Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I guess my question was more rhetorical. But the mere mention of going fsbo or flat-fee then real-estate agents will try to frighten sellers with imagined things that can break a deal. The reality is that for a sale, the buyer's agent uses a boiler plate contract. Once the price is agreed to and the contract is signed then the attorney's take over. The real-estate agent will open the door for the inspection!
I agree the real-estate profession will go the way of the Edsel or at least the business model will change drastically.
I think the larger issue is that not all real estate laws are the same. They vary widely from state to state, and in most states, attorneys are not part of the process. So, having someone familiar with the laws of your area, and who has a marketing background to yield an optimal sales price is a huge benefit.
The buyer's agent finds you a buyer - they get notified or can search for new listings daily - supposedly they monitor that for their clients for a match. The seller's agent just puts the listing in an MLS and is supposed to provide all documents in a timely manner (many can't even do that). A more aggressive seller's agent will supposedly advertise but I am yet to see value in that - maybe on $million+ properties? As for the legal part - why not just hire a RE attorney?
People expect a discount via FSBO ->because<- current system involves RE agents. If it didn't, nobody would ask for a discount, would they? We seriously considered getting a flat-fee MLS listing when we sold our home and now I kick myself in the butt for not doing so - would have saved myself a ton of cash - house practically sold itself and my agent is more of a detriment.
If you're getting an RE attorney you might as well get a realtor and skip the middleman. You think realtors are overpaid? Attorneys often charge $1500+ just to shake your hand.
Thats dramatic, that 1500 or 2500 is a retainer. My family sold mulitple pieces of raw land that were tied up in all kinds of crap with no will and the total bill was 5k or maybe a little less. So no they are not cheap but a realtor would not have been able to wade through the legal gauntlet with an estate with no will and random debts. The sales were 6 figures so a realtor would have been twice as much for much less value.
Figuring out fair market value and marketing a property is not rocket science, its the legal issues you need to protect yourself with and realtors make it quite clear they are not lawyers and their contracts typically absolve themselves of legal liability.
Also most realtors dont like getting involved with forclosures which is where your real value can lie but its a legal gauntlet and thats also when a real estate lawyer might help. If you just want to go out and pay too much for a home in a sellers market while a bunch of other people make a bunch of money off you then its a great deal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooby Snacks
If you're getting an RE attorney you might as well get a realtor and skip the middleman. You think realtors are overpaid? Attorneys often charge $1500+ just to shake your hand.
This is an interesting thread. I wonder if anybody's realtor has read something here and thought, "that must have been so-and-so"... hence my reluctance to say much...
But if I ever do this again I hope to be able to use someone who is very knowledgeable, has people skills, and just generally bright. Ours is all fluff (quote by my husband). Who says to their seller, about the day of the inspection, "I had to get away from the buyer, she was asking too many questions". I thought that's what he was there for... and he doesn't really know the house, couldn't answer simple questions about it...
One form I would like to have seen has never arrived; he took pictures before it was really ready for that; offered things in the description that do not exist in the house...never showed it himself... actually, with what we've been through with the last several houses I can say I truly hate real estate.
I am having a hard time explaining to myself what the point of an RE agent is.
So, what is the purpose of these folks again? All I can see is them living in great places, driving nice cars, having a blast all day, no responsibility, no need to have any formal education - just some measly course. Seems to me anyone with a pulse can do it. Why doesn't someone come up with an app like Uber and cut out the middle-man?
Funny you should say this, as the few people I've gotten to know that were RE's had very little on the ball. There are some very good ones, but they seem the exception, not the rule.
From the very first place I bought (rented then the owner offered to sell it directly to me) to now some 25 years later, I have never bought or sold a place through a RE.
I did one time sign up for one as I needed capitol and didn't have the time to invest. It was a husband & wife combo team, that were supposedly specialists in the area. They brought me very few qualified leads, and kept trying to get me to lower the price.
I finally got fed up and got out of the contract. A few weeks later after investing some time the place sold. All you really need is a good closing agent, and if you don't know how to do inspections yourself, a good home inspector. It does help to know the area, but there are ways around that as well. Talking to potential neighbors, speaking to cops working the area, etc.
The bottom line is that just about anyone can get a licence to be a RE agent. To be successful, you need to be everything the ones you described are not. You also need to be able to construct a deal and know peoples limits/buttons.
As to needing one, I always look for deals not yet on the market. When it comes to selling, I will always do it myself, as I'd rather save the 6% (assuming I have the time).
With all due respect, show your sources and references to why I am 'historically incorrect.' The 'argument method' that you are using is called 'Bold Assertion,' which is something stated without using additional facts or references to back it up.
Don't take this in the wrong spirit, there are many types of writing and speech usages that people use to make a point, they use similies, metaphors, narratives, and personal experience. A Bold Assertion is another tool. One has to be careful to back up the assertion, once made, with evidence. All I ask for is evidence. I am open to a reasonable reply to a reasonable statement.
Here is an example from the University of South Carolina, advising students how to start speeches:
"Your introduction should begin with something that grabs the attention of your audience, such as, an interesting statisitic, a brief narrative or story, or a bold assertion, and then clearly tell the audience in a well-crafted sentence what you plan to accomplish in your presentation" (University of South Carolina, 2016).
I respectfully ask for follow-through; teach me something new.
Well I was unable to reach our agent, he was on airplane going to visit family somewhere. I was checking on house under contract and found important papers in the mailbox for the buyer with his (hopefully) new address on it instead of where he actually still lives. These papers were important in the sale process... so I didn't want to leave them as they'd been postmarked about 5 days earlier and were still sitting there.
I ended up taking the papers to the buyers agent. I'd been lead to believe that is a no-no, contacting either the buyer (I don't have his ph. no.) or his agent, but not knowing what else to do off I went. Agent was very grateful I brought them and said he would take them to buyer himself.
My agent later called, saying he was just going to call buyer and tell him to go out and get them. Legally, he has no reason to be in that mailbox, and that mailbox is on a very busy street and anything could happen to stuff out there with a vacant house and all.
Anyway, the buyer's agent (in response to my offhand question "everything going ok?") gave me several updates, things like survey is ordered, bank problem resolved, etc. I was just shocked. Our agent tells us NOTHING. There definitely is a difference in agents.
Well I was unable to reach our agent, he was on airplane going to visit family somewhere. I was checking on house under contract and found important papers in the mailbox for the buyer with his (hopefully) new address on it instead of where he actually still lives. These papers were important in the sale process... so I didn't want to leave them as they'd been postmarked about 5 days earlier and were still sitting there.
I ended up taking the papers to the buyers agent. I'd been lead to believe that is a no-no, contacting either the buyer (I don't have his ph. no.) or his agent, but not knowing what else to do off I went. Agent was very grateful I brought them and said he would take them to buyer himself.
My agent later called, saying he was just going to call buyer and tell him to go out and get them. Legally, he has no reason to be in that mailbox, and that mailbox is on a very busy street and anything could happen to stuff out there with a vacant house and all.
Anyway, the buyer's agent (in response to my offhand question "everything going ok?") gave me several updates, things like survey is ordered, bank problem resolved, etc. I was just shocked. Our agent tells us NOTHING. There definitely is a difference in agents.
Are you certain that the buyer's agent shared that information with your agent?
If not, your agent cannot tell you what he doesn't know.
I am having a hard time explaining to myself what the point of an RE agent is. They have little legal responsibility, will not put anything on paper that will come back to hurt them later, will offer no opinions on anything (for fear of lawsuits), do not have legal bearing on any of the documents. Other than opening the door and providing the forms - what is their purpose and why are they paid so much?
(snip)
I agree!!!
People will try to tell you that it's your fault. But it's not. They really don't do much, is what I've found. I research the properties, the zoning, the flood zone, who lives in the area, appraisal prices of the property and surrounding properties, and measure the lots on the appraisal district plats. The agents don't even know all that information, much less give me the information.
They merely open doors and hope you make a decision fast.
It's not you. It's not me. It's them. The business has changed. In the old days, when I bought my last house, the agents had at least previewed the houses for sale by their own agency. Not anymore.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
