They pissed me off. LOL
They are disrespectful of my time.
They have unrealistic expectations.
They have a 'I have to win, they have to lose' mentality. (those folks go on to get real estate licenses bc they are just so much smarter than we are!)
The 'Mr' and the 'Mrs' are not in lockstep on what they want. 
There are 'interlopers' influencing buyer.
Buyer has a preconceived notion of how things should go that is not correct in this area, market or at this time.

What went wrong? Nothing. What went right? A bullet was dodged.

These days I have no time to work with buyers.  I had to say no to a buyer this afternoon.  He wanted me to represent him on the purchase of a probate home.  I helped by referring him to another agent. 

In the past, I have fired buyers for various reasons.  Always being late to showings not respecting me or my time is a top reason to let a buyer go. I am not talking 5-10 minutes late. I am talking they are texting me 5 minutes after their appointment telling me they are on their way ... 30 minutes away. 

Yes I have only once. After writing 3 or 4 different offers on the homes we looked at, then having them back out of the deals. I was done wasting my time.

Two quick ways to make the former client list:

1.  Stiff me on a showing appointment without a courtesy call and no good reason such as a trip to the ER.

2.  Let it slip that you're working with other agents.  I'll not be part of a posse hoping to be the lucky one that writes the offer that gets to the closing table.  You're either with me and me alone, or you're not with me at all.

Yes.

1) Buyer confirmed appointment right before (on a gorgeous sunny Sunday), I went there, opened house/turned on lights/toured home, and I knew this home was perfect! Very excited for them. 10 minutes after arrival time, I called to get an ETA. The buyer said, "Oh, yeah, I decided not to come"  

2) Buyers continued to tell me how to be a real estate agent. They were getting advice from real estate agent friends in a different state. Even after my explanations (several times) about how real estate works differently in different states, they continued to not listen to my advice. And they were not going to be successful in my state if they continued to do things the way they were done elsewhere. 

In both instances, lack of respect ended the relationship. Also, FYI, those were both early on in my real estate career.

I have indeed. I've had buyers who couldn't agree on a home and I felt they needed marital counseling more than real estate advice. I've had buyers who promised to work only with me and then "stepped out" with another agent (this was in NYC where we did not have buyer agency). I've had buyers who I felt were simply kicking tires. I've had the occasional buyers who ultimately showed themselves not to have any level of manners or respect towards me. I've had buyers who were always late without any good reason or explanation. I've met people I just didn't click with.

Some folks do have a problem picking a home, or at least have a problem picking one before it is already gone.

Best to figure this out early.

Mostly unrealistic expectations although I have fired them for standing me up at a showing. There has to be a life or death real life situation for me to allow that to happen more than once! 

Lack of puncuality followed by a second lowball offer.
Don't know what the game was but I wasn't playing.

The longer one is in the business the quicker they understand what works with a possible buyer and the signs to look for .....and making a choice to not waste ones time.

I think we turn down about 50% of buyers that call us...

1.  Not enough funds to be competitive in our crazy market.

2.  Unrealistic criteria.

3.  Think they know more than we do...

We always do a solid phone consultation and pre-qual before we decide to work with them or not...so there is rarely a reason to "drop" them later.

Eve

Yes, many buyers have been fired...far more than sellers.

Lack of  commitment sums up the myriad of reasons I could list.

Yes, we have for the same reasons as we would not take a listing.  Someone just mentioned they had a buyer from hell...who needs that aggravation? A

More dropped potential sellers - like the one insisting I list her father's lot, then threatening to find another agent when I requested her POA for Real Estate signed by the father and asked her if he had not yet appointed her, would he like a referral.

Yes (as a lender) - there's usually not something that goes wrong, more often it's a matter of having finite time and not wanting to waste it on people that are willing to waste our time.

Some examples of hard drops:

- first sign of fraud ("oh, the rate's higher? Then in that case, it's a 2nd home" - that one is an automatic "BYE FELICIA"

- workign together for months and after months of work they start grilling us on rates/costs/sending us quotes from other lenders.  Another "BYE FELICIA" - we're all about shopping, but do so before wasting months of our time please & thanks.

If I ever got the sense that they were not serious or otherwise unwilling or unable to "pull the trigger" and buy a house, I'd get rid of them.

Prior to COVID last year, I had a first-time buyer that had been approved through one of my approved lenders.  They said she would need to take some funds from a retirement account for her down payment.   She kept waffling whether or not she wanted to take funds from this account, and finally said I wasn't sure how she thought she could buy without any money.   She is still renting.

Yep, they were using me for information and were intending on going around me. Cut them off at the pass!

I stopped working with all buyers a few years back: I refuse to herd cats.  I didn't see the point in running around the countryside attempting to satisfy people who are so wishy washy in their thoughts and cannot distinguish between wants and needs. Sellers are very clear about what they want: Top Dollar and Zero Stress, lol   That I can handle.

Yes, after multiple showings and no decisions even when all requirements were met. 

I've kindly redirected a few buyers. Sometimes it just isn't a good fit. I have fired a seller.

Yes, recently, I had to drop a latino buyer because he was racist :( 

Working with buyers and sellers, I just accept the fact that all people are different.  I treat them with courtesy and respect and usually get it back. Have clients "held back" pertinent information? Yes, but realize it's up to me to dig it out. Have they kept me waiting? Yes. But in our high end market clients want service and I give it to them.  Many times it doesn't work out, but when it does, it's more than worth it.