Do your homework folks….

[somdrenter]

Feeling Misled on Home Price, Buyers Are Suing Their Agent

CARLSBAD, Calif. — Marty Ummel feels she paid too much for her house. So do millions of other people who bought at the peak of the housing boom.

What makes Ms. Ummel different is that she is suing her agent, saying it was all his fault.

Ms. Ummel claims that the agent hid the information that similar homes in the neighborhood were selling for less because he feared she would back out and he would lose his $30,000 commission……..

A few days after the couple moved in, in August 2005, they got a flier on their door from another realty agent. It showed a house up the street had just sold for $105,000 less than theirs, even though it was the same size.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/22/bu...ewanted=1&_r=2

[LillyWhite]

Patch? Is that you?

[crabcake]

Stupid is as stupid does. Don't blame someone else for your inability to read the bottom line. People who are suing over the housing market boom, their shocking rise in mortgage interest, and pricing need to learn to accept personal responsibility for their hasty, uninformed, ignorant decision-making. So much information is available online to consumers. It's their own fault if they don't look it up and take advantage of it when making major financial decisions. If no one else's name appears on the HUD-1 statement at closing, then they have no one else to blame, IMO.

[crabcake]

PS -- I'm not aware of any law that states you HAVE to use a real estate agent in a real estate transaction. It'd be quite smart to have a RE Attorney, but an agent (to my knowledge) is NOT required unless the seller stipulates that ... and they're not likely to do so because that's less money in their pocket in the end (just more commission they have to pay/share with their seller's agent commission).

Think of a RE agent like you do a wedding planner: it's nice to have if you don't have the time to do everything yourself; but they're not a necessity and they're not a guarantee that your home purchase will end without worry. They know how the process should play out, what should be done and when because they do it day in and day out ... but if you do your homework, you can find that information out on your own, and cut that expense (and thus the home price) if you're a buyer by negotiating a lower price in lieu of the commission.

If you've bought a home before, you KNOW you need to get an inspection, put down an earnest deposit, and have certain rights to cancel the deal if the seller doesn't comply, or if the inspection reveals damages over an amount (that you set) in the inspection agreement. And no agent can/should tell you that your house will not feel the effects of a recession just because you bought in a certain area because they are real estate agents; not crystal ball readers.

Damn ... stupid people really agitate me!

[awpitt (Premo)]

Originally Posted by crabcake

PS -- I'm not aware of any law that states you HAVE to use a real estate agent in a real estate transaction.

You're right Realtors are not required. I sold a house about 11 years ago on my own. It was surprisingly easy. The only outside person was the settlement lawyer.

[Vince]

Originally Posted by awpitt

You're right Realtors are not required. I sold a house about 11 years ago on my own. It was surprisingly easy. The only outside person was the settlement lawyer.

And the selling price of the home is determined by the owner, not the realtor. Obviously, if you want to sell your home, you're going to set the price to approx. the same as similar homes in your area. If someone is stupid enough not to do the research and buy a home with a price well above the market value in that area then they deserve what they get.