I hired a Realtor in 2002 and when he showed up for the first appointment, not only did he have a Lexus, but he had a driver (he said the kid was his assistant and they went over business deals as he drove….).

He wasn’t familiar with my area, overpriced the house by 20%, was stunned not to get many walk-throughs in the first month but wouldn’t adjust the price, wouldn’t hold open houses, advertised it in the throwaways when others in the neighborhood were in better-readership publications (this was in Kensington), and when he put the listing on the MLS, he mis-listed the lot footage by 25% under.

It wasn’t difficult to fire him and hire an agent who was much more attuned to my needs – who didn’t have a Lexus or a driver. I’m not saying this is always the case, but sometimes people put so much energy maintaining appearances that they don’t want to get their hands dirty doing “real” work.