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I've seen pictures. I want them and all other information confirmed by a disinterested party.
My thinking too.
The real estate attorney idea makes a lot of sense to me. I think I might go that route, and possibly talk to someone at a local real estate company too, possibly offering to pay a fee for advice, possibly not.
Thanks all for your input!
I hear you and I think many buyers like you want a "disinterested party" to advise them rather than someone paid for by the seller's agent or the seller (the other side of the transaction) with a commission incentive plan aligned to the seller's interests rather than his/her own. Regardless of the context, consumers need to be wary of those who position themselves as 'advisors' but make their living off of sales commission. Good luck.
...consumers need to be wary of those who position themselves as 'advisors' but make their living off of sales commission.
Those of us that are fierce advocates for our clients know two things.
1. The commission is only paid at the close of a sale. The conclusion of a project from searching to finding to negotiation to financing to clear title to close.
2. My job depends on referrals and repeat business. It does not matter if I make $4700 or $4900. It matters if my performance exceeds expectations.
Those of us that are fierce advocates for our clients know two things.
1. The commission is only paid at the close of a sale. The conclusion of a project from searching to finding to negotiation to financing to clear title to close.
2. My job depends on referrals and repeat business. It does not matter if I make $4700 or $4900. It matters if my performance exceeds expectations.
People whose hearts and ethics turn on a dime will NEVER grasp #2.
Most of the info you need is available online, at the county's assessor site...square footage, zoning, last sale....and then there is //www.city-data.com/forum/real-...mart.gov...but that didn't work for Houston. There are a lot of juicy details that Realtors won't tell you...like how many are on welfare, incomes, crime, demographics...but you can find that out on your own. If you lack the rudimentary skills necessary to do basic real estate research; you should not be buying land...it can be hard to sell, doesn't produce income, and tax rates can be higher than residential property. Illegal dumping, hunting, logging, and squatting can occur, too. There woluld be no limits to your individual liability if someone started a tire fire or dumped a bunch of toxic waste on your land. Well, and septic is getting more expensive by the day...Pay a five dollar commission, buy a REIT...trades just like a stock. I like IRT....they own about 15,000 apartment units...pays a 6% dividend, payable monthly. You can PM me the address or Parcel number and county...I will appraise it for you..for free, but TBH you sound a lot like people I try to avoid. Always seeking free advice, never taking it, or paying for it....
Those of us that are fierce advocates for our clients know two things.
1. The commission is only paid at the close of a sale. The conclusion of a project from searching to finding to negotiation to financing to clear title to close.
2. My job depends on referrals and repeat business. It does not matter if I make $4700 or $4900. It matters if my performance exceeds expectations.
If you're selling your house, you need a sales person. I want the best sales person I can find. I want them to be hungry and want to earn their commission. I also want them to be ethical and straightforward but promote my house strongly and in its best light. I want them to help me sell my house quickly and for the most money. I'm happy when they earn their commission because it means that I sold my house and I'm happy if they earn more commission because it means that they sold my house for more money. Their compensation is well aligned with my interests.
If I'm buying a house, I need an advisor, not a sales person. I want that advice to be independent. I do not want an advisor to be funded by sales commission. I'm buying something, not selling something so 'sales commission' is the wrong model for me. I do not want my buyer's advisor hired and paid by the seller's agent to help him sell the house. I might get information from a sales person or listen to his views but I take it with the understanding that they are motivated and incentivized to sell things. But i do not take advice from them.
If the sales person masquerading as my advisor does not get paid until and unless the house is sold, they are strongly incentivized to sell that house (as any sales commission plan works). I want an advisor whose pay does not change or get delayed if I don't buy any house, if I start over with another house, if I buy a FSBO house, a house with a lower commission split, etc. I certainly don't want an 'advisor' who gets paid more when I pay more for a house.
All good sales people, no matter the industry, want happy customers, value their reputations, and they know that selling the customer something that is bad for them is bad business. This is not a matter of ethics or an assumption that agents disregard clients' interests to make more money. This may or may not happen or happen to a lesser or greater degree depending on the agent that you choose. It's simply a matter that a buyer's advocate/advisor should not be funded by sales commission that is aligned with the interests of the seller. Very simple really.
Those of us that are fierce advocates for our clients know two things.
1. The commission is only paid at the close of a sale. The conclusion of a project from searching to finding to negotiation to financing to clear title to close.
2. My job depends on referrals and repeat business. It does not matter if I make $4700 or $4900. It matters if my performance exceeds expectations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeJaquish
People whose hearts and ethics turn on a dime will NEVER grasp #2.
Never. No matter how repetitively and clearly it is stated.
To wit:
Quote:
Originally Posted by just_because
If you're selling your house, you need a sales person. I want the best sales person I can find. I want them to be hungry and want to earn their commission. I also want them to be ethical and straightforward but promote my house strongly and in its best light. I want them to help me sell my house quickly and for the most money. I'm happy when they earn their commission because it means that I sold my house and I'm happy if they earn more commission because it means that they sold my house for more money. Their compensation is well aligned with my interests.
If I'm buying a house, I need an advisor, not a sales person. I want that advice to be independent. I do not want an advisor to be funded by sales commission. I'm buying something, not selling something so 'sales commission' is the wrong model for me. I do not want my buyer's advisor hired and paid by the seller's agent to help him sell the house. I might get information from a sales person or listen to his views but I take it with the understanding that they are motivated and incentivized to sell things. But i do not take advice from them.
If the sales person masquerading as my advisor does not get paid until and unless the house is sold, they are strongly incentivized to sell that house (as any sales commission plan works). I want an advisor whose pay does not change or get delayed if I don't buy any house, if I start over with another house, if I buy a FSBO house, a house with a lower commission split, etc. I certainly don't want an 'advisor' who gets paid more when I pay more for a house.
All good sales people, no matter the industry, want happy customers, value their reputations, and they know that selling the customer something that is bad for them is bad business. This is not a matter of ethics or an assumption that agents disregard clients' interests to make more money. This may or may not happen or happen to a lesser or greater degree depending on the agent that you choose. It's simply a matter that a buyer's advocate/advisor should not be funded by sales commission that is aligned with the interests of the seller. Very simple really.
Never. No matter how repetitively and clearly it is stated.
To wit:
Responding to a point about sales compensation/incentives structures by talking about how you act ethically is not addressing the point made. It looks like you are avoiding the issue. I have made no point about the level you or anyone else looks after their clients' interests.
I was once given a 'personal banker' by my bank and my first question to him was 'how are you incentivized?'
This is a grown up topic that deserves a grown up answer. If he started talking like "I will look after your interests", "I'm incentivized to make you a long term client with repeat business", or "I'm incentivized to make you happy" I would be out of there very fast. Thankfully, he answered the question like an adult and clearly explained (this was before industry clean up of this non-sense started) - "I earn sales commission when you buy the bank's products or products of our partners that the bank is distributing."
Me: "So if I buy nothing, then you earn no sales commission?"
Him: "correct"
Me: "If I buy a lot of the bank's products, you earn a lot of commission and if I buy a little of the bank's products, you earn a little commission.
Him: "correct"
He was open, clear and very comfortable explaining this to me. He didn't try to hide behind nonsense, nor did he squirm in his chair.
I will not take advice from someone who earns sales commission as it's not independent advice. I might get information but not take advice. This was not because I just assumed that he was going to behave unethically and sell me things that clearly are not in my interest (as you keep clinging to) but I had to understand that in the end his job is to sell me things. I appreciated that he was willing and able to talk about his incentive structure like an adult. On a couple of occasions I did use him to purchase some products and he gave me good information and facilitated the purchase efficiently (as that's what drives his pay) but there was no way in hell that I would rely on him to be my 'advisor' or have any illusions that he was not focused on selling things.
Well, if every realtor, who sold a house, that was worth half in two years resigned right now, there wouldn't be many agents...over age 30 anyways. GM became the largest company in the world doing just that....the financing was there. My agent in Arizona told me everything was going to come crashing down in August 2005...he was close, but 2006 was the best year in history. Some things are facts, others are educated guestimates, and others are plain BS. But Consumer Reports says a BuickSkyhawk is a better value than a Toyota Corolla....and a Zenith is better than a Sony. Where I live, the barstool experts have been calling for a major crash for 12 years, many had the units already picked out that they were going to buy cheap...instead prices more than doubled, and they are still renting. Then there are those who take two years or forever to buy a basic home, and spend tens of thousands looking, only to do no better than a person with a dart and a map. Always have a plan B. A good buyers agent is great, but not a substitute for your own diligence. They certainly aren't immune to Tulip Fever, and neither was Alan Greenspan.
Advice is usually free. You could offer a flat rate for services if needed and then hire an appraiser to make sure you aren't overpaying.
I mispoke...advice isn't free. Information is free. If you want advice you need to engage the agent in SC with an agency agreement or the agent cannot give you advice per the SC agency guidelines. Advice is an opinion. Information is a fact.
If you're selling your house, you need a sales person....
If I'm buying a house, I need an advisor, not a sales person. I want that advice to be independent. I do not want an advisor to be funded by sales commission. ...
If the sales person masquerading as my advisor does not get paid until and unless the house is sold, they are strongly incentivized to sell that house ...
All good sales people, no matter the industry, want happy customers, value their reputations, and they know that selling the customer something that is bad for them is bad business. ...
Once again you fail to recognize that how an agent is paid is not reflective of the service they provide. I would argue that sellers and buyers both need advisers more than a "sales" person. An adviser for a seller helps them understand the market and how to position the home for top dollar just as the adviser for a buyer helps the buyer understand the market and advises them on how to get the best deal on the home they want. The adviser helps may give advice on the home and whether it is a wise investment but the buyer chooses to heed the advice or not.
Again, the adviser doesn't ultimately care if the buyer purchases A or B as they get paid at closing. You once again confuse a car salesmen (if they walk walk of my Chevy lot and buy a Ford I don't get paid) with an agent (I get paid no matter what brand of car they buy). I don't know if you are too thick to grasp the difference you actually do understand and intentionally are trolling and misleading the public out of some deep rooted hate for agents. Either way you cause harm to those that come here for help.
You got the last sentence right at least.
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