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stan4, you know, near as I can tell from what you've posted that I've seen, you're the kind of person who would hire someone to dig a hole for you and then tie their arms together behind their back and insist that they not use a shovel and then complain that they were cheating you because they weren't doing a good enough job at digging the hole for what you're paying them to do. In other words, cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Solely from what I've read of your posts, of course; you might not be like that at all.
Um, based on what I (and several others) have experienced in this area...NO...we wouldn"t trust a single realtor around here...to me, they are simply the key to the lock box. There's nothing to do with 'trust' in that arrangement...any more so than with a used car salesman.
Lots of people have to invest before they get paid off...many different kinds of sales people and people involved in various business ventures.
I totally understand how you feel about wasting your time. I just don't think it's limited to realtors.
Well, you have quite an axe to grind. It doesn't sound like there's any real logic to your beliefs, it's simply that you want people to work excruciatingly hard for your money. Quite frankly, 1.6m or not, you're not a client I'd like to work with.
People have spelled it out pretty easily:
1. You can have your lender put whatever they want on your pre-approval. In fact, they'll be happy to print up 2 or 3 letters for you - and you can give whichever one you want to your realtor, and give a completely separate one to him when he writes an offer if you're really that concerned about a realtor knowing you can spend 1.6m. (rolls eyes). Besides, you can tell your realtor to only pre-approve you for $600k. (Something tells me maybe you've never actually purchased a house)
But don't get a pre-approval letter, and you're all talk. Why would I show you properties when you clearly aren't ready to buy a house?
2. Most people have already put it together pretty clear, but think about this: I work in a highly competitive market. Let's say we find your dream house and you don't have a pre-approval, that lender will take no less 48 hours to get a pre-approval in my hands to write an offer. Yeah, your house is probably gobbled up.
I wrote 4 offers last week and all but 1 were scooped up that morning.
That's not how a good agent does business because it's a crap shoot in a competitive market - what's the point in showing houses if no one is ready to write the offer? No seller is looking at anything without a pre-approval.
3. Lastly, if you tell a realtor to you're pre-approved for 1.6m but only want to spend 700k and he shows you 1m properties, FIRE HIM. Seriously, it's not that hard. But don't take the other extreme just because you were too weak-willed to set your terrible realtor straight or to fire him.
stan4, you know, near as I can tell from what you've posted that I've seen, you're the kind of person who would hire someone to dig a hole for you and then tie their arms together behind their back and insist that they not use a shovel and then complain that they were cheating you because they weren't doing a good enough job at digging the hole for what you're paying them to do. In other words, cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Solely from what I've read of your posts, of course; you might not be like that at all.
Nope. I am actually usually a really an easy customer. I don't get impatient with waiting bc I make people wait in my job. I understand priorities and honest mistakes. We just can't believe how this market and the people operating it have been. If you knew anything about this local market and what goes on here, you'd understand. It's nothing any decent person would want to believe, I get that...but just like there are bad doctors and evil lawyers and all sorts of nasty people who make the good ones look bad...we have that cesspool right here.
Btw...no one has ever asked us to show them any proof of finances before becoming our agent...later it was because I learned that they didn't care what we could really afford - they just wanted to close the deal.
Btw...no one has ever asked us to show them any proof of finances before becoming our agent...later it was because I learned that they didn't care what we could really afford - they just wanted to close the deal.
That was probably (thankfully) true, but that's not the reason they didn't ask for a letter of pre-approval.
While I understand the sentiment, I would recommend against it. The more people that come into your home, the better chance you have of getting more for your house. "Qualifying" a buyer is more than merely having them get a prequalification letter from a bank. Also, there are instances where buyers want to go look at homes before going to their bank to get a prequalification or preapproval. Also, from an administrative point of view, it can be a nightmare. Trying to get agents to fax or email a prequalification before they show the property often scares them away because they think you're trying to steal their buyers. Let people look at your home, then when an offer comes in, make sure that your agent gets all the necessary information before accepting an offer. Good luck.
Over the years I've been shown many, many houses by many, many agents in 2 different large metros and I've never once (not one single time) been asked to show "financial proof" to see a listing... ID like my drivers license, definitely - but never anything to do with finances.
My point (and likely stan's that he's getting basted by the agents for) is that if this suddenly became a requirement - I'd look elsewhere and/or work with a different agent. So you agents can hijack this thread for yourselves and make it about yourselves and "your valuable time" all you want - it doesn't change the simple fact that your profession has inherent risk built into it. You're salespeople. You're going to show properties to unqualified buyers and/or people who have absolutely no intention to offer on a property. People looky-loo for everything and you'll do it even when gas is $5 a gallon. Otherwise someone will step in and do it for you.
I mean seriously, do you truly believe a dishonest person couldn't whip up a "pre-qual letter" off their laser printer in a matter of minutes?! Plus, do I need to mention dishonest agents and the stunts they pull for money? Trust is a 2way street and the NAR designation doesn't automatically buy you blind trust from any seller or buyer out there. It's earned on both sides.
Trust is, indeed, a two-way street. That means that buyers frequently have to earn that trust, as well. Agents are not required to work with anyone who walks in the door, and can even fire a client if they are too difficult to work with or .
I will agree with you that some agents are just salespeople. Those are the ones who are inexperienced or who are just flat not very good. And those will work with just anyone, out of desperation. Someone who views real estate agents in that light is more likely to end up having to work with ones just like that, because the quality agents are going to be more selective in the clients they take on because they can afford to be.
it doesn't change the simple fact that your profession has inherent risk built into it. You're salespeople. You're going to show properties to unqualified buyers and/or people who have absolutely no intention to offer on a property. People looky-loo for everything and you'll do it even when gas is $5 a gallon. Otherwise someone will step in and do it for you.
I mean seriously, do you truly believe a dishonest person couldn't whip up a "pre-qual letter" off their laser printer in a matter of minutes?! Plus, do I need to mention dishonest agents and the stunts they pull for money? Trust is a 2way street and the NAR designation doesn't automatically buy you blind trust from any seller or buyer out there. It's earned on both sides.
A few mis-conceptions in your post:
1. I require it as much for the buyer's sake as I do mine. As some have stated, it's there because often times I'm writing offers as soon as we see the property. Without it, that's an impossible proposition and in competitive markets, it's not smart business. Moreover, without the letter, how would anyone know exactly what they're approved for? Probably because they did a little research on their own and nabbed a pre-qual letter LOL
a. I do make exceptions for my out-of-state buyers. I understand that sometimes it's impossible to have achieved a pre-approval with a local lender, and I'll show them properties for the day as we'd planned and then work with them. But for local buyers that can have the initial steps accomplished and would shy away from talking to a lender before showing homes, they either don't know how the process of buying home works or aren't ready to buy.
2. Please understand the difference between a pre-qual letter and a pre-approval letter. Only a lender can provide the pre-approval letter.
Btw...no one has ever asked us to show them any proof of finances before becoming our agent...later it was because I learned that they didn't care what we could really afford - they just wanted to close the deal.
Why would the Realtor care what a homeowner can afford? It's not the realtor's responsibility to make sure his client can pay his bills after they find the client a house. If they have problems with that they should pay a competant financial advisor to help them.
An agent recently showed our home. It seemed to both my husband and me that this couple probably could not afford our $500K home (I know one shouldn't judge by appearance, etc.) but they weren't asking the kind of questions one would expect from a potential buyer and seemed they were looking more for ideas for building their own home. I have no confidence in our realtor (but was the only one who'd take the listing--but that's another issue). From what I've seen, many agents here here do their homework. The agent from the listing office who showed my house had no driving directions, showed up with no info sheets for the buyers no business card, and couldn't answer any of the buyer's questions.
You stayed in your home when the buyers came to look???
BAD move, BIG mistake - your realtor should have schooled you better
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