If you have hired or are thinking of hiring a realtor to sell your home, you are paying them a commission to help you sell your home. If that realtor is not responding to potential buyers, then why should you be paying them? It is widely reported that a majority of real estate agents in Puerto Rico do not respond to inquiries about properties where they are listed as the selling agent. That is pathetic.
Bad realtors like this are a drag on the Puerto Rican economy. They hinder sellers from selling and buyers from buying, wasting the time of both. Time is money. The easier it is to buy a product or service, the more that will be bought. Inversely, the harder it is to buy a product or service, the less that will be bought. This is basic economics.
If you are a realtor, you need to be responding to ALL phone calls and emails you receive. If you are unable or unwilling to do this, you need to give up the listing to someone else who will do a proper job. Your listed properties should have AT LEAST 5 photos and a DETAILED description including
location
map
price
square feet of the buildings
square feet, cuerdas, or acres of the land
number of bedrooms
number of bathrooms
number of parking spaces, the type of parking-whether covered or not, reserved or first come first serve
annual taxes
monthly HOA fees
amenities such as gym, pool, etc if in a condominium complex
any other important information, both good and bad, to help the buyer make a decision
We are going to make a list to publicize the realtors who do not respond. Perhaps this will shame them into doing their jobs properly and/or run the lazy ones out of business. The lazy realtors do not deserve to be in business. Which realtors have you contacted who have not responded?
Puerto Rico Newcomer, dedicated to improving PR, helps you live, vacation in Puerto Rico better 
This is a perfect idea. I’ve tried 3 different listing agents over the last couple of weeks and have yet to receive 1 response. I’ve left my phone number and email address. I’m looking to purchase property in Puerto Rico but haven’t even received 1 return phone call. Is this normal ?
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If lazy realtors don’t want to cooperate by providing responsive service, they need to voluntarily get out of the business or involuntarily be driven out of business by being called out by name. What you’ve experienced is typical for PR realtors, so yes, sadly, it is normal. The way to correct this is by naming names as to who is good and who is bad.
Let us know the personal names of the agents, their company names, phone numbers, and cities where they are based, both for good and bad realtors. Give details on what happened in your dealings with them.
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I have had the same problem. At least 20 emails and calls not returned until I finally found a responsive agent. It may take 2-3 days sometimes for him to respond but that is understandable if you are busy. When I was a Realtor I always responded the same day or if late at night the next morning I would get back to you. Different area though so I am OK with 2-3 days, much better than the 20 other non responses. Not sure the rules about posting agents names so just let me know if you would like this ones name. Good luck in your search.
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The reason the bad behavior continues is because it does not get punished. The concept is simple. When good behavior is rewarded, you get more good behavior. When bad behavior is punished, you get less bad behavior. This site calls out bad behavior, such as the numerous detailed posts on the dishonest car dealers. If everyone communicates who is good/bad in business, it will not only help drive the bad businesses out of business, it will also serve as a deterrent effect, encouraging others to be honest, responsive, and considerate.
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I agree that getting the word out about the bad ones as well as the good ones should help but it will take a long time I am sure. Every little bit helps though.
I am going to need to do a lot of research myself. Between buying a home, getting work done on it and buying furniture just for starters. Then with the trouble I am having with realtors I am worried about being on the mainland and having the right person managing the property.
With all the problems I almost made the move to start looking at USVI. I would have done that if the price difference wasn’t so extreme.
The one agent I have been having good luck with is Alexis Fernandez with Lynn Rodgers Real Estate. I am still a couple of months away from being ready to buy and that is usually a reason agents use to not reply but he has returned my emails and given me information I requested. I’ll update this down the road as I get closer to confirm he is still being helpful.
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Real estate brokers are so bad in PR that I’ve decided to try ‘for sale by owner’. I simply don’t understand what is wrong with the brokers here. It’s like they don’t want to make money and want to keep housing prices down. They don’t co-broke and will only show their own listings. That means your home does not get nearly the exposure it should. I don’t have any idea what paper work is required in selling a house, so I will just get a lawyer to handle all the legal work. I only hope the lawyers are better in PR than the real estate brokers, but I don’t have much faith in that.
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Part of what you are encountering here is the culture of notorious poor customer service, laziness, unprofessionalism, bad education, and short-term thinking. You’re right, in that many only want to show their own listings. Since they don’t want to show you ALL listings, you need to be working with MANY different realtors, otherwise you are limiting yourself to a fraction of the available properties for sale. Yes, you should definitely use a lawyer here to close the deal, since the potential problems such as unclear titles are more likely to be an issue.
Time to name names. Were these part-time or full time agents? How and where did you find them? Did you call, email, or meet in person?
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I tried many times contacting agents to visit houses and no replays. It is really hard and don’t know what to do. I will go there for 13 days soon and did not find anyone to show me anything. Waste of time and money as I am doing there for this purpose.
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Malia, which ones did you contact and where did you find them? How did you contact them, email or phone? What area are you wanting to buy? What is your budget? Have you been to PR before? What dates will you be here?
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This is very interesting, I was just in PR looking at real estate and found the entire process really confusing. So many houses with just signs with phone numbers for sale, or an agency with a phone number no website etc… I did meet up with one young man who was very professional and returned all my inquiries promptly. His name was Yanzaris Ramos with Encanto Realty. Also Marcos Aviles with West Connection Realty showed me a couple places in Aguadilla and was great about keeping in touch. It’s really hard when you trying to buy from the mainland because your right, brokers only want to show their listing so you have to arrange several different brokers to show you several different properties and try to arrange it all within a short timeframe. Good luck!
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sowhere is the list?
also be careful you don’t get sued!
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