# Lazy real estate agents ??



## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

I know there are several here who are from my specific area, basically the area surrounding Crossville, TN. I love the area. Many really great people. Good weather most of the time. 

We're looking for a place to call home, a small homestead. And one would think that one of the best ways to find a home might be a real estate professional. But I'm striking out, over and over and over and over.

I think we've been through about 8 or so real estate agents. It typically starts out really well. I'll call and typically ask to speak to the listing agent. I figure they have the most to gain if they sell it themselves (but I could be wrong) so figure I ought to at least get a bit of interest in seeing what I want. The usual encounter is making an appointment, seeing the property, maybe not liking something in particular about the property but stating some of our priorities for the agent hoping they might have some suggestions. Every single one of them has said they'll show us any listing regardless of agency and will work for us to help us find a home... at which time they fall off the face of the earth.

The past two have had "vacations" and "deaths in the family" and have not even called me back following their emergency to make an appointment to go look at their properties. 

What gives? Is this the new breed of realtor? Are they just not hungry enough? 

Honestly, my list of required things is not that long. I want ONE GOOD TILLABLE acre, minimum, more land is great, but I want that tillable acre. I need to keep the price under about $150k, less is better but beyond that is pushing. I'd like some kind of livable shelter possibility that will finance but it does not have to be fancy or large. Are those things that "out there" and unreasonable? Heck, if there's some creative financing and a lower price, I'd settle for something I could just park our RV on and live in it while we build something,... but I still want that tillable acre. 

I guess I'm just not getting what is going on, why this might be happening. Maybe I'm dealing with people who only want to sell cookie-cutter subdivision housing. Or maybe I'm dealing with people who only sell real estate for a hobby while their spouse makes good money elsewhere. Or maybe there's some part of the language I'm not quite understanding and I'm not communicating what I want very well. 

Another interesting tidbit... We had some friends of ours over for a little visit last week. They're trying to find a place, too. They're trying to buy FOR CASH!! And they, like us, can't get anyone to call them back either! They said they're on about their 5th realtor. 

Anyway, I figured I'd throw this out and just see whether anyone had thoughts on what's going on. I just don't get it. ???

Thanks!


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

90% of realtors are worth the price of a bullet it would take to shoot them, in my experience....both as a buyer and seller of many properties.

First place we ever bought was a classic example. Found this overgrown 3/4 ac lot in a small subdivision with their sign laying over in the weeds. Called them "No.....we don't have a listing like that" (was a small, 2 man shop). SO, we went digging.....finally asked around enough that we found the owner's mother lived a couple roads over. Went to her house, and she says "YEAH, they have the listing.....son left the deed up there with them".

SO, we go to their office. On a desk literally piled high with papers, the guy digs out the deed/listing, and says "OK, guess we do have it. I'll meet you over there after while".

So, he pulls up, looks at the lot (which I suspect they had had listed for years), throws the sign in his truck and says "If you don't want it, it's sold !" (the lot was listed for $2500, and typical comps were in the 4-5k range). So we bought it, and built our first house (1976) A year later, the cornfield in front of the house developed into a subdivision and the lots started at 8k. We sold our house 7 years later for twice what we had in it, and used that cash to build the current house for cash.

I later got into building spec houses for a living, and dealing with real estate agents was the worst part of the job. They wanted a big fat fee for basically doing nothing, where I worked my fingers to the bone on every house. (When I say I built, I mean I built....drove every nail)

I'm sure there ARE some good ones out there.....the field certainly is WIDE open for anyone that could be good in it.....but my experience over 40 years, and many, many properties is most of them are lazy, stupid, crooks, and so on....often all at the same time. 

You BEST bet is simply do your own detective work. Find someplace you like, go to the courthouse and look up the owner. Talk directly to them. Talk to the property assessor, the mailman, the gas station owner, the folks at the diner....people know who has what for sale, or maybe WOULD sell. See a vacant looking piece of property ? Go to the tax office, look up the owner, call, or go visit....you never know until you ask.


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

I was very interested in reading these posts.

I have been looking at a small house at the lake about 3 hours from home, just pictures, really, but am interested. My daughter went by and took a look, said it needed some finish work, but not bad, or even difficult. Needed the branches/limbs out of the yard.

Called the realtor, she told me the owner (moved to Arizona) had been working on it every now and then but it had been vacant for over three years. Said it needed EXTENSIVE work done on it.

I am NOT seeing that frrom the pictures, my daughter is not seeing that from her visit and looking in the windows. I think it may need a well pump after not being run for a number of years.

The place has been for sale for over two years, it sounds like the realtor is NOT interested in selling it, the owner is NOW trying to drive sales by listing it on Craig'slist. Unless the realtors show a bit more gumption, and convince callers they WANT it, I think I can get it for 25% less (cash sale) than what it's listed at, warts and all.

What do you think might be a MAJOR thing wrong that could cost 10K or more?

Mon


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## Waiting Falcon (Nov 25, 2010)

What about making an appointment with a Realtor to come list your house? She did call the next day and said she totally forgot even though it was on her calendar......
I have had bad experiences with Realtors and as such will not give her another chance...she might forget to show it. 
I see a totally different outlook for Realtors...with such attitudes people are going to look elsewhere for help. I know there are good Realtors...we have them on this forum! But in this area....I have my doubts.


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## buffalocreek (Oct 19, 2007)

You become a realtor after you fail at selling used cars.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

buffalocreek said:


> You become a realtor after you fail at selling used cars.


LOL!!! We're in trouble now... :facepalm:


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

buffalocreek said:


> You become a realtor after you fail at selling used cars.


and home improvements......


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

buffalocreek said:


> You become a realtor after you fail at selling used cars.


Actually, I failed at selling real estate and then became a car salesman -- sold lots of cars but made no where near the money the ad said I could make and decided I'm not a salesman.

To answer the OP, many people think selling houses would be a good career, so they take the classes and the test, become licensed and find they actually have to work hard and motivate themselves, so they linger for a few months or years and let their significant other support them.

There are good ones out there, but not many.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

mnn2501 said:


> There are good ones out there, but not many.


I did some looking online, trying to find "real estate agent reviews" but really didn't find anything that was all that helpful. 

I'll keep an eye out for signs in front of realtors' offices looking for the names of their "top agents of the month" or whatever they call them. It's not a perfect way to find someone who actually works but it might be a faster path than just calling the listing agent and hoping to get a call back... someday before I die of old age.

Had hoped maybe there was a website of some kind that might offer some tidbits of info on individual agents but I guess those less motivated wouldn't like being on the bottom of the list.


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

frogmammy said:


> I was very interested in reading these posts.
> 
> I have been looking at a small house at the lake about 3 hours from home, just pictures, really, but am interested. My daughter went by and took a look, said it needed some finish work, but not bad, or even difficult. Needed the branches/limbs out of the yard.
> 
> ...


Is it on town sewer or septic tank? If it needs a new septic tank, that can run into quite a bit.


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

dizzy said:


> Is it on town sewer or septic tank? If it needs a new septic tank, that can run into quite a bit.


It's not in a town, and the county is a little "loose".

Wondering, do well pumps go bad if they sit for a long time?

Mon


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

No, but the control boxes are bad about getting lightning hits. Usually a cheap fix, slap a new one in place. Lowe's home centers here carries them up to 3/4hp.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

frogmammy said:


> I was very interested in reading these posts.
> 
> I have been looking at a small house at the lake about 3 hours from home, just pictures, really, but am interested. My daughter went by and took a look, said it needed some finish work, but not bad, or even difficult. Needed the branches/limbs out of the yard.
> 
> ...


Repairs can get expensive fast. Water issues can creat major problems that aren't visible to the average walk through.... Rotted sills, mold inside the walls etc. septic issues can be very costly, sometimes more than the property is worth! Then there are sometimes legal issues, leins against the property, boundaries that seem to be where they aren't. I had one listing once where a surveyor discover about a fourth of the house was built on the neighbors place.... That got pretty expensive befor it was resolved. I once bought a nice looking house that had sat empty a couple years.... Every pipe in the house had frozen and burst, that was not a cheap fix and no way to know it without getting the pump repaired after the closing.


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

Same experience here.

Was interested in a place, called the listing agent, got flak about not being pre-approved (we'd only been in town two weeks when we saw the place while out for a drive), went and saw it, she said to email her and she'd get us on a list to get emails when a property in our range came up, I emailed her with an address of another place we found and wanted to see (we did the leg work on finding it)...


Crickets.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

cfuhrer said:


> Same experience here.
> 
> Was interested in a place, called the listing agent, got flak about not being pre-approved (we'd only been in town two weeks when we saw the place while out for a drive), went and saw it, she said to email her and she'd get us on a list to get emails when a property in our range came up, I emailed her with an address of another place we found and wanted to see (we did the leg work on finding it)...
> 
> ...


perhaps nothing came up on her radar in your range. As far as pre approval, from a realtor side of the desk that's pretty much a given unless you are working with cash in your pocket. Why waste a realtors time and resources trying to find you your perfect property in the 250k range when your dealing with a 50k budget?


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

My 'agent' WAS my bff......late 40's......and REFUSED to get out of bed and 'work' before 11 am.
No phone calls, no questions, nada zip zero, nothing before 11 am.
She was sleeping.....

But she sent emails, and text messages between 12AM and 4AM on a regular basis......that's when she had time "to think".

What?

When the house sold (after she screwed me) had the audacity to ask me to bring the signs to closing, so she didn't have to drive to the house and get them.......

L-A-Z-Y

And made over 16,000.00 from the sale of my home......


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Luckily, I have a SIL who can fix just about anything. His main limit is time, he doesn't have much! Now I'm going to have to ask him to crawl under it and take a look. LOL! 

The current price is comparable to others similar in the area. I just like this one because it is a real house (not a mobile), has a touch more land with it, and no neighbors climbing up the side of the house. Considering it more of a family vacation spot *at this time* rather than a full time residence. Probably the first thing I would do is install an RV port so any immediate problems with the house would be actually no problem, we could stay there in our RVs and we could take our time with any "have to" repairs.

And I have been warned about the 55 gallon barrel septic tank that so many lake cabins seem to have!

Mon


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

Yvonne's hubby said:


> perhaps nothing came up on her radar in your range. As far as pre approval, from a realtor side of the desk that's pretty much a given unless you are working with cash in your pocket. Why waste a realtors time and resources trying to find you your perfect property in the 250k range when your dealing with a 50k budget?


We found a place to look at, all she had to do was get the okay from the listing agent to get us in there.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

One problem is that it is possible to make money on someone else's dime as a commission is not based on the effort put in. And it is possible to make a lot of money doing little if it is a big sale. So an agent will always talk just in case it works out but will usually put the effort into easily sold but pricy properties where the return is guaranteed and the effort minimal.
But if you have to split the commission then money gets smaller. For instance, a 6% commission on a $150,000 is $9000, if you get half then that is $4500. If you have to pay 20% of the commission in fees, advertising, membership and car expenses, then you are down to $3600. And if you had to show it to 10 people, have a realtor open house, then shepherd the sale through escrow, your hourly rate of return might be getting pretty low. 
And this is only the houses that sell- how many times does a listing close without a sale and all the time spenn is a loss?
If the tension is to invest no effort and just get the occasional windfall versus being a high energy wheeler dealer pushing the envelope to squeeze out the volume, it is not surprising that many realtors fall into one catagory or another.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Wow, that sure returns my faith in the local real estate professionals... not.

Guess us poor folk will have to just fend for ourselves.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

cfuhrer said:


> We found a place to look at, all she had to do was get the okay from the listing agent to get us in there.


Was this before or after your prequalifation? Also why didn't you simply contact the listing agent? Please tell me you don't believe in that whole "you need a buyers agent" nonsense.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

where I want to said:


> One problem is that it is possible to make money on someone else's dime as a commission is not based on the effort put in. And it is possible to make a lot of money doing little if it is a big sale. So an agent will always talk just in case it works out but will usually put the effort into easily sold but pricy properties where the return is guaranteed and the effort minimal.
> But if you have to split the commission then money gets smaller. For instance, a 6% commission on a $150,000 is $9000, if you get half then that is $4500. If you have to pay 20% of the commission in fees, advertising, membership and car expenses, then you are down to $3600. And if you had to show it to 10 people, have a realtor open house, then shepherd the sale through escrow, *your hourly rate of return might be getting pretty low. *
> And this is only the houses that sell- how many times does a listing close without a sale and all the time spenn is a loss?
> If the tension is to invest no effort and just get the occasional windfall versus being a high energy wheeler dealer pushing the envelope to squeeze out the volume, it is not surprising that many realtors fall into one catagory or another.


when I was in the game I didn't average today's minimum wage in commissions, that really isn't where the money is. I made much more buying and selling my own properties. Commissions paid the rent and utilities, but it was the spec properties that paved the way for my retirement.


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## PrairieClover (Jun 19, 2015)

After not having a buyer's agent and not having a seller's agent on separate occasions, we will always use a buyer's agent and a seller's agent. Got screwed when we didn't. Yes, they do take a commission but the ones we've used have helped us. It's a darn shame the advantage other realtors and buyers or sellers would take over poor unsuspecting folks.
Once we sold our house to our neighbor and that was a breeze. No realtors!


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

PrairieClover said:


> After not having a buyer's agent and not having a seller's agent on separate occasions, we will always use a buyer's agent and a seller's agent. Got screwed when we didn't. Yes, they do take a commission but the ones we've used have helped us. *It's a darn shame the advantage other realtors and buyers or sellers would take over poor unsuspecting folks.
> Once we sold our house to our neighbor and that was a breeze. No realtors!*


yeppers, my retirement was made possible by taking advantage of sellers who were so smart they "didn't need no dang realtors". I can honestly say I never made much money selling real estate, but I did very well buying it. I always sold below market value.... My buyers got a nice break and my property sold much sooner than my competitors did, leaving me with more profit at the end of the day.


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Thanks, where I want to, for breaking the realtor's share down. Almost makes me ashamed to offer what I plan to if the place is do-able. But not THAT ashamed.

Mon


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

I haven't heard any real estate agent we've been involved with even mention the idea that there is such a thing as a buyers agent. I guess none of them wanted the job.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Bellyman said:


> I haven't heard any real estate agent we've been involved with even mention the idea that there is such a thing as a buyers agent. I guess none of them wanted the job.


They are not all that common in ky either. Too many legal issues can develop over the fiduciary duties owed to whom. Then there is always the issue of the agent cutting their commission when negotiating the best price for their buyer.... It can be seen as a built in conflict of interest. When I was in the game we always worked as a sellers agent to eliminate those problems. We of course treated our buyers fairly and looked out for their interests too with the exception of revealing the sellers reason for selling, financial issues etc. buyers are entitled to all knowledge about the property itself, but not confidential info about the seller.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Yvonne's hubby said:


> They are not all that common in ky either. Too many legal issues can develop over the fiduciary duties owed to whom. Then there is always the issue of the agent cutting their commission when negotiating the best price for their buyer.... It can be seen as a built in conflict of interest. When I was in the game we always worked as a sellers agent to eliminate those problems. We of course treated our buyers fairly and looked out for their interests too with the exception of revealing the sellers reason for selling, financial issues etc. buyers are entitled to all knowledge about the property itself, but not confidential info about the seller.


I understand what you're saying, and why it works that way. There are times when I wish there were a bit more communication between buyer and seller, though. How do either of us know that maybe there's something other than cash that the buyer may have that the seller may need?


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Bellyman said:


> I understand what you're saying, and why it works that way. There are times when I wish there were a bit more communication between buyer and seller, though. How do either of us know that maybe there's something other than cash that the buyer may have that the seller may need?


I made several sales that were interesting to say the least... One of my favorite sales was a farm with a fairly new two story house and a huge barn. My buyer wasn't interested in these improvements so offered to buy it at a reduced price withou them. The seller was quite satisfied with that offer and took his house and barn apart and took them with him to his new farm. The reason I always tried to keep buyers and sellers apart was to keep them from killing a sale. Same reason I tried to keep both parties away from lawyers!


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Laura Zone 5 said:


> My 'agent' WAS my bff......late 40's......and REFUSED to get out of bed and 'work' before 11 am.
> No phone calls, no questions, nada zip zero, nothing before 11 am.
> She was sleeping.....
> 
> ...



*What a difference a few months make:*

From Nov 2014



Laura Zone 5 said:


> My agent is my best friend of 30+ years.
> She's 'new' (only been an agent for 3 years) but I signed with her, because I love her.





mnn2501 said:


> Sorry, but that is the poorest reason to choose an agent. Do you love her more than you love selling your house?





Laura Zone 5 said:


> Yes, yes I do!!!


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

When we sold our house in Louisiana, we interviewed several people we knew and that were recommended to us. Ultimately, it ended up being listed by someone we knew that seemed "hungry". She seemed willing to work. There were more "pretty" and more "polished" people than her but she was like a little bulldog, right in there. When I asked about things I could do to make it even more salable, she didn't hesitate to tell me what she thought, and it was good advice. 

House was sold within a few days of the sign going up. I wish she worked in the area I'm in now, I'd be in her office like now and we'd be looking at making something happen. Bless her heart, she was not one of the "pretty people" of this world. But she more than made up for that in how she conducted herself. "Pretty is as pretty does."


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## beenaround (Mar 2, 2015)

dizzy said:


> Is it on town sewer or septic tank? If it needs a new septic tank, that can run into quite a bit.


I give strict warnings to people looking to buy and those selling, any home that goes through a winter unoccupied is a big red flag. This ones got 3 years of that.

Finish work isn't cheap either. It could have real red flags, utilities,government,banks with leans on the place.

Pretty sure the agent has to disclose any problems, ask.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

beenaround said:


> I give strict warnings to people looking to buy and those selling, any home that goes through a winter unoccupied is a big red flag. This ones got 3 years of that.
> 
> Finish work isn't cheap either. It could have real red flags, utilities,government,banks with leans on the place.
> 
> Pretty sure the agent has to disclose any problems, ask.


Yep, any agent worth their salt will point out any issues that might come back to haunt them. We waste enough time showing property to people who have no intention of buying, we don't need to be wasting more explaining our actions in front of a judge.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

beenaround said:


> I give strict warnings to people looking to buy and those selling, any home that goes through a winter unoccupied is a big red flag. This ones got 3 years of that.
> 
> Finish work isn't cheap either. It could have real red flags, utilities,government,banks with leans on the place.
> 
> Pretty sure the agent has to disclose any problems, ask.


Maybe a red flag but sometimes an opportunity. My first house had been on the market a couple of years and that was in a hot market. It was small. But sound and I did cosmetic things as I lived there a few years and sold it fast at a profit. 
The land I bought had to build had been on the market for 8 years and was selling for about half as much as when listed. Its problem? A neighbor who would instantly discourage anyone who showed up. The realitor said she would not bother to show it as every sale attempt had failed. She did warn me about him.
The neighbor came when I was looking at it but his points about what was wrong didn't impress me. I bought, built. After a couple of years he moved to a place that had enough land he had no neighbors to object to his ram eating their gardens. So sad, too bad. But good for me.


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## modineg44 (Jun 25, 2002)

I've had problems with realtors here in N. Texas and I will pay cash since I sold my place & we've closed. The first realtor was very petite & young and wore extremely casual clothes - i.e. shorts, t-shirts, flipflops. She looked about 12 years old. She had young kids in lots of activities so appointments were hard to get & often changed. She told me I should be able to decide after seeing a house only once. R #2 was very nice but looked like a hooker. She also didn't know anything. Now I look at listings on realtor.com, drive by the property, & call the listing agent if I want to see it. I'm not looking much now because of the heat. I'm lucky - the buyers of my place have rented it back to me on a month by month basis and are putting no pressure on me.


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## moonspinner (Jul 2, 2002)

When I purchased my current place it was through a duel agent which I would normally never recommend. But this woman was simply terrific and made sure both parties were well satisfied. And it was a modest sale too but she always got back to me and went out of her way to clear up even miniscule isses.
That said, when I sold my parents' home the buyers used my agent and it was miserable. She was not good at balancing the two and I felt she favored the buyers for sure. For instance, she asked me if I wanted the appliances. I asked her if the buyers wanted them and she said no so it was in the contract that they did not stay with the house. So at closing the buyers told me they had a handshake agreement they would get the appliances and they were actually mad at me for selling them. 
Another thing was there had been goats on the property. At one point there was an odor in the house and the agent was trying to pin it on the goats and it was clear she wasn't happy about it. I knew it wasn't them and it turned out the awful smell was a decaying anmal carcass under the house. 
She also tried to pressure me when the buyers made a lowball offer to take it. It was clear she simply wanted to get this sale over with.
So there are good and bad agents like everything else in life.


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

I know the owner/instructor of the local real estate school. They've told me that when I'm ready to look for a new place to let me know and they'll recommend an agent. I figure they're going to know who's good and who isn't.


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

mnn2501 said:


> *What a difference a few months make:*
> 
> From Nov 2014


Thank you so much for pointing that out.
It's true.
I was trying to help her get a sale under her belt, and in the end, she screwed me huge.

I am not the ONLY client she would not get out of bed for, and I am not the only client she emailed from 2-4 am.
Another home that was selling at the same time as mine, the lady wanted to break contract w/ her because she (the agent) would not communicate w her (the client) until after noon.

I guess the point is this: even if the person is your BFF (or so you think) make sure your agent has good feedback on the communication w/ the client. Not sure how to 'verify' that.......but if they don't call back, don't act interested, keep looking.


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

I've never been overly thrilled with realtors. When buying, seems like they always just want you to cave in and pay the price, don't work very hard trying to help you negotiate a better deal. Similar when selling, they just deliver an offer to you and try to convince you to take it. Severe lack of sales and / or negotiating skills with most. 

My son is presently looking at a home, dealing with a part time realtor he works with at their regular jobs. I'm coaching the kids along trying to help them get best deal possible, and the realtor is getting kind of an attitude because we haven't just rolled over and take the deal offered. I understand she has some time in it and hasn't made a dime yet, but this is her chosen occupation .... she needs to push the seller to try and help the sale go through and suck it up buttercup. One of her comments was .... We don't want to go too low and make them mad. Sheesh !


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Fishindude said:


> \ .... We don't want to go too low and make them mad. Sheesh !


I never understood this one. If they don't like your offer, they don't accept it. Or they counter with an offer that they would find acceptable, or not. It's not personal, at least it shouldn't be.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Fishindude said:


> I've never been overly thrilled with realtors. When buying, seems like they always just want you to cave in and pay the price, don't work very hard trying to help you negotiate a better deal. Similar when selling, they just deliver an offer to you and try to convince you to take it. Severe lack of sales and / or negotiating skills with most.
> 
> My son is presently looking at a home, dealing with a part time realtor he works with at their regular jobs. I'm coaching the kids along trying to help them get best deal possible, and the realtor is getting kind of an attitude because we haven't just rolled over and take the deal offered. I understand she has some time in it and hasn't made a dime yet, but this is her chosen occupation .... she needs to push the seller to try and help the sale go through and suck it up buttercup. One of her comments was .... *We don't want to go too low and make them mad. Sheesh !*


Sounds like she had had some experience with sellers being offended by lowball offers before. Some sellers will get testy about such things. Had one seller once not only refused the lowball offer but also refused to entertain any other offers from that buyer. When I asked him if I could get the boy up to his asking price he just stared at me and replied "If that happens I will pay you your commission, and take it off the market, but I wouldnt sell it to that jerk for double my asking price." He was offended and I knew him well enough to know he wouldnt work with that buyer.... ever.


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

I get all that, but a good realtor should focus on moving it along and getting a deal made. Nobody on our side (including our realtor) has had direct communication with the seller, so we've not seen any indication they may be getting offended.

This is a business transaction where the seller wants to get as much as he can and the buyer wants to buy as cheap as he can. Why is that so hard to understand .... accept, decline or counter.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Yvonne's hubby said:


> Sounds like she had had some experience with sellers being offended by lowball offers before. Some sellers will get testy about such things. Had one seller once not only refused the lowball offer but also refused to entertain any other offers from that buyer. When I asked him if I could get the boy up to his asking price he just stared at me and replied "If that happens I will pay you your commission, and take it off the market, but I wouldnt sell it to that jerk for double my asking price." He was offended and I knew him well enough to know he wouldnt work with that buyer.... ever.


This begs a question, and I don't know how it is normally handled.

When an offer is made, does the agent TELL the owner WHO the offer is coming from? I don't ever recall an agent telling me who the actual person was that made the offer before we accepted or rejected. It was the offer I was presented, not the person.

What's standard practice on that one? Seems like if the seller never knew who the lowball offer came from, they couldn't reject a future offer that came from the same person without knowing who it was in the first place. (?)


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

The offer my son just did on the realtors standard purchase agreement does not list the sellers name (only the listing realtor), but gives their (the buyers) name. The seller would have the opportunity to see their name.

We could find out who owns the property by going to the court house and seeing who has been paying taxes on it.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Bellyman said:


> This begs a question, and I don't know how it is normally handled.
> 
> When an offer is made, does the agent TELL the owner WHO the offer is coming from? I don't ever recall an agent telling me who the actual person was that made the offer before we accepted or rejected. It was the offer I was presented, not the person.
> 
> What's standard practice on that one? Seems like if the seller never knew who the lowball offer came from, they couldn't reject a future offer that came from the same person without knowing who it was in the first place. (?)


In my state offers are essentially a sales contract if the seller decides to accept the offer. The buyers name and current address are right there in the contract with the sellers name and address. It seems to be the same deal in other states too.... At least in the states I have had dealings in. With some agents sometimes they will present a verbal offer but that isn't really a standard because it isn't legally binding. For a real estate contract to be binding in my state it must be a written contract.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Fishindude said:


> I get all that, but a good realtor should focus on moving it along and getting a deal made. Nobody on our side (including our realtor) has had direct communication with the seller, so we've not seen any indication they may be getting offended.
> 
> This is a business transaction where the seller wants to get as much as he can and the buyer wants to buy as cheap as he can. Why is that so hard to understand .... accept, decline or counter.


Yep it seems like it should be really simple but it's not that way normally. Dealing with the public you soon learn there are some pretty strange people with pretty strange ideas. I once had a seller agree to an offer, a week later when I showed up with the closing docs for her to sign her son met me at the door and announced she wasn't going to sign anything.... Basically refusing to sell! I managed to get her to follow through as agreed but that one was worrisome.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Yvonne's hubby said:


> In my state offers are essentially a sales contract if the seller decides to accept the offer. The buyers name and current address are right there in the contract with the sellers name and address. It seems to be the same deal in other states too.... At least in the states I have had dealings in. With some agents sometimes they will present a verbal offer but that isn't really a standard because it isn't legally binding. For a real estate contract to be binding in my state it must be a written contract.


While I understand a verbal agreement is not legally binding, I've always experienced it a little more casually. Usually, it was a phone call with the agent saying, "You have an offer for $xx,xxx.00. Will that get 'er done?" If the answer is "No", that's as far as the conversation goes. If the answer is "Yes", it will usually be followed by a "Then we'll get the paper work drawn up and either you can come in to the office or I'll come out to see you" type of thing. Maybe that's wrong in this day and age, I don't know. But it seems simpler unless you know the offer is good enough to be accepted.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Laura Zone 5 said:


> Thank you so much for pointing that out.
> It's true.
> I was trying to help her get a sale under her belt, and in the end, she screwed me huge.
> 
> ...


Sorry to pick on you, but perhaps it will help someone else.
Friends and business do NOT mix.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Bellyman said:


> This begs a question, and I don't know how it is normally handled.
> 
> When an offer is made, does the agent TELL the owner WHO the offer is coming from? I don't ever recall an agent telling me who the actual person was that made the offer before we accepted or rejected. It was the offer I was presented, not the person.
> 
> What's standard practice on that one? Seems like if the seller never knew who the lowball offer came from, they couldn't reject a future offer that came from the same person without knowing who it was in the first place. (?)


Its written on the offer -- while the agent may phone the sellers agent, its not an actual offer until its in writing and signed - at least in the 4 states I've bought and sold property.


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## shellbug (Jul 3, 2005)

150k???? for something with a livable house and one tillable acre? Crazy to spend that much. Southern Missouri, Doniphan Area near the Mark Twain National Forest and the beautiful Current River among other wonders of nature....I put a $2,000 mobile home on 51/2 acres ($9,000) and it was great! There were 3 tillable acres, woodlot, homesite, orchard area. There are places you don't have to spend a lot and can hold onto your hard earned cash.:clap:


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

shellbug said:


> 150k???? for something with a livable house and one tillable acre? Crazy to spend that much. Southern Missouri, Doniphan Area near the Mark Twain National Forest and the beautiful Current River among other wonders of nature....I put a $2,000 mobile home on 51/2 acres ($9,000) and it was great! There were 3 tillable acres, woodlot, homesite, orchard area. There are places you don't have to spend a lot and can hold onto your hard earned cash.:clap:


Trust me, for $150k, I want a LOT more than one acre. I just did a drive-by on a 20 acre place with a pretty nice house (not a mobile home, a stix-n-stone built house) and it's priced at $150k. We're gonna explore that one a little further as I think it would qualify for a zero down Rural Development type loan. 

The thing I was getting at was that I would tell an agent that one of my absolute MUST HAVEs, not an option, not a suggestion, a don't even show it to me if it doesn't have it, was AT LEAST ONE TILLABLE ACRE as one part of the whole property. And they would proceed to try to get me to go look at cookie cutter houses on half acre lots. AARRGGHHH!!!!!! Occasionally, someone would want to show me a place that was so heavily wooded that tillable land was not gonna be easy or cheap to make happen or was basically grown up rocky outcroppings. It's as if they couldn't hear me when I told them what I want, only what they wanted to hear so they could show me their pet listing. 

I'm sure there are some good agents out there. Just like there might just be a few good used car salesmen...


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Bellyman said:


> Trust me, for $150k, I want a LOT more than one acre. I just did a drive-by on a 20 acre place with a pretty nice house (not a mobile home, a stix-n-stone built house) and it's priced at $150k. We're gonna explore that one a little further as I think it would qualify for a zero down Rural Development type loan.
> 
> The thing I was getting at was that I would tell an agent that one of my absolute MUST HAVEs, not an option, not a suggestion, a don't even show it to me if it doesn't have it, was AT LEAST ONE TILLABLE ACRE as one part of the whole property. And they would proceed to try to get me to go look at cookie cutter houses on half acre lots. AARRGGHHH!!!!!! Occasionally, someone would want to show me a place that was so heavily wooded that tillable land was not gonna be easy or cheap to make happen or was basically grown up rocky outcroppings. It's as if they couldn't hear me when I told them what I want, only what they wanted to hear so they could show me their pet listing.
> 
> I'm sure there are some good agents out there. Just like there might just be a few good used car salesmen...


Well, all I can tell you about that is all of the land I located for my customers was used, just like every cow I ever sold. In my 11 years in the business and top sales person in an office of five other agents every year, I never had any of my buyers or sellers upset with me. Nearly all have been very content with not only the property they bought but my service to them as well.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Yvonne's hubby said:


> Well, all I can tell you about that is all of the land I located for my customers was used, just like every cow I ever sold. In my 11 years in the business and top sales person in an office of five other agents every year, I never had any of my buyers or sellers upset with me. Nearly all have been very content with not only the property they bought but my service to them as well.


Wish you were closer!


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Bellyman said:


> Trust me, for $150k, I want a LOT more than one acre.


All depends on location.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Bellyman said:


> Wish you were closer!


I am not all that far from crossville.... But I stopped at the state line and let my license expire several years ago. You should be able to find some in your area that's hungry and will do a good job.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Yvonne's hubby said:


> I am not all that far from crossville.... But I stopped at the state line and let my license expire several years ago. You should be able to find some in your area that's hungry and will do a good job.


To be fair, I have found a guy that I like pretty well since I posted the original post. Seems like he's sticking with me, which is great.

And if that one doesn't work out, I have some friends that listed with another guy who's only source of their family income is through real estate. He has a reputation of getting things done. 

So at least I have a few good leads!

What part of KY are you in? Spent some time in Campbellsville working at the Amazon fulfillment warehouse there. Made many a trip down through Columbia and Burkesville (pretty area).


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## PrairieClover (Jun 19, 2015)

Yvonne's hubby said:


> yeppers, my retirement was made possible by taking advantage of sellers who were so smart they "didn't need no dang realtors". I can honestly say I never made much money selling real estate, but I did very well buying it. I always sold below market value.... My buyers got a nice break and my property sold much sooner than my competitors did, leaving me with more profit at the end of the day.


If you're being flippant it is lost on me since I don't know your online persona. I don't understand your point in quoting me. 
If you thought I wasn't clear in my comments you could ask for further explanation.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Bellyman said:


> To be fair, I have found a guy that I like pretty well since I posted the original post. Seems like he's sticking with me, which is great.
> 
> And if that one doesn't work out, I have some friends that listed with another guy who's only source of their family income is through real estate. He has a reputation of getting things done.
> 
> ...


You were just a few miles (6 or 7) of my place, about halfway twixt columbia and burkesville.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

PrairieClover said:


> If you're being flippant it is lost on me since I don't know your online persona. I don't understand your point in quoting me.
> If you thought I wasn't clear in my comments you could ask for further explanation.


I am sorry if you were offended by my comment. Was just pointing out that R/E agents arent all crooks and thieves although we will sometimes take advantage of a seller who insists they dont need a realtor, yet price their own property well below market value.


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

i'v evperinced both good and bad . in Illinois a good guy worked hard showed us lots of propertys and was there from showing (even came and picked her up to show places for sal to helping get financeing and being there at signing he knew every thing that had to be done right to avoid trouble . to the worst in Virginia a part timer let me miss buying a great little farm rarely returned calls .I think it was her part time hobby ;or she figgered she was due commission for you finding your own place in the news paper ad . it pays to find a good realtor who is helpful and wants to do a good job and knows the local peoples and there ways should be there to advise you , banks as well as the county office and suervayers , this is a big move for most people and yes a lazy or unpersonal realtor can ruin a deal for both partys


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## Dusky Beauty (Jan 4, 2012)

If I were in a position to sell or buy, I'd probably start here:
https://www.daveramsey.com/elp/residential-real-estate/


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