[SD Realtor]

Peace I am a realtor and I would advice you to rent. Unless you plan on staying in the place you want to buy long enough to ride out the downturn and then back the upturn, to simply break even then it would not be wise to buy.

Don’t drink the lemonade Peace… run the numbers yourself of renting a year verses buying a year. To make it honest run a sample turbotax return for each case and see for yourself. I think you will be surprised by the results. My total guess here is that you would see the following:

1 – Your monthly expenses if you owned would be MUCH higher then if you rented.

2 – The tax refund you received would most likely NOT cover the monthly expense.

3 – If you rented, and took the money you saved verses owning and saved it, then by the time the market bottomed out you would some cash for a downpayment.

[SD Realtor]

Don’t forget profit sharing as well. As a small business owner I researched the difference between a defined benefits plan verses a 401k and profit sharing. You actually can do better with a defined benefits program but there are some potential risks due to the obligatory contributions. Anyways at least for my a 401k plus a profit sharing plan worked out best. I spoke with Rob Butterfield (part of the braintrust from Ray Lucia’s show)about it, he was quite helpful.

[SD Realtor]

There are many reasons why I sold my Help U Sell franchise and started my own brokerage. One of them was due to the fact that I felt that traditional brokerages didn’t bring as much traffic to my listings. Now that I sold I do see much better traffic. Now that could be for many reasons but I also get alot of calls from high end property owners to list then when I owned my Help U Sell. I still actually charge less to list a home from HUS but I am a small brokerage and my pricing policies are not of any consequence to the big guys.

The postings that talk about the simplicity of FSBOs are correct. FSBOs are simple because they are an unregulated and private transaction. You can make the disclosure process as simple or complex as you like. I am sure other Realtors will chime in but the proper disclosure documents depend on the age, location, and type of home. Included in the package would be the standard TDS, this is the one most of you are familiar with, then Sellers Additional Disclosure document, the San Diego County addendum to the Purchase Agreement, the Sellers Questionaire, a defective furnace advisory, mold disclosure statement, lead disclosure… just to name a few. Again, none of this matters if you are doing a FSBO… However if I am a Realtor and representing a buyer I better get these forms and more. So if the seller is a FSBO he needs to get them to me some way. So then it DOES become MY responsibility to get them done and MY responsibility to make sure the Seller fills them out right. Why? Because I can be found liable as a Realtor even though he is not even my client.

Again, when it all works out right, and most transactions do… there is nothing to worry about at all. However when things don’t work out and it all crashes and burns ALOT of money is at stake. My brokerage is not worth risking it.

As far as paying commission goes… well…you can find great agents that give you rebates if you are a buyer, or a very low commission if you are a seller.

FSBOs most always work out fine… I would just advise someone to get a real estate attorney at the least. It is a small premium to pay. Regardless of which side of the transaction you are on.

[SD Realtor]

There are many reasons why I sold my Help U Sell franchise and started my own brokerage. One of them was due to the fact that I felt that traditional brokerages didn’t bring as much traffic to my listings. Now that I sold I do see much better traffic. Now that could be for many reasons but I also get alot of calls from high end property owners to list then when I owned my Help U Sell. I still actually charge less to list a home from HUS but I am a small brokerage and my pricing policies are not of any consequence to the big guys.

The postings that talk about the simplicity of FSBOs are correct. FSBOs are simple because they are an unregulated and private transaction. You can make the disclosure process as simple or complex as you like. I am sure other Realtors will chime in but the proper disclosure documents depend on the age, location, and type of home. Included in the package would be the standard TDS, this is the one most of you are familiar with, then Sellers Additional Disclosure document, the San Diego County addendum to the Purchase Agreement, the Sellers Questionaire, a defective furnace advisory, mold disclosure statement, lead disclosure… just to name a few. Again, none of this matters if you are doing a FSBO… However if I am a Realtor and representing a buyer I better get these forms and more. So if the seller is a FSBO he needs to get them to me some way. So then it DOES become MY responsibility to get them done and MY responsibility to make sure the Seller fills them out right. Why? Because I can be found liable as a Realtor even though he is not even my client.

Again, when it all works out right, and most transactions do… there is nothing to worry about at all. However when things don’t work out and it all crashes and burns ALOT of money is at stake. My brokerage is not worth risking it.

As far as paying commission goes… well…you can find great agents that give you rebates if you are a buyer, or a very low commission if you are a seller.

FSBOs most always work out fine… I would just advise someone to get a real estate attorney at the least. It is a small premium to pay. Regardless of which side of the transaction you are on.

[SD Realtor]

For me it is more of a matter of risk. Guys, the SDAR risk mitigation classes I have taken drill over and over and over into our heads risk management. While I may be the Realtor that represents the buyer only for a given transaction, I can still be held liable for a snafu’d transaction by a court in a FSBO (sellers side) transaction, even when it may not be (in my opinion) my fault. So even if the seller does pay a buyer side commission, it still is a lot more risk for me (the buyers agent) and in order to mitigate that risk, I will do alot more work, (verifying the disclosures, getting the NHD, and other such issues)…

The fact of the matter is many many FSBOs do offer good co-op commissions. Again, it is simple risk. I have buyers who have seen FSBO’s and like them and when they told me they wanted to buy it, I didn’t stop them at all. I gave them the number of a real estate attorney and advised them to have him represent them. As a REALTOR that is just the way things go if your invested time doesn’t get you the sale. So no it doesn’t go over well but I understand the motivation of people.

Again, I know most everyone here pretty much view agents as worthless and that is okay. However if any of you guys actually attended some of the seminars and classes that we have attended regarding risk mitigation, and all the lawsuits, you would see why most (but not all) of us Realtors shy away when a FSBO is involved. Especially as I am a small business, not one of massive brokerages, that even makes me more risk averse. I get nervous enough when there is a mortgage broker on the other side of my transaction instead of a Realtor.

[SD Realtor]

We should send him over to Sam Sulieman to get his next loan.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

I still think it will come down some. Give it another few months. People need to start coming to thier senses and watch some football on Sundays instead of looking at homes.

I do think we will still see the yoy sales numbers on a per month basis stay in the minus 20-30% range. As long as this is the case, the market will be cooperating with our bearish opinions.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

If she goes into the sales office and politely lets them know what is going on they should give her the deposit back especially if she has not signed a purchase agreement. If they get salty then she can come back and let them know she will be filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. She can also ask who the broker is for the sales office, and she can ask the broker directly. If the broker gives her the business, she can politely let the broker know that she will be filing a complaint with the DRE. Again this is assuming she has not signed documentation acknowledging the disappearance of her deposit and agreeing to it.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

Yeah guys –

The brutal thing about the industry is that many many many agents prey on frustrated sellers with that line, “I have buyers ready to go…” I have many clients who call me after the listing has sat for awhile and who tell me that they hear this from agents soliciting them, (which by the way is not an ethical thing to do when a person is under contract)

Lets think about that sales pitch from the agent saying, I have buyers ready to go….

1 – If they had buyers ready to go, why didn’t they bring them over to your home and collect the CBB you are offering?

2 – If they had buyers ready to go, and DIDNT bring them over then aren’t they doing a disservice to thier buyers?

3 – If they had buyers ready to go and they are only going to show them listings that THEY have, then they are the type of REALTORs who give us a very bad name and by doing business with them, you are perpetuating thier crummy existence.

4 – If they really do have buyers ready to go, then make them put it in the contract that for every week that the listing sits, they lose 1/2% on the listing commission. If they have buyers ready to go then the home should sell in the first week right?

5 – If they have buyers ready to go, ask to see this agents listing history of homes he/she has sold and who the selling agent (aka the buyers agent was)… If this agent was not both of them, then the agent is not being honest.

PS –

When you sign the listing agreement you are committed to the length of the contract. However, yeah lets say your contract length is 90 days and after day 27 you want out. So yes go to the agent and let him/her know that and they can let you out… If they are cranky go to the broker. You will get out.

Now in the CAR listing agreement that you will sign with the new broker you work with, at the bottom of page 1 there is a question regarding an obligation you may have to another broker if the home sells. If you have not properly cancelled your previous agreement, and the new broker sells your home, you could actually be obligated to pay the ORIGINAL broker if you didn’t properly cancel that original contract.

Cawireman, it is good you faxed a memo over but you definitely want a copy of the cancellation of listing agreement for your records.

Any good realtor who then takes the listing would want to see that cancellation as well.

**********

Anyways, my point is not to encourage people to cancel simply cuz the home is not selling. If the home is not selling that is one thing, but if you want to cancel because you are not happy with your agent, or because circumstances have changed and you do not want to sell anymore, you CAN cancel and don’t be intimidated.

However, please don’t cancel because you are falling for a snake oil salesman.

[SD Realtor]

PS and others. I have a friend who is fairly astute with regards to oil and natural gas. He goes to

http://www.eia.doe.gov

to find out about the official energy statistics and projections for the future. Unfortunately there are no real conspiracies. For instance for many many months the projections for natural gas were flat many years into the future.

There is a wealth of data over there, it just takes time and energy to sift through.

[SD Realtor]

PS – Don’t forget that the correlation between the Fed Funds Rate and 30 year conventional fixed rate mortgages is not as crucial as the 10 year treasury. As it has been noted many times, an inversion in the yield curves (I believe 6 out of 7 times) foretells an incoming recession. So then the recession hits, the fed lowers the Fed Funds rate and the curves are not inverted anymore.

The bond market rally is really puzzling to me. It “could” be an indicator that people are thinking the overnight rate “has” to get beaten down by the incoming recession. I really have no clue.

If housing doesn’t continue to depreciate over the next 2 years I have a wife who will skin me alive. As long as the monthly sales continue to decline I will be happy. As I said a few weeks ago, I have seen increased activity across many of the sectors for resale homes in several zips. The active/pending ratios have changed improved. Not alot but better then the middle of summer. This could be due to many reasons like people repricing aggressively, many actives simply dropping out of the market, etc… I expect inventory numbers to be down. I also expect September sales to blip up a little from August numbers but down from Sept of 05…

So my short answer is that as long as the 10 year stays above 4.5 then that will not stimulate a strong resurgence.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

The last place worked out well. I will try to make it…

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

Don’t see it yet FutureSDGuy. When I take a listing, one of the first things I do is to find out the sense of urgency for the Sellers. Many of the sellers I have encountered are not in an urgent must sell situation. Many of them have alot of equity in the home already or are looking to sell just because they are getting a little jittery. The few that really really have to sell tend to price more aggressively. Most all of the time my pricing recommendation is below the price target they want. So right now the listing comes out at what they want and then they lower the price after having little to no traffic after a few weeks.

Sticky on the way down man… it is still super sticky.

SDSD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

I am not sure what would happen. As you know part of the process is to get your prints. If you do not have any outstanding warrants, and if you are not a deadbeat dad or something like that you should be okay. I do not recall the requirements about previous convictions.

If you do not try you will never know. Part of getting back into the world is to cope with the ramifications of your past.

Go for it and see… Just know that real estate is not a tough profession right now.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

sddude you called it correctly…. Our 19 month old is smack dab in the middle of his challenging stage, asserting his independence and all… He also has his 5 month old brother so there is a bit of the jealousy thing going on… People cannot believe that he has yet to have ice cream or candy. He chugs milk and not juice… We make sure we cook a good meal every night… there is no gaurantee he eats it but he eats better then any child his age I know. One of the words in his growing vocabulary is soup plantation. My wife and I are HUGE believers that the correlation between childrens health and diet also extends to overall behavior and performance in school. We are not going to ban our children from ice cream or anything like that, however we are trying to keep them away as long as we can. We are not as good as TV as you are, however they are PBS kids… the only flaw is when I am watching them and I flick on sports… not good….I am working on it… Your point is well taken, that parenting takes so much time and effort, and pacification is the road most travelled by people, through diet, video games, tv… etc… I know we will not be perfect parents, but hopefully we will give our kids a leg up…

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