With the advent of WebMD we don’t need docs, TurboTax we don’t need accountants, LegalZoom we don’t need lawyers …and so on.

Point is, we can all benefit from new technology changing the way we do things. But, when the %@*& hit the fan, you’ll be glad when a professional is there to step in and get things done.

The cream rises to the top and the muck settles to the bottom.

I was LAPD for 17 years and continue as a Reserve (hated profession, except in times of Need) 10+ Years in Real Estate attempting to peel myself away from the World View of Real Estate Agents.

Point is that I have a bit of college – a huge amount of world experience seeing things that I wish I could forget, and a Code and Lines in the Sand that are more stringent than any Code of Realtors.

The first time I bought a home I went to a FSBO and thought I would do it myself. All of my Down-payment went to attorney fees to sue the seller. I won – but no longer had the down-payment after going after the seller. The Seller had no more money, his attorney fee’s and due to the declining market he had no way to pay my attorney fee’s and the house went foreclosure, even after the order from the court. It was that “you cannot get blood out of a rock” – Thing.

I obtained my Real Estate License. Vowing to never let any client of ours get SCREWED out of their Hard Earned Money.

Necessary – I think so, Those contracts that are 8 pages to purchase are all the result of lawsuits throughout the years. The disclosures are even more pages. A couple of tree’s later – you have a file that is 2.5″ thick on Legal size paper.

If we could remove the “lawsuit” element from society and inject “fairness” into all people, I would think you are onto something. But the world is not as friendly as the one in my dreams.

Protecting the Prey from the Predator, and I do this well!

Again, Love the book. “What would Google Do?”

My BEST – Connor with HONOR

By the way, Zillow has zero impact on real estate since its inception. The data on there is usually inaccurate.

Whoever was talking about getting rid of title insurance, that’s crazy also. Do you really want to just willy-nilly have real estate owership transferred without actually knowing for sure that the title is clear? You wouldn’t do that with a car, why would you do with with the most expensive thing you’ll ever purchase in your lifetime? When they issue title insurance, it’s because they sifted through all available public records regarding your property, and determined that all past liens have been released, all past owners legally and properly conveyed their interest, etc. They should be paid for sifting through all that.

You can find cheaper brokers, like in 4.5% range, and I think that’s probably where it will gravitate to in the coming years. But when you get below that, considering what we actually do, what we have to know, the responsibility we bear, and the split of the commission itself among the agents and brokers, it gets to be not worth a person’s time to actually help you out. You have to put a value on your time. And I think that’s what it’s going to come down to. You can’t expect people (your agent) to work for free, and you really shouldn’t expect your Craigslist ad to do the work of a real estate broker.

If you think agents will stop helping buyers find homes because there is a possibility of a downward market shift in the future, then you are wrong. They cannot predict the future earnings or actions of their clients and they shouldn’t be held responsible. There are numerous factors that come into play when looking at the housing market. If everything goes electronic and agents are no longer needed, then so be it. But until that time, let’s hold off on the “blame-game.”

Good idea though! The government should bail everyone out for every poor financial decision that is made…stocks..housing…ect. Newsflash: We live in a free enterprise society and the future is uncertain.

The scumbag speel: “You can get in this home for only $*** per month for the next 2 or 3 years. After that time you will be in a better position at your job, making more money and will be able to refinance for a fixed rate loan. Besides that, the adjustable has a ceiling and can’t jump more than **% per year. In that 2 or 3 years this home will have jumped another $100,000 in value, so it’s a win-win situation.”
Doing this they have managed to become the only profession that makes 10 times what they used to make doing the very same job in a short amount of time. So much for HONEST agents. What a crock.
I think they should be made liable for paying their huge commissions back to the government that is once again manipulating the economy so as to bail the ignorant buyers out.

What about all the people that have been forced to sell because of adjustables over the past 10 years?
What about all the people that have lost money in the stock market in the .com era? Who the hell is giving them a hand? Oh yea, they just went bankrupt and learned the hard way.
What about the people with money in savings that are taking the hit on their interest rate earnings?

All we are doing is giving the scumbags another opportunity to rake in some more big bucks at the expense of other Americans. Homebuyers that in some cases never put one cent down, will get away with owning a home they should never have even been shown.

Tell me one group that has benefitted more than the agents involved in this outrageous market.
The home buyer is getting stuck buying a home that is terribly overpriced.
The home seller just becomes a home buyer that has to turn around and pay an outrageous price for what he is buying. It is all relative, after all.

Ah but the agents, making that trip to the bank with a huge smile on their faces never giving a second thought to what is going to happen to the dumb buyer once that 2 years is over. The buyer is most likely in the same position at work and can no more refinance then for a fixed rate then he could qualify for it now. Do you suppose they lose sleep over it at night? Do you suppose they even consider that the home they just showed the buyer will most likely be lost in foreclosure when the rate adjusts?

It’s time we allow the prices of homes in America to adjust the same way they did in the 80’s. Let them fall to where they should be taking allowing for inflation. I for one will get a great deal of pleasure in watching the agents commissions go back to what they should have been all the time. I also will love to see young families go back to the possibility of becoming homeowners.

People want to get into a place before it becomes too expensive. How did this happen? Well, it’s easy… If you price homes so high in order to get the highest commission then people will see this as being priced out of the market and consequently see the “need” to get in before it becomes too expensive.

Is Zillow.com correct with their prices? Not entirely, but that’s why you compare and see what has sold and what hasn’t and what their price-points were, the landscaping, etc.

I actually found my house without my agent’s assistance. My agent probably worked less than 20 hours on my house purchase…were they worth something like $800 an hour…I don’t think so!!!

Unlike other service providers that have specialized tools/knowledge like Dentists, Real-Estate Agents don’t really have anything…contacts? Yeah, there are sites for that…Qualified buyers? There are sites for that. The internet will completely change the Real-Estate industry.

Really you need only a few things: A selling price, qualified buyer, comprehensive contract, inspection, purchase, move out date, close transaction. All these can be facilitated by digital communication.

One thing I respectfully disagree with, however, is keeping our opinions to ourselves. If I told sellers what they Want to hear as opposed to what they Need to hear, their houses wouldn’t get sold. If I have to tell a Seller that he needs to nutralize the purple and orange wallpaper if he really wants to get his house sold, then I will do just that. In fact, I would be doing him a extreme disservice if I didn’t, right! That’s one of the reasons people would hire me. If I was a doctor and needed to tell someone that they had a rare disease and may not survive, should I keep that information to myself just so I don’t hurt my patient’s feelings? Just something to think about…

Also, buyers will Never be all cash. If that was the case, there would be No mortgage industry.. The mortgage “crunch” is balancing out. The sub-prime lenders are cleaning up, interest rates are still not bad, and things are looking good!

I think the important thing is fixing up the things that absolutely need to be fixed prior to listing the house. Buyers expect for homes to have working furnaces, roofs that don’t leak, ect. It is something that can either be fixed at the beginning, or the Seller will be fixing after the inspection or providing an allowance (off the sale price) to accommodate their replacement.

I would suggest to every seller out there that the first question they ask of their respective real estate agent is – how do you feel about the overall appearance of my home – inside and out. Unless you find a realtor that can get past “decor” and sell your “home” – do yourself a favor – and find another agent.

And, above all, with the RE market in its current shape, do not cave in to lowering the price of your home unless you absolutely have to, and to not offer buyer incentives such as paying “their” closing costs, or offering up $2,000-$5,000 realtor incentives. If a possible buyer can’t afford to buy your home then they can’t afford to buy your home – PERIOD. And in this RE market when the only buyers are “all cash” buyers because of the mortgage crunch, every realtor out there is going to find themselves looking for a “real” job. Ask yourself this – when was the last time your employer paid you a $5,000 incentive just for doing “your job”!!!

And as a footnote – do not feel obligated to use the same realtor you used to buy your home when it comes time to sell. You’ll find that realtors treat a buyer one way and a seller entirely different. Do yourself a favor – and ask all the right questions of your realtor. Find out how many clients they currently represent, how many homes have they sold in the past 12 months irregardless of the current market situation, and above all – are they currently selling their own home! Because if they are – you know where they will be directing potential buyers FIRST!

Bottom line – don’t be BULLIED by real estate agents for any reason – especially in the current market place. Why spend $15-30K on upgrades when you’ll still be taking a $50K cut in price??

Common Sense Here!