I would have to say that there are alternatives out there for everybody. I have told my story many times over. I got tired of paying commissions so I did it for myself initially. Yes things progressed but I was tired of paying my own sister in law full commission.
It is much easier to complain about things then to do something about it. I do believe there are PLENTY of poor agents, brokers, and others in the profession. I cannot worry nor change thier performance. There are also plenty of good ones as well. Those people who have had bad experiences are much more diligent in posting thier experiences then those that have not. Yet I would bet there are people right now who are reading this sentence who actually did have a good agent or realtor or broker.
There is another thread on a recent post about people who have found mold in thier home, who warned about tilted slabs, who warned about mercury in the water for homes that you are going to buy. How many people have had good experiences and posted in that thread about the home they bought and didn’t have that problem?
The realtor did not sign on the dotted line when the buyer decided to do the loan. The realtor did not make the decision. The cigarette companies that peddle poison to people don’t plunk down a few bucks at 7/11 to buy a pack of camels. Yet they shove as much advertising and sponsorship down everyones throat in our country as they can legally do. Are you dumb enough to smoke them? The USA is 100% about consumerism. My observation is that if you do not have restraint, you will never succeed whether the issue is buying houses, cars, flat screens… whatever. Our society is and will always be about people pushing other people to buy and overspend. It is enforced and encouraged by our government, by many professions, and is embedded in our fabric. Lots of blame to go around everywhere…
Agreed the system is not optimal and many professionals in it are devious and scoundrels and I could go on about the commission structure… Yet there are good realtors out there… alot of them… and they did NOT recommend stupid vehicles for financing. The good realtor takes a long run picture at the client and knows that good advice will be THE BEST avenue for this sale, future sales, and referrals.
Unfortunately, the consumer has to find the good realtor and that is tough.
