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I know a Realtor that took on a very low priced listing. The property was on the market with another Realtor for over a year with no bites, nada. Apparently upon researching and looking at the original listing, there was very little information, pictures and most likely little, if any advertising put into it.
So, the Realtor tells the seller (who approached the second Realtor), sure, I can sell it for you, when your contract is up. Waited at least another 6 months and then put it on the market.
Sold it in two weeks. Lots of advertising, great pics, write up etc. This Realtor does not work any less on a 50k house than they do for a 300k house.
Seller is thrilled, SO THRILLED they go out and buy a new house for a few hundred thousand dollars through another Realtor.
They tell the Realtor that sold their rental unit it's a long story.
NOW .... why do you think that some Realtors put little effort into selling a low priced home?
I think that's wrong, but I am just stating a fact.
I suppose there are a lot more scums out there than Realtors.
And, that's just one story, I am sure there are many many many more.
OH, and I have no idea at this point, why the seller chose to go with another realtor, but that's not the point. EVEN if it is his mother, that's no excuse, why? because why didn't mom (who it isnt) sell the rental property?
NOW, let's hear some comments. I am curious to see what peoples thoughts are.
NO - it was not a for sale by owner, that was the first question that I asked.
Just because the Realtor sold the first doesn't guarantee all sales.
Look at it this way. If you shop for clothes at one store and find a good sales person are you cheating them when you but at a different store?
And the problem (of clients feeling slighted by realtors) my be getting worse, esepecially for buyer clients. Buyers today almost don't need a realtor until the paperwork starts. With the internet, databases, school reports, traffic data, recent sales data, aerial photos, online photos, sights like this (City-Data Forum), online county planning and records, etc., people only need realtors to open the door and manage the follow on paperwork during the sale.
Long gone are the days when a buyer relied on a realtor for everything. Buyers do a lot on their own.
Buyers are wondering what the heck is their realtor doing for that fat commission when the buyers did most of the research them selves. Fortunately, the buyer isn't paying the commission, but since the realtor is effectively accomplishing less for both parties, his net utility is less for the (traditionally) same amount of commission.
I have had only 1 client this year that found a property online that actually bought that property. Buyers get attracted by the pictures and too often are disappointed once they see the actual property. And finding the property is really, for the most part, the least complicated piece of the whole process. In today's world, because of the complexities of real estate laws, the changing market, etc. the agent is often doing much more than traditionally, especially if you compare it to the "halcyon days" the few years before the decline started in 2007.
Additionally, some companies that cap and/or rebate buyers commissions push some of the traditional buyers agent responsibilities onto the listing agent.
There are dishonest realtors, brokers who don't care what the agents do off the floor, brokers who have no clue what side agreements their agents make with clients, agents who do not share pertinent information with the buyers or their broker and lied to CYA, agents who collude with title companies for profit, agents who use illegal contracts and DRE that have no authority.
Been there, done that and nearly lost everything.
There are too many bad apples in the RE industry. What I hope is that for every bad realtor who doesn't play fair, there are 1000 who are ethical and follow the rules, have moral turpitude and love the business eniough that are willing to do what the buyer and seller need to close the deal.
I would never sell without a realor, but today I am far more careful. What I learned from this unhappy experience is that age, years of experience, prior employment and being a top producing agent means absolutely nothing if the agent is willing to cheat to Close.
As to the other. Some sellers may love their agent, but do not understand that theri great agent can help them FIND and BUY a great home, too.
There is a large Indian Community in our area and there is a cultural issue they bring to the US where there is pretty much not much loyalty to anyone (in general) in real estate. They will drop you in a heartbeat if there is some advantage or incentive. Even once you go under contract they will continue to negotiate up to the day of closing. Buyer Rep Agreements are nothing to many of these folks.
I'm not knocking these people as individuals but just saying it's a cultural thing many bring from their home lands. Me and you might do business with our word and a handshake, but to many people that means nothing.
This is just ridiculous. The mods cut URLs to commercial websites, but don't do anything about these kind of posts. I'm Indian, and if you actually knew anything about the culture you guys wouldn't have posted such ridiculous statements. Replace "Indian" or "Asian" with the word "Jews" and hopefully you can see how ignorant the posts are. My guess is you've been watching too much Glenngary Glen Ross.
BTW, I have closed several deals in India with a handshake or verbal commitment.
I would think you need a thick skin to be a real estate agent these days. Sure, you hope someone would give you repeat business, but if not, you have to move on.
Believe me, I wish I used an attorney when we bought this house 2 months ago. Our so called buyer's agent did nothing but work against us (5 day inspection period? why, why, why??? $10,000 earnest money on a $164k home? Again, what is the advantage to me as a buyer other than tie up a lot more money than needed, esp in a very slow market with no other buyers beating down the door.) The biggie was there is a piece of property behind us that is in the county limits, not city, and now the owner of that property is firing his guns all day long and I am having a lot of trouble with him.
Wish my buyer's agent would have brought the fact that we are buying a property right on the city/ county line to my attention, along with the repercussions of more lax regulations on noise, etc back there. I guess you have to either hire an attorney or be an expert yourself these days. I had no idea that in my county, you can pretty much shoot guns anywhere in the county as long as you don't shoot towards someone. That is a big deal that of course I didn't think about because I bought in a neighborhood, in the city limits!
Last edited by MovedfromFL; 10-25-2010 at 11:26 AM..
I would think you need a thick skin to be a real estate agent these days. Sure, you hope someone would give you repeat business, but if not, you have to move on.
Believe me, I wish I used an attorney when we bought this house 2 months ago. Our so called buyer's agent did nothing but work against us (5 day inspection period? why, why, why??? $10,000 earnest money on a $164k home? Again, what is the advantage to me as a buyer other than tie up a lot more money than needed, esp in a very slow market with no other buyers beating down the door.) The biggie was there is a piece of property behind us that is in the county limits, not city, and now the owner of that property is firing his guns all day long and I am having a lot of trouble with him.
Wish my buyer's agent would have brought the fact that we are buying a property right on the city/ county line to my attention, along with the repercussions of more lax regulations on noise, etc back there. I guess you have to either hire an attorney or be an expert yourself these days. I had no idea that in my county, you can pretty much shoot guns anywhere in the county as long as you don't shoot towards someone. That is a big deal that of course I didn't think about because I bought in a neighborhood, in the city limits!
Unfortunately an attorney wouldn't have been much use in the gun issue unless they knew about the guy. The 5 day inspection period and high earnest money they would have balked at for sure, but the only way to know about guy/rev guy is if someone was familiar with the subdivision, the sellers or neighbors disclosed it to you, or you happened to hear it when you were there.
The underlying issue is that there are no true financial drivers for an agent (even as an advocate to the buyer) to push, delay, or recommend against getting a purchase closed. In the past, one could make a big case for "future considerations" (i.e. repeat business, recommendation to a friend or relative), but that can only go so far.
The underlying issue is that there are no true financial drivers for an agent (even as an advocate to the buyer) to push, delay, or recommend against getting a purchase closed. In the past, one could make a big case for "future considerations" (i.e. repeat business, recommendation to a friend or relative), but that can only go so far.
This assumes that people have no intrinsic motivation though to just be nice. True for some, not true for others. Really, not everyone is driven by greed.
This assumes that people have no intrinsic motivation though to just be nice. True for some, not true for others. Really, not everyone is driven by greed.
I agree... I wasn't speaking about greed. My point was simply about livelihood. I know many good folks in the RE industry are getting buy in these lean times, but in the end there are basic bills to pay and a family to feed. At some point, it stops being greed and starts becoming about survival.
This is what I was referring to... You don't get paid in the short term for being "nice". "Nice" is like an investment in future profits, there's nothing in the short term - thus my point.
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