How to Fire a Client (+ Free Breakup Letter for Agents)

Red Flags: Clients with unrealistic expectations come in all shapes and sizes, they could be a renter, buyer, or seller. Oftentimes, buyers are searching for a unicorn property that, like a unicorn, is perfectly beautiful and majestic, but doesn’t exist in real life. Other times, it’s sellers who want to list their house at a price that is unrealistic for the current market.

You can usually spot these clients during your first conversation as they are typically people who are not familiar with the market, people looking for a bargain, or part of the 31% of homebuyers who are unwilling to compromise on characteristics they deem necessary in a home.

How to Protect Yourself: We don’t want to fire these real estate clients from the get-go. It’s not their job to be familiar with the market, it is our job as real estate professionals. Your first line of defense to avoid an unrealistic client is to listen to their needs and wants and then educate them on whether those items are realistic within the market they’re seeking to sell, buy, or rent.

For buyers or renters, make a list of must-haves, wants, and would-be-nice characteristics to understand what they are willing, or unwilling, to compromise on. For sellers, present a comparative market analysis so they objectively understand pricing and demand in their market. These items give you a better understanding of whether a client is willing to accept your professional expertise and value your opinion, or is a client you may need to fire in the long run. After speaking, if you find that your clients are still unable to set realistic expectations, timelines, and set deadlines for finding or selling their home, breaking up could be your next step.

Red Flags: If a client says they are looking for a three-bedroom colonial home on the north side of town and ends up loving a two-bedroom ranch with a pool on the south side of town, were they dishonest? Absolutely not. Sometimes clients don’t know what they want until they see it. When we’re speaking about dishonesty we’re referring specifically to lying and omissions, which could be about finances, aspects of the home they are selling, or their relationship with you as their agent.

For instance, a seller may be aware of a particular issue with a home, but purposefully do not disclose it to you and cover it up every time there’s an open house or showing. Or it could be a client saying they are working exclusively with you and you come to find out they are working with multiple agents. These could easily be deal-breakers that prompt you to fire a real estate client.

How to Protect Yourself: The difficult part about dishonesty is that you typically find out about it after the fact. You can avoid it by being upfront and honest with your client from the beginning and state that you would appreciate the same honesty in return.

An acronym we use to define our fiduciary duties to our real estate clients is OLD CAR: obedience, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting, and reasonable care. Let clients know you’re on their side throughout the transaction and looking out for their best interest. If you’ve been honest and they continue not to be, breaking up with your client may be the best solution.

Red Flags: As professionals in the real estate community we are bound to the Laws of Fair Housing, which make it illegal to discriminate against any protected classes: race, religion, sex, color, and many more. It’s necessary and important to uphold those standards with our clients not only to be good people but also to comply with laws and regulations.

Clients can get angry and frustrated throughout the process of finding or selling a home, but they should never use verbal threats, harassment, or inappropriate language and jokes towards you, other agents, or individuals who are part of the transaction. This is an extremely unacceptable and fireable offense.

How to Protect Yourself: This one is tough to avoid, as you can’t control the words or actions that come from your client at the exact moment they happen, but you can say something to them once it occurs and explain why it shouldn’t happen again. If it’s a pattern of behavior, you should think about terminating the relationship. If there is ever an instance of racism, violence, or unwelcome advances, you should immediately leave the situation and contact the appropriate authority.

Red Flags: This is probably the most common reason real estate agents fire a client, and there are a couple of tell-tale signs that you are working with a time-wasting client. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), it usually takes a buyer about eight weeks to find a home, during which time they look at nine houses on average.

If you find that a client is taking you on a wild goose chase to see homes in every corner of the county, city, and state, that’s a red flag. It’s ok for clients not to know exactly what they want, but clients who are seriously dedicated to finding a home should be able to quickly narrow their search to avoid wasting your time and their own. You may also find that time wasters are over-communicative, contacting you at all hours of the day and night, which can be burdensome and interfere with your personal life and well-being.

Conversely, unresponsive clients can make your life as an agent exceedingly difficult. You can’t do your job effectively without open and consistent communication with your client. One reason some clients are not communicative is that they are working with multiple agents at the same time. Another reason this is a fireable issue is because it can derail the transaction for both you and the other agent(s), as well as the client.

An efficient way to stay in communication with a client is to utilize client relationship management tools (CRM). Top Producer CRM integrates with more than 100 different vendors, including Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com to have all of your client information in one place. They also have email and social media tools for marketing and for insight into your clients’ interests.

Visit Top Producer CRM

How to Protect Yourself: It is important to set your boundaries and understand your client’s timeline upfront. Understanding these two items will deter you from firing your client as well as agent burnout, which is a top reason why many real estate agents fail in this industry. In addition, knowing a client’s timeline will help you determine the seriousness of their intentions to move forward with the buying, selling, or renting process.

Set your boundaries by telling your clients when you will be available for them. Provide specific hours and a certain time frame, for instance, 9 am to 7 pm, with a promise that you will return their message within three hours. Also, let them know that you need to receive similar responsiveness from their side.

Red Flags: Whether a client is paying for a home entirely in cash or obtaining loan financing, it’s necessary to provide proof of funds to purchase a home. Unfortunately, some clients assume they are financially ready to purchase before checking with their lender. Even more, some clients may not check with their lender at all, and just want to drag you around to look at properties for fun without pre-qualification.

How to Protect Yourself: A mistake real estate agents tend to make is to get overly excited about a client and bypass checking with them about their finances. You should have a candid conversation about a client’s financial situation at the beginning of your relationship and require clients to produce a pre-approval letter before taking them to see properties.

This may seem a bit invasive to some clients, but you must explain that you can’t assist to the best of your ability unless you are aware of the amount of money they can spend on a home. Knowing this information can help avoid having to fire your client.