:00 PM, and they would review offers at 4:00 PM on Monday.

 

[kdibattista]

We didn't want people having access to potentially stealing from us. With an open house you never know who will show up. We had a few people who I definitely didn't trust.

It obviously wasn't a problem, we ran open houses on Saturday and Sunday and had a signed contract with check for a 10% deposit Sunday night after a three way bid war that went thousands over our asking price.

Anne

Anne

I'm guessing that was during a seller's market. These days, I don't think you would have had the same outcome.

 

[ducklite]

It definitely didn't have anything to do with homeowners. It was a model home. They had several plans to choose from and even when we did get inside, she kept steering us to the cheapest plan.

I can't help but wonder if it had something to do with my husband being handicapped. Maybe she thought our huge van w/ wheelchair lift was not what the neighbors wanted. Or, maybe she just thinks that a family with a three kids and a guy in a wheelchair couldn't possibly afford one of her houses.

In that case she was absolutely out of line and you should report her to the builder!!

Anne

 

[ducklite]

So...I have no idea if the OP is pooh-sized or a size 2, but my experience has been that salespeople apparently think thin people earn more
ps - I don't mean to hijack the thread - if we want to talk about discrimination against overweight people let's start a new thread

Studies ahve been done that show that indeed overweight people are discriminated against in the workplace in terms of hiring and salary.

Anne