Comments on: Before You Talk to a Real Estate Agent (or “Realtor”) http://emptormaven.com/2007/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/ Oiling the Gears of Capitalism with Information Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:36:42 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: EmptorMaven » Blog Archive » Realtor Leeches http://emptormaven.com/2007/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/comment-page-1/#comment-1506 EmptorMaven » Blog Archive » Realtor Leeches Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:07:37 +0000 http://consumermaven.wordpress.com/2007/10/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/#comment-1506 [...] out, and my family will soon need more space anyway, I recently began shopping for houses. Based on my reference post on this subject it won’t surprise people to learn that I have a low opinion of the real estate marketing [...] [...] out, and my family will soon need more space anyway, I recently began shopping for houses. Based on my reference post on this subject it won’t surprise people to learn that I have a low opinion of the real estate marketing [...]

]]> By: Kay http://emptormaven.com/2007/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/comment-page-1/#comment-65 Kay Fri, 02 May 2008 13:39:48 +0000 http://consumermaven.wordpress.com/2007/10/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/#comment-65 What you have written is right for many realtors. But as with everything, there are exceptions. When we bought our first house, I did not see my Realtor after I signed the contract! Down the road from scientist ....Teacher ...Computer programmer, I became a Realtor! I changed four big name companies in four years and took all their trainings. After all that training I am unable to focus just on my commission and always think what would be the best price solution for my clients. So I end up showing many houses, burning tons of mileages and sometime just to learn that some other good talker Realtor trapped them or they went in an open house, fell in love with that and forgot all about me, who was too nice to ask them sign a Buyer agency in my first meeting. I think the Realtors who can put your interest ahead of their own interest are rare, but can help you more than you can imagine. Now how to find such a Realtor! I think if anytime somebody is pushing you or telling you to decide something or the deal will go away or they walk away is a sign for not to put your signature on anything! Anyway I am still the same and I get peace while working (some times commission checks also!) when I know I am doing the right thing! What you have written is right for many realtors. But as with everything, there are exceptions. When we bought our first house, I did not see my Realtor after I signed the contract!
Down the road from scientist ….Teacher …Computer programmer, I became a Realtor!
I changed four big name companies in four years and took all their trainings.
After all that training I am unable to focus just on my commission and always think what would be the best price solution for my clients. So I end up showing many houses, burning tons of mileages and sometime just to learn that some other good talker Realtor trapped them or they went in an open house, fell in love with that and forgot all about me, who was too nice to ask them sign a Buyer agency in my first meeting.

I think the Realtors who can put your interest ahead of their own interest are rare, but can help you more than you can imagine. Now how to find such a Realtor! I think if anytime somebody is pushing you or telling you to decide something or the deal will go away or they walk away is a sign for not to put your signature on anything!
Anyway I am still the same and I get peace while working (some times commission checks also!) when I know I am doing the right thing!

]]> By: federalist http://emptormaven.com/2007/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/comment-page-1/#comment-64 federalist Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:42:49 +0000 http://consumermaven.wordpress.com/2007/10/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/#comment-64 <a href="http://federalist.wordpress.com/2007/05/09/feds-call-out-the-realtor-cartel/#comment-5115" rel="nofollow">WSJ reports that you can't trust title insurers either</a>, so be sure to shop around for title insurance (or, instates that set the prices, look for rebates). WSJ reports that you can’t trust title insurers either, so be sure to shop around for title insurance (or, instates that set the prices, look for rebates).

]]> By: federalist http://emptormaven.com/2007/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/comment-page-1/#comment-63 federalist Fri, 25 Jan 2008 21:05:53 +0000 http://consumermaven.wordpress.com/2007/10/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/#comment-63 <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/22/business/22agent.html?hp" rel="nofollow">NYTimes reports that buyers are beginning to sue "buyer agents" for failing to fulfill their fiduciary duties</a>. They quote one real estate lawyer saying, "Agents have a lot of fiduciary duties, but they don’t make money unless they close the sale. In an inflated market, there are built-in temptations to cut corners.” NYTimes reports that buyers are beginning to sue “buyer agents” for failing to fulfill their fiduciary duties. They quote one real estate lawyer saying, “Agents have a lot of fiduciary duties, but they don’t make money unless they close the sale. In an inflated market, there are built-in temptations to cut corners.”

]]> By: Reasonable Outrage http://emptormaven.com/2007/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/comment-page-1/#comment-62 Reasonable Outrage Tue, 04 Dec 2007 23:02:44 +0000 http://consumermaven.wordpress.com/2007/10/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/#comment-62 "Their incentive is to close a sale with as little work on their part as possible, and with a seller who will give them as high a commission as possible." Blanket statements are worthless. A dentist has an "incentive" to grind your teeth. A mechanic has "incentive" to sell you more crap. Everyone has an incentive for something. That doesn't mean everyone is out to get you. My agent talked me out of a buying a house and I am glad he did. It wasn't right for me. I never did buy and stayed put. The 6%-7% commission number is not real anymore. The national statistic is about 5.2% and I doubt it is that high. The reason commissions are high is because few will pay an agent upfront. It is high risk - high reward for the agent now. Low risk for the seller who may never sell their home. And really real estate is a service industry and the sale of the home is not their main service. It is protecting you from getting into a bad spot. A friend of mine sold their home their self and 3 months later the buyer still hadn't performed. She had never bothered to have an expiration date on the contract. Just like so many other things, people bitch about what little they know. Think it through first. The more I go over your post the more you sound like a jilted lover who hates everyone of the opposite sex. “Their incentive is to close a sale with as little work on their part as possible, and with a seller who will give them as high a commission as possible.”

Blanket statements are worthless. A dentist has an “incentive” to grind your teeth. A mechanic has “incentive” to sell you more crap. Everyone has an incentive for something. That doesn’t mean everyone is out to get you.

My agent talked me out of a buying a house and I am glad he did. It wasn’t right for me. I never did buy and stayed put.

The 6%-7% commission number is not real anymore. The national statistic is about 5.2% and I doubt it is that high. The reason commissions are high is because few will pay an agent upfront. It is high risk – high reward for the agent now. Low risk for the seller who may never sell their home.

And really real estate is a service industry and the sale of the home is not their main service. It is protecting you from getting into a bad spot. A friend of mine sold their home their self and 3 months later the buyer still hadn’t performed. She had never bothered to have an expiration date on the contract.

Just like so many other things, people bitch about what little they know. Think it through first. The more I go over your post the more you sound like a jilted lover who hates everyone of the opposite sex.

]]> By: kwithyerbelliakin http://emptormaven.com/2007/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/comment-page-1/#comment-54 kwithyerbelliakin Mon, 22 Oct 2007 02:13:13 +0000 http://consumermaven.wordpress.com/2007/10/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/#comment-54 I agree 1,000%. Every house I listed to sell, the bragging Realtor did NOTHING but give me a "high ball" estimate to get my lisitnng and follow that with "my unrealistic expectations" in this "soft market". Lie lie and LIARS. THEY GAVE ME THE PRICE ESTIMATE. Guess what? I got tired of hearing lies lies and more lies and sold it ABOVE listing in one afternoon. I made some flyers and handed them out at the local strip mall parking lot. In ONE DAY, three offers two above asking. I AM NOT SALESMAN, why were they so crappy at their own work? They are a bunch of retards. When I bought a house both times...they act like they were buying toys in a store. No negotiating skills at all. DUMMIES! I took over and wrote my own offer. Both of the MORONS (one was a broker of all things) asked me how I learned to write such a good offer! These punks only wasted my time. I was the idiot for signing a contract giving them big bucks for NO WORK. I think we need to make them illegal. No more REALTARDS. Several couldn't even pronounce the title "REAL - A -TORR". In California you only have to have an IQ above 50 to be a REALTARD. I agree 1,000%. Every house I listed to sell, the bragging Realtor did NOTHING but give me a “high ball” estimate to get my lisitnng and follow that with “my unrealistic expectations” in this “soft market”. Lie lie and LIARS. THEY GAVE ME THE PRICE ESTIMATE. Guess what? I got tired of hearing lies lies and more lies and sold it ABOVE listing in one afternoon. I made some flyers and handed them out at the local strip mall parking lot. In ONE DAY, three offers two above asking. I AM NOT SALESMAN, why were they so crappy at their own work? They are a bunch of retards. When I bought a house both times…they act like they were buying toys in a store. No negotiating skills at all. DUMMIES! I took over and wrote my own offer. Both of the MORONS (one was a broker of all things) asked me how I learned to write such a good offer! These punks only wasted my time. I was the idiot for signing a contract giving them big bucks for NO WORK. I think we need to make them illegal. No more REALTARDS. Several couldn’t even pronounce the title “REAL – A -TORR”. In California you only have to have an IQ above 50 to be a REALTARD.

]]> By: Steve York http://emptormaven.com/2007/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/comment-page-1/#comment-53 Steve York Sat, 20 Oct 2007 14:03:46 +0000 http://consumermaven.wordpress.com/2007/10/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/#comment-53 My experience differs. Early in 2004 we foresaw a downturn in house prices and decided to sell and semi retire in Mexico two or three years earlier than planned We spent ayear prparing our house for sale and shopped for an agent. I felt the house should fetch $250,000. I approached three agents I knew who quoted 3% - 4% commissions and wanted to list at between $225,00 - $250,000. My lawyer had recently acquired an RE license and wanted to list for $180,00 and charge me 2%. I owned an entertainment booking agency for years and constantly explained to my clients the value of paying a good agent a commission. I took my own advice and contacted a local agent who , during the 12 years that I owned the house, had constantly walked the area and who would leave notes complimenting minor cosmetic changes such as a new door knocker!Impressed by his attention to detail and knowledge of the area I contacted him. He was the only agent who asked me what I thought the house was worth. I told him I was thinking of listing for $280.000 and accepting $250,000. He told me that was realistic and asked for a few days. He came back to me with a starting price of $315,000 and I signed an agreement with him for 7%.He sold the house 12 days later for $296,000. I was lucky. This was September 2005. Had the house not sold then I would have been lucky to have got $220,000. The moral is that there are good agents out there but you need to research thoroughly. Having been an agent in a different field I still belive in the value of paying a real pro to do his job. My experience differs. Early in 2004 we foresaw a downturn in house prices and decided to sell and semi retire in Mexico two or three years earlier than planned We spent ayear prparing our house for sale and shopped for an agent. I felt the house should fetch $250,000. I approached three agents I knew who quoted 3% – 4% commissions and wanted to list at between $225,00 – $250,000. My lawyer had recently acquired an RE license and wanted to list for $180,00 and charge me 2%.
I owned an entertainment booking agency for years and constantly explained to my clients the value of paying a good agent a commission. I took my own advice and contacted a local agent who , during the 12 years that I owned the house, had constantly walked the area and who would leave notes complimenting minor cosmetic changes such as a new door knocker!Impressed by his attention to detail and knowledge of the area I contacted him.
He was the only agent who asked me what I thought the house was worth. I told him I was thinking of listing for $280.000 and accepting $250,000. He told me that was realistic and asked for a few days. He came back to me with a starting price of $315,000 and I signed an agreement with him for 7%.He sold the house 12 days later for $296,000.
I was lucky. This was September 2005. Had the house not sold then I would have been lucky to have got $220,000. The moral is that there are good agents out there but you need to research thoroughly. Having been an agent in a different field I still belive in the value of paying a real pro to do his job.

]]> By: Jennifer - Attorney/Broker http://emptormaven.com/2007/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/comment-page-1/#comment-61 Jennifer - Attorney/Broker Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:30:11 +0000 http://consumermaven.wordpress.com/2007/10/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/#comment-61 Don't condemn the entire profession just because of a faulty system. Most professions have a similar problem. For instance, doctors/dentists/psychologists have an incentive not to completely treat their patients so that there's a need for further checkups/treatments. Lawyers on hourly rates need to keep cases in litigation to get paid more. Mechanics/repairmen need to find many repair needs to maximize their profits. The answer is not to get rid of the entire profession, but to do some homework before hiring someone in any field: get referrals from people you know/trust, interview the referrals to see if s/he fulfills your needs (expertise, negotiation skills, resources, interests...), negotiate any fees you feel is unfair, keep your commitments as low/short as possible (stay away from long-term contracts and avoid paying upfront), find creative incentives to make sure the person you hire has the same interests as yours... Don’t condemn the entire profession just because of a faulty system. Most professions have a similar problem. For instance, doctors/dentists/psychologists have an incentive not to completely treat their patients so that there’s a need for further checkups/treatments. Lawyers on hourly rates need to keep cases in litigation to get paid more. Mechanics/repairmen need to find many repair needs to maximize their profits.

The answer is not to get rid of the entire profession, but to do some homework before hiring someone in any field: get referrals from people you know/trust, interview the referrals to see if s/he fulfills your needs (expertise, negotiation skills, resources, interests…), negotiate any fees you feel is unfair, keep your commitments as low/short as possible (stay away from long-term contracts and avoid paying upfront), find creative incentives to make sure the person you hire has the same interests as yours…

]]> By: Greg K http://emptormaven.com/2007/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/comment-page-1/#comment-60 Greg K Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:36:32 +0000 http://consumermaven.wordpress.com/2007/10/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/#comment-60 I fired my first two agents. Both were incompetent - despite a long a detailed interview, they didn't show us houses that met our requirements. The third agent, had been in the business a long time, showed us three houses at or below our budget that met or exceeded all our criteria. She did her homework and had a very good understanding of what we were looking for. Instead of spending months looking at a lot of houses that didn't meet our criteria she showed us three that were great within days of meeting us. The final one we purchased way exceeded our expectations. I have recommended her to a number of my friends and colleagues and they all had a similar reaction. If I were buying in my area again, I would hire her in a heartbeat. The money we saved by not being pushed into a house that stretched our budget was far greater than any money lost from her commission. My advice: use your friends that are very happy with their home purchase and ask for recommendations for an agent. Second, get a 20% down, fixed rate loan from a credit union - best rates, no funny business and they still hold my loan to this day. If you cannot afford a fixed rate loan for the home, you cannot afford the house. I fired my first two agents. Both were incompetent – despite a long a detailed interview, they didn’t show us houses that met our requirements. The third agent, had been in the business a long time, showed us three houses at or below our budget that met or exceeded all our criteria. She did her homework and had a very good understanding of what we were looking for. Instead of spending months looking at a lot of houses that didn’t meet our criteria she showed us three that were great within days of meeting us. The final one we purchased way exceeded our expectations.

I have recommended her to a number of my friends and colleagues and they all had a similar reaction. If I were buying in my area again, I would hire her in a heartbeat. The money we saved by not being pushed into a house that stretched our budget was far greater than any money lost from her commission.

My advice: use your friends that are very happy with their home purchase and ask for recommendations for an agent. Second, get a 20% down, fixed rate loan from a credit union – best rates, no funny business and they still hold my loan to this day. If you cannot afford a fixed rate loan for the home, you cannot afford the house.

]]> By: pkowen http://emptormaven.com/2007/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/comment-page-1/#comment-59 pkowen Thu, 18 Oct 2007 16:15:23 +0000 http://consumermaven.wordpress.com/2007/10/10/before-you-talk-to-a-real-estate-agent-or-realtor/#comment-59 Cambo says "The fact is, our database goes back to 1989. Information has value ...". Welll you are contradicted. Guess what, people? All one has to do is go down to their county assesor / recorder office to get all this same data. Some counties have web sites for free (this is public information). Redfin and others have tapped into this data as well and provide it side by side with listings. So why do I need a realtor to tell me previous sales information?? I can and do find it myself. I believe realtors are like any other service - except in their case they have a history of overcharging through a ridiculous 'customary' 6-7%. My advice to anyone is use a realtor if and when you find their services to be beneficial and in line with what you are paying - like any professional. Cambo says “The fact is, our database goes back to 1989. Information has value …”. Welll you are contradicted. Guess what, people? All one has to do is go down to their county assesor / recorder office to get all this same data. Some counties have web sites for free (this is public information). Redfin and others have tapped into this data as well and provide it side by side with listings. So why do I need a realtor to tell me previous sales information?? I can and do find it myself.

I believe realtors are like any other service – except in their case they have a history of overcharging through a ridiculous ‘customary’ 6-7%. My advice to anyone is use a realtor if and when you find their services to be beneficial and in line with what you are paying – like any professional.

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