Real Estate Agents................................

[nhboy (Premo)]

One blogger's view on Real Estate Agents (16 04 2007)

This world is full of people who set out on a career path pursuing illegal activities and end up becoming criminals. They rob banks, set up monopolies, commit fraud, engage in racketeering, etc. You may think these guys are scary, but the good news is that the law is on your side. The real scary criminals out there can do all those criminal activities and get away with it, legally. I call these guys…..Real Estate Agents.

Real Estate Agents are the modern day snake oil salesmen, the real bottom of the feedbag. These guys take; or rather steal an unbelievable amount of money from you without selling anything for you or to you. Let’s take a look at what I mean by examining what they want you to perceive is happening and what actually happens:

When Selling a Home - Perception: Realtors want you to think that they will sell your house for a nominal fee, usually 6% of the gross sales price. They will handle all of the set up, advertise the home, sell and negotiate with prospective buyers to get the most $’s for your home as possible. All with a friendly smile.

When Selling a Home – Reality: Realtors sell nothing for you. Their only sales job is to get you to “List” with them however they don’t sell anything. The word “List” is commonly used in place of sell and most people believe that is what they mean. It isn’t. It simply means they will put it on Realtor.com, place a sign in your yard and perhaps make up a flyer that people can take as they drive by. If you’re lucky, they will come and sit once for an open house, but trust me; even at the open house they aren’t selling the home. All of this you can do yourself for a mere fraction of what they charge. I have never seen them negotiate with a perspective buyer. If they negotiate anything, they negotiate with me, working to get me to reduce the price of the home or take that lower offer because there may not be another. Sure, they tell me how great the home is and float out these high numbers when they are trying to get me to “list” with them, but then once they have the listing and an offer comes in, the story becomes one of a sagging market and few buyers and we should be lucky and this may not come again.

When Selling a Home – Conclusion: Realtors just want the listing. Once they have that listing contract, they are in. As we will look at in When Buying a Home, realtors can show any other agents product so it is just a matter of time before another agent brings along a family that will place an offer. Realtors know this and don’t work hard after the contract. If you are in a hurry, you may be stuck. However, if you have time, sell your own home.

When Buying a Home – Perception: The agent wants you to think he is needed because they know the area or they can get the listings, or they will negotiate the lowest and best price. They will also claim to lend their personal experience as to whether you should consider a home or not as well as guide you through the difficult closing process. The agent will require you to sign a contract before they start pulling listings and working for you. All of this, they will repeatedly say is at zero cost to you.

When Buying a Home – Reality: You don’t need an agent for any of this! On a $300,000 house you would be giving away 3% or $9000 for nothing. That is right, it costs you $9000 to have an agent help you buy a house. What? You mean they lied? You bet. They always come back with the fact that the seller pays that money but let me remind you who has to go to the bank and sign a mortgage for it, YOU DO. Yes you are paying for it and buying nothing. Let’s look at that step by step:

1) Your agent provides listings – Try Realtor.com or FSBO.com or many other realty sites dedicated to home listing. You search homes in your area in great detail from asking price to how many bathrooms you want. The internet is a great tool and can be used for pennies. Realtors know this makes them useless and are creating sites that require a password, setting this up so that the only person who can give you a password is your contracted realtor. In conjunction, they are showing fewer houses on free sites like Realtor.com. That is criminal.

2) Personal Experience of the Home – Over 90% of the homes that a realtor has taken me to see have been homes they themselves have never seen. How can they sell me a product that they don’t know anything about? Actually, many of the instances have been complete wastes of time that if the realtor did his job, we would have never gone to see.

3) The Agent Sells the Home – The agent sells nothing. Whether it was my agent or an agent sitting at an open house, there is nothing actually being “sold”. Generally it goes like this, we walk in, look at the house, decide if we like it, the agent will ask if we like it, we will say no, and he will say no problem, I have more to show you. I would be really mad if I was the seller paying big money and nobody selling my house.

4) The Agent Guides you through the difficult closing process – Wrong. The closing agency does that. The realtor may help with a suggestion, but in the end I would suggest read the paperwork. Worst case, you can hire a real estate lawyer for $500 or less.

When Buying a Home – Conclusion: DO NOT USE A REALTOR! Believe me, take the time, and find a home you like then use the $9000 that the sellers already have baked into their asking price to negotiate a lower price, for closing costs, cash back, repairs, whatever, it is yours spend it wisely.

Lastly, have said all of this, the Real Estate world is one big racket. I can’t think of any other market that allows one company to sell another companies product. Thus there is no real competition. It is like trying to get the Ford dealer to sell you a new
Toyota, or wanting Dell to make you a Compaq computer. Even used car salesmen rank higher than these guys since they are trying to sell you what is on their lot. You can’t go to one lot and have them sell you a car on the lot next door. But Realtors get away with it. Their true con job is that big fat smile that they try to get you to buy because that is all that you end up getting. That is also why they put their picture on their business cards because that is all you are buying.

Dave’s Place

[ITSUX2BU2]

Originally Posted by nhboy

One blogger's view on Real Estate Agents (16 04 2007)

This world is full of people who set out on a career path pursuing illegal activities and end up becoming criminals. They rob banks, set up monopolies, commit fraud, engage in racketeering, etc. You may think these guys are scary, but the good news is that the law is on your side. The real scary criminals out there can do all those criminal activities and get away with it, legally. I call these guys…..Real Estate Agents.

Real Estate Agents are the modern day snake oil salesmen, the real bottom of the feedbag. These guys take; or rather steal an unbelievable amount of money from you without selling anything for you or to you. Let’s take a look at what I mean by examining what they want you to perceive is happening and what actually happens:

When Selling a Home - Perception: Realtors want you to think that they will sell your house for a nominal fee, usually 6% of the gross sales price. They will handle all of the set up, advertise the home, sell and negotiate with prospective buyers to get the most $’s for your home as possible. All with a friendly smile.

When Selling a Home – Reality: Realtors sell nothing for you. Their only sales job is to get you to “List” with them however they don’t sell anything. The word “List” is commonly used in place of sell and most people believe that is what they mean. It isn’t. It simply means they will put it on Realtor.com, place a sign in your yard and perhaps make up a flyer that people can take as they drive by. If you’re lucky, they will come and sit once for an open house, but trust me; even at the open house they aren’t selling the home. All of this you can do yourself for a mere fraction of what they charge. I have never seen them negotiate with a perspective buyer. If they negotiate anything, they negotiate with me, working to get me to reduce the price of the home or take that lower offer because there may not be another. Sure, they tell me how great the home is and float out these high numbers when they are trying to get me to “list” with them, but then once they have the listing and an offer comes in, the story becomes one of a sagging market and few buyers and we should be lucky and this may not come again.

When Selling a Home – Conclusion: Realtors just want the listing. Once they have that listing contract, they are in. As we will look at in When Buying a Home, realtors can show any other agents product so it is just a matter of time before another agent brings along a family that will place an offer. Realtors know this and don’t work hard after the contract. If you are in a hurry, you may be stuck. However, if you have time, sell your own home.

When Buying a Home – Perception: The agent wants you to think he is needed because they know the area or they can get the listings, or they will negotiate the lowest and best price. They will also claim to lend their personal experience as to whether you should consider a home or not as well as guide you through the difficult closing process. The agent will require you to sign a contract before they start pulling listings and working for you. All of this, they will repeatedly say is at zero cost to you.

When Buying a Home – Reality: You don’t need an agent for any of this! On a $300,000 house you would be giving away 3% or $9000 for nothing. That is right, it costs you $9000 to have an agent help you buy a house. What? You mean they lied? You bet. They always come back with the fact that the seller pays that money but let me remind you who has to go to the bank and sign a mortgage for it, YOU DO. Yes you are paying for it and buying nothing. Let’s look at that step by step:

1) Your agent provides listings – Try Realtor.com or FSBO.com or many other realty sites dedicated to home listing. You search homes in your area in great detail from asking price to how many bathrooms you want. The internet is a great tool and can be used for pennies. Realtors know this makes them useless and are creating sites that require a password, setting this up so that the only person who can give you a password is your contracted realtor. In conjunction, they are showing fewer houses on free sites like Realtor.com. That is criminal.

2) Personal Experience of the Home – Over 90% of the homes that a realtor has taken me to see have been homes they themselves have never seen. How can they sell me a product that they don’t know anything about? Actually, many of the instances have been complete wastes of time that if the realtor did his job, we would have never gone to see.

3) The Agent Sells the Home – The agent sells nothing. Whether it was my agent or an agent sitting at an open house, there is nothing actually being “sold”. Generally it goes like this, we walk in, look at the house, decide if we like it, the agent will ask if we like it, we will say no, and he will say no problem, I have more to show you. I would be really mad if I was the seller paying big money and nobody selling my house.

4) The Agent Guides you through the difficult closing process – Wrong. The closing agency does that. The realtor may help with a suggestion, but in the end I would suggest read the paperwork. Worst case, you can hire a real estate lawyer for $500 or less.

When Buying a Home – Conclusion: DO NOT USE A REALTOR! Believe me, take the time, and find a home you like then use the $9000 that the sellers already have baked into their asking price to negotiate a lower price, for closing costs, cash back, repairs, whatever, it is yours spend it wisely.

Lastly, have said all of this, the Real Estate world is one big racket. I can’t think of any other market that allows one company to sell another companies product. Thus there is no real competition. It is like trying to get the Ford dealer to sell you a new
Toyota, or wanting Dell to make you a Compaq computer. Even used car salesmen rank higher than these guys since they are trying to sell you what is on their lot. You can’t go to one lot and have them sell you a car on the lot next door. But Realtors get away with it. Their true con job is that big fat smile that they try to get you to buy because that is all that you end up getting. That is also why they put their picture on their business cards because that is all you are buying.

Dave’s Place

This article has opened a whole new door for me. I just took my house of the market last week because my real estate agent wasnt doing anything to market my home. My husband and I did open houses every weekend, stuck the signs out, posted flyers everwhere. She did NOTHING. Our house has been listed for 1 year with her. Reading this, I am going FOR SALE BY OWNER!!!! It will save us over $25,000 by doing this.

[vraiblonde]

Practically every point in that article is an exercise in ignorance.

Selling your home: Go ahead and pay for your own advertising, website, print your own flyers and stick signs in your yard. See how much you spend vs. how many people come see your house. You can also enjoy having strangers traipse through your home just because they "wanted to see it", yet have no intention of buying.

RE agents spend a fortune on advertising, and your prospects come pre-qualified and ready to buy.

Buying a home: Go ahead and spend countless hours tracking down suitable homes and scheduling a time to see them. Have fun lining up the home inspection, then fighting with the owner about repairs. Oh, and you can also enjoy the negotiating process, where price reductions and who pays points can become rather heated. And you better bring a friend around when looking because one pair of eyes can't see everything.

Buyers agents negotiate on your behalf to get you the best deal. If you as an inexperienced layman want to go toe-to-toe with a listing agent or even the homeowner themselves, have at it. You can also spend your life sitting in front of the computer running down every detail of the transaction process and the legalities involved.

Obviously I am not a real estate agent, but I am very familiar with what they do for a living. When I bought my house, all I did was look at houses from the list provided by my agent, and put my financing together. She did everything else, INCLUDING walking me through the closing process and fighting it out with the listing agent.

[Christy (Premo)]

Originally Posted by vraiblonde

Obviously I am not a real estate agent, but I am very familiar with what they do for a living. When I bought my house, all I did was look at houses from the list provided by my agent, and put my financing together. She did everything else, INCLUDING walking me through the closing process and fighting it out with the listing agent.

You did have a pretty spectacular real estate agent didn't you.

What gets me with these articles bemoaning Real Estate Agents, is that there are a million and one agents out there and if you get a crappy one, you have only yourself to blame. If you meet with an agent and don't get the warm fuzzies, find another one. If you get the vibe that they're shady, then they probably are, move on and find an agent who isn't. Easy peasy.

[vraiblonde]

Originally Posted by Christy

What gets me with these articles bemoaning Real Estate Agents, is that there are a million and one agents out there and if you get a crappy one, you have only yourself to blame.

Not only that but remember all those houses we looked at where the seller couldn't even be bothered to pick the dirty clothes up off the floor, let alone wipe the grime off the counters? It's not always the agent's fault if you can't sell your home.

[Pete (Premo)]

I miss Jackie.

[nhboy (Premo)]

Originally Posted by ITSUX2BU2

This article has opened a whole new door for me. I just took my house of the market last week because my real estate agent wasnt doing anything to market my home. My husband and I did open houses every weekend, stuck the signs out, posted flyers everwhere. She did NOTHING. Our house has been listed for 1 year with her. Reading this, I am going FOR SALE BY OWNER!!!! It will save us over $25,000 by doing this.

I bought my house from an owner. He had made some flyers on his home computer including a nice photo. He only advertised locally. The transaction was handled completely by my lawyer. It was as a snap, and very economical. Two houses down from where I live now is a home being sold by the owner.

If you decide to go this route, there are websites galore with a ton of advice on the subject.

[Christy (Premo)]

Originally Posted by vraiblonde

Not only that but remember all those houses we looked at where the seller couldn't even be bothered to pick the dirty clothes up off the floor, let alone wipe the grime off the counters? It's not always the agent's fault if you can't sell your home.

If you thought some of those were bad, you should have gone to PG county with me.

Fun times.

[dn0121]

Originally Posted by vraiblonde

Not only that but remember all those houses we looked at where the seller couldn't even be bothered to pick the dirty clothes up off the floor, let alone wipe the grime off the counters? It's not always the agent's fault if you can't sell your home.

It is funny you say that. Last year when I bought I was amazed at how bad the houses were kept up. I saw sh!t, underwear, sh!tty underwear, half naked children, birds flying around, food on the floor. It was nasty, later I noticed those same people being arrested when I left WalMart.

[somdrenter]

Originally Posted by vraiblonde

Practically every point in that article is an exercise in ignorance.

Selling your home: Go ahead and pay for your own advertising, website, print your own flyers and stick signs in your yard. See how much you spend vs. how many people come see your house. You can also enjoy having strangers traipse through your home just because they "wanted to see it", yet have no intention of buying.

RE agents spend a fortune on advertising, and your prospects come pre-qualified and ready to buy.

Buying a home: Go ahead and spend countless hours tracking down suitable homes and scheduling a time to see them. Have fun lining up the home inspection, then fighting with the owner about repairs. Oh, and you can also enjoy the negotiating process, where price reductions and who pays points can become rather heated. And you better bring a friend around when looking because one pair of eyes can't see everything.

The availability of online data and advertising has greatly reduced the need for a realtor. It’s getting to the point where the only thing you need a realtor for is to open the lock box. For around $200-$300, you can even get your FSBO on the MLS. And not all lookers (agent represented or not) are pre-qualified.

Buyers agents negotiate on your behalf to get you the best deal. If you as an inexperienced layman want to go toe-to-toe with a listing agent or even the homeowner themselves, have at it. You can also spend your life sitting in front of the computer running down every detail of the transaction process and the legalities involved.

Sorry Vrai, but no. Buyer’s agents negotiate on behalf of their commissions. If you’re thinking about purchasing a home, you shouldn’t be an “inexperienced layman”. After all, it’s probably one of the largest purchases you’ll make, and it pays to educated yourself and not be lead around by someone that counts on you paying as much as possible for a home.