6 Signs of a Crummy Real Estate Agent

Part Time agent

Can you please tell me what is a part time agent. I know brokers and agent who only work 4-6 hours a day, 5 days a week and not on weekends. Does this make them a part time agent? No! When you are self employeed you set your hours of business. A successful agent doesn't have to work long hours 7 days a week. You have some full time agents who don't know thier face from a whole in the ground.

I am a Texas Realtor and we have some of the toughest requirements to become a Realtor. We can go to almost every state in the Union as an Agent and get a Brokers License, so you shouldn't make blanket statements.

There are companies likes Hobbs & Herder that offer tons of training. There are countless training opportunites within some of the top 5 companies. There is no excuse as a Realtor to not get training and grow even if they are a part time realtor.

P.s. Please excuse any typing errors.

of TX @ Jul 17, 2008 22:27:49 PM

Using Affiliates

My response to Joshua Dorkin (#3) is that I do understand that possibly insisting on a certain affiliate might imply that I am getting a "kickback". However, that is unethical and illegal in the state in which I conduct business.

I refer my clients to certain affiliates that I work with because I care about my clients and I know those particular affiliates that I refer them to will treat them like "gold".

Affiliates are an extension of my business and together we offer solid service when we are in a transaction. When you refer your clients to an affiliate and you are a successful agent, that means bread and butter for their future and great service for my clients.

Why wouldn't you create a solid relationship with them? It's a win-win.

Kim Boda of CA @ Jul 16, 2008 15:46:18 PM

My suggestion for sign #7

Very good list. My personal suggestion for a hypothetical number 7 is the carrier pigeon agent. This is a "professional" who shuttles messages between their woefully underadvised client and the other side in negotiations, without ever actually coaching their client as to the absurdity of their demands. They could work for the buyer who thinks that everything should be discounted 30%, or represent the seller whose house (with the harvest yellow, formica-laden 1978 kitchen) is overpriced by $100,000. In either case they display a remarkable lack of backbone in coaching with their own client.

J Philip Faranda of NY @ Jul 16, 2008 08:57:24 AM

Weeding out process

Selecting a real estate agent is a complicated process for the average consumer to wade through. That is why the statistics show that almost 70% of consumers only interview one agent. In this market it is so critical that care and attention is given to this process, but how do they know what questions to ask when this is something they do only a few times in their lifetime?

What is really scary is the new wave of consumers that simply go online and by chance stumble upon a website where they find an agent. This is an actual post from a website I ran across recently. The question was 'How do I select a good realtor?"

"Just go into Realtor.com, then select the city where you are looking for a realtor, it will give you a list of companies and realtors with their picture, You can get a good feeling when you are looking at all the pictures or just ask a friend or coworker."

Buyer beware!

Todd Harrison - RightMoveAgent.com of MD @ Jul 15, 2008 19:40:39 PM

Confessions of a REALTOR

"I am selling Truth and managing emotions", here in middle TN. I was licensed 2.5 years ago and have been learning quickly as a "full time" agent. My old broker wrote a book "Buyers are liars and sellers are too!", seems to be true. A local mortgage brokerage is offering $150.00 slots as affiliates so that you can get a piece of the contract, this all to stay in business? It has RESPA written all over it?

If a person was dishonest before they entered real estate, nothing changed...

Look for relationships to foster over time and then protect yourself be using the best vendors in your market no matter how much they charge. Saving a few hundred will cost you your career in some cases. Always be honest and work dilligently for your clients. If not call me, I will!

My best to my fellow Realtors out there working for a living!

Ross Rylance, Keller Williams Realty Franklin TN #359 of TN @ Jul 15, 2008 16:01:56 PM

Confessions of A Realtor

A Couple more things.

Kick Backs happen and you won't prove it. The Mortgage Company most likely won't be able to resist kick back. The title company - I don't really see kickbacks but NEVER say that because something is Not allowed that it does not happen. There are laws in place in real estate to protect consumers but it is pretty much impossible to enforce these laws. Realtors are not allowed to lie or to without all they know about a property, but they do.

All agents are NOT on the "take" however the real estate system is and to be an "honest" agent in the system that is in place is pretty much impossible, there are quite often 2 sides to a real estate transaction so if I am honest, the listing agent may be, and does lie to me and I end up lying, unknowingly to my buyer. RESPA, Ethics, Laws - None of this Matters on the ground, behind closed doors - in the REAL - Real Estate World we Really Live in. And about Complaints, folks, if you have a bad feeling don't go with that agents, complaints are not always really.

Most are afraid to complain about an agent or so frustrated in the Real Estate Process they just give up.

Again, the Current market will in No Way distinguish between "crummy agents" and professionals. Realtors are simply not taught enough to be professionals.

Crystal L. Cox - SavvyBroker.com - Broker Owner of MT @ Jul 15, 2008 11:08:52 AM

Confessions Of A Realtor

The Real Estate Industry, in No way provides protection for the real estate consumer. The Realtor simply does not know what the real estate consumer needs them to know. We go to school for ONE Week and learn how to pass a test. Some Brokers got a $10 license, with no test and are still practicing. E and O insurance is not intended to protect the real estate consumer, it is intended to Protect the Job of the Real Estate Broker and if they lie than the E an O insurance will Protect the Broker from The Real Estate Consumer. I am not sure this market will be able to "shake out" "crummy agents" in recreational areas such as Montana real estate is still pretty good, and the Canadian Dollar is Great. The Real Estate Industry is built on false data, misinformation, lazy agents, and a horrible house of cards in a hurricane - where the Consumer Loses.

Crystal L. Cox - ConfessionsOfaRealtor.com of MT @ Jul 15, 2008 10:51:22 AM

Prudential Real Estate agent

Could you please tell me if Kai Ito, who works for Prudential, (Torrance, CA - Hawthorne office) is a full time R.E. agent? Does she have any complaints against her?

Thank you for your response.

Alan W. Takahashi

Alan W. Takahashi of CA @ Jul 15, 2008 03:26:26 AM