Real estate agents on this board are LYING about FL!! (Orlando: foreclosure, property taxes)

[Christian11]

Originally Posted by j in florida

Real Estate Agents lying? What are you going to tell me next, that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west? (just being sarcastic, no offense). RE agents are some of the most prolific liars I have ever met, right up there with mortgage brokers (I am in the industry and I know what I'm talking about).

I've been in the Orlando area since 1983. Yes, it has changed immensely, but I knew that coming in. The murder and crime rap is misleading, as most of that happens in centralized locations, specificallly west of downtown. Metrowest sees a lot of it because it is right across Kirkman road from some of the most economically deprived neighborhoods in all of Central Florida. So when you have hopelessness pressed up against conspicuous wealth, yeah, your going to have your problems. But unless you are involved in the drug trade, you pretty much do not have to worry about getting murdered. Just stay clear of Mercy Drive and Ivey Lane.

Orlando ain't cheap anymore, and it's not a small town/small city anymore. It's big city, and if big city ain't your thang, there are plenty of other places in Florida you can go. Gainesville is pretty cool, and east of there (Melrose, Hawthorne, Keystone, etc) hasn't grown much in the past 30 years or so.

You are hitting the mark on MetroWest. MetroWest in Orlando is sourrounded by economically deprived folks (again, my issue with middle and lower classes suffering in FL now) and crime is rampant.

The cost of living and crime are a big deal. Thanks for the great insights on the crooked real estate agents and loan people. They suck!!

[FL_TN_Nana]

[quote=Christian11;184381]Since FL is becoming Southern California (and we are begining to see signs of that with skyrocketing violent crime, 42 muders in Orlando this year alone (2006), high home prices, absurd insurance costs, massive traffic jams and road rage, wages that are not keeping up with cost of living), then why stay or move here? /QUOTE]

Uh...as of this morning the city of Orlando had 55 murders this year. But look at where the majority of those occur, or in what circumstances. Betcha drugs play at least a part in over 80% of them. (BTW, that does not include murders in Orange County, outside the city limits, or in other smaller towns within the county.) But Orlando is growing and in this climate you're going to get people from all walks of life -- the drifters come here, the homeless are here, a lot of druggies are here. But I'm not sure it's any worse than most other places that are going thru rapid growth transitions. Maybe we've just been very lucky up to this point.

Between my husband and myself, we have 6 children in Central Florida, most in the Orlando area. We have a bunch of grandkids. But they've not been shot at or robbed or carjacked or victims of a home invasion. Maybe it's because I regularly pray for them, but maybe it helps that they're not generally in the vicinity of rampant crime (known drug areas, etc.) Yes, home prices did skyrocket for the past 2 years but it seems to me they're stabilizing now. In Clermont, they've actually come down several thousand dollars.

I think people who read these scary things about Florida are not seeing the whole picture. Maybe I've missed something here, but what exactly are RE agents lying about? I'm sure they put a positive spin on things, but others make the whole state of Florida seem to be a danger zone and unaffordable except for the wealthy. You can go to almost any city of any size and find something negative about it. I hope you find a place where you can be happy because life's too short to be miserable. And, wow! Am I enjoying this weather? Yesssss!!!

[Need_affordable_home]

Anyone selling their house, dont deal with realtors. Do a sell "by owner" and advertize it yourself. Youll save money and get it sold too. When buying, buy from "by owner" cut out the lying realtor as the middle man, youll negotiate a better price because the by owner saves money on realtor ripoff costs.

[pianogal]

We sold our Winter Park home by ourselves. We paid 250.00 to get it on realter.com and offered 2 1/2 percent to a buyer's agent. It sold in 3 days during the hurricanes of 2004!!! I know some realtors personally and they are nice people, it's not fair to paint all realtors with the same brush.

BUT...the person who bought our home had a realtor and she was a PAIN. Maybe she was unhappy because she wasn't getting a bigget cut. My husband had $400.00 of overage charges on his cell phone bill that MONTH because she called so much. We had spent all of 2004 getting our home in perfect shape so we could sell for top dollar and we did. But she was so demanding over little picky things it was incredible. We couldn't wait to get to closing to get rid of her!!

[Prichard]

I'm not a realtor or real estate agent. But, I dissagree that you will get a better price buying a home directly from an owner. Here are my reasons:

1. Someone selling their house "by owner" is usually not in any hurry whatsoever to sell it. Many of them are investors who know the ropes of the real estate game better than most lay people. For those that aren't investors, I find that, until they have had it on the market for quite a long time, they want top dollar, and they don't want to give the buyer the benefit of saving the commission.

2. However, I would NEVER, go get a realtor to show me properties in an area that I am (or should be) familiar with. One thing is for sure, you will never get the best price when you have more than one realtor involved in a transaction.

3. What I will do is troll several neighborhoods that I have targeted in which I want to own a house, and look at realtor's listings on their websites, and from other sources. I have no problem purchasing a house going directly through the listing broker. You might ask, "why is this". Well, the truth is that if a listing broker knows he doesn't have to split the commission with a co-op broker, you can get him to work for you, the buyer. Yes, I know he's supposed to be the Seller's agent, but what do you think that agent is going to do when I present a tight, no-bs contract for what I think is a good price? That's right, he's going to work that seller to reduce his price, because the realtor will be licking his chops to get this sale.

[Christian11]

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

Anyone selling their house, dont deal with realtors. Do a sell "by owner" and advertize it yourself. Youll save money and get it sold too. When buying, buy from "by owner" cut out the lying realtor as the middle man, youll negotiate a better price because the by owner saves money on realtor ripoff costs.

VERY TRUE!!!!!

yep, talk to the owner or the buyer and pass the realtor commission in savings to the other guy (or yourself).

Be smart, folks. Realtors can spell trouble!

[Nomoresubways]

Originally Posted by Prichard

Yes, I know he's supposed to be the Seller's agent, but what do you think that agent is going to do when I present a tight, no-bs contract for what I think is a good price? That's right, he's going to work that seller to reduce his price, because the realtor will be licking his chops to get this sale.

I completely agree Prichard, that is a very wise maneuver. It definitely helps to have the seller's agent on your side. I wish I had thought of that when I bought my last house!

[AmyK]

I am curious, which posters are realtors? I may have missed some clues, but it's not obvious to me who is and who isn't on this section. On the NC section, the realtors are very up-front about saying who they are... I've never seen them being anything but helpful (not pushy at all), and of course they have to follow the rules about not advertising or posting links to listings, etc. But I've read some nasty comments by people who accuse them of being "lurking real estate hags" -- how ridiculous. I think it's fine that they are on these forums, and they post some of the most helpful and knowledgeable responses because they really know the area(s) -- if they help someone out with info about the area and might end up getting a new client, what is wrong with that?

[j in florida]

I've been a Florida real estate licensee since 1983, so I tend to be very hard on realtors who don't measure up. I don't do any agency, but i'm in a related field and deal with agents almost on a daily basis. It's true that you can't paint all agents with a broad stroke, but the sad fact is is that the majority of them aren't any good at all. The blame for that goes all around.

I don't know if you've heard the phrase "5% of the agents make 95% of the money". That is pretty accurate, because 95% of the agents are buffoons. The remaining 5% are straight up pros.

The best defense the general public has against the buffoons is to arm themselves with as much information and knowlege that you possibly can. That way, you will be better able to detect if you're dealing with the pro or the clown. A good agent is worth their weight in gold, a bad agent is incredibly expensive.

[fooserjeff]

Christian11......wellstated,
Hey people florida can't hold everybody or you get another califormia, we have a california. Florida is a tropical depression in job terms. You work at the float rental place on the beach in paradise. You are the only one that thought of that so you are a great success....nope.
If you have a nestegg or can make money wherever you reside then go someplace more original than florida. Bugs are terrible, heat is real-see above, florida humidity cold is as cold as most places (not as regular).
Real estate sucks worse than the last post time frame. Foreclosure rate is off the chart due to over-inflated housing market. You will live in a box with sub-standard construction instead of the well built home you probably have in the north. On a positive note....we have had no hurricanes rip our homes apart this yea...yet (4 last yer). Diversity is ongoing also, florida offers a very mixed ethnic base-full spectrum. We have many homeles shelters to assist the homeless who come here for the weather also. Crime rates are available on the web and are rising as should be expected because of the nice weather sometimes offered in florida. Florida is the lightning capitol of the U.S. , that means real nasty thunderstorms(everyday in summertime) that drive up insurance rates (along with the stuff you need for hurricane coverage). No-fault car insurance. (1 out of 5 floridian drivers don't have insurance). Tourist driving styles and local driving styles make for steady gridlock. The housing in the north is much more bang for your buck at present. If you scream when you see a cockroach you need not read any further. I am a 50 year old native(same mayberrish town) and have heard too many individuals complain about unfilled expectations (horror stories). The wealthy people that can afford to live in the nice places already are.....they're "taken", however if you want to stake a claim-howdy neighbor.