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I am not a realtor, but I KINDA have to stick up for some. Just like anything you buy, or have built, people have to do their homework. Not all people are the same. I am a teacher. We have to go to college, and while we are teaching, we still have to go through different educational courses to improve our knowledge. However, of course as everyone knows, there are good teachers and there are not so good teachers. It's been that way for years. College doesn't really help you do a better job- it is the person of who you are that makes you do a great job. Just like there are some good lawyers, and some not so good lawyers (some actually scam lawyers-but they went to college, loads of it). It's who you are. Policemen don't go to college. Yet we have to depend on them to help save us in times of need. They have a HUGE responsibility, yet no college to back them up. Same with firemen. Sure, everyone takes training. So do realtors. Lots of people are in the same boat as realtors-no college, yet do well in $$. Like my husband. He's a mailman. He had to take a test. He gets great benefits, and makes over $40K-over $50K if he feels like busting his behind and working tons of overtime. No college. And, he is responsible for your mail. Tons of transactions-and some very costly. What I am trying to say is that college isn't definitely needed to be good at what you do. Some people with college are horrible at what they do. It is just who the person is, and that is hard to find out. But, people have to learn to do their homework. If you are having a house built, you could get some crappy builder that throws it all together. I know when people are having a house built, they research companies. When people move, they research moving companies. When people put their children in school, they research the schools. When you go to look for a realtor, you should research. See if anything has come up on her on the BBB. Check her track record of selling. See her licenses. Ask for a lot of referrals and call them up and talk to them. See how long she worked for them. If you don't do that, and you get *****ed-shame on you.
A couple of months ago I hired a realtor-by asking around. We were the lowest end of the housing prices, but she spent so much time with us, and let me tell you-we saw over 20 houses. Isn't that disgusting? And guess what-we were so stressed because we were looking right in the middle of everything thing rising in costs (except house prices-and they weren't as low as they are now)...that she sat down with us, told us this should be the happies time of our life and yet she could tell it wasn't, that we weren't ready to buy. She was right. All she asked is for us to call her in 2 years (which is when our lease that we started renting once she told us this) and have her be our realtor. And we will. And we will recommend her. She showed us all of those houses, spent all of that time-and didn't make a cent.
It is your job to do your homework. Of course there are some money grubbing realtors out there. Same could be said for a lot of professions. You need to do some researching and find who is to be trusted.
You are really right about those that will find themselves out of a job. The lady that rents the house next-door to me is a real-estate sales person. I just found out she has only been in it for a few years. She looks like Paris Hilton and drives a BMW. I ran into her the other day and asked her if she was having trouble with the cable connection, mine was out again. She told me she didn't have cable anymore she had to cancel it.
She said she hasn't sold anything in a few months and was very worried. Now here is the thing, she has only been selling real estate since all you had to do to sell a place was stick a sign in the ground and it sold in three days. I guess this is all she thought there was to it, like stealing. Now she is learning that beyond a nice a$$ she doesn't have a clue how to sell, reality has set in and she is scared to death. I would say her situation is not that uncommon for many real estate sales people, they just found out it is a real job and they don't have a clue how to do it.
It's a little like the day-traders during the internet bubble; these people made money b/c stocks did nothing but go up! That's fine, but they all made two key mistakes (and it's the two that realtors make today):
1) They thought that anamolous bubble would last forever, that it was the "new reality", instead of recognizing it for what it was: A bubble. We get them all the time - they last a few years than pop.
2) They thought they actually had a TALENT for what they were doing, instead of being the stopped clock that was right twice a day.
Now, some realtors are more clever than others. Some have been in this business 25 years through more than one bubble pop. Those ones, the smarter ones, will survive. The pretty young thing you described will be out of luck.
I am not a realtor, but I KINDA have to stick up for some. Just like anything you buy, or have built, people have to do their homework. Not all people are the same. I am a teacher. We have to go to college, and while we are teaching, we still have to go through different educational courses to improve our knowledge. However, of course as everyone knows, there are good teachers and there are not so good teachers. It's been that way for years. College doesn't really help you do a better job- it is the person of who you are that makes you do a great job. Just like there are some good lawyers, and some not so good lawyers (some actually scam lawyers-but they went to college, loads of it). It's who you are. Policemen don't go to college. Yet we have to depend on them to help save us in times of need. They have a HUGE responsibility, yet no college to back them up. Same with firemen. Sure, everyone takes training. So do realtors. Lots of people are in the same boat as realtors-no college, yet do well in $$. Like my husband. He's a mailman. He had to take a test. He gets great benefits, and makes over $40K-over $50K if he feels like busting his behind and working tons of overtime. No college. And, he is responsible for your mail. Tons of transactions-and some very costly. What I am trying to say is that college isn't definitely needed to be good at what you do. Some people with college are horrible at what they do. It is just who the person is, and that is hard to find out. But, people have to learn to do their homework. If you are having a house built, you could get some crappy builder that throws it all together. I know when people are having a house built, they research companies. When people move, they research moving companies. When people put their children in school, they research the schools. When you go to look for a realtor, you should research. See if anything has come up on her on the BBB. Check her track record of selling. See her licenses. Ask for a lot of referrals and call them up and talk to them. See how long she worked for them. If you don't do that, and you get *****ed-shame on you.
A couple of months ago I hired a realtor-by asking around. We were the lowest end of the housing prices, but she spent so much time with us, and let me tell you-we saw over 20 houses. Isn't that disgusting? And guess what-we were so stressed because we were looking right in the middle of everything thing rising in costs (except house prices-and they weren't as low as they are now)...that she sat down with us, told us this should be the happies time of our life and yet she could tell it wasn't, that we weren't ready to buy. She was right. All she asked is for us to call her in 2 years (which is when our lease that we started renting once she told us this) and have her be our realtor. And we will. And we will recommend her. She showed us all of those houses, spent all of that time-and didn't make a cent.
It is your job to do your homework. Of course there are some money grubbing realtors out there. Same could be said for a lot of professions. You need to do some researching and find who is to be trusted.
I agree with your points about college. Bill Gates dropped out of college. I was surprised the author hit that point so hard.
My issue with realtors isn't a lack of college; it's general incompetence/unprofessionalism coupled with largely unethical behavior. I could take up this entire forum telling you my real estate agent horror stories. At this point in my life, I've seen enough of them that, having only had one GOOD experience with a realtor and dozens of horror stories, I can say that I rank them below drug dealers and prostitutes in terms of ethics and intelligence.
I agree with your points about college. Bill Gates dropped out of college. I was surprised the author hit that point so hard.
My issue with realtors isn't a lack of college; it's general incompetence/unprofessionalism coupled with largely unethical behavior. I could take up this entire forum telling you my real estate agent horror stories. At this point in my life, I've seen enough of them that, having only had one GOOD experience with a realtor and dozens of horror stories, I can say that I rank them below drug dealers and prostitutes in terms of ethics and intelligence.
That's a shame that you have had the misfortune of dealing with realtors that were that horrible. I have haven't had lots of experiences: 1 when we bought and then that same one when we sold our first and so far only house; 1 when we were just shopping for a house a couple of months ago...and then my mother-in-law is a realtor.
The 1 experience for the buying/selling our house was great. She was recommended by a couple of other people that used her, and she worked/part owner of a small office that had been around for 30 years. She was great. Then I already spoke about my great, truthful experience a couple of months ago. Then I get the chance to watch my mother-in-law. She takes her work home. Is always sending emails out, having her clients call her at home, works every day of the week, at every hour, doesn't go on vacation when she is in the middle of business with clients because she doesn't want to not be there...she is what I would call a great realtor.
It is a shame that the saying is appropriate that "a few rotten apples spoils the whole bunch". It really shouldn't be that way. What you have to do is dig around that barrel while food shopping, and find the juicy apples that are there for you to find, and will taste delicious
Why do all of you assume all real estate agents do not have a college degree? Who have you been dealing with? Most of the agents in my office DO have a college degree, including myself. A lot of agents start real estate later in life and have left other careers, my Broker was an engineer. I started my real estate career 7 years ago after my son was born so I could work from home. I did that for two years before realizing to truly do this job, you cannot do it from home. I think a lot of people go into real estate thinking they can "do it on the side" or work part-time and that really is not the case. The office I work for only employs full time agents, not side-jobbers. We are constantly educated on current changes in real estate law, ethics, financing, mortgage products, home inspection issues etc..... I attend weekly meetings and you can call my office and almost always find me there. I have 2 kids to get to college some day and I will work hard to make that happen. I brought up the 3 year old car because I am not driving a BMW, I am driving a minivan! Most people think we are all rich, driving fancy cars etc. I'm just a working mom, trying to make a living, and I think it is mean to make generalizations about groups of people when you don't know anything about them and you just had a bad experience. It to me is as bad a being a racist. You can't assume all people are like the ones you dealt with. Most Realtors are experienced and capable, just ask for a full time agent.
Why do all of you assume all real estate agents do not have a college degree? Who have you been dealing with? Most of the agents in my office DO have a college degree, including myself. A lot of agents start real estate later in life and have left other careers, my Broker was an engineer. I started my real estate career 7 years ago after my son was born so I could work from home. I did that for two years before realizing to truly do this job, you cannot do it from home. I think a lot of people go into real estate thinking they can "do it on the side" or work part-time and that really is not the case. The office I work for only employs full time agents, not side-jobbers. We are constantly educated on current changes in real estate law, ethics, financing, mortgage products, home inspection issues etc..... I attend weekly meetings and you can call my office and almost always find me there. I have 2 kids to get to college some day and I will work hard to make that happen. I brought up the 3 year old car because I am not driving a BMW, I am driving a minivan! Most people think we are all rich, driving fancy cars etc. I'm just a working mom, trying to make a living, and I think it is mean to make generalizations about groups of people when you don't know anything about them and you just had a bad experience. It to me is as bad a being a racist. You can't assume all people are like the ones you dealt with. Most Realtors are experienced and capable, just ask for a full time agent.
You just made generalizations referring to other agents which agree with. Your office is probably an exception. Believe me I don't think real estate sales people are getting rich, most starve. Just go the Gold Coast real estate school or any other school and you will see hundreds of people preparing to get their real estate licenses. They are a dime a dozen and unfortunately who most people end up deal with. There has to be many many many more bad "With out a clue" agents then smart ones.
When you read complaints on here about agents people aren't making them up, they are sincere I am sure, many agents just plain stink and it is hard to tell on first impression, they can be very deceptive. Forget real-estate, the best thing they are good at selling is themselves. Even your post, sounds good but I only have your word to go by. the last agent I dealt with sounded great, he got fired by the company while he had my listing.
I deal with agents on an everyday basis who do not have a clue what they are doing. It is extremely frustrating and I do understand where you all are coming from. I am abundantly aware at the masses of agents out there, I live in New Jersey for God's Sake! There are masses of EVERYTHING here! And yes, I do have to sell myself, and that can be difficult to do. People don't trust us and we have to constantly prove ourselves to them. I have to know what I am talking about to deal with the real estate savvy customers I have. I have found the internet to be helpful in my business because I can advertise my listings in greater detail now with virtual tours, slideshows and we just started 2 minute commercials that will go on our Realtor web site for each listing. It really can be a fun job at times but as in any customer service job, customers can be mean and disrespectful and treat you like scum and others really appreciate you. Like any job, it has its ups and downs, just like the market and the mortgage rates! Just keep an open line of communication with your agent, if your house is listed you should hear from them regularly. I call my sellers every Monday and send emails at least two other times during the week and then I call on Friday. The last thing in the world a seller wants is an agent who lists their house and then they never hear from them again! That is the number one faux pas of a bad agent!
Spills maybe (and that is the Scocthguard), but once it gets a snag it will unravel. Sometimes it can be repaired, and sometimes it can not be. I was in the carpet business for a few years, and my husband installs.
I understand...however mine has held up well to a 75 lb dog and a cat with claws for 6 years now....probably depends on the grade...oz or whatever and it isn't really scotchguard in my carpet it just acts like scotchguard. Dang ...I forget what the fibers are called within the berber that I have...but they are there and they work.
You should get your agent sit down with them and discuss a game plan. Fighting against them is not healthy for either one of you. Also 90 days is no-where close to thinking about getting a new realtor. In 6 months after you agreement is up you get a new agent. He does basically the ame thing and in 2 months sells when actually its been o nthe market for 8 months.....
For whoever gave the bad rep for this statement. I was not saying sign a contract for 6 months. Typicaly here in NC when we take a listing we go into a 6 month contract. You can set up a contract for 1 day if you want...
A real-estate license is so easy to get down here every guy and his brother has one. Most don't even know the first thing about selling. It just is not a very prestigious profession any more it doesn't seem and their reputations are getting to be like used car salesmen.
Real estate salespeople are car salesmen who don't want to stay in one place.
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