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Your examples are good, I do agree.. It appears you suggest these things would not have happened with an agent.. The problem I have is I bought a duplex, it is very obviously a Duplex, 2 Seperate entrances, 2 seperate sets of meters, 2 seperate mailboxes, 2 Addresses on the County Website.. ECT. Only the city has changed zones and no longer allows for duplexes in this area.. The house has to be completely remodeled to convert to single family.. The City sent a letter to the bank who owned the house a year earlier notifying them of said change, but miraculously this letter never made it to me in dosclosure.. This is material fact as I understand it, and it is to be argued if I can get the sale reversed now... The reason for my question is to try to understand,, Are we as buyers SAFE in Relying on Agents?? I mean,, What the Hell?!?!? I'm not a professional Real Estate Guy,, I'm just an average Guy trying to build a little nest Egg for Retirement.. I thought I was supposed to be able to depend on the "Professionals" to prevent this kind of Craziness.. There was a Bank involved (Heartland Bank in St. Louis), A seller Agent (Caldwell Banker) and my Agent of Regal Realtors.. I'm hearing folks suggesting that somehow it's my responsibility to research this and know what the zones were,, It never occurred to me in the slightest fashion that Zones could/would change on a duplex built as a Duplex... So Again,, Why Do we need Agents??? I can throw my money away all by myself,, I don't need a "Professional" for that..
Those problems would have been less likely to occur with an experienced agent. Sure, there are agents that would not have checked on some of those issues or not understood the implications. Is that a reason never to use any buyer agent?
And what did you pay your agent that caused you to throw money away? If like most, your agent was likely paid from the listing agent's commission. At least you had someone to help and advise, if not always providing all the info you wanted.
Also consider you said the bank got the letter a year ago. Not to excuse the bank, but what's the likelihood that the letter was filed properly so it could be given to a buyer a year later?
I have known a case where an agent got impatient with buyer's due diligence (and on occasions sounded more like helping to sell the house than to watch out for the buyer's best interest)...
We all know of at least a few examples of bad representation that we could share. We good agents have to deal with it regularly and we hate a poorly trained incompetent RE Agent.
There are several Rebate Buyer Agents in this area that will kick back much of their income. Talk about extremely poor representation with these guys and what makes our jobs so much more difficult.
Usually when you hear stories about bad representation, you don't hear the part where they selected the agent because he has to buy his business by giving part of his income to his client.
A good agent is worth many more times what they are paid. A poor agent is worth nothing. But so are lawyers, plumbers and any occupation.
1) Those problems would have been less likely to occur with an experienced agent. Sure, there are agents that would not have checked on some of those issues or not understood the implications. Is that a reason never to use any buyer agent?
Answer.. That is precisely my question to you.. If the Agent has no responsibilty, What is the motivation to get it right??
2)And what did you pay your agent that caused you to throw money away? If like most, your agent was likely paid from the listing agent's commission. At least you had someone to help and advise, if not always providing all the info you wanted.
Answer: I did not pay him,, Although, I did offer.. I ask how much was his commission, and did he want me to pay more.. He replied no, it was not ethically responsible,, something to that effect.. I want a professional Job,, I don't mind paying for it as long as I know the price from the beginning..
3)Also consider you said the bank got the letter a year ago. Not to excuse the bank, but what's the likelihood that the letter was filed properly so it could be given to a buyer a year later?
Answer: Banks deal in millions of dollars every single day,, Are you suggesting their accountablilty of paperwork should be called into question?? Now that is a frieghtening thought all to itself.. If the bank can't take proper care of something like this,, how do we rest comfortable with our entire economy in their hands???
We all know of at least a few examples of bad representation that we could share. We good agents have to deal with it regularly and we hate a poorly trained incompetent RE Agent.
There are several Rebate Buyer Agents in this area that will kick back much of their income. Talk about extremely poor representation with these guys and what makes our jobs so much more difficult.
Usually when you hear stories about bad representation, you don't hear the part where they selected the agent because he has to buy his business by giving part of his income to his client.
A good agent is worth many more times what they are paid. A poor agent is worth nothing. But so are lawyers, plumbers and any occupation.
I know for a fact that the agent does NOT give a dime back to the buyer. I suspect not all agents who offer rebates are bad agents. Do not assume the agent who takes full commission is good or experienced. Of course, every profession has its share of "rotten eggs". Some professions do more financial harm to the customers than others. The moral of the story is being very careful with who you use as your agent. It should be a business decision. My observation is that an agent really shows his/her true nature after the contract is signed. That is when the agent does not want to rock the boat and lose the commission. Not a general conclusion, just an observation.
If I were you, I would call the zoning department and ask them. When did they send this letter, who signed for it. Where and when was it recorded? How many properties were effected? Is there a grandfathering process involved?
You could use this information to take to a local real estate attorney and sue to rescind the sale.
I know for a fact that the agent does NOT give a dime back to the buyer. I suspect not all agents who offer rebates are bad agents. Do not assume the agent who takes full commission is good or experienced. Of course, every profession has its share of "rotten eggs". Some professions do more financial harm to the customers than others. The moral of the story is being very careful with who you use as your agent. It should be a business decision. My observation is that an agent really shows his/her true nature after the contract is signed. That is when the agent does not want to rock the boat and lose the commission. Not a general conclusion, just an observation.
Hate to say but you are wrong. There are quite a number of buyer agents in our area who advertise and in some way rebate (kickback) much of the commission to their client. The lenders may not like it but in TX, it is perfectly legal to do this with the parties in a transaction.
Every one of these rebate agents who have brought us offers over the years have done a very poor job representing their client in the whole spectrum from negotiating the contract, inspections and all the way to closing. Sad thing is they represent many non-US citizens who have never bought a home and do not understand how good representation works. All these clients see is they are getting the money.
Many of these agents have never been in the home, just deliver the offer, do not attend inspections and the only reason their name is on the contract is to collect the commission offered and give much of it to the buyer.
We do deal with these type of agents regularly, it can be a terrible experience and we really have to stay on our toes to reduce the risk exposure for our sellers.
If I were you, I would call the zoning department and ask them. When did they send this letter, who signed for it. Where and when was it recorded? How many properties were effected? Is there a grandfathering process involved?
You could use this information to take to a local real estate attorney and sue to rescind the sale.
City Hall will not benefit from having my sale recinded.. They are only going to offer information to me or anyone else that they legally have to.. So, they produced the letter, Claim to have sent it a year ago, so I can't use the appeals process that expired months ago, thus refusing to let me use it as a duplex, forcing me to completely re-hab it, But they can't produce any proof of sending it either, releasing the bank of liability.. The listing agent, I'm quite sure knew of the letter, they listed it as "Single Family" instead of Duplex, but offered nothing of this letter from the city.. It's a mess, I'm sure they have all covered their asses just enough to leave me stuck with it, I would likely have to spend thousands on attorneys and wait years to get anything done.. I'll likely just do enough to unload it to get my money back and NEVER buy from that bank again, and NEVER buy in that city again.. I figure that's my best revenge.. I'm going to buy 7 or 8 more,, it could have been there in that city,, and it could have been from that bank.. I fully intend letting both of them know.. Further,, I fully intend letting every one of my investor friends know as well... Sometimes you just have to bend over,,, Clutch your ankles,, and Grit your Teeth... When it's over you can stand tall knowing you done you best, and move on with lessons learned... It Sucks, But Sometimes you just get screwed..
...they listed it as "Single Family" instead of Duplex... I figure that's my best revenge.. I'm going to buy 7 or 8 more,, it could have been there in that city,, and it could have been from that bank.. I fully intend letting both of them know.. Further,, I fully intend letting every one of my investor friends know as well...
Wouldn't a savvy investor have bothered to check the zoning, agent or no agent, especially if the listing indicated single family?
Wouldn't a savvy investor have bothered to check the zoning, agent or no agent, especially if the listing indicated single family?
It never occurred to me that they could zone a building out,, Wrongly, I thought duplexes, or multi-families were grand-fathered in,, but nothing new could be builtv if zoning changed. Again, I'm not a Big real Estate Guy,, I'm just an average Joe trying to build something for retirement. I readily admit my ignorance there.. I Did Not Know.. Wouldn't 2 Real estate Agents Check the Zoning to make sure they are selling what is advertised? Besides that,, I never Saw an MLS on this one until after the problem arose with city hall.. This is the Exact Reason for this Thread.. Why Do I need an Agent if I Have to be Completely Educated in their Job to Protect myself?!?!?!?.. I think you agents are all about how good a job you do, and how you don't get paid enough, until something goes wrong,, and then it's all... Well I'm not Responsible for that!!! You should have checked that yourself,, Sorry Man..
Last edited by Rod&Pam; 08-22-2010 at 12:53 PM..
Reason: ommision
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Do your due diligence when choosing an agent
