Unfortunately common courtesy is not so common. In and out of this profession. 

It is in the book. 

In real life does not happen.

Absolutely! We owe them the courtesy of a response...and a timely one at that.

I totally agree with you, John!

Totally agree that we should reply to all Offers, because that potential buyer has got their hopes, dreams, and dollars on the line, 'waiting' John DL Arendsen.  I would also hope that other realtors would reply back to a 'Request for Client Comments' for home showings, too.  But, Dang!, some do not.  Even thanking them 'ahead of time', for 'their time', and promising to 'return the favor' doesn't always motivate another.  So, I hear you!  And to those of us that "cross those T's" and "dot those I's" - much appreciated!! 

These days I call more brokers, write more sellers and file more notice to performs than in the previous 18 years of my career combined.

Unfortunately, we see it very often.

  Totally unacceptable.  Contact the Seller directly and ask them what is their response to your offer.

I have written a few posts about this question feel free to check them out... the short answer is YES and my take if you are a crook or you are a pro it shows...Endre

while responding to an offer isn't legally required it is something I do.  Always.

Respond to everything! The market might be really good right...but those unreponders will be remembered when the market slows down. I think we make our reputation in a very active market.

Yes they should.  Yes, the professionalism is dying out due to the influx of "good times agents."  When things start getting tough, they'll drop off and the ones that know what they're doing will still be there providing professionalism... or so we hope!

I respond.

I always acknowledge receipt and if the offer is not accepted I always call and thank the agent(s) for their clients offer.  That’s the least we can do as professionals

You are not missing anything, John. You are so correct that we should expect a response to any offer submitted regardless of end result. The problem I think stems from the fact that common courtesy is not so common at the end of the day and the entry bar into the profession is so low that many licensees have no clue what professional behavior entails and many don't even survive in the business long enough to learn.

It is not a new thing and totally up to an individual. Keep your standards up, nothing you can do of other people strategies. I'm working now with a listing agent who has NO CALL/NO TEXT ~ that's right, in big letters request, the only way to reach him: email, and he takes time with his answers if ever. A busy agent, no assistant. The listing is on the market 2 months, showings 24 hours notice. Dreadful very slow commucation.

Definitely, the courtesy of a response to each and every offer is a reasonable expectation, but common courtesy is NOT always common. It's not fun to find out your offer was not accepted by a pending status in the MLS. I just experienced this myself.

I respond to all offers and all emails. 

Unfortunately, some agents do not respond to either. 

Courtesy and professionalism do not seem to be so common these days.

It is very frustrating and it creates more work for me. 

I bet it does for you as well, John.

I am not a fan of chasing people or information. 

Absolutely, I do. 

Anything we believed was common like common sense or common courtesy are becoming endangered ways. A

Yes, a real estate professional should always reply to each offer, AND should always acknowledge that an offer was received. But all real estate agents/brokers don't.

Common curiosity left the building long ago.  I'm still searching for it, must be in a great hiding place

Our offers may only be valid for a couple of hours, sometimes minutes and not longer than a day in most cases. When that time expires that's it. no further action is necessary.

They should but not all are courtious.  Real estate is changing and I'm finding more unethical people nowadays than in the past.

Absolutely and I do that every time as soon as practical once another offer was accepted and ratified

I agree with you. All offers should be replied to

Yes - definitely acknowledge any offer and thank them for providing it.
Bruce

Lack of training ????

I agree.  It is a common courtesy, but not required by law.  We all should do it as we may be working with that other agent at some point down the road.

Common courtesy yes! Legal requirement no!

It is up to the direction of the seller.

I must be lucky not to have that happen in the past but I am out of that loop with my business model.

Yes to serving and being served and not basing everything on money outcomes. When we remove the love of our fellow man from anything what is left is an empty, meaningless shell closer to plant, animal or insect life

Common courtesy. Hmmm......

Let's engage in some believable satire.

It is common courtesy when those folks complete that 'get rich in real estate and invest none of your own money' seminars in Orlando recruit a newbie agent to simply hang paper on every listing with a 60% of market value (their calculation) that does nothing more than create work for those who haven't time for that nonsense? 

When market place leverage creates an economy that precludes entertaining those with non-conforming business models the need to entertain the nonsense of others is greatly diminished.

And, there may be benefit to which the seller is anticipating if their agent sells directly to an in-house buyer.

There are many reason that benefit the client but would enrage other agents if revealed. The lsiting agent and seller may be pursuing their own 'non-conforming' model to benefit their client. So. silence is golden.

Silence is a response. Most definately if the purchase offer has an espirey date. That is a built in response.The seller made it clear what they wanted to sell the house for.  It is the buyer who chooses to change to terms and conditions. You can accept silence or escalate. The broker is shown on every listing. Contact the broker and report your full price offer, free of all contingencies was met with silence. The broker will then intervene.

IN the meantime, the seller has made it clear what they will  sell for.

Did common courtesy go out the window when the automatic response is to not offer what the seller stated to be the price? 

All it takes is one non-conforming participant to muck up the grand choreography of the REALTOR Tango.

To be clear, my silence comes in the form of 'highest and best.'

Many times the buyer's agent goes silent. What's up with that?

Common courtesy is like so 1980's

Thank you for doing the right thing...kudos to you.

Eve

John DL Arendsen - it does not matter to some agents!

Should you call them professionals? 

I do as a common courtesy....

I might not respond to an incredibly stupid lowball offer.

Yes they should but not many do. Many won't say they received an offer or if another offer was accepted. They are getting more and more rude.

Ignoring an offer is a legal response. Nothing more is needed.

That is not how we do business.

That is not a professional nor courteous way to do business.

A quick phone call, text or email can do the trick.

Common courtesy is not always a factor when dealing with real estate agents.

You have touched on a common complaint. My first blog on Active Rain was on the common courtesty of returning calls. It appears that things have gotten even worse.

I think some of the courtesy got thrown out with the craziness of multiple offers.  That is not to say it is right. 

And the same goes for timely requests to show their listing too. What a bunch of Bozos!

John ~ It makes sense to respond for the sake of the buyers who are nervously awaiting an answer, but this is a small community and failing to respond is a fast way to earn a bad reputation.  For newer agents that fail to respond, it may just be poor mentoring/broker training.  For those that have been around a while, it is just bad form.

you'd better shake them up... they seem to not be too worried about repercussions...make them pay attention to you... I sure as hell would!!

I do.

One would hope so, but think some did not get the memo.

Great question and interesting answers.  

Michael Jacobs nailed this one!