Useless Craphead

Below is the email I sent to the "Team Leader" at our former realtor's office:

Dear Kim,
As Team Leader for the Lansing Keller Williams office, I feel it is appropriate for me to give you some feedback on one of your agents. My husband and I began working with Mary Jo Garascia in October 2007. She showed us some houses, but the one we set our hearts on happened to be FSBO. We walked through the home with the homeowner but knew it was out of our price range. We also knew, however, that the house was in the process of foreclosure. We asked Mary Jo to keep her eye on it and help us purchase it when the bank took it back. She agreed to help, but my regular inquiries to her regarding the home's status went unaddressed.

While her lack of progress on the foreclosure home was dissatisfying, we continued to work with her because she seemed generally enthusiastic about helping us find the home of our dreams. However, we terminated our relationship with her when she failed to notify us, in a timely manner, of a house that met all our criteria. I understand that clients can't always get the houses they want, but I feel a good realtor should not solely rely on an automated system to notify her clients. As the price on this particular home inched closer to our price range, Mary Jo should have notified us, especially given the amount of time this house was on the market.

I communicated our reasons for ending our business relationship to her via email and phone, referencing both the foreclosure home and the other missed opportunity. Then, without the assistance of a realtor, I began researching the foreclosure home. With only a few hours of work and less than half a dozen phone calls, I found out the status of the home (bank-owned); the name of the bank; and the name and phone number of the individual handling the property. However, to my bitter disappointment, an offer had been accepted on the home that day. Worse, the house had sold for $65K below the FSBO asking price and $20K below the offer my husband and I were prepared to make.

Once again, I understand that one cannot always have the home he or she desires. But I'm sure you will agree that the outcome regarding the foreclosure home would have been dramatically different had Mary Jo simply done her job. How was it that I, with no formal training or experience in foreclosures, was able to make such progress in just a few hours when Mary Jo had nothing to report after over five months?

This feedback comes with no specific request for action on your part - I just felt you, as Team Leader, should be aware of the poor performance of one of your realtors. Based on this experience, my husband and I see little value in buyers' agents and will not be using one in the future unless it is absolutely necessary.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to my feedback. If you have any questions, you may contact me via email.

Regards,
Laurie DeYoung