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Speaking of unethical behavior, I'm selling my home FSBO, and I'm astonished at how shady buyer's agents can be. I'm offering 2% commission, which works out to over $10,000. Yeah, that's lower than they'd like, but wake up and join the 21st century, Realtor scum. I've had so many agents hint or outright tell me that they won't tell their clients about my home unless I agree to pay 3%. Lesson to you home buyers: Don't ever trust your agent. Find the homes you want to view on Trulia, don't let an agent spoonfeed you the ones with high commissions. Then, find out what the offered commission is, and if it's on the low side and your agent tells you they can't reach the owner, they are lying. Call the owner yourself.
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Jan 24, 2013 18:34
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Dik Hz posted:I read basx's statement as saying that realtors can be really shady so don't trust them blindly. I must have missed the part where he said that they're all condemned to being rapacious unethical bastards. I don't think that at all. I'm advising buyers to avoid blindly trusting someone who has a huge incentive to act in their own interest rather than their clients. With Zillow and Trulia, it's so easy to find homes that meet your needs that there's really no excuse to not to do your own research, especially if your broker gee-golly just can't seem to get an appointment with certain homes that happen to have lower commissions. Likewise, not all FSBO sellers are slack-jawed dullards who smear feces on the disclosure template and paste it to the ceiling. A five percent commission made sense the first time I sold a home. And the second time. But not this time. Ten grand is still an exorbitant sum to manage paperwork and provide a conference room to sign papers in. I'm not saying realtors don't have expenses; they do. I'm saying the value they provide has plummeted compared to what it was in the age of dot matrix printers and free AOL CD's, when people still looked at things like real estate flyers and newspapers. Is this a buyer's market? Yes. But your bargaining position hasn't just changed with regard to home prices. It's also changed with regards to what you pay a realtor, if you choose to do so (which, by the way, I heartily advise for any first-time buyer or seller).
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Jan 25, 2013 03:51
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Sophia posted:I don't think they keep as much of it as you think. Like every consumer in the history of the world, I care more about the value I get for my money than the cost of providing said value. Prudential, ReMAX, et al have bloated overhead costs, very few of which add much value to the process in 2013. Just like record companies and travel agencies, the real estate industry has been and continues to experience disruptive change that will ultimately benefit consumers and lower costs. It's natural to resist that change, especially when it coincides with a collapse in the housing market, a double-whammy that derailed a fairly lucrative gravy train.
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Jan 25, 2013 16:09
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gvibes posted:They are supposed to be acting in their client's best interest. It's right in their code of ethics. "When representing a buyer, seller, landlord, tenant, or other client as an agent, REALTORS® pledge themselves to protect and promote the interests of their client." If they are acting in their best interest when it's not in the buyer's best interest. Maybe scum is a bit strong, but it's probably against their code of ethics. Exactly. The one who violate that code are who I refer to as "scum." I have no qualms with a realtor telling their client up front that "I won't tell you about houses that don't meet my commission requirement." But I doubt that happens much. My problem is with agents who violate their buyers' trust, which from a FSBO seller's perspective, is common enough to warn first-time buyers about in a thread about buying homes. (And if you're a realtor who doesn't understand that distinction, you're probably in the scum category.)
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Jan 25, 2013 17:21
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Runoir posted:In the preliminary stages of negotiating to buy a house with my best friend's fiancé. Just in case it hasn't sunken in from the posts above, this is a very bad idea. One of the worst I've ever read on these forums full of terrible ideas, excepting maybe the suburban kid who was going to go out in the woods with a twelve-pack of beer and a pointy stick and "survive in the wilderness." Taking up methamphetamine would probably be better for both your relationships with your friends and your long-term financial health.
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Jan 30, 2013 13:14
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pr0k posted:4. Should I continue this line of thinking or just get an agent and stop being a dumbass? Would you hire a travel agent in 2013? You can pay a few hundred to list on MLS and do everything else yourself. Truth is, there isn't that much a seller's agent has to offer in 2013. As someone mentioned a few post above, most of their commission is making up for all the failed deals, not providing you with value. Why should you pay for all the time they spend with other people who ultimately pay nothing? I sold my house FSBO several months ago, paid 2% to a buyer's agent, and saved thousands. I did very little that I wouldn't have had to do anyway if I'd hired an agent.
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Apr 16, 2013 19:34
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SlapActionJackson posted:In most locales, you can't get posting access to the MLS or the full details of listings unless you're a member of the cartel. There are dozens of services that offer this. Just google flat fee mls. They go through local agents who toss it up for a fixed price and offer other services ala carte. Best $350 I ever spent.
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Apr 16, 2013 19:49
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Comrade Flynn posted:Thanks! Yeah, no points on this. Nothing to poo poo over there, that's a beautiful view. I'd recommend driving by a few times at night and other random times since it's really close to neighbors. If you see someone smoking meth and tuning a Harley next door at midnight, you'll know to ask for the moon when your inspection comes back. As far as your rate, that's insanely good for a jumbo loan. I'm paying 3.875 on my jumbo from end of last year, and I'm very jealous of you.
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Apr 26, 2013 00:58
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Dik Hz posted:Zillow estimates are at best a fantasy and more likely complete fabrications. Don't base anything on them. What Zillow giveth, Zillow taketh away. A few months after we bought our first house, Zillow magically lowered its estimate by $100k for my home and every home in a ten block radius. The sales prices were steady though - it's still a mystery why Zillow suddenly decided to sink the neighborhood, but nobody paid any attention.
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May 9, 2013 02:37
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