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First time homebuyer seeking information on obtaining buyers agent, how to find a good buyers agent, real estate attorney to draft purchase and sales agreement
Actually I think there is a solid group of agents on here from what I have seen. It's okay that you think all agents are idiots.
You don't have to like everyone in the world.
I never ever said real estate agents are idiots. In fact I think it takes a certain degree of sofistication in order to artfully leech off others people's assets & business transactions like realtors so efficiently do.
Amber,
It just doesn't have to be like this. As a matter of fact: It will not be like this.
To be helpful with your concerns:
1. Read the thread posts over, and satisfy yourself as to which contributing members have truly offered the OP the most real assistance (answers)here, assistance on topic with the original concern, rather than jumping in for a cheap referral.
You tooted your horn, claimed "I answer questions like the ones you've posed from buyers & sellers across the country regularly, because I am very active in the online space," touted your referral base, and answered NO question. Not one answer.
That approach will make you a short timer here.
2. Read the Terms of Use regarding posting others' personal information, i.e., members' first names instead of usernames that folks have chosen.
"Silverfall" is "Silverfall," unless SHE indicates a different username.
I'm "MikeJaquish," but "Mike Jaquish" is acceptable. No harm done.
3. Read the TOU regarding posting signatures. Specificly verboten.(Sorry. Just saw "Valkyrie.")
4. Think how much better we all could have gotten along without all the drama. A lot of people come here, have some fun, make friends, jab at each other a little. Every now and then someone flies off the handle, and reacts very emotionally.
But I am sure we are all big enough to get through it, and accept each other as the professionals we assuredly are.
I like City-Data very much because of the give-and-take between some very talented people, the access the public has to helpful input when they are sometimes under great stress, and the distinct restriction on directly soliciting business.
But that solicitation restriction comes with a learning curve that seems difficult for some to master.
Many people, including professionals in various CD forums, show up and get banished after a handful of posts because they just cannot accept offering information free, a la Web 2.0, with no assurance of a quid pro quo.
They never adapt and just can't stop themselves from soliciting.
Hang in there. You will get it. I find a sense of humor helps.
MikeJaquish:
A sense of humor helps when there is actually something humorous said. I guess some people only find things funny when other people are the butt of the joke, eh?
I play by rules, but I have little respect for those get a kick out of "schooling" others or making examples out of folks to prop themselves up.
I believe that we're ALL entitled to have an opinion in this forum, but there also has to be sound judgement excerised in terms of the level of professional decorum that should be exhibited.
You can call it "emotional" if you'd like, but I call it speaking my mind in response to the petty and tasteless way I was treated at the onset of this post.
Not to mention, SXN's post has now been overshadowed with a bunch of useless wisecracks and crap.
I'm glad to know that not all agents on ActiveRain are so mean-spirited like some of the ones on this thread.
We could go back & forth about this forever, but it's not worth it.
Please find another topic to discuss besides me. I don't like being connected to negative engergy.
Is there anyway to filter or search realtors on Active Rain by specialty (condos, buyers agent) and neighborhoods they specialize (loop, gold coast, south loop etc.) ? I see a ton of realtors in the Chicago Il section. How do I got about paring down the size of this list? Do I really need to read each of their blogs to learn more about them. That would be alot to go through. Would looking at how many points they have be a good way to reduce the number I wanted to look at in more detail and interview? Thanks for the interview tips thus far, I'll keep them in mind
Also, can buyers post an ad in the "Referral" section? If I'm looking for a buyer's agent I think that would be the place to solicit, but it looks like only real estate professionals post there.
Is there anyway to filter or search realtors on Active Rain by specialty (condos, buyers agent) and neighborhoods they specialize (loop, gold coast, south loop etc.) ? I see a ton of realtors in the Chicago Il section. How do I got about paring down the size of this list? Do I really need to read each of their blogs to learn more about them. That would be alot to go through. Would looking at how many points they have be a good way to reduce the number I wanted to look at in more detail and interview? Thanks for the interview tips thus far, I'll keep them in mind
Also, can buyers post an ad in the "Referral" section? If I'm looking for a buyer's agent I think that would be the place to solicit, but it looks like only real estate professionals post there.
SXN,
The bottom line is you will have to interview agents in person to make a good choice.
One of the weaknesses of AR is the organization in the eyes of the retail buyer or seller.
It is foremost a professionals' blogging and networking site.
It also does good Search Engine Optimization, meaning if you Google "Lincoln Park Chicago Homes" you will probably get some AR members in the results.
The referral page is "Members Only," for real estate professionals, and you actually don't need it. It got way out of control a long time ago.
Too often referrals put you in the position of depending on someone you never met, based on the word of another person you never met...
You might also try Google searches of "Active Rain agents chicago condos," or similar, but people put all sorts of tags onto posts, and other sites refer to AR regularly, so the results tend to be hard to fine tune.
ActiveRain can help you learn some basics about an agent. Look out for bloggers who only tell how wonderful they are, and don't convey anything about the community or housing.
The bottom line: Read some of their stuff, select a few agents whose words resonate at least a little with you, and interview several agents looking for a fit.
"A fit" means that you believe that your chosen agent has skill, diligence, integrity, and local knowledge, all conveyed in a personal manner with which you are comfortable.
Some folks want a laid-back professional, no pressure, but offering good service.
Others want the prototypical Type A personality.
You need to know what sort of person you want to trust with your time, effort, and investment.
You might go to this pageand work your way down the list of Chicago Real Estate Professionals on the right side.
You will need to skip the publishers, coaches, trainers, stagers, and mortgage people, just looking at agents.
The purpose of blogging is to provide you with insight into that agents' focus and outlook.
You often will find that the agent has a much better blog on their personal website, and their ActiveRain page will give you the opportunity to click through to their personal page.
You both beat me to it! I was over on AR trying to remind myself how best to search from the perspective of a buyer. (Need to refresh myself periodically as they keep tweaking and improving the site.)
Thanks again for the tips on activerain. I think I was looking at the wrong search field. I came across an interesting blog on the south loop. I think I will follow up with this guy's agency as he knows about the market and I think I like his personality. I went to a few open houses and saw a few places with a realtor today and yesterday. Two observations I thought were interesting from a first time buyer's perspective:
1) At the open houses, I met sellers/listing agents with different kinds of personalities. I really hated it when as soon as I walk in the door the agent would ask me what I am looking to spend and my price range. Then they would ask if I am working with an agent. I would think it would be the other way around. I'm not comfortable discussing my finances with a stranger I never interviewed or got to know. At one of the places the realtor blew me and my wife off when I balked at giving him my price range, then he said "why don't you work with a lender and find out what you can afford and then come back to us". I'm thinking I am pre-approved for my loan and know what I can afford. I wouldn't be looking otherwise.
2) I realize it is the holidays this weekend, but out of 10 condos we wanted to tour, I was only able to get into 2 condos. I understand that people were living in some of the condos and the timing just wasn't right since family was visiting, but most of the other units were empty or new construction. Three of the units have been on the market 180+ days, and another one the listing agent never called back my realtor after multiple calls. Others said a viewing "was just not possible" and didn't offer any alternative dates. Converesely we met this awesome listing agent at a place we did get to see. He was very candid about the market in the area, condos available in the area that he had listed and the owners/developers reasoning for selling the condo at a reduced price and the sellers motivations. He took us to several places a few that have not been even listed in the mls yet. In this housing market and the area of Chicago we are looking, I would think all selling agents would be jumping at a chance to show a place to someone who is serious about buying. Guess not in Chicago - loop area.
Never thought these intangibles and emotions would play into the home purchase, but I think it does. In a way I feel a little turned off from viewing places now where the realtor/ seller "dissed us". I'd rather give my business to someone who is interested in my business. Of course that will not be the primary or even secondary factor in my purchase, but if I'm going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars it would be nice. Just thought/felt like I'd share as others may have similar experiences!
SXN, I, for one, appreciate the feedback even when I'm not in the area. One reason I'm on CD is to find out what the concerns of the buyers and sellers and people moving to new areas are, so I'll be prepared to address them (which is part of my job, after all). So when someone does something like you've just done, it's a great help! Thank you!
SXN, you're on the right track to get good representation. If you think you might click well the agent you mentioned go ahead and give them a call/email and schedule an appointment to meet him. He'll probably be able to save you quite a bit of time/stress in the long run. Congratulations on your decision to purchase and if you have additional questions, you may want to start a new thread to get a fresh start.
The "unprofessional" ones have all offered you some very good advice so listen to them and you'll be fine. I applaud you for doing it the right way. Best of luck in your condo hunt.
Moderator cut: personal -off topic
If I ever get a referral in their areas, they are the ones I'm sending it too. As for me, like or not, I actually am quite professional and I really am #1 in my region in customer service as voted on by clients. Of 25,000 ERA agents in the world I was ranked 5th overall and 1rst in the SE region by consumers in customer service satisfaction surveys (needed at least 25 transactions with at least 60% of the surveys mailed returned and at least a 95% satisfaction rating on each survey returned.) I hope you don't get this emotional when it hits the fan on a transaction where it's really stressful. Realtors are supposed to be a calming influence.
Last edited by Marka; 01-05-2009 at 02:09 PM..
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My little comment would seem so small in comparison...
