Do we need realtors?

[temeculaguy]

I don’t need a wife and a realtor will cost you less and cause you less headache.

You can always use a realtor and negotiate a smaller commission if you don’t need very much of their time. If I have already shopped and picked the house I’ll use a family friend and negotiate a price for them just to negotiate the contract and finalize the paperwork, it takes them a few hours and they usually end up paying for themselves and then some in savings.

People don’t need a stock broker, some prefer it, others do it themselves. It is all what you feel comfortable with, for piggintonians, this is a hobby of sorts but the rest of the world is probably better off using one.

Now for selling, I always use one, I have a job and showing my house isn’t it.

[NotCranky]

Do people need dentists? I do my own dental work in the garage with a dremel tool. I don’t think everybody is ready to do that. Newguy does not need Realtors.
I don’t think real estate is going to change that dramatically. Too many people need the consulting on the market,intricacies of the loan, the transaction, construction isues,how to avoid getting hurt ect. When people realize that every escrow is like giving birth it will become less popular.The paper work is simple when things go well. The deals and the decisions about choosing to write offers or accept them and for how much are not. An experienced Realtor is way better at screening houses and real estate players than the average person. A realtor frequently helps shield the lying buyer from the lying seller or visa versa in a high stakes game and that social service shouldn’t be underestimated.Some sellers and buyers get along fantastically but way too many shouldn’t get too close to each other.I have made sellers be honest who would have gotten themselves sued big time.Many couples really need help figuring out who is going to make the ultimate decision. Social work again. Many really do need an impartial third party. As stated by all, many people don’t need one for the easy transactions. Just make sure that house you or you and your partner falls for ends up being the one that comes with the trouble free transaction.Oh and when it gets really screwd up ,which it shouldn’t if someone knows what they are doing(but does sometimes even for the best of them), is the lawyer going to stick around until the dust settles for free?
Disclaimer: I don’t care what anybody does.I don’t think we are indispensable to everyone.If something better comes along good.

[NotCranky]

Do people need dentists? I do my own dental work in the garage with a dremel tool. I don’t think everybody is ready to do that. Newguy does not need Realtors.
I don’t think real estate is going to change that dramatically. Too many people need the consulting on the market,intricacies of the loan, the transaction, construction isues,how to avoid getting hurt ect. When people realize that every escrow is like giving birth it will become less popular.The paper work is simple when things go well. The deals and the decisions about choosing to write offers or accept them and for how much are not. An experienced Realtor is way better at screening houses and real estate players than the average person. A realtor frequently helps shield the lying buyer from the lying seller or visa versa in a high stakes game and that social service shouldn’t be underestimated.Some sellers and buyers get along fantastically but way too many shouldn’t get too close to each other.I have made sellers be honest who would have gotten themselves sued big time.Many couples really need help figuring out who is going to make the ultimate decision. Social work again. Many really do need an impartial third party. As stated by all, many people don’t need one for the easy transactions. Just make sure that house you or you and your partner falls for ends up being the one that comes with the trouble free transaction.Oh and when it gets really screwd up ,which it shouldn’t if someone knows what they are doing(but does sometimes even for the best of them), is the lawyer going to stick around until the dust settles for free?
Disclaimer: I don’t care what anybody does.I don’t think we are indispensable to everyone.If something better comes along good.

[sdrealtor]

A quick analogy.

Wearing a t shirt with a big American Flag on it you could walk down the streets of Baghdad. At you own peril of course.

You could walk alone and chance are pretty good you’ll be fine.

You could pay a boy scout and chances are you would be at only slightly lower with essentially only another pair of eyes.

You could hire a private body guard and you would pay quite a bit more but you would be quite safer.

You could hire a team of armed mercenaries and you would be even safer.

Spending more should reduce your risk assuming you hire a good agent. How safe and protected do you want to be? How much guidance and support are you willing to pay to help make the best decision?

The answer is different for everyone and there is no right or wrong answer. Some go it alone and are fine. Some go it alone and get slaughtered. More often then not when I look at someone getting slaughtered in todays market their representation when buying was highly suspect. The funny thing is that often, the highly suspect representation was an agent representing themselves. You all know what they saw about someone that represents themselves in court.

[sdrealtor]

A quick analogy.

Wearing a t shirt with a big American Flag on it you could walk down the streets of Baghdad. At you own peril of course.

You could walk alone and chance are pretty good you’ll be fine.

You could pay a boy scout and chances are you would be at only slightly lower with essentially only another pair of eyes.

You could hire a private body guard and you would pay quite a bit more but you would be quite safer.

You could hire a team of armed mercenaries and you would be even safer.

Spending more should reduce your risk assuming you hire a good agent. How safe and protected do you want to be? How much guidance and support are you willing to pay to help make the best decision?

The answer is different for everyone and there is no right or wrong answer. Some go it alone and are fine. Some go it alone and get slaughtered. More often then not when I look at someone getting slaughtered in todays market their representation when buying was highly suspect. The funny thing is that often, the highly suspect representation was an agent representing themselves. You all know what they saw about someone that represents themselves in court.

[JJGittes]

What are the typical qualifications for a recruit in the Realtor army? And if you are a buyer, how effective is your personal army for you when it only gets paid out of the booty collected by the enemy?

And regarding the dentist analogy, if my dentist got his degree as a result of taking a couple of classes at a community college, and the work he did for me was purely form driven (http://www.winforms.com/) and cost $40k a pop, I would do it myself.

That said, most folks are probably not inclined, or prepared at all to do it for themselves, but they should at least be driving hard bargains with the agents they hire, and should be asking tough questions at every step of the way, considering the large sums forked over (and financed over 30 years w/ interest) for RE services at today’s price levels.

[JJGittes]

What are the typical qualifications for a recruit in the Realtor army? And if you are a buyer, how effective is your personal army for you when it only gets paid out of the booty collected by the enemy?

And regarding the dentist analogy, if my dentist got his degree as a result of taking a couple of classes at a community college, and the work he did for me was purely form driven (http://www.winforms.com/) and cost $40k a pop, I would do it myself.

That said, most folks are probably not inclined, or prepared at all to do it for themselves, but they should at least be driving hard bargains with the agents they hire, and should be asking tough questions at every step of the way, considering the large sums forked over (and financed over 30 years w/ interest) for RE services at today’s price levels.

[NotCranky]

sdr. I represent my self but would certainly have not had near the success without my broker in my corner. The guy has made me big bucks,relative to my standard of poverty, and provided for many more restful nights of sleep than I would have otherwise had.It will get real tough for a lot of people going it alone,period.He only takes 10% of commission as well on my deals. For clients he only takes 20% and that is after any rebates.He also accepts my philosophy which is super important.If someone is qualified to work with us on a flat fee basis we do it.Usually sellers who find their own buyer. I recommend that my clients try “for sale by owner” if they are qualified and have time ,instead of giving me the work. I always recommend that people get a license.I would help anyone who wanted to do it.If you are going to try to make us disposable, do it right. People should choose agents that reflect their philosophy or force them to or dump them or go it alone if need be.
Disclaimer: Philosophy must not include that we work for free,take shit, grovel or dress fancy when it is not necessary, I do pay for lunch sometimes :).

[NotCranky]

sdr. I represent my self but would certainly have not had near the success without my broker in my corner. The guy has made me big bucks,relative to my standard of poverty, and provided for many more restful nights of sleep than I would have otherwise had.It will get real tough for a lot of people going it alone,period.He only takes 10% of commission as well on my deals. For clients he only takes 20% and that is after any rebates.He also accepts my philosophy which is super important.If someone is qualified to work with us on a flat fee basis we do it.Usually sellers who find their own buyer. I recommend that my clients try “for sale by owner” if they are qualified and have time ,instead of giving me the work. I always recommend that people get a license.I would help anyone who wanted to do it.If you are going to try to make us disposable, do it right. People should choose agents that reflect their philosophy or force them to or dump them or go it alone if need be.
Disclaimer: Philosophy must not include that we work for free,take shit, grovel or dress fancy when it is not necessary, I do pay for lunch sometimes :).

[sdrealtor]

I agree Rustico and my philosophy is much like yours. People are free to choose whatever suits them best.

JJ,
Analogies are just that. You bring up the minimum qualifications and that is hiring a boy scout. The are medical quacks and military cowards as well. Some of you may be literal ex-marines or ex-mercenaries and could fare better. RE can ver simple or very complex. You typically dont find out which it is until its too late.As in anything, there are winners and losers. Enough with the tired cliches. best of luck to all, what ever route you choose.

[sdrealtor]

I agree Rustico and my philosophy is much like yours. People are free to choose whatever suits them best.

JJ,
Analogies are just that. You bring up the minimum qualifications and that is hiring a boy scout. The are medical quacks and military cowards as well. Some of you may be literal ex-marines or ex-mercenaries and could fare better. RE can ver simple or very complex. You typically dont find out which it is until its too late.As in anything, there are winners and losers. Enough with the tired cliches. best of luck to all, what ever route you choose.

[El Jefe]

There has been a lot of good information here, both pros and cons of representing yourself. SD-R has a lot of valid points as does Rustico and sdr.

The best advice that I can give anyone is to do their DUE DILLIGENCE. Now is the time to decide weather or not you want to do the due dilligence yourself or pay someone to do it for you. There is a huge amount of time that goes into researching a property before I put together a bid. As a start…

Who owns it, person/trust/entity?
Is it investment property or a primary residence?
When was it purchased?
How was it purchased?
First lein amount? Second lein amount?
Tax standing?
Has it been refi’d and for how much?
What is the true size of the house?
(FYI Listing agents really like to round up)
Has it changed hands many times or been held?
Are there any deed restrictions on the property?
Has the house been remodeled/expanded?
Are there any unusual easements…
ie paper streets, utilities etc?
Zoning?
Setbacks?
Height restriction?
etc… etc… etc…

Now do most of this again for all recent comps. From this information you can start to assemble a true value for the property you are interetsed in.

Don’t underestimate the amount of work it takes to put together a report on a prospective property. While I could do all this myself, in many cases I will use a broker to buy/sell, and I can say that they earn every dollar of their commision.

That said… if you want to go it alone, due your due dilligence. I cannot stress that enough. Heed sdr… if you walk in flying solo without doing your homework you will not be doing yourself a favor. It is the listing agents job to convice you that the flux capacitor in the new tankless water heater will save you millions in energy costs and that the reason that you can’t find any information on the santos mahogany flooring is that the tree is so rare that it’s not even in the bottany encyclopedias.

Assuming that you want to go it alone and have done your homework, that’s great. Open an escrow account and deposit your earnest money for your offer. I suggest a substantial earnest deposit, it demonstrates your intent to purchase. Anyone can open an escrow account for any reason they want. Set the terms of escrow such that the listing agent can verify the funds, and the funds are earnest money for the purchase of X property. You can get tricky and use the same earnest money for several concurrent offers, just spell it out in the terms of escrow, and on each of the offers. Get the official forms from the escrow/title company or use a LOI(letter of intent to purchase). Neither are legally binding, but most agents are farmiliar with the standard forms. The standard forms are mostly fill in the blanks. List the escrow account for verification. My advice is to put a short window of opportunity. All offers should expire in as little as 24 hours up to 72 hours. If this is your best price, put in a clause that all counter proposals are preemptively denied, effectively a take it or leave it. Designate listing agent to handle all contract work, and ask for full closing costs + 3% back at closing for acting as your own agent.

In the end, you need to remember that the listing agent has no emmotional ties to the property, and neither should you. Your goal should be to get the upper hand and the more things you know about the property that the agent doesn’t improves your position. Good luck.

[El Jefe]

There has been a lot of good information here, both pros and cons of representing yourself. SD-R has a lot of valid points as does Rustico and sdr.

The best advice that I can give anyone is to do their DUE DILLIGENCE. Now is the time to decide weather or not you want to do the due dilligence yourself or pay someone to do it for you. There is a huge amount of time that goes into researching a property before I put together a bid. As a start…

Who owns it, person/trust/entity?
Is it investment property or a primary residence?
When was it purchased?
How was it purchased?
First lein amount? Second lein amount?
Tax standing?
Has it been refi’d and for how much?
What is the true size of the house?
(FYI Listing agents really like to round up)
Has it changed hands many times or been held?
Are there any deed restrictions on the property?
Has the house been remodeled/expanded?
Are there any unusual easements…
ie paper streets, utilities etc?
Zoning?
Setbacks?
Height restriction?
etc… etc… etc…

Now do most of this again for all recent comps. From this information you can start to assemble a true value for the property you are interetsed in.

Don’t underestimate the amount of work it takes to put together a report on a prospective property. While I could do all this myself, in many cases I will use a broker to buy/sell, and I can say that they earn every dollar of their commision.

That said… if you want to go it alone, due your due dilligence. I cannot stress that enough. Heed sdr… if you walk in flying solo without doing your homework you will not be doing yourself a favor. It is the listing agents job to convice you that the flux capacitor in the new tankless water heater will save you millions in energy costs and that the reason that you can’t find any information on the santos mahogany flooring is that the tree is so rare that it’s not even in the bottany encyclopedias.

Assuming that you want to go it alone and have done your homework, that’s great. Open an escrow account and deposit your earnest money for your offer. I suggest a substantial earnest deposit, it demonstrates your intent to purchase. Anyone can open an escrow account for any reason they want. Set the terms of escrow such that the listing agent can verify the funds, and the funds are earnest money for the purchase of X property. You can get tricky and use the same earnest money for several concurrent offers, just spell it out in the terms of escrow, and on each of the offers. Get the official forms from the escrow/title company or use a LOI(letter of intent to purchase). Neither are legally binding, but most agents are farmiliar with the standard forms. The standard forms are mostly fill in the blanks. List the escrow account for verification. My advice is to put a short window of opportunity. All offers should expire in as little as 24 hours up to 72 hours. If this is your best price, put in a clause that all counter proposals are preemptively denied, effectively a take it or leave it. Designate listing agent to handle all contract work, and ask for full closing costs + 3% back at closing for acting as your own agent.

In the end, you need to remember that the listing agent has no emmotional ties to the property, and neither should you. Your goal should be to get the upper hand and the more things you know about the property that the agent doesn’t improves your position. Good luck.

[donaldduckmoore]

Unless you know all the knowledge about real estate, you need a good realtor, again, a good one.

[donaldduckmoore]

Unless you know all the knowledge about real estate, you need a good realtor, again, a good one.

[Author]

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