Getting tired of the house situation

[Indy]

My freaking realtor was supposed to come over last night to get pictures and get our house listed.  She freaking fell asleep on the couch and didn't come over.  So now we got try to keep the house clean another day (with two young kids it's mission impossible) so she can take pictures.

 

I'm tempted to dock her pay and dump a Miller Light down the drain, I sure ain't drinking that stuff.

Doesn't everyone pay their realtor in beer?  I figure if I wanted to get a good one like her boss it would cost me some Sun King, not sure it's worth it.

[Longjohn ★]

Realtors are evil, even more evil than running.

[Longjohn ★]

Take the pictures yourself and send them to her.

[Indy]

4 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

Realtors are evil, even more evil than running.

No kidding, getting tired of dealing with the realtor on the house we are buying.  He's being an idiot, luckily that's are loan officer and realtor's problem.  Our initial offer was with a contingency of selling our house, when we counter offered we sent back the same offer while removing the contingency.  They accepted that, but now their realtor wants proof that we are approved with out the contingency.  The pre-approval letter from our loan officer we initial sent them was without a contingency, are loan officer called him an idiot.

[Square Wheels]

When we sell, I'll do it myself.  The house will be sold as is, get an inspection if you like, we won't fix a thing.  It will still sell, likely for more than the asking price.  I am not giving 30k of my money to a realtor who does next to nothing.

[pedalphile]

Call them what you like (we call them estate agents) these people seem to be pretty much universally disliked. Makes me wonder why anyone wants the job.

[Indy]

9 minutes ago, pedalphile said:

Call them what you like (we call them estate agents) these people seem to be pretty much universally disliked. Makes me wonder why anyone wants the job.

That's pretty easy to understand in the area I live.  Hot market with lots of expensive houses, so some big commission checks.

[pedalphile]

Just now, Indy said:

That's pretty easy to understand in the area I live.  Hot market with lots of expensive houses, so some big commission checks.

Yet not enough to keep one awake long enough to attend an appointment.

[Longjohn ★]

We were working with a realtor to try to find a  house closer to where I worked. I had told her what I wanted and what I didn’t want. I told her no HOAs because I don’t like paying dues and I don’t like rules. She kept trying to get us to look at houses in a gated community.  She showed us some wretched houses. A guy I worked with told me about a house on his road. I did a drive by and it looked like just what I was looking for. I told our realtor I wanted to see it. She told me I didn’t want that house. She eventually showed me a house I wanted. It was listed with the stipulation that it had to close before summer because the owner was going to Europe for the summer. My realtor wanted me to use her mortgage broker and said they could save me a lot of money. I said ok, I like saving money. That broker farted away all the time and then told me they couldn’t help me. There wasn’t enough time left to secure the loan elsewhere so we didn’t get that house. I had already sold my house and had to get out. I talked to the owner of the house the realtor refused to show me. He offered to rent the house to me until I could find another house. After two months renting he offered to sell it to me at a great price. Love this house, been here twenty five years. Why won’t realtors listen?

[Indy]

11 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

When we sell, I'll do it myself.  The house will be sold as is, get an inspection if you like, we won't fix a thing.  It will still sell, likely for more than the asking price.  I am not giving 30k of my money to a realtor who does next to nothing.

We couldn't do it ourselves as we have no clue what we are doing.  That has become clear quickly, and just because you sell it yourself, doesn't mean you don't have realtor fees because if the buyers are using a realtor (and they probably well) you still have to pay them their percentage.  That's where we get lucky as we got a realtor that works for Miller Light.  She just does real estate on the side and will get a decent check from the sellers of the home we are buying.

[Indy]

2 minutes ago, pedalphile said:

Yet not enough to keep one awake long enough to attend an appointment.

Ours is a friend doing it basically for free.  We just have to cover her cost and keep Miller light in the garage fridge, of course lately she's been supplying the Miller light for the fridge too.

When we see her tonight, I ask her if she knows any good realtors because ours seems to be a bit of a flake.

Honestly, it is very uncharacteristic of her not to be where she says she will be when she says she will be it.  So I was about ready to drive over to her house last night to make sure she was okay, she woke up and called before I did though.

[Square Wheels]

3 minutes ago, Indy said:

We couldn't do it ourselves as we have no clue what we are doing.  That has become clear quickly, and just because you sell it yourself, doesn't mean you don't have realtor fees because if the buyers are using a realtor (and they probably well) you still have to pay them their percentage.  That's where we get lucky as we got a realtor that works for Miller Light.  She just does real estate on the side and will get a decent check from the sellers of the home we are buying.

I will not pay a buyers realtor fees, that will be on them.  I have a friend who is a real estate lawyer, I'll hire him or someone he recommends.  This is my house, I am the one who has spent a lot of time and money improving it, I won't have someone do next to nothing and profit greatly from it.

[Indy]

4 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

I will not pay a buyers realtor fees, that will be on them.  I have a friend who is a real estate lawyer, I'll hire him or someone he recommends.  This is my house, I am the one who has spent a lot of time and money improving it, I won't have someone do next to nothing and profit greatly from it.

Good luck with that.

[Longjohn ★]

3 minutes ago, Indy said:

Good luck with that.

That will work, he won’t have a contract with a realtor. No way for them to charge him fees. 

[Indy]

7 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

That will work, he won’t have a contract with a realtor. No way for them to charge him fees. 

Yes, but you are limiting your buyer market, because a lot of buyers are not comfortable working with out an agent, and in that type of situation an agent will tell the buyer if they are interested in that house they are basically on their own.

[LabDaddy]

2 minutes ago, Indy said:

Yes, but you are limiting your buyer market, because a lot of buyers are not comfortable working with out an agent, and in that type of situation an agent will tell the buyer if they are interested in that house they are basically on their own.

Yeah, for a buyer with an agent, you've just increased the price of your house by ~3%.

 

[Indy]

1 minute ago, LabDaddy said:

Yeah, for a buyer with an agent, you've just increased the price of your house by ~3%.

 

From my understanding, probably more and if you use an agent to list, if they are good, they should be able to work the market well enough to get you more than enough to cover their cost and a little more in your pocket.  Where my current house is, according to everyone I've talked to that is in real estate, every realtor in the area is sitting on a list of people wanting to get into the neighborhood.  So a good realtor can quickly drum up a bidding war.  I'm in area where getting above list isn't unusual, though we are aiming for 10k below list to manage expectations.

[Dirtyhip]

6 minutes ago, Indy said:

Yes, but you are limiting your buyer market, because a lot of buyers are not comfortable working with out an agent, and in that type of situation an agent will tell the buyer if they are interested in that house they are basically on their own.

Yup.  Also, it won't hit the MLS.  His plan might work with the right buyer, if he is in a sellers market.  I would expect a FSBO to get low ball offers.  He could personally list it on Zillow, etc. 

We used to both hold real estate licenses.  Even still, we will hire an agent to get it done swiftly and painlessly.  

Being too much of a hard ass on the terms, may end up in failed offers.  I've seen that.  If he doesn't need to sell quickly, it might work.

[Indy]

1 minute ago, Dirtyhip said:

Yup.  Also, it won't hit the MLS.  His plan might work with the right buyer, if he is in a sellers market.  I would expect a FSBO to get low ball offers.  He could personally list it on Zillow, etc. 

We used to both hold real estate licenses.  Even still, we will hire an agent to get it done swiftly and painlessly.  

Being too much of a hard ass on the terms, may end up in failed offers.  I've seen that.  If he doesn't need to sell quickly, it might work.

Yeah and we did all of are looking on MIBOR.  Most buyers do their looking online anymore.  We used Zillow at first, but found Zillow to be really bad because properties would keep showing up that were not actually for sale.  So while we may mess around on Zillow because it was easier to use (MIBOR is weird as you punch in where you are looking and it shows stuff that was 2 hours out of the area) but we would then check the listing in MIBOR to see if it was real or not.

[LabDaddy]

2 minutes ago, Indy said:

From my understanding, probably more and if you use an agent to list, if they are good, they should be able to work the market well enough to get you more than enough to cover their cost and a little more in your pocket.  Where my current house is, according to everyone I've talked to that is in real estate, every realtor in the area is sitting on a list of people wanting to get into the neighborhood.  So a good realtor can quickly drum up a bidding war.  I'm in area where getting above list isn't unusual, though we are aiming for 10k below list to manage expectations.

My 3% represented 1/2 the standard commission of 6%, so I was just saying that if the buyer is paying the commission, on a house of any given value, *their* cost will go up by 3%.

A *good* seller's agent can definitely be well worth it.

 

 

[Dirtyhip]

Just now, Indy said:

Yeah and we did all of are looking on MIBOR.  Most buyers do their looking online anymore.  We used Zillow at first, but found Zillow to be really bad because properties would keep showing up that were not actually for sale.  So while we may mess around on Zillow because it was easier to use (MIBOR is weird as you punch in where you are looking and it shows stuff that was 2 hours out of the area) but we would then check the listing in MIBOR to see if it was real or not.

So true.  We look at Zillow often for new listings in Oakieville.  Some have popped up that are no longer listed, etc. 

Foreclosures also show up often on there.  

[Indy]

1 minute ago, LabDaddy said:

My 3% represented 1/2 the standard commission of 6%, so I was just saying that if the buyer is paying the commission, on a house of any given value, *their* cost will go up by 3%.

A *good* seller's agent can definitely be well worth it.

 

 

And it's worse than that as that is cash they have to come up with and not something you can roll into the loan.  Cash becomes really tight when trying to buy a house, another 3% could be a complete killer.

[Razors Edge ★]

Jeebus.  This is wayyyyyyyyyy more complicated than it ought to be.  

Tom 

[LabDaddy]

Just now, Indy said:

And it's worse than that as that is cash they have to come up with and not something you can roll into the loan.  Cash becomes really tight when trying to buy a house, another 3% could be a complete killer.

Good point; I hadn't thought of that.

 

[Page Turner]

39 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

I will not pay a buyers realtor fees, that will be on them.  I have a friend who is a real estate lawyer, I'll hire him or someone he recommends.  This is my house, I am the one who has spent a lot of time and money improving it, I won't have someone do next to nothing and profit greatly from it.

...you should just stay in the house, grow old, and die there. That will show them.

[Indy]

2 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Jeebus.  This is wayyyyyyyyyy more complicated than it ought to be.  

Tom 

Yes, we've said that numerous times and our friend who's acting as a realtor agrees.  Of course I guess it is to be expected because when you are talking actual physical property, government rules and regulations come into play and nothing that deals with government stuff is ever simple.

[Dirtyhip]

Buyers and sellers are enormous pains in the ass.  This is the main reason to hire an agent.  Most people are still working when they sell or buy.  It is way too time consuming.

[Scrapr ★]

Our Realtor had pro pictures done. It made a big difference. And I hate Realtor pictures on the I phone. The ones where you see the Realtor in the bathroom mirror are especially disgusting. They also (should) be part psycologist. A good one is on top of all this sheot. Ours told us exactly what was going to happen and why. As I am in construction I have seen lots of sale fail. For lots of reasons. And the accepted offer is just the start. Lots of ways for the deal to go sideways after the offer is accepted. 

But if you are using a cheap Realtor then expect more issues.

[Indy]

2 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

Buyers and sellers are enormous pains in the ass.  This is the main reason to hire an agent.  Most people are still working when they sell or buy.  It is way too time consuming.

We've been easy, of course we do our research but still realize we have no clue what we are doing so listen to our friends advice.

 

I think a lot of the issue is all the flipping shows and house hunting shows.  I think it's given people a completely unrealistic expectation of what to expect, and because of those shows, they think they know everything.

[Indy]

Just now, Scrapr said:

Our Realtor had pro pictures done. It made a big difference. And I hate Realtor pictures on the I phone. The ones where you see the Realtor in the bathroom mirror are especially disgusting. They also (should) be part psycologist. A good one is on top of all this sheot. Ours told us exactly what was going to happen and why. As I am in construction I have seen lots of sale fail. For lots of reasons. And the accepted offer is just the start. Lots of ways for the deal to go sideways after the offer is accepted. 

But if you are using a cheap Realtor then expect more issues.

Ours does professional pictures on higher end houses, she isn't recommending that expense at our price point.  Plus what's the point when no matter how much we declutter and clean, there is going to be kids toys in the pictures.

 

Now one I saw online I particularly liked, their dog was in every picture, and then the picture of the living room, you could see someone was sitting in a recliner and could see their bare foot in the corner.  Talk about classy.

[Dirtyhip]

4 minutes ago, Indy said:

We've been easy, of course we do our research but still realize we have no clue what we are doing so listen to our friends advice.

 

I think a lot of the issue is all the flipping shows and house hunting shows.  I think it's given people a completely unrealistic expectation of what to expect, and because of those shows, they think they know everything.

It's the respect of personal time.  You have none, when you are an agent.  On call 24/7.  Hell, I want to go camp and fall off the grid for a few days.  Nope.

The money was good, but my personal time proved more valuable.  It did teach me about property real tho, so that was cool.

[LabDaddy]

20 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Jeebus.  This is wayyyyyyyyyy more complicated than it ought to be.  

Tom 

There are reasons I've stayed in the VA house for 20+ years.

I had no appraisal done on the house in FL; after ~18 months of a lot of work, I felt tuned in to the market. Besides, as I told my agent, the sale of the house (in FL) was going to be my executor's issue.

 

 

[Razors Edge ★]

15 minutes ago, Indy said:

Yes, we've said that numerous times and our friend who's acting as a realtor agrees.  Of course I guess it is to be expected because when you are talking actual physical property, government rules and regulations come into play and nothing that deals with government stuff is ever simple.

Again, hire a real agent who has a professional photographer, have all the fees part of the various transactions. Go to a closing on House A, go to a closing on House B, and enjoy the new digs.

Everyone can game the system, be their own agent, arrange side deals, save a buck, whatever, but I think all that then removes any allowance for complaining that the process is a PITA.

Just my two cents.

Tom

[Dirtyhip]

Poorly taken pics on the market are funny.  Oh look at this one, it's located inside of a cave.  

[Scrapr ★]

1 minute ago, Razors Edge said:

Again, hire a real agent who has a professional photographer, have all the fees part of the various transactions. Go to a closing on House A, go to a closing on House B, and enjoy the new digs.

Everyone can game the system, be their own agent, arrange side deals, save a buck, whatever, but I think all that then removes any allowance for complaining that the process is a PITA.

Just my two cents.

Tom

especially when you have 2 young kids and are working and have a long commute

[Indy]

2 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

Poorly taken pics on the market are funny.  Oh look at this one, it's located inside of a cave.  

The one's I like are the foreclosure ones.  We looked at a few thinking it didn't look to bad.  After a couple we realized their is minimal pictures for a reason, those are the best they could get.  So if the best doesn't look too bad, the stuff they don't show is going to be horrible.

[Page Turner]

47 minutes ago, Indy said:

The one's I like are the foreclosure ones.  We looked at a few thinking it didn't look to bad.  After a couple we realized their is minimal pictures for a reason, those are the best they could get.  So if the best doesn't look too bad, the stuff they don't show is going to be horrible.

...there must be a universal principle at work.  It's the same thing on Craigslist with used bicycles.

[Kirby]

I've had limited experiences buying or selling real estate, but the times I've had, the realtor has been great.  When I bought my condo, the realtor was very familiar with the condo complex.  She knew exactly what documents the condo required and how to deal with them.  Also, I didn't move my furniture from California so I had a lot of empty rooms.  She knew someone who was selling their place and was able to get me a lovely dining room set for very cheap.   When we sold my aunt's coop, the realtor was a great buffer between us and the buyer.  The buyer was very nice, but had a lot of questions and requests, and it was nice to have someone else handle them.  She also did a good job helping us identify a reasonable asking price.

[maddmaxx ★]

3 hours ago, pedalphile said:

Call them what you like (we call them estate agents) these people seem to be pretty much universally disliked. Makes me wonder why anyone wants the job.

People got to eat.

[Scrapr ★]

21 minutes ago, Kirby said:

I've had limited experiences buying or selling real estate, but the times I've had, the realtor has been great.  When I bought my condo, the realtor was very familiar with the condo complex.  She knew exactly what documents the condo required and how to deal with them.  Also, I didn't move my furniture from California so I had a lot of empty rooms.  She knew someone who was selling their place and was able to get me a lovely dining room set for very cheap.   When we sold my aunt's coop, the realtor was a great buffer between us and the buyer.  The buyer was very nice, but had a lot of questions and requests, and it was nice to have someone else handle them.  She also did a good job helping us identify a reasonable asking price.

That's a pro right there

[Longjohn ★]

3 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

We used to both hold real estate licenses.  Even still, we will hire an agent to get it done swiftly and painlessly.  

That is the exact opposite of my experience but I have only owned four houses. My private sales moved swift and painless and when I tried to use a realtor all they did was mess it up.

[Indy]

2 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

That is the exact opposite of my experience but I have only owned four houses. My private sales moved swift and painless and when I tried to use a realtor all they did was mess it up.

You had a bad realtor then and have had good luck with buyers.  A good realtor should make life easy, if they are making it difficult, find a new realtor, there are no shortage of them.

[Longjohn ★]

Try to find a good realtor is like trying to find a good lawyer.

[Indy]

16 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

Try to find a good realtor is like trying to find a good lawyer.

Not even close, I don't have any friends that are lawyers.

[Ralphie ★]

18 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

Jeebus.  This is wayyyyyyyyyy more complicated than it ought to be.  

Tom 

I think you can say that aboot all of life!