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I'm wondering just how many people in any profession, right out of school with no practical experience, are really good at their jobs. How many professions and occupations require that the person doing them have experience under their belt before they can be considered good at it?
ScoopLV, what you're describing is someone who got their license for a very specific one-time purpose, with tunnel vision, who thinks that they now know all there is to know about the real estate profession. How many professions do you honestly think you could take schooling for and then go out and do one deal or month's work and be an expert on the profession? What is your profession, for that matter?
The fact that you are completely ignoring all of the other very common possibilities that MikePRU offered for what you THINK you saw and just brushing them off speaks volumes, by the way.
What a crock of Realtor [baked beans]. Most professions and occupations teach basic competency in "basic competency school."
Hell, a driver's license is harder to obtain than a real estate license. The test is certainly harder.
Common possibilities? What a crock of Realtor [baked beans]. "My clients have cancer, make an offer." "My clients need to move in two weeks, make an offer." "My clients will accept anything above $179,001, make an offer."
My profession doesn't suffer from a rotten reputation. Yours does. Try cleaning up your profession. It's not my job.
I'm wondering just how many people in any profession, right out of school with no practical experience, are really good at their jobs. How many professions and occupations require that the person doing them have experience under their belt before they can be considered good at it?
ScoopLV, what you're describing is someone who got their license for a very specific one-time purpose, with tunnel vision, who thinks that they now know all there is to know about the real estate profession. How many professions do you honestly think you could take schooling for and then go out and do one deal or month's work and be an expert on the profession? What is your profession, for that matter?
The fact that you are completely ignoring all of the other very common possibilities that MikePRU offered for what you THINK you saw and just brushing them off speaks volumes, by the way.
Wow. There's no accounting for some personalities, is there?
An aside note - I'm seriously considering renewing my license and getting back into real estate, because I enjoyed it so much. Now that the housing market is picking back up and I've lived in this area for seven years, I think it's time to reconsider my former career!
I got so much satisfaction helping people with one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives - buyers and sellers both. I was always so honored by my clients' trust, and I earned it by my hard work and high ethical standards - coupled with the excellent training I received from my broker.
Sure, I met a few bad realtors over time. And when I was in banking, I met a few bad bankers as well. When I worked in the staffing industry, I met my share of bad employees - AND EMPLOYERS - as well.
There are bad apples in every profession - and bad neighbors too. Just sayin'. They're easy to spot, and I just navigate around them and focus on building good business and personal relationships elsewhere.
ScoopLV, there was nothing wrong with me and it wasn't cut and paste. There was something wrong with my internet and the duplicated post got posted twice and then my internet went away entirely and I could not delete the second copy. Thanks for assuming, though!
KathrynAragon, what you said - and I'm taking special note of your last sentence.
As a regular person who will make only a few real estate purchases in my life it is a big deal to have a bad experience with a realtor. I buy houses in a location totally new to me (due to husbands relocation) without really having anyone around that I know and trust to make recommendations. I want to get my life settled and normal as quickly as possible and can make an enormous mistake financially. It was always easier for me before the days of buyer's agent to just know that both agents involved in the deal are representing the seller and trying to sell me and make a deal happen. And I must say as a seller I often felt (whether it was there or not) pressure to accept the offer (being told first offer is always best yada yada)
Reading all this, it seems that requirements must vary tremendously from state to state.I found the NC course somewhat challenging, and I have two degrees. Also, a fact like the existence of synthetic stucco ( and the problems associated with it) would have to be disclosed to the buyer in NC.
I recently worked for a couple relocating from out-of-state. I found a home they loved online; I previewed it, took lots of photos for them, and wrote down all my impressions, good and bad. However, the home went pending before they were able to take a look at it, and when they looked at homes with me, didn't like anything they saw as much. After they went back home, it came back on the market. I spoke to the listing agent, who told me that the buyers backed out because of the inspection report, and didn't even give the sellers a chance to fix anything. I was told a few key points of the report. All this was told to my buyers, who were still very excited about the house, and made an offer. When we did our inspection, it did show some issues, and based on their level of discomfort with them I agreed with their decision to terminate the contract. They told me this was a hard blow to them, as they were on a fixed income and had already paid for the inspection. They said they would be in touch when they were ready to start looking again. I gave them a few weeks, and then called to see how they were doing. Well, they were doing great! Getting ready to move to the home they had just closed on. (Our buyer agency agreement had expired). And the best part is, it was a home I had shown them!
This can be how it goes when a buyer's agent tries hard to work in a client's best interest. Would it have been better for me to poo-poo the inspection results and try to push them to buy the home?
What a crock of Realtor [baked beans]. Most professions and occupations teach basic competency in "basic competency school."
Hell, a driver's license is harder to obtain than a real estate license. The test is certainly harder.
I absolutely agree with you. Barriers to entry in many states are way too low in this profession and the knowledge imparted during pre-licensing education is a joke. The good news . . . it's really hard to stay in this profession. At least in this area, there's a lot of competition because there are a lot of agents. Not everyone is going to be able to make a living and plenty of people shake out. That's not to say those people don't do some damage on their way out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScoopLV
Common possibilities? What a crock of Realtor [baked beans]. "My clients have cancer, make an offer." "My clients need to move in two weeks, make an offer." "My clients will accept anything above $179,001, make an offer."
My profession doesn't suffer from a rotten reputation. Yours does. Try cleaning up your profession. It's not my job.
It got you to make an offer didn't it? So, if that happened then it was a successful tactic. What do you want the agent to say? "My clients are completely unmotivated and will only sell the house if you buy it for $10K over asking." I don't say things like what you've described, but I want buyers to make offers. It gets them mentally invested to the point where a negotiation can begin and then hopefully we can find some middle ground and get the house sold.
I'm a firm believer that this profession suffers from a bad reputation for several reasons:
1. Lack of understanding by the public. A lot of people just don't understand the process and many agents don't do a good job explaining it. Confusion sets in and often consumers are left with an inaccurate impression of what went on.
2. Lack of "an open kitchen" so to speak. A lot what happens in a transaction happens not in front of all the parties in the transactions. Sometimes things are happening between the two agents and sometimes between an agent and their client. Sometimes when people don't know what's going on, they fill in the blanks based on their own personal motivations. So, if you would screw over your own mother for a dollar you assume I will too whether that's the case or not. This becomes an even bigger issue when one of the consumers feels like they got the short end of the stick in some way.
3. Low barriers to entry and poor pre-licensing and continuing education requirements. It's just too easy in many states to get a RE license. There are too many "dabblers" that have them and don't know what they're doing. As I said in an earlier post, knowing how many sf are in an acre isn't particularly useful in this profession. The continuing education in my state are somewhat of a joke as well. The usefulness of the content of the courses is questionable at best.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
Wow. There's no accounting for some personalities, is there?
There are bad apples in every profession - and bad neighbors too. Just sayin'. They're easy to spot, and I just navigate around them and focus on building good business and personal relationships elsewhere.
Well put. I've enjoyed your posts here in the RE forum. I'd rep you again but the system will not allow it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PatinTransit
As a regular person who will make only a few real estate purchases in my life it is a big deal to have a bad experience with a realtor. I buy houses in a location totally new to me (due to husbands relocation) without really having anyone around that I know and trust to make recommendations. I want to get my life settled and normal as quickly as possible and can make an enormous mistake financially. It was always easier for me before the days of buyer's agent to just know that both agents involved in the deal are representing the seller and trying to sell me and make a deal happen. And I must say as a seller I often felt (whether it was there or not) pressure to accept the offer (being told first offer is always best yada yada)
More often than not the first person to make an offer is the one who wants your house the most. So, quite often the first offer you get is the best one. It's not always the case but it's a solid rule of thumb. I've known many sellers who have ignored this and suffered for it especially during the real estate downturn.
Relocating is tough. I give you a lot of credit for doing it multiple times.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRedBeth
Reading all this, it seems that requirements must vary tremendously from state to state.I found the NC course somewhat challenging, and I have two degrees. Also, a fact like the existence of synthetic stucco ( and the problems associated with it) would have to be disclosed to the buyer in NC.
The requirements absolutely vary from state-to-state and the quality of agents vary from one agent to the next as well. I'm sure even in states with higher requirements that there are still some pretty bad agents but likely fewer than in states with lesser requirements.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRedBeth
I gave them a few weeks, and then called to see how they were doing. Well, they were doing great! Getting ready to move to the home they had just closed on. (Our buyer agency agreement had expired). And the best part is, it was a home I had shown them!
This happened to me once. The only client that ever "fired" me bought the last house that I showed them. I told them I didn't think the house was a great fit for them because of the location. I understand from a co-worker of theirs that I was actually right and they hate the location. Imagine that.
To my mind, there will be no such thing as a buyers agent as long as the agent is a licensed salesperson, or even considers themselves primarily a salesperson, and works on commission. Both of those aspects are in direct conflict in representing a buyer, let alone becoming a fiduciary, advocate, or even an asset on the due diligence of making a purchase. Buyer's agency has been adopted by the real estate industry as a means of protecting half of the commission from negotiation, the reality of "buyer's" agency is that it has become another angle for high pressure salesperson to use to get a buyer to trust them. Instead of improving the chances of the most vulnerable to make a well informed decision on a purchase, it has actually made those people more susceptible to financial ruin. For better consumers, it may add a little convenience, but is overall a net zero on benefits versus aggravations.
In short I consider "buyer's" agency as it is currently typically practiced nothing more than government sanctioned fraud.
Well stated. Unless the buyer was actually paying my fee (which never happened) I tried to explain to the buyers I worked with that the seller would be paying my commission and that made me a sub-agent of the listing agent. I would be working WITH the buyers to help them find their ideal home, but I was technically working FOR the seller. We had the buyers sign a disclosure statement acknowledging that bizarro situation. Crazy times indeed.
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