Irritated.

[ols386]

Hmmm, 6% commission on a sale of what $100,000? $200,000 ? or more ? and you won't spend 79 cents for the client? Wow, our sales people take clients out to $100 meals in an effort to close a $10,000 sale. Just sounds like poor salemanship to me.

Exactly.

 

[ols386]

Ok. I've read the original post. I still don't see your point. It's NOT the Realtor's job to do minor maintenance to the house. It's the Realtor's job to list the house, show the house, hopefully sell the house and be at the closing. Exactly.

Bottom line: it's your house. Do you want it sold or not? The realtor loses nothing except a potential commission if it sells. You, OTOH, have to keep paying out of pocket for upkeep, taxes, insurance, repairs, I'm not sure if you have a mortgage on it so there's that, heating, electric, water, etc.

If you're going to tell the realtor that you're miffed because she didn't change the batteries in YOUR house (not her house, YOUR house) and that's why you're dropping her as a representative, I'd be willing to bet she's probably going to be just as relieved as you are when your contract is up and you're going with someone else.

I'm just sayin'.

Hire a property management company if it's too long of a drive for your dad to do these things.

If I'm a realtor and I'm trying to sell a home and the owner lives on the opposite coast, and the smoke alarm batteries need to be replaced, I think I'd just replace them. I wouldn't even take the time to contact the owner and ask her about it. I'd just do it. It's a no-brainer.

 

[SaraJayne]

Hmmm, 6% commission on a sale of what $100,000? $200,000 ? or more ? and you won't spend 79 cents for the client? Wow, our sales people take clients out to $100 meals in an effort to close a $10,000 sale. Just sounds like poor salemanship to me.

Ditch her ASAP and get a new realtor ~ one that is truly willing to work FOR you and sell your house.

Good luck!

 

[bumbershoot]

Seriously? So you wouldn't even stop to consider that maybe the batteries went out the week after the homeowner left and moved to the other side of the country and had no idea that the batteries were dead?

"They" say to change batteries out in those things every 6 months, right? I will be the first to admit that we're a bit lazy on that. It's been *at least* 12 months since we changed the batteries in our smoke detector.

I've NEVER had smoke detector batteries die. Ever. And I've gone longer than what it has currently been, in my sordid past.

So YES, the fact that these batteries are dead and are causing the detector to beep, makes me think it's been years since those batteries have changed, and YES if an owner is that lazy with something so simple, what else are they lazy about?

 

[chloelovesdisney]

If I'm a realtor and I'm trying to sell a home and the owner lives on the opposite coast, and the smoke alarm batteries need to be replaced, I think I'd just replace them. I wouldn't even take the time to contact the owner and ask her about it. I'd just do it. It's a no-brainer.

Ditto.

 

[kirstenb1]

"They" say to change batteries out in those things every 6 months, right? I will be the first to admit that we're a bit lazy on that. It's been *at least* 12 months since we changed the batteries in our smoke detector.

I've NEVER had smoke detector batteries die. Ever. And I've gone longer than what it has currently been, in my sordid past.

So YES, the fact that these batteries are dead and are causing the detector to beep, makes me think it's been years since those batteries have changed, and YES if an owner is that lazy with something so simple, what else are they lazy about?

are you joking? I don't change batteries til they die. On the other hand, I scrub/stain our deck every year, scrub the entire exterior of the house twice a year, and paint it every two years, including a three hundred square foot front porch. Our house was built 15 yrs ago, so all wiring is modern. While anything can happen, I don't look around every corner for a house fire. Far more likely to happen is wood rot, termite damage, which is why I'm vigilant about the siding and porch.

 

[Jestocost]

In these situations the REALTOR(r) generally is responsible for lawn and exterior maintenance and a whole bunch of other stuff. If the OP signed a listing agreement without ensuring that those things were covered, shame on them and good luck getting the agent to do anything beyond the minimum.

Otherwise, I thought selling houses was a tough job right now and that any agent worth anything would gladly pay for a few batteries in exchange for a 6% commission that could go the way of the Dodo.

 

[Liberty Belle]

She suggested I have my family member drive 2 hours to check on them. I am really holding back here people!!!!!! She is a total knob. Useless on all fronts, including selling the home. I am contracted with her til October.

The contract can't be broken? I would try to find a loophole. This is just ridiculous! If she can't be bothered to change batteries (or just remove them!), I'd wonder how hard she's really trying to sell my house.

 

[Tuffcookie]

How many realtors does it take to change a smoke alarm battery?

I'd be careful about asking her to change it or take it out. She's liable to fall off the ladder or chair, changing it, and then want to sue your home owner's insurance!

I'm with everyone else who says to write to the head of the agency stating your unhappiness with the agent's laziness.

TC

 

[manning]

I'd also be tempted to tell her exactly where she could put the batteries,

Would it be required to remove the cover?

 

[Embel]

In these situations the REALTOR(r) generally is responsible for lawn and exterior maintenance and a whole bunch of other stuff. If the OP signed a listing agreement without ensuring that those things were covered, shame on them and good luck getting the agent to do anything beyond the minimum.

Otherwise, I thought selling houses was a tough job right now and that any agent worth anything would gladly pay for a few batteries in exchange for a 6% commission that could go the way of the Dodo.

Around here it is possible to hire the realtor to act as a sort of property manager, but those services would not automatically be included in a standard real estate contract.

 

[Embel]

The realtor, had she the sense god gave a parsnip, could just ask 'do you have someone who can take care of that or did you want me to change the batteries? I wouldn't want to do something without your approval.'

Exactly what the realtor should have said.

 

[Embel]

Hmmm, 6% commission on a sale of what $100,000? $200,000 ? or more ? and you won't spend 79 cents for the client? Wow, our sales people take clients out to $100 meals in an effort to close a $10,000 sale. Just sounds like poor salemanship to me.

Are you talking about realtors or sales people in some other field, who often have an expense account?

Realtors (around here anyway) make money if and only if, when and only when, the house is sold. Out of the - I'll use your number of 6%- total commision, you can take about 2% away. That goes to the buyers agent. Then take another 2% away- that goes to the realtor's broker. The sales agent might walk away with about 2%.

In this economy,though, it is not uncommon for agents to list a house and log many many hours doing open houses, showing, advertising, etc. only to have the house not sell. Eventually the house could be taken off the market, go to foreclosure, or have a frustrated owner give the listing to a different agent. In this scenario, the realtor receives no compensation for any of their work.

With all that said- I still think the realtor should have said, "Do you need me to change the batteries for you?"

 

[Ceila]

OP, if it makes you feel any better, my DH and I bought our first house even though the burglar alarm was screeching. The owner had relocated to another state and her agent hadn't had time to stop it yet. It didn't matter to us. We loved the house and we bought it. Thank goodness we, as the buyers, had the sense to realize that sometimes things like that happen when a house is unoccupied and that it was easy to fix.

You current (and hopefully soon-to-be-former agent) is an idiot. And all of those on here who are making a huge deal out of changing/removing a battery are so over the top I just can't believe it. It's a removing a battery, folks, not a hot water heater! Honestly, common sense has just completely escaped so many people in this country it's ridiculous. Oh, and anyone who would not purchase a home they like simply because a battery in a smoke detector has dies while owner has been across the country for months is extremely short-sighted.

 

[Nancyg56]

My response to the original email from the realtor:

"No need to be concerned. Since taking the batteries out of the smoke detector is out of your scope of work, the new realtor I've hired has agreed to take care of this."

This! I would be sending this to the Broker.

To look at it from the agency's point of view:

Instead of being angry at someone who is following the protocols of her employer, it's probably better to contract with a property management firm in the area who would take care of these issues in your stead since you're so far away. THAT's why your realtor called you - to inform whomever is taking care of your house for you that they need to replace the batteries. I'm sure they weren't asking you to fly to an opposite coast to replace batteries.

If I were viewing a house where the smoke alarm battery was continually going off, I'd be wondering what else the owner let slide to the point of going dead. It wouldn't leave me with a very good impression of the house and I'd probably take a pass on it.

Really? You would think that I am the laziest property owner on the planet. When the batteries beep I change them. Until then I forget them. my smoke detectors are hardwired so the batteries are just for a backup.

Now I seal my front porch every year, have the chimneys cleaned every year, DH has changed every bit of wiring and upgraded the system. We replaced every pipe and when I want to duct tape something DH calls a repairman before I get my hot little hands on that roll. We also have more insulation than we need, a new roof that will withstand 200 MPH winds. WE gutted this house and there is not one piece of drywall that is original.

If I want to sell and someone is worried about a dead battery but fails to see the brand new heating and cooling system, roof, siding and windows then that person may need to be a renter.

 

[Jeafl]

If I'm a realtor and I'm trying to sell a home and the owner lives on the opposite coast, and the smoke alarm batteries need to be replaced, I think I'd just replace them. I wouldn't even take the time to contact the owner and ask her about it. I'd just do it. It's a no-brainer.

I just asked a friend of mine who sells upwards of $40 million a year in real estate on the east coast what he thought about this situation. His answer was that he (or his assistant) would have changed the batteries, and never even asked the homeowner about it. He said it was a non-issue in his book. I guess it just depends on the realtor.

 

[laurie31]

We had an event this past weekend that made me think of this thread!

Our smoke detector nearly caught the house on fire!

We smelled something and investigated and it was our smoke alarm shorting out. DH has replaced the whole thing.

I used to work in a burn center and could tell you horror stories about people without smoke detectors and how they didn't have time to escape, or get all their family out. So I am VERY pro-smoke detector. But a smoke detector in an emply house cannot save anyone. If the beeping is so annoying, the realtor can remove the batteries, and the OP can have them replaced once there is a contract on the house.

I'm thinking the bleeping smoke alarm is less annoying than the bleeping realtor.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

"They" say to change batteries out in those things every 6 months, right? I will be the first to admit that we're a bit lazy on that. It's been *at least* 12 months since we changed the batteries in our smoke detector.

I've NEVER had smoke detector batteries die. Ever. And I've gone longer than what it has currently been, in my sordid past.

So YES, the fact that these batteries are dead and are causing the detector to beep, makes me think it's been years since those batteries have changed, and YES if an owner is that lazy with something so simple, what else are they lazy about?

What kind of batteries do you use??
The rule of thumb is to replace them on daylight savings time. We don't wait until they are beeping. I stick to the opinion that when the seller vacated the house, she would have replaced the batteries if she had been aware they were dying.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Well, this being the DIS....

How dare you be upset with her! She most likely has some unseen affliction that renders the replacement of a AA Battery impossible for her. Also, the beeping probably sets off tremors and seizures, and if you were not so self-centered, you would have assumed this.

I dunno -- Our smoke detector takes a 9-volt battery -- there's more skill required in its removal and replacement.

 

[Jestocost]

What kind of batteries do you use??
The rule of thumb is to replace them on daylight savings time. We don't wait until they are beeping. I stick to the opinion that when the seller vacated the house, she would have replaced the batteries if she had been aware they were dying.

While I agree that changing smoke detector batteries on a regular basis is a good idea (although it's required less often for hard-wired detectors with just a battery backup), it's important to note that the whole idea of changing when the time changes is a marketing gimmick created by a battery company. Change Your Clock Change Your Battery (r) was created by Eveready/Energizer and is very clever, but the primary objective was to sell more batteries.