Realtors

[trinacriabob]

I was on vacation in late May / early June. I will be relocating in 1 year. I walked into an open house for a townhome. It was a very nice townhome. I told the lady I wasn't interested, but she got my cell and PO Box....I'm quite a ways from her geographically, anyway. Learning that her husband is a physician made me less concerned about how much time she has expended and will continue to waste.

It was a three day weekend for me and I get a call on third day (fortunately, the phone was off) if I wanted to go look at houses. First, it's my last day of vacation, bitch. Second, I am not going to swoop into town and buy a house on such short notice because it suits you.

I've bought twice, once in Atlanta (house) and once in Seattle (townhome). Each time, I moved to the place, rented for 4 to 6 months, and bought a house that I saw based on driving around neighborhoods. In short, I figured out where I wanted to live and then just waited for a house to come up. I thus bought from the listing agent both times.

If they don't sell me that particular listing, I don't want to work with them. The reason: I now design commercial type stuff, but I've drawn up plans for houses for about 4 years. I know what I want and they can't get inside my head. They are wasting their time. I can zero in better than they can and it doesn't take long to figure out the neighborhoods of a city or town I like.

In short, I would have to say most realtors are supremely irritating. There are effectively no barriers to entry (like a degree in a particular thing) and I don't take well to a condescending housewife. I make it a point to put her in her place real quick and shop for myself.

Realtors (some of you may not have had much experience with them, but your parents might have)...what do you think of them?

[regfootball]

you are opening the floodgates with me on this one buddy........

F'IN HATE 90 % of them

[Satty]

Doesn't Jim "Buickman" Dollinger sell fine upscale housing in the Flint, MI area?

[the_yellow_dart]

My condo purchase went quite well.

[Drew Dowdell]

Trina,

when you do start looking around get yourself a buyer's agent. They'll run all this interferance for you. You tell them what areas you are looking in and what you are looking for in a home.

Interview some of them.

Never go with the person standing at the open house.

I have an excellent buyer's agent that knows the type of investment property that I look for. I've purchased 3 properties where he represented me. The only time I hear from him is if he spots something new on the market that he thinks I'd want. He works very hard to make the transactions go smoother. My last property has been a complete nightmare and I would have gone crazy if I'd had to do it all myself.

That said, there are annoying ones out there.... just call around till you find one you like.

And not to sound sexist, but get a male agent, they seem <from my observations> to be lower key.

[Flybrian]

Glengarry Glen Ross

[trinacriabob]

Trina,

when you do start looking around get yourself a buyer's agent.  They'll run all this interferance for you.  You tell them what areas you are looking in and what you are looking for in a home.

Never go with the person standing at the open house.

And not to sound sexist, but get a male agent, they seem <from my observations> to be lower key.

165253[/snapback]

Wow...maybe I should go to court and change my name to Trina. :AH-HA_wink:

About the open house thing...you are right and I would never go with her. That's how they TRY to pick up some clients. I wouldn't want her representing me, anyway just because I stumbled onto her open house.

About the buyer's agent, well, even if I did tell them what I want and in what neighborhood, they still might now find the house or townhouse I like. The layout could be weird. There could be styling oddities on the outside I don't like. I drew up house plans for a handful of years, so I'm hard to please and it will waste their time. So far, buying someone's listing (2x) has worked fine.

About a male agent...male agents tend to do it to support themselves, so it really is their line of work. Many women agents do it as a side job because they have a husband that brings home the bacon. I prefer to line the coffers of someone who does it as a full-time job. I would never work with someone I consider unprofessional.

[Cadillacfan]

I work with Real Estate agents all the time and they're good people.. well.. the ones that I work with. I don't understand why so many people hate them considering that they really help people buy/ sell homes and protect them from getting ripped off. Seriously.

Yeah.. there are a few bad apples but to clump them altogether in the same group just because you had some bad experiences with them is unfair.

They're hard working people and they're doing their job in order to serve you and most of the time, they're not pulling in a lot of money.

Try purchasing or selling a house without them. It's much harder then you would think.

[capriceman]

Satty, Last i remeber there wasnt up scale housing in flint. Its pretty bad area up in there.

I Hate realtors!

[trinacriabob]

They're hard working people and they're doing their job in order to serve you and most of the time, they're not pulling in a lot of money.

Try purchasing or selling a house without them.  It's much harder then you would think.

165317[/snapback]

On the sell side, I agree. Doing a FSBO is tough. I tried once, in Seattle, and gave it the listing to a realtor. The house is a given...you just need to sell it.

On the buy side, I'm not so sure I agree. Matching your needs (both spatially and aesthetically) is something that might be tough for them to do.

One quick story (disgusting):

When my parents moved up to Portland OR from LA, they approached a house they liked and then didn't buy it, but the listing agent was going to show them some more listings. I was there to help them. She also gave them an MLS book to glance at. On the cover, she wrote "California buyers" instead of "Mr. and Mrs. xxx." On top of that, she turned to me and said "I'm glad you're here, I would almost need a translator." (They speak English with a heavy accent, they're from Italy). She was Tonya Harding white trash extraordinaire. Unbelievable. We then found a house with another agent. It was new and nicer than anything the others had shown them. This agent was also bad news, but given they house they got and for the price they got, they didn't care.

Edited July 11, 2006 by trinacriabob

[Drew Dowdell]

MLS books are a thing of the past. The MLS databases online let you pick *very* precise search criteria.... down to the specific street if need be.

[trinacriabob]

MLS books are a thing of the past. The MLS databases online let you pick *very* precise search criteria.... down to the specific street if need be.

165329[/snapback]

This was 1990 when my parents and I were handed the MLS book.

[tmp]

I've had good dealings and bad ones. The agents who sold my friends house in the Hollywood Hills was great- it was a difficult house to sell (only 2 bedrooms, nothing updated since it was built in '58) but the realtor worked his a$$ off with it and got the asking price- this before the market went totally nuts.

Then there was one who treated me like I was street trash (I was out visiting my friend in Highland Park and dared to stop in to have a look at an open house ner her place). I guess my Gap jeans and t-shirt didn't pass muster to her. Oh well. I heard later that the seller canned the bi#ch. She cancelled three open houses and stood up showing the house to a potential buyer twice. I know, because friends of mine were the potential buyers....

[trinacriabob]

Highland Park and dared to stop in to have a look at an open house ner her place).  I guess my Gap jeans and t-shirt didn't pass muster to her

165434[/snapback]

What...in Highland Park? Since when is Highland Park high rent? I do understand it is being upgraded, though.

[tmp]

What...in Highland Park?  Since when is Highland Park high rent?

165478[/snapback]

It isn't, that's the point.

But it is coming along. It's about the only place left in LA that's still somewhat affordable that isn't on the corner of Crack and Addicted. I amazed at how spruced up the neighborhood has become in hte past 2 years, and not just because new people are moving in. It's like the new people have encouraged the long-time residents to step up the game. Every house on the block now has new paint and landscaping in the front yards.

The realtor who sold my friend the house in HP was really good too- really worked to get a house that my friend would like. My friend liked her so much that she steered two friends to her, and eventually the woman who owned the house that Missy-Uppity gave me such attitude for walking into.

[Guest buickman]

Doesn't Jim "Buickman" Dollinger sell fine upscale housing in the Flint, MI area?

165242[/snapback]

Realtors are held to a code of ethics, a much higher standard than automobile salespeople. In the state of Michigan, selling Real Estate is a licensed activity requiring 40 hours of class and passing an examination for certification, as well as annual continuous education.

As a licensed MIchigan Real Estate broker, I can say from experience that dealings in this industry are done in a most professional manner.

Buickman

[ocnblu]

This seems to be a running theme with our friend trinacriabob... he just loves to stick people in messy little boxes. I wonder why. If you are stuck prejudging everyone, how can you really experience the diversity of life?

[trinacriabob]

This seems to be a running theme with our friend trinacriabob... he just loves to stick people in messy little boxes.  I wonder why.  If you are stuck prejudging everyone, how can you really experience the diversity of life?

165956[/snapback]

You're the first one to comment on this and maybe others think the same thing. I don't care. This thread is about real estate experiences. You own your own place and perhaps you can chime in on that experience, but not attack me. Have you been around the block, ocnblu? No. Sounds like PA and MD and a modicum of travel, and that's about it. I've lived in 9 different states and overseas, not to mention a ton of travelling and a few college sheepskins in different fields. I also speak 4 languages besides English to varying degrees of proficiency which I don't think I would expend to energy to do if I was narrow minded.

You know what? You can stereotype, to some extent. Go over to Europe, they all stereotype each other...the Italians are this way, the Brits are that way, the Germans are this way...and they are ok with it and actually have some fun with it. They are no more prejudiced than we are...in fact, Americans are more narrow minded. We just try to act politically correct. There's an entire field called "social psychology" that deals with making inferences about groups and group behavior ... and people make a living as social psychologists. Heck, they even do profiling for "fit" into different careers. (It's called a Strong Inventory and I have taken it...it has been validated statistically). The other thing is that I've been wrong sometimes, but if summing up your "initial read" is correct 90% of the time, that's pretty good. And that's about how correct I am. The other 10% of the time I am wrong so I have egg on my face. There's also a cultural dimension to all of this -- try living in a place that is a cultural mosaic, like an LA, a NY or a Toronto and you can observe differences in behavior, language, appearance, food, dress, temperment, acceptable social distances and the like. Also, trying to do a quick study is necessary for survival or for metering your precious time...if you are walking down a deserted alley, you'd better do some prejudging of who comes your way.

Back to real estate...some professions have tighter codes of ethics than others. Real estate has very little filtering compared to others. A realtor also may have to be pushy because they don't get a regular paycheck the way you and I do...hence this can flavor their personalities. And then there are the more dubious segments of highly filtered careers such as law...i.e. the "ambulance chasers" that upstanding lawyers are ashamed of. I think for as long as you've been on this earth, ocn, you should be able to get a good read on somebody pretty quickly. Most of my friends compliment me on my "street smarts" and "quick reads" for being pretty "spot on."

I actually just enjoy people's differences in a harmless way. (Most of my friends are foreign or 1st generation and we have a blast jabbing at each other).

Thanks for chiming into my thread which really deals with consumer experiences, particular to real estate in this case (could have been stressful and dishonest car repair experiences) and turning it into a "critique" of trinacriabob.

Edited July 13, 2006 by trinacriabob

[ocnblu]

You meet a beautiful, independent woman. You make a date. You enjoy yourselves. You call her and go on a second date. You find out she sells real estate. Do you: 1. continue to enjoy your date, maybe try to get jiggy widdit later on, or 2. run out the door when she goes to use the rest room at Starbucks.

I hope I'm wrong about which number I'm thinking.

[Sixty8panther]

Glengarry Glen Ross

165254[/snapback]

Like all extremes there's people on both sides of the fence.

My buddy Renato is a relator and he's a great guy, actaully

his wife is in Real Estate too, both great hard working

examples of the American Dream. They came over from

Brazil a few years ago an have worked 2/3 jobs at once

and have done well for themselves without any outlandish

education.

I hated the "all car salesman are @ssholes" stereotype when

I sold cars, I listened to what people wanted (FWD or not) &

tried to be helpful and 100% honest but still had to work hard

just to overcome that stereotype so I try not to discriminate

against someone just based on their career... not exactly fair.

[trinacriabob]

Like all extremes there's people on both sides of the fence.

My buddy Renato is a relator and he's a great guy, actaully

his wife is in Real Estate too, both great hard working

examples of the American Dream.

I hated the "all car salesman are @ssholes" stereotype when

I sold cars, I listened to what people wanted

so I try not to discriminate against someone just based on their career... not exactly fair.

166033[/snapback]

The poll/thread was to discuss reactions based on experiences. Mine have been mostly negative. Those of my parents buying a house in Portland OR were appalling and extremely unprofessional. I already wrote what the first lady said to me. So now I will add that the realtor that sold them their current house was giving my Mom the once-over and made some comment how she could fill her big new walk in closet with new clothes. This lady was about 45 and flashy and my Mom was nearing retirement and dresses like she could be a librarian. I thought: what a catty sn@tch! Pantho, I doubt you would go to get your estate plan drawn up or your taxes done or your cavity filled and hear &#036;h&#33; like this. It's nauseating.

There are good realtors. In Atlanta, I fired the first realtor when I sold my place to go to grad school. He had an ad in my parish bulletin. He was as milguetoast as the day is long. I had no clue how he made it as a realtor. The second realtor was a single lady from NY I met at an open house 2 years before. She was proactive and made a good impression. She didn't push me to buy the listing she was showing. I then gave the listing to her. She sold the place....so it has nothing to do with gender or education. The lady I met at the open house this time around sends me batches of listings so that I can act on a purchase over the tight window of a 3-day weekend when I go back to where I was vacationing. There is no way I would use her for my eventual purchase if I choose to relocate.

Car salesmen: a LOT of them ARE assholes. Some aren't. Look at all the stories we read on this very forum about altercations at car dealerships. I had a great car buying experience with my Regal. I went to the Pontiac-Buick-GMC place about 10 miles from my parents' house. The guy showed my both the Grand Prix and the Regal. He let me drive both. He handed me brochures, a business card and told me when I gave it some thought and was ready that I should give him a call. I liked the way he didn't push me. Two months later, I make an appointment. I type out a list with all the options I want, together with the codes and the MSRPs. He comes back in 10 minutes with $ 1,800 off of an $ 18,736 car. Done deal. Good service department, too.

Incidentally, on those career aptitude tests, I score extremely high in sales to the point that it scares me, including being a realtor. Obviously, I don't want to do that. I am just appalled because I would take such a different approach to handling people than what I have seen. That's what the thread is about....professionalism/lack of professionalism

[regfootball]

Doesn't Jim "Buickman" Dollinger sell fine upscale housing in the Flint, MI area?

165242[/snapback]

140k purchase prices, thats a mansion

[regfootball]

You meet a beautiful, independent woman.  You make a date.  You enjoy yourselves.  You call her and go on a second date.  You find out she sells real estate.    Do you:  1.  continue to enjoy your date, maybe try to get jiggy widdit later on, or  2.  run out the door when she goes to use the rest room at Starbucks.

I hope I'm wrong about which number I'm thinking.

166023[/snapback]

it depends on the rack, I'd say.

[regfootball]

my beef is realtors make way too high a commission. a combined 6-7% is just unfair and needs to be adjusted. Less expensive houses, sure. But a 400-500k or higher house, having 25k plus skimmed off for real estate fees plus the inevitable bankers gouging after that on the loan are real problems.

And then there is the whole concept of an architect putting in tons of hours for a 4-7 percent fee and some real estate person shows a house to a couple people and walks off with the same compensation.

often times real estate folks are ones who couldn't make a career or find one doing something else and went with it out of need and are lucky to be making the amount of money they do vs. the skills they would have otherwise.

Edited July 13, 2006 by regfootball

[ocnblu]

Hmmm... all the wording in the original post is oriented toward "realtors" as a group of people, not simply whether the process of looking to buy a house was pleasant or not. If you don't want us to think you're lumping "realtors" into a bad pile, why title and word the entire original post as if you are? In any language, prejudice is ugly.

[trinacriabob]

And then there is the whole concept of an architect putting in tons of hours for a 4-7 percent fee and some real estate person shows a house to a couple people and walks off with the same compensation.

often times real estate folks are ones who couldn't make a career or find one doing something else and went with it out of need and are lucky to be making the amount of money they do vs. the skills they would have otherwise.

166169[/snapback]

Ocn, read Reg's post. So true about the fee you get as an architect versus the amount of work. An architect doing custom homes can only do about 6 to 8 of them a year, at best, and has to deduct a boatload of expenses...CAD programs, malpractice insurance (that's right), employees, etc., etc. A realtor can show a couple of houses and make the same percentage, and without any education or formal training.

And therein lies the problem. No barrier to entry like a traditional profession so there are too many and not all will make it. And because there is no barrier to entry, people that are unprofessional can get into the field and so, yes, a lot of realtors can be less than optimal to work with so it is about realtors. Let's face it. There are so many realtor nightmare stories, as there are car sales stories, so I don't apologize for the gist of the thread nor its title.

Edited July 13, 2006 by trinacriabob

[Sixty8panther]

Trina:

I hear you... from what you've written that lady was a douchebag

and I'm sure she's not the only rude, self centered real estate

lady that side of the Mississippi. O.B. pretty much said it, I'm sure

you were not looking to insult but it came off like you're trying to

make every person in the real estate profession to be a jerk,

which is NOT the case. It's tough sometimes but you have to give

people the benefit of the doubt, you get burned once in a while but

you also don't loose out on friendships or burn your bridges.

Best of luck, you Mom should not be insulted like that and as far as

the lady in the first example (the pushy one) I'm not sure how to

deal with pushy people but usually a firm but polite "DO NOT CALL

AGAIN I'M NOT AT ALL INTERESTED" works. How her husband being

a doctor plays into it I'm not understanding either BTW?

Edited July 13, 2006 by Sixty8panther

[trinacriabob]

as far as the lady in the first example (the pushy one) I'm not sure how to

deal with pushy people but usually a firm but polite "DO NOT CALL

AGAIN I'M NOT AT ALL INTERESTED" works. How her husband being

a doctor plays into it I'm not understanding either BTW?

166281[/snapback]

I tend to be more sympathetic to someone who makes this a full-time job and has to bust their ass to make ends meet, rather than someone who is married to someone in the statistically most well paid profession and, given the small child she was tugging along, does it as a side gig. That's why I have to purchase over a 3-day weekend so it fits into her schedule, obviously.

[regfootball]

Ocn, read Reg's post.  So true about the fee you get as an architect versus the amount of work.  An architect doing custom homes can only do about 6 to 8 of them a year, at best, and has to deduct a boatload of expenses...CAD programs, malpractice insurance (that's right), employees, etc., etc. A realtor can show a couple of houses and make the same percentage, and without any education or formal training. 

And therein lies the problem.  No barrier to entry like a traditional profession so there are too many and not all will make it.  And because there is no barrier to entry, people that are unprofessional can get into the field and so, yes, a lot of realtors can be less than optimal to work with so it is about realtors.  Let's face it.  There are so many realtor nightmare stories, as there are car sales stories, so I don't apologize for the gist of the thread nor its title.

166240[/snapback]

and of the 6-8% fee....the client will be more than happy to blow that for you. husband and wife changing their minds constantly and wanting meetings and disagreeing.

'no barrier to entry' - exactly. maybe if they required a 4 year degree and multiple stringent exams, that would weed out a bunch of them and raise the level of professionism in the rest. get the poseurs and hobbyists out of there.

more than a handful of the hobbyist women realtors are more concerns with how their 'glamour shots' photo will turn out for the ads than servicing the customer.

and by servicing, i mean the real estate part, although i am sure some women agents would gladly service a male buyer with an H3 if it meant the men getting serviced could then convince their wives to go for the propoerty and then she can get the big fee.

a lot of people became realtors primarily for tax deductions available to them. Like the SUV tax break, home office, etc.

Edited July 13, 2006 by regfootball

[Flybrian]

Like all extremes there's people on both sides of the fence.

My buddy Renato is a relator and he's a great guy, actaully

his wife is in Real Estate too, both great hard working

examples of the American Dream. They came over from

Brazil a few years ago an have worked 2/3 jobs at once

and have done well for themselves without any outlandish

education.

I hated the "all car salesman are @ssholes" stereotype when

I sold cars, I listened to what people wanted (FWD or not) &

tried to be helpful and 100% honest but still had to work hard

just to overcome that stereotype so I try not to discriminate

against someone just based on their career... not exactly fair.

166033[/snapback]

The thing is, stereotypes exist for a reason. Everyone who is a(n) _________ is not that way and the majority of them may not be at all, but at least one is and many were, and its always the exception that gets the attention. You tell more stories about the car salesman who screwed you than the one that got you a good deal. Its the way people are.

[trinacriabob]

a handful of the hobbyist women realtors are more concerns with how their 'glamour shots' photo will turn out for the ads than servicing the customer.

a lot of people became realtors primarily for tax deductions available to them.  Like the SUV tax break, home office, etc.

166371[/snapback]

Reg, I like the way you think. Exactly. Look at all those ads for realtors. They have a cute slogan, wedding invitation calligraphy, and try real hard to differentiate themselves based on...well...nothing.

I think if I were to see an attorney's yellow page ad that said, for example:

JD, Columbia University

BA, Boston College

Av rated by Martindale Hubbell

I know that person has been SERIOUSLY filtered. I couldn't pull that off.

True, tax deductions come into play than if you an employee on someone's payroll. Usually, RE sales is the secondary and discretionary income.

[trinacriabob]

I'm not sure how to deal with pushy people but usually a firm but polite "DO NOT CALL AGAIN I'M NOT AT ALL INTERESTED" works.

166281[/snapback]

About 2 weeks ago, this same realtor lady from my Memorial Day vacation e-mailed me about 20 listings with photos. Just a scattershot of sorts. Again, I don't like the style of some, the neighborhoods of others, yada yada. I've done better driving around and calling on listings I liked.

About 3 days she called to confirm that I had gotten them and wanted to set up a time in light of when I would be "in town" again. I told her I will come in for 4 to 5 days and need to drive around, get a feel and more importantly, try to interview. I told her that I wasn't coming into town to buy a house (left out the part: within a window of time that suits your schedule so you can raise your 2 year old son and tend to your doctor husband) and that such an investment requires more thought on my part. Hopefully, I won't hear from her again.

You know, I have a couple of alibi names and phone numbers just for pushy salespeople that I typically use. Why I didn't on that day is beyond me.

Edited July 25, 2006 by trinacriabob