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I agree with what you said. With that said you can be your own expert if you do your own research. That depends on how much you value your own time. My real estate agent was no expert. In fact, he served as a tool (more or less) to enter homes I found on realtor.com. My purchase was driven by my own desires because I am ultimately the one who knows best what I want.
Many times you run into very rotten real-estate agents. They work for commission and the higher the acquisition price - the higher the commission. Furthermore, if you have ever looked at many listings on realtor.com and the photos taken of the properties for sale, a LOT of the photos look like an idiot took them. But that same idiot has no problems collecting the 3-6% commission on the sale. At the time when houses were selling like hot cakes, anything with a pulse was a real estate agent. I mean, let's face it - they have almost no legal responsibility whatsoever when it comes to anything that you might not like after the sale - unless they put something incriminating on paper it is your word against theirs.
With the advent of the Internet and the fact that almost all homes are listed on someone's website - the agent is no more than a tool to get into the house and out of it. Why they are paid so much commission is beyond me.
My $0.02.
Very simple answer, if you don't like your agent don't use them.... Your agent should be helping you find properties not just a door opener. There are horrible agents out there I deal with them everyday. A good agent should be able to help you find the right home and work very hard to do so.
Licensed agents in Florida have gone down nearly 25% since the boom, and many have gone down to part time.
In this case if he would have used an agent or even followed the advice of the forums he would have been looking in much better areas for his situation, and had someone to explain what was going on.
Moved to Fl in 1996. bought simple fixer upper in 98. $750 a month including tax and insurance. Less than the 2 bed 2 bath apart I was renting. I now pay $1300 a month. Same home. just taxes and insurance went thru the roof. And that is with homestead exemp. I had no damage with the 2004 hurricanes unlike ALL my neighbors. but I am paying for it and Katrina and Ivan and Andrew.
dj
I agree with what you said. With that said you can be your own expert if you do your own research. That depends on how much you value your own time. My real estate agent was no expert. In fact, he served as a tool (more or less) to enter homes I found on realtor.com. My purchase was driven by my own desires because I am ultimately the one who knows best what I want.
Many times you run into very rotten real-estate agents. They work for commission and the higher the acquisition price - the higher the commission. Furthermore, if you have ever looked at many listings on realtor.com and the photos taken of the properties for sale, a LOT of the photos look like an idiot took them. But that same idiot has no problems collecting the 3-6% commission on the sale. At the time when houses were selling like hot cakes, anything with a pulse was a real estate agent. I mean, let's face it - they have almost no legal responsibility whatsoever when it comes to anything that you might not like after the sale - unless they put something incriminating on paper it is your word against theirs.
With the advent of the Internet and the fact that almost all homes are listed on someone's website - the agent is no more than a tool to get into the house and out of it. Why they are paid so much commission is beyond me.
My $0.02.
agreed. but a great agent is invaluable.
i had one, once. but he passed away before i ended up buying i haven't worked with one since. i mean, i work with them in that i look at listed properties, but since there really is no such thing as a buyers agent around here i fail to see the point.
the last house i bought was not occupied and the agent was so awful. the place was unlocked and we jsut showed ourselves around and got used to the place. the guyw as impossible to get in touch with even to put an offer in! finally we got an offer in to him but he thought it was too low and didn't have us fill out paperwork, nothing (he never even showed the property, we let ourselves in)
well, four months later, the people who owned the house were getting desperate (they had relocated and did not know how hot the waterfront market in boca had gotten) and the guy called me back - i ended up giving him a LOWER offer even though it was the only house under 500k with deepwater dockage in all of lighthouse point, boca or delray, that was left. and his poor clients took it.
the guy was abysmal.
it took me three weeks to see the rental I am in now and i am still convinced the agent's kids were living here, the place was such a disaster. the poor guy had had no offers even though he had the only 3/2 on the beach that was available at all at the time. he ended up taking $400 a month less than he was asking.
i love realtors lol
especially the awful ones
but i do my own work, sold my own house, find my own rentals, am searching for my own to purchase. it does take an insane amount of time, that's why i do it. i know that no one in their right mind would work as hard as i do on it.
but i do really wish it were so simple as to call someone and they handle all this work. that would really be great.
for me once i say all the things i am looking for they don't want my business anyway. . . they want the client who expects less
ymmv. . . i know the good ones exists. . and i feel bad for them in this environment
Very simple answer, if you don't like your agent don't use them.... Your agent should be helping you find properties not just a door opener. There are horrible agents out there I deal with them everyday. A good agent should be able to help you find the right home and work very hard to do so.
Licensed agents in Florida have gone down nearly 25% since the boom, and many have gone down to part time.
In this case if he would have used an agent or even followed the advice of the forums he would have been looking in much better areas for his situation, and had someone to explain what was going on.
Sorry we never got a chance to meet. A good agent is worth gold, a bad agent can basically ruin your life. So many agents want to show you 3-5 homes and have you just pick one, failing to point out key issues to the surrounding areas, or construction value of homes, or HOA issues. A good agent will inform you of all these things, good and bad and then let you (the person who will ultimately live there) make an informed decision.
I have purchased and sold many many homes in my life, always using a good agent to do so. And I have a knack for spotting the fakes now. The first agent we had contacted via the web, was just before you had contacted me. She showed us 4 dumps and kept eluding to making an offer over and over or it would be gone. Over and over she reffered to going back to the office to draw up an offer after each home. It was actually making me angry and I almost ditched her at one point and drove off. Here we are, from out of town, new to the area and the offer, high pressure cooker was let out immediately. Needless to say, the next day we went out with another agent who was incredible and knowledgable.
I also can smell when an agent has their property they want you to buy. Likley as a kickback favor to another agent or in the case of a new home, a builder. They will go to great measures to lead you to the homes they get the most commission on, or with whom they owe a favor too. Never fall for this.
If you find a good agent, stick with them, they are priceless. If not, move on to the next. I never sign an agreement to work with any agent as a buyer until this fact has been established. Once I decide they are genuine and know their stuff, they get my full attention and commission, no problem.
I do agree with the overall sentiment, that realtors get way too much commission for the services they actually provide. Yes, the good ones do work hard, but in what other profession can a person make several hundred thousand a year, to even millions for simply pushing papers, holding no personal liabilities, opening lock boxes, using a GPS and?? They all say they will walk you through the process and advise you, but with no backing legally, what value is there, really? It's all arm chair quater backing.
When it comes to any form a legal ramification, they wash their hands and accept no responsibility. Then why the big bucks? I know people who work harder to sell a widget on ebay to make $30 profit, then many realtors do to sell your home.
MLS is available online to all. Unless you are looking for a FISBO, you can select the homes you want to see, call your agent to see xyz, and let them make the arrangements for you to go see the homes YOU want to see.
Me: am looking for a place with hurricane windows or shutters or both
Every Agent: Oh, that's silly. This place has been fine for 26 years, don't be paranoid.
me: I insist on staying 500 yards or more from highways, unless I am east of them and on the east side
Agent: I picked out 5 listings based on your requirements, let's go see them. oh look, everything is jsut went of the turnpike or i-95, I guess that's what you get in your price range
me: i am not comfortable being next to any chemical issues or industry
agent: no one next to this water treatment plant has ever complained before, this is a very expensive community, you're lucky you could even get in here!
me: I don't want to be just south of the inlet, i am looking for good swimming water
agent: i have got the best beachfront apartment for you! it is at 1111 S Ocean in Boca! RIght on the beach!
me: i don't want anything remodeled with fiberboard/mica, plastic, vinyl. i would prefer old stuff as my son is chemically sensitive.
agent: have i found the place for you all new carpets and cabinets and pergo throughout!
The thread is kind of getting hijacked here, and I can see there's a lot of love for realtors on here! lol I can understand it everyday I run into some dingbat who put one picture on their listing for a $400k house, or who won't return my calls (I have qualified buyer with me), or who has a listing in a gated community and forgets to tell you the code to the gate.
But here are a few things to think about they are not directed at anyone including the OP.
1. Interview your realtor or get a referral before going out with them. Unless you are a bad judge of character, you should be able to tell within the first 10-20 minutes if they are going to be good. Ask them lots of questions and make sure they are asking you what is important so they can better help you. Be as open and honest as possible. If you have a bad realtor don't be mad at them, be mad at the person that chose them...
2. You should always search on your own, why would you not do as much research as you can for the biggest purchase of your life? A good realtor should be sending you properties that match your situation though. Very important right now for those who are searching on their own is to ask yourself how much do you really know about a short sale? Do you still think all foreclosures are condemned disasters of a property? Is what you know on short sales/foreclosures from what you heard at the water cooler or have you really researched it? If you find a place you like, what are you going to base your offer on? Some people believe that the trulia/zillow estimates are accurate. (they're not) I always get asked whats a good amount I should offer less then the asking price and the asking price on a short sale it can vary drastically.
3. Nobody likes paying someone for something they think they can do on there own. There is alot of work that a good realtor does (just like a good accountant, lawyer, etc). For the most part the days where a lazy realtor good put a sign in the yard, get multiple offers a day later, and collect a check in a couple weeks are long gone. But for the most part, so are those realtors!
Why be mad at someone for making a good living if they help you find the right house at the right price?
I'm not very good at writing but I'm going to start putting up blogs that might help some people out a bit, it seems like a lot of people have some misinformation. I have one up right now for first time homebuyers that may help some. Like most people don't know that if they haven't owned a home in the past 3 years they qualify for the tax credit.
Me: am looking for a place with hurricane windows or shutters or both
Every Agent: Oh, that's silly. This place has been fine for 26 years, don't be paranoid.
me: I insist on staying 500 yards or more from highways, unless I am east of them and on the east side
Agent: I picked out 5 listings based on your requirements, let's go see them. oh look, everything is jsut went of the turnpike or i-95, I guess that's what you get in your price range
me: i am not comfortable being next to any chemical issues or industry
agent: no one next to this water treatment plant has ever complained before, this is a very expensive community, you're lucky you could even get in here!
me: I don't want to be just south of the inlet, i am looking for good swimming water
agent: i have got the best beachfront apartment for you! it is at 1111 S Ocean in Boca! RIght on the beach!
me: i don't want anything remodeled with fiberboard/mica, plastic, vinyl. i would prefer old stuff as my son is chemically sensitive.
agent: have i found the place for you all new carpets and cabinets and pergo throughout!
ugh
Yeah. Or:
Me: I found a few houses online - can you show them to me?
agent: yes no problem (shows me the places)
Me: You know, you can be a bit more proactive, find some places too
agent: Ok..
Me (a few weeks later): I found a couple of more places online, wanna show them to me?
It is funny how no one really has any responsibility in this industry. Unless the agent put something on paper (and most of them wont) - there is no way to prove anything. Even the home inspectors are pretty similar, you fork out a few hundred to see the guy run around and test the outlets, chat you up for a while and have you sign a form that says that he is not liable for anything that happens to the house afterwards...
Thanks. Hey, I don't hate realtors, fwiw. I took the course and sold a house or two way back when myself. . . But I am tired of having my requirements marginalized and my time wasted.
The thread is kind of getting hijacked here, and I can see there's a lot of love for realtors on here! lol I can understand it everyday I run into some dingbat who put one picture on their listing for a $400k house, or who won't return my calls (I have qualified buyer with me), or who has a listing in a gated community and forgets to tell you the code to the gate.
But here are a few things to think about they are not directed at anyone including the OP.
1. Interview your realtor or get a referral before going out with them. Unless you are a bad judge of character, you should be able to tell within the first 10-20 minutes if they are going to be good. Ask them lots of questions and make sure they are asking you what is important so they can better help you. Be as open and honest as possible. If you have a bad realtor don't be mad at them, be mad at the person that chose them...
2. You should always search on your own, why would you not do as much research as you can for the biggest purchase of your life? A good realtor should be sending you properties that match your situation though. Very important right now for those who are searching on their own is to ask yourself how much do you really know about a short sale? Do you still think all foreclosures are condemned disasters of a property? Is what you know on short sales/foreclosures from what you heard at the water cooler or have you really researched it? If you find a place you like, what are you going to base your offer on? Some people believe that the trulia/zillow estimates are accurate. (they're not) I always get asked whats a good amount I should offer less then the asking price and the asking price on a short sale it can vary drastically.
3. Nobody likes paying someone for something they think they can do on there own. There is alot of work that a good realtor does (just like a good accountant, lawyer, etc). For the most part the days where a lazy realtor good put a sign in the yard, get multiple offers a day later, and collect a check in a couple weeks are long gone. But for the most part, so are those realtors!
Why be mad at someone for making a good living if they help you find the right house at the right price?
I'm not very good at writing but I'm going to start putting up blogs that might help some people out a bit, it seems like a lot of people have some misinformation. I have one up right now for first time homebuyers that may help some. Like most people don't know that if they haven't owned a home in the past 3 years they qualify for the tax credit.
Accountants and lawyers go to real schools and bust their behinds in there. Most of them come out with hefty school loans they need to repay before they even call the real estate agent for their first home. Also they all need to pass serious state exams/bars and keep current on continuing education. So do doctors, veterinarians and other professionals. When an accountant does your taxes he certifies that he did a proper job with all the information given. If the IRS comes after you and it turns out it was an accounting mistake, well, it does not look good for the CPA.
On the other hand, real estate agents make tons of money (if not more) for basically running around town and chatting you up while you see the property, they need no education and have almost no legal responsibility. Why this is allowed to happen is beyond me. You can try to put any spin on it you want (great agent will point out this and that, they will send you what they think matches your taste or interest) but the fact remains - they essentially do nothing and get paid handsome commissions.
It even gets worse in smaller towns - the agents all know each other, own half the town and you are at their mercy.
Any person who has gone to school and is making a living using their brains and their two hands, has school loans and a mortgage, cannot but feel sick when they see how the real estate agents make their money. You know, if I screw up at work I face a boss and his bosses. If the agent helps me find a home that does not work out.... oh well...they got their commission.
My $0.02.
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Your agent should be helping you find properties not just a door opener. There are horrible agents out there I deal with them everyday. A good agent should be able to help you find the right home and work very hard to do so. 
i haven't worked with one since. i mean, i work with them in that i look at listed properties, but since there really is no such thing as a buyers agent around here i fail to see the point.
