Nice to hear from you again, I’ll be giving your blog a read. Thanks for the offer but I’ve been telling a story and I’m behind! I’ve noticed differences in the way real estate is sold in Arizona vs. Illinois. It’s very interesting.

I love my agent and I don’t expect every agent to be web savvy like I am. That was my only problem with her and I did get all of the information I needed. But I do believe that listing agents should carry the burden of getting as much correct data on the listing as possible. They are working for their sellers and if they omit something that could have sold their property then I don’t feel they’re doing their fiduciary duty to their sellers.

It happens here, too, especially with foreclosures. I have a closing tomorrow where the condo was listed as having “no garage.” But it had a very nice, heated garage. We won the bid but maybe we wouldn’t have if this was listed correctly. Yes, my buyer clients had the benefit of using me, an agent who knew that this particular condo came with a garage that was located downstairs. But what if I didn’t know that? What if I was newer? What if I had never shown this style of condo before? This information does not show on the tax records. The listing agent didn’t do his job.

I found one complex in Scottsdale where one agent listed that pets are allowed. Another agent actually stated in the remarks that pets were not allowed. She was correct – they weren’t. A few other frustrations that I will write about later would not be allowed in Illinois and I again blame the listing agents.

The listing agent has spoken with the seller and they should know as much as possible about the property they are marketing. If they don’t know an answer to an important question/feature when putting the lisitng in the MLS, they need to contact the management company or association to find out.

As far as renting being allowed, this is a sore point here, too. It is difficult to know from a listing whether rentals are allowed. Our MLS just provided a new area (not mandatory, however) to check if renting is allowed. In most cases, the buyer’s agent needs to call the listing agent to find out. There is another non-mandatory field that should give a clue about the percentage of owner occupied units. If it says 100% then you figure you cannot rent. But then I’ll see another listing in the same complex with a different figure. Since it’s not mandatory most agents leave it blank.

However, in my area it hasn’t been a big issue. I don’t get many investors looking for condos to rent out. I would think it would be much more important in areas like Arizona, Florida, Las Vegas, etc. – vacation and retirement areas. Thanks again for responding.

I have been following your blog for some time now, I find it very interesting to get a perspective from an out of town agent. I am sorry you have had so much trouble finding a good Realtor, there are many good ones in the area, I promise.
One point I wanted to make is that the Buyers agent is to verify all facts anyway, not leave it up to the listing agent, as you probably already know.

Therefore, if you need any assistance with the transaction or need some questions answered, please feel free to contact me via my email address above, no strings attached.