What I've Learned About Realtors

[Curt Harms]

With a good lawyer and a motivated seller,
buyers will soon render middlemen like Realtors obsolete.

SWMBO feels that web sites like Zillow and Realtor.com are going to change the Real Estate business. What those sites don't offer though are local knowledge like "you know that cute little creek in back? It doesn't stay little when we have heavy rains" or "this municipality is pretty amenable to zoning variances so you can build a shop, that municipality is not". Published data doesn't always tell the whole story. Is that worth 5%-6%? It depends, I guess.

[Harry Hagan]

If you leave a sound-activated recording device in your home while realtors/potential-buyers visit, you’ll find out real fast who you’re dealing with.

Not to say that I’ve ever done that!

[Julie Moriarty]

I feel your pain. I've seen and worked with some bad ones, lazy ones and unethical ones. And I've fired realtors for laziness and ineptitude. But a good one is worth every bit of their commission.

Regarding the man who flamed your house without reason.... Spend $36 and buy a membership to Angie's List. Then write an honest, unemotional review of the realtor, stating ONLY the facts. That's what Angies List for what is for - providing consumer reviews of businesses based on your personal experiences. You will be doing someone else a favor by writing such a review. (I have no affiliation with Angie's List.)

Fred

I saw one other review he wrote on another house and he only mentioned negatives on that one too. In pictures, the house looked perfect. I've seen reviews from other realtors with that company and usually they are kind, even when there's plenty of reasons not to be. Maybe he's a glass-is-half-empty guy. Or maybe he really wanted to be a home inspector but no one would hire him.

Anyway, we're still averaging one showing a day and we've had one offer, after a little more than a week. Three of those showings came from the same agency as Mr. Negative. The couple who made the offer is coming back today to take a second look before responding to our counter. So Mr. Negative's comments may soon become a distant memory.

[Chris Padilla]

I've bought only one home in my life. We found our real estate agent through a seminar he held at work. He was wonderful and continues to be so. He keeps in touch with all his clients (once a client, for life a client) by holding all kinds of seminars, movie nights (he rents a theater out), bocce ball tournaments, and such.

I have a buddy who recently sold his house and he got the sour grapes from one agent when he decided to go with another.

[Jim Becker]

I've worked with two truly excellent Realtors. (capital R) They came very, very, very highly recommended by others...I didn't just pick one from the listings. The first sold my old home even before the sign went up...I was still painting when the prospective buyer went through and made an offer the next morning. Total listing time: a day and a half. The Realtor I worked with (as a buyer broker) for our subsequent purchase was equally full of quality, even standing up to a listing agent from her own firm when something wasn't right.

So like in any profession, there are really good folks and really not-so-good folks. Careful research and referrals can very much help with finding a good real estate agent to work with. And always remember, if you are buying and unless you have a "buyer broker" contract, the agent, no matter how nice, always ultimately represents the seller and that can very much color things.

[Neal Clayton]

Ugh, it's like babysitting toddlers.

The one I have listing my house now doesn't get along with a friend and former employee. The friend/former employee worked for me in the restoration of that house (built in 1908) off and on for 4 years.

He doesn't have DSL on his side of town so when he needs to look up something online he goes over, checks the mail, makes sure no one has kicked the doors in, and uses my computer. I of course don't mind, since he's doing me a favor as well. He doesn't like the realtor(s) because they got condescending with him a couple of times, as if he's "the help." That's not the case, he and I are friends despite him being a former employee.

Of course this has nothing to do with the realtor, she has his number and was told to put him on the list as a contact, so that if anyone comes to show the house they call him as well to make sure he isn't there.

The realtor has taken it upon herself to try and drive a wedge as if she is somehow slighted by people other than me criticizing her. Her first strike was coming over when I was out of town to find a chair turned upside down because one of the rubber feet on it had torn away. There was a bare screw in the chair foot. Like an idiot she flipped the chair over and scratched the meticulously restored/refinished 107 year old heart pine floor. So the former employee upon seeing that told her off, as he should have. He had to go over and fix the scratch because I was out of town. She took that personally, apparently.

The other day I get the call from her, in a whiney mood because she had to go over and put a socket cover on and sweep the kitchen floor after I patched a plaster crack in the ceiling, telling me that "your friend is sleeping here and that's a problem, he doesn't need to be around."

Excuse me? Firstly, he doesn't sleep there, I slept there, I told her I was gonna be in town last week. Secondly, he and I are friends, you as a realtor have a contract that's good for 90 days after which your presence is no longer needed. And if you as a realtor wanna complain about having to make a bed and sweep the floor once in a blue moon for your ~40k in commission, then I'm sure someone else would like the job.

[Julie Moriarty]

My SO reminded me what the guy who pressed us so hard about why he didn't get the listing said when interviewing him, "We could probably sell this house right out of our office, even before it hit the MLS!" Today marks two weeks and we've had 13 showings but not one person from his office has been here. I know, it's sales. Say whatever you need to make the sale.

[Julie Moriarty]

Something else I've learned...

"Your" realtor cares more about making the sale than anything else.

We got an offer on the house at the beginning of the month and are in final negotiations. "My" realtor has since called twice to encourage me to do whatever the buyers ask. The buyers called in some nit-picky inspector that they apparently feel is omnipotent. The buyers work for local universities and probably know next to nothing about houses. I spent my entire career in construction. I also know how easy it is to become a home inspector. It's a joke.

I agreed to fix some items but have taken the position anything our local building inspector passed will remain as is. They know far more than some home inspector who probably took a week of online courses to become certified. Well, you would have thought I was the most stubborn person in the world. "My" realtor pressed me over and over insisting the items on the home inspection report need to be fixed and I need to pay for that, regardless of if they satisfy municipal building codes and/or are in good working order. My attorney, on the other hand, was surprised I agreed to the items I did saying I'm going above and beyond what most home sellers would do.

What do they call 500 realtors at the bottom of the ocean?

[Greg Cuetara]

Julie as least you sold your house. Mine has been on the market for over a year now and I have only had 10 showings. Tough market where I am right now.

Here is my gem of a realtor story: I was selling a condo in Denver about 10 years ago. I did not have the key to the front door knob. I only used the dead bolt and it didn't bother me at all. So when I put my house on the market I taped over the knob and put a sign clearly stating to not lock the knob and only lock the dead bolt. Well TWO realtors tore off the duct tape and made a mess to 'make sure they lock up.' I had to get a key guy in there to unlock my own door. I ended up tearing out the lock in the knob and leaving it. I was also told to just do what the buyer wants because that is how it works. I refused and the realtor ended up paying out of her commission to fix a few things around the condo just to get the sale. People have high expectations for houses and don't want to pay for it. It must be hard when they finally realize that home ownership includes a great deal of maintenance and general chores. A house just doesn't take care of itself and you can't pay for someone to come do everything...well I guess you can but I don't have the money tree in my backyard.

Good luck closing.
Greg

[Julie Moriarty]

I was also told to just do what the buyer wants because that is how it works. I refused and the realtor ended up paying out of her commission to fix a few things around the condo just to get the sale.

OMG! The realtor took money out of her precious commission and didn't have a heart attack? I can imagine the drama I'd hear if I suggested such a thing.

[Dick Latshaw]

Something else I've learned...

"Your" realtor cares more about making the sale than anything else.

Ummmm.... Isn't that the reason you hired the realtor in the first place? Do you really want one that is not interested in selling your house?

[Mike Henderson]

Ummmm.... Isn't that the reason you hired the realtor in the first place? Do you really want one that is not interested in selling your house?

The problem - which Julie experienced - is that the realtor is ONLY interested in closing the sale, no matter what the cost to you. The realtor will press you to make repairs that are unreasonable (at your expense), to drop the price by significant amounts - anything that will close the sale. Because they only get paid when the sale closes.

If the Realtor can get you to drop your price by $10,000, you take a $10,000 haircut but it only cost the realtor a small percentage of that. And if the sale doesn't close, they get nothing.

They will pressure you to fix EVERYTHING on the inspection report - at your cost - so that the buyer will not have any reason to back out of the sale. And that costs them nothing. When I sold my house, the buyer sent me the inspection list and said "fix everything". I sent a reply back saying, "If you want the house, buy it as is. I'm not fixing anything." They eventually compromised on a few things that I was able to do myself.

No, the Realtor does not represent you, they represent themselves. They know that you won't be selling another house anytime soon so they don't worry about repeat business from you.

Mike

[So what do I want from a realtor? One whose interest is aligned with mine, which is to get the maximum net from the sale.]

[And don't get me started on home inspectors. I think one thing they teach them is that the list of "defects" has to be a certain length, no matter what the condition of the house. Some of the things the "inspector" listed as defects on my house were ridiculous. I'm convinced that if I fixed every ridiculous thing he listed and he came back and did another inspection, he would produce another list of the same length.
Inspectors know that the buyer wants a list that they can negotiate from and they won't get any business from buyers' side agents if they say the house is in good condition.]

[Brian Elfert]

I sold a house I had built in 2001 in 2014. The inspector the buyers found TWO things wrong. One was the stove didn't work. Simple 10 second fix because the child lock was on. Second was a very minor leak in the septic pump discharge plumbing. I replaced the pipes and the buyer was fine with that. Inspectors don't always find a big list of issues.

My realtor was pretty good. He didn't have an issue with a listing price a little higher than other realtors suggested. I wanted to lower the price and he actually talked me out of lowering it. He sells so many houses that I think he can afford to wait a little longer on sales. He doesn't have to have the sale to put food on the table next month. I didn't really like he required a six month agreement.

I used the same realtor to buy my next house. He had me sign an agreement that he would get his commission if I bought ANY house within six months no matter if he was part of the deal or not. I didn't realize how limiting that agreement was and would have told him to take a hike if I realized how bad the agreement was for me. If I bought a piece of land and made all my own arrangements to have a house built I still owed him 2.75% on the price of the house even though he would do absolutely nothing. I ended up not building a house because of the extra $5,000 that would come out of my pocket. I bought a foreclosure for $150,000 and spent $110,000 on repairs. I'm shocked I wasn't required to pay his 2.75% on the $110,000.

[Julie Moriarty]

Mike, that's pretty much exactly what I've seen, both from the realtor and the home inspector. My attorney has been doing his best not to criticize either but he's slipped a few times and I get the feeling what he has seen so far he doesn't condone, and I'm being polite. He said a few things I won't repeat here but he's obviously displeased with some of what I'll call antics, though when I defined one such antic as unethical he could barely contain his agreement.

My take on the home inspectors is they are like divorce lawyers. Two parties can start off amicable but after hiring their own lawyers they end up hating each other. I don't think the buyers have a clue about the validity of the inspection report. But the fact it's 15 pages long might give them the impression they got their money's worth. They don't know the background of the inspectors or how they became certified and licensed by the state. From everything I've seen, it looks like generating revenue is the primary objective. The online "certifiers" sell you on the lie you can learn all you need to know about identifying real problems by taking a few hours of their online courses and pass a simple test. Then they sell you on the value of becoming a member of their group and paying monthly dues. The state charges you a fee for the license and the realtors probably ask for a cut if they recommend you. All you have to do is create a big report and everybody makes money.

Being an electrician, I couldn't help challenging the electrical part of the report. Some of the items made it obvious the inspectors have no expertise in electrical construction. I doubt they could repair half of the items they listed. I know the municipal building inspector. He's from my local. We worked together many times over the years. I took out a permit for some remodel work we were doing a couple of years ago. When he came to inspect I invited him in for coffee. I took him through the house and asked for his input. I knew I would be selling in a year or two and I wanted to make sure everything was up to date. He pointed out a few small things and I took care of them. They were up to code when installed but the code had changed. I did this because I didn't want to pass on problems to the new owners.

When I saw a 15 page report of "problems", I had thoughts about taking it to our building inspector and razzing him (in jest, of course) about missing all these things. I'm sure he'd roll his eyes at the report if he didn't burst out laughing first. But I doubt there's one person involved in the sale of our house who would know if the report was truly valid or not. So they are vulnerable because they think hiring inspectors who are certified and licensed guarantees they will be getting highly experienced professionals.

Ok, rant over.

As long as the appraisal goes through, we will soon have the opportunity to switch to the other side of the table and become buyers. What kind of fun will be in store for us there?

[Chris Hachet]

This should be a sticky. I made mention of this, when we purchased our home in 2008.
The agent mainly steered us to remote, overpriced properties that were oversized.

My older son found our house, looking at the Sunday paper.

The agent resisted looking at the house, because it wasn't his listing
and would be forced to split the commission.

My Wife wanted to smooth over the agent's reluctance,
and I made it clear that if he didn't pursue the house,
he would lose us as clients, entirely.

I've never seen a man get so red.

People who work for you should do as you ask,
the first time.

It's an opaque process that adds cost to the price,
without adding value to the client.

With a good lawyer and a motivated seller,
buyers will soon render middlemen like Realtors obsolete.

Our experience was very much the oposite, but I am beginning to think I am the exception.