1. The first house in this video shows why going direct to the listing agent can be concerning.
2. The others demonstrate more short-sale shenanigans.
My specific beef about short-sale flipping: When agents join the MLS membership they agree to share their listings with other agents by inputting them onto the MLS system within 48 hours, for all agents to sell. Those who don’t are breaking the rules. The MLS exists so you get to sell my listings, and I get to sell yours – that is the agreement.
The MLS people don’t enforce their own rules. If an agent has a complaint about another agent, they have to build their own case and prosecute the offender themselves. The penalty, if convicted? A letter goes into their file. No wonder there is lawlessness.
If we don’t police ourselves, somebody else will. A reminder of agents being prosecuted here.
If the banks tire of being ripped off, maybe they will stop short sales altogether, and foreclose only?
We are looking in the old La Costa area and from what I can see the schools right there are getting good scores. I know they used to have a bad rep but do they still?
I think it’s wearing off as new people come in. Another 5-10 years and nobody will be talking about it.
The San Marcos HS football team was 4-6 this year. If they could win a CIF championship, it would help, but they are in Division 3 with Cathedral and St. Augustine.
Hi Jim, your point that going directly to the listing agent opens you to the possibility that you may not receive the necessary information to make an informed offer, therefore you need an agent to represent you when you buy, does not hold water. Having an agent represent you as a buyer does not mean that they will do any better getting you relevant information than the listing agent. And just because agents say they get their clients better deals, does not mean it is true, and very likely means it is not. The buyer’s agent’s main motivation to close is the same as the listing agent’s. I don’t know if you have noticed, but many agents lie, including agents representing buyers.
Sorry, I beat around the bush so it doesn’t sound like a constant JtR commercial.
People should hire me to be their realtor.
Agreed.
The first time I tried this, it said my comment was a bit too short, so I am adding this.
It’s the agency problem. When the real estate agent’s financial interests don’t align with those of the client, it’s unsurprising that stuff like this happens. This is doubly true for short sales where the agent should be, but isn’t, acting for the bank rather than the nominal owner.
Now THAT’S an inspection!
The sleight of hand and questionable agent practices seem to go on and on, unfortunately. No shortage of blog material there. More than ever, I’d want an agent who was fighting very hard and fairly for me.
As Jim has consistently said here, “Get good help!” and he’s freely provided good advice over those years on how to determine if you are getting it or not.
There must be a dozen possible types of blow-back which the banks could employ against shady Agents who constantly rip $ from transactions and you need not look further than the travel Agent business for the model. The airlines got sick of being taken advantage of by the travel Agent world. One day the Airlines simply said they would no longer adhere to what had become the established commission structure. Think REO departments dont have 20/20 vision? Think they dont resent being subsequently enjoined in lawsuits from time to time? If Agents doubt such a thing could happen, they need to think it through a little further, and keep your eye on that (and many other similar) historic shifts in business models which are no longer standing. Banks have become enormous–and very linked. They could easily navigate a new course in the commission arena. And they wouldn’t even have to invent the new model–it already exists in various iterations around the world. Think about what % of the market they currently comprise. They hold the clout, the position, and the leverage; and they could do it. But the Agents who play those games dont and wouldnt care one bit–they’re not the career pro’s that would care about such things. They’d be off to another get rich easy scheme the next day, and leave the ruins to the JtR’s of the country to clean up and figure out. Thats how the few usually muck it up for the many, isnt it?
Agreed, all they’d have to do is cap the commissions, and insist on real proof that the property was on the open market for 3-7 days, and it would clean up quickly. Insisting on the agents signing an agency form would help in theory, but not sure how many know what it means.
The servicers are a bit reluctant on the trustee-sale side these days. Today there were 34 properties in NSDCC slated to be foreclosed, and only one did.
The other 33 were postponed (28) or cancelled (5).
I’m not quite sure what kinds of “taking advantage” you’re referring to.
My sweetie was once a travel agent. The way she described it to me (if memory serves correctly), agents used to get a percentage of airfares. Then the carriers changed their commission schedules to fixed-price, no matter the flight. First class five-leg flight all over Europe? Doesn’t matter; only $50.00 commission for you. The result is that travel agents essentially don’t book air travel anymore, since it is not worth their time. (They still book cruises, however.)
The Internet enabled a lot of those air travel changes. I don’t think realtors need worry until it becomes possible to evaluate properties and neighborhoods online as fluidly as airfares. With Google Maps, it’s getting close. But watching Jim’s videos has taught me that buying a place to live still requires local specialized knowledge.
Nothing better than watching two really good agents go to battle for their respective sides. You can tell quickly the ones who go through the motions on their way to collecting a check and the ones who take their clients interests to heart no matter the size or timeliness of the commission.
I was referring to all the games the bad Agents play to rip off any party to a transaction–including the banks–that they can get away with; the variations are legion. My comparison to travel agents was not a literal comparison of specific issues, merely that one day travel Agents woke up to a new world order. Lots of evolutions made that possible, but my point is: it happened. I think most agents would agree that 6% is not etched in stone nor handed down from on high–especially if you are a provider of a stream of deals–like banks currently are and will be for some time. Banks are at or near a point in how connected their communications are, in size, in many aspects, that we may be nearing a tipping point when they get tired of the games. They could react in many different ways, but as we know, “price cures all defects” and discounts in fees may be the easier route to the cure in the bank’s view.