Expert: Dottie Worthington - 3/20/2006

Question
Hi Dottie,
The real estate co. I am with assigned me a realtor that I am not satisfied with (I will call her TR).  I called the owner on Friday, 03-17-06 and told him that I was unhappy with her and wanted him to represent my home (I no longer live in Texas).  He argued with me but I stood firm and insisted he take over my account.  TR called my husband an hour later and told him she was showing the house to a couple of people this weekend.  This sounds like my request has been completly ignored and I was wondering if changing realtors within a company is a viable solution.  If it is not, do I have any other recourse in regards to this shoddy treatment?  This was not an isolated incident with TR.  I asked for a new agent for VERY good reasons.
Thank you,
Kate Bowman  

Answer
Dear Kate:
The showing of the house is completely separate from the lsiting side of the house. TR can still sell your home and not be the person you deal with in that office. Remember that the broker owns all the lisitngs anyway, and that each agebt under that Broker handles the listings they get. Sometimes it is better if the Broker takes over the lsiting and works it. It is sometimes hard for the Realtor and owner to get on the same page, it is business for the Realtor and it is emotional for the home owner sometimes. Just remember that it is a numbers game and they are trying to get you the highest number for your house, then they make more money. But often there is a personality conflict and thet can be handled intra office usually. Hang in there and just try to communicate what you expect them to do very clearly. Then maybe have them write you an email on what they are going to do. that helps everyone get on the same page!
Dottie