Many real estate agents come accross deals and purchase them for themselves.
I know this from a first hand basis. These "friends' of ours are agents who are also brokers already owned several rental properties. I and my husband came accross a deal and immediately went to our "friends" who we thought would treat us well. They were immediately amazed at the price and good condition of the property. Yes, they took our credit, yes, they pulled the reports, and they said we didn't qualify for it. We realize now that we should have suspected something when they kept asking us how did we stumbled on such a great deal.
After the fog settled we were disappointed but very understanding about not qualifying. So we spent the down payment on improvements to ur current residence it never entered our minds that our "friends" would betray us until we were told by them about three weeks later that they bought the property for themselves and had renter already in it! WOW!
So out of curiosity we went to another office with people who didn't know us with the same information and were told that we moare than qualified to purchase a property similar to the one
we lost to our "friends."
Today I am still heart broken, because we thought we were friends, we knew them for years and never asked them for anything, we made them the god parents to our children, and we thought they were trustworthy. When it came to real estate they put it before our friendship, now I have an agent who seems to be on my side and has really helpful so far...hopefully, soon I will obtain my dream of owning a rental real soon.
Mrs. M.
of CA
@
Aug 24, 2009 13:59:30 PM
good post
I will use it on mine!!
myron
of KY
@
Aug 06, 2009 06:42:09 AM
Can not stand how terrible agents and brokers are these days
Thank you for your mentions on bad agents. Missing vital information in contracts is terrible. I can not stand dishonesty. I agree with Reeses statement, any agent can have someone write nice or excellent reviews DO NOT BELEIVE someone that has excellent ratings, I have seen this as a common practice for agents to make themselves look good on the net. Instead ask for references and get to know your potential agent. Just because it is online doesn't mean it is true so just check it out. Thanks for sharing bad experiences with agents as well good to see both sides.
Matthew Simon
of CA
@
Jun 14, 2009 04:27:16 AM
Ask around
Getting a good real estate agent or broker can make a big difference between a good deal and a not so good deal. Always spread the word if you have had a bad or good agent.Ask around about the agent if someone recommends them make sure its not just friends of theirs but real customers. Remember a lot of these agents put the good word out on themselves and they are not actual genuine posts i.e. they have friends write good posts about them. so make sure you talk to people that the agent actually help sell or buy for.
reese
of CA
@
Jun 12, 2009 20:49:21 PM
This is a bad agent
I delt with a bad agent in Marin,CA Harold Spector. Just the worst in dealing with my real estate needs. people should take time when looking for agents.
HJeffery
of CA
@
Jun 12, 2009 20:43:14 PM
My 2 cents
I was given names for mortage companies, a lawyer, and an inspector from my real estate agent. SHe made it clear that we didnt have to use them. I wanted to move along quickly, and I dont know any of the above so I used her references. The loan officer refered me an insurance company who quoated me a great price from a ver well known company.
All in all, it was a good experience. My loan officer even had me sign something that stated he was not getting kickbacks. This might be unique to Illinois.
But as always buyer beware, if you arent comfortable working with people who all know eachother, and there may be good reason to think this way, by all means go your own way. I think anyone with enough brains to buy a house can figure out which pro's to use.
Randy
of IL
@
May 23, 2009 15:05:37 PM
larry northrop bad agent
larry northrop of lawrence ks is the worst beware
cike capra
of KS
@
Mar 08, 2009 08:02:23 AM
Affiliates
The "insists on affiliates" is not accurate at all. As a mortgage broker who partners with real estate agents, there has never been one time when an agent has requested a kick back on any referrral I have received from them. Their motivation for the referral is so that the borrower (often coming from a different area) does not have to struggle to find a reputable ancillary service, of which there are several during any RE transaction, and thusly has a positive experience. Of course the motivation is also that the deal close, so they get paid, but that would be the case for anybody, unless they are red stripping at a hospital. Most agents know the service providers that are ethical and charge reasonable fees, because they have gone through it in past experience. Mr. Mullins, is obviously not an agent or understands how networking and business partnerships work in the real world or the motivation behind it. It is not to grease the palms of the referring partner. Agents, loan officers, attorneys, appraisers are all licensed and specifically dictates that practice is cause for loss of license. Now this article has shown up on MSN home page, for further spread of misinformation. This is poor journalism and just plain wrong.
Stephen Henson
of NC
@
Aug 27, 2008 15:30:09 PM
Good and Bad everywhere
I am a professional real estate agent. I do have a fiduciary responsibility to my clients. I take it very seriously.I work hard and EARN every penny I make. I do not get paid unless a deal closes. I am the bank until then. My clients appreciate the service I provide.I have kept many people from making huge real estate mistakes and helped many get out of bad situations. We all have a responsibility to make our choices in an informed way. You should check out the agent before you choose them. Don't pick someone because they are your friend or your family relation. Choose based on their expertise. Interview them. Many people think they understand real estate but I find that most people don't know as much as they think they know about buying and selling homes. You are right that it is not extremely difficult to get a license. It is not extremely difficult to get credentials in many professions.(I know some bad Doctors too!) But I have the good sence not to go to them. Yes we do have a fiduciary to our client. But most people don't understand the difference between a client and a customer. We must retake ethics training on a regular basis. Just because a person takes ethics training does not make them ethical. Think about the person who cut you off in traffic or won't let you change lanes. Those people come from all walks of life. There are good and bad in every profession. I am dedicated to my profession, work hard and have many, many satisfied clients and customers. I am gratefull for the opportunity to actually help people make wise, informed decisions regarding the biggest investment they will ever make. My clients always make their own decisions based on all the "homework" I do as well as the expertise that I can bring. I can share with them things that may have a profound effect on their decision. I walk them through the process every step of the way and I protect their best interest at all times. I believe that it is my duty and honor to serve my clients with a valuable service. Be informed. Learn how to find a valuable "Realtor". Learn how real estate really works before you are so quick to judge, and take personal responsibility for your own choices.
g from Brentwood
of TN
@
Aug 17, 2008 00:47:11 AM
Greed is what caused this mess - not real estate agents
My Granma used to say "life's little lessons." We experienced the same thing during the Carter years but apparently no one remembered. The people who lied about their income and the lenders who let them do it are responsible. The buyers who took out loans that were too good to be true and willingly bought homes that were way overpriced are responsbile and the investors trying to turn a "quick buck." The builders who overbuilt in communities while they had hundreds of homes still for sale and the lenders who let them do it are responsible. The agencies who let out too many building permits for the market. The list goes on. Who sets the price on a home - the buyer. Instead of using reason, the buyers were out purchasing homes they could not afford at prices that were beyond what a ressonable person would consider had a huge hand in creating this mess. It is exactely what happened before but no one remembered and threw caution to the wind.
You can't blame real estate agents for this mess. It was just a lot of greed and anyone with business sense knew what was going to happen but there was no one in control. Now everyone is playing the blame game because it was someone elses fault. The fault lies in the lenders who gave out loans that should never have been available and buyers who used no common sense and were willing to lie about their income, or if they didn't do that, they took out loans they should never have considered.
Now is when buyers should be buying homes when they have to verify their income, they have a down payment for the home, the prices of the homes are what they should have been, and they take out a fixed loan that they can afford.
If it is "too good to be true," then it is and any prudent person should be cautious when there were so many red flags - but no one paid attention.
The investigations into what was going on in the lending community should have taken place early on when things started getting out of hand.
When buyers were told they could get loans without verifying their income or they could have really low payments now but would be paying higher in the future, that's is a red flag.
I hope this situation will bring some reason and sense back to the buying public but I am not sure it will. It happened before and I guess it will happen again because no one looks back in history to the last time and remember what happened then.
When greed takes over - memory fades - and reason seems to go out the window.
So, if you want to blame someone for this mess, then the blame lies within all who gave out these loans, who took the loans, who willingly paid far too much for their homes & the builders and investors who overbuilt and created a false market in all the communities -it was a felloship of greed and lack of caution.
Mrs. M. of CA @ Aug 24, 2009 13:59:30 PM
myron of KY @ Aug 06, 2009 06:42:09 AM
Matthew Simon of CA @ Jun 14, 2009 04:27:16 AM
reese of CA @ Jun 12, 2009 20:49:21 PM
HJeffery of CA @ Jun 12, 2009 20:43:14 PM
Randy of IL @ May 23, 2009 15:05:37 PM
cike capra of KS @ Mar 08, 2009 08:02:23 AM
Stephen Henson of NC @ Aug 27, 2008 15:30:09 PM
g from Brentwood of TN @ Aug 17, 2008 00:47:11 AM
Priceless of WA @ Aug 17, 2008 00:32:05 AM
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