client protection: Customer dis-service Pt. I
- 07/18/07 09:49 AM
There are a few things that have my shorts in a bunch... so, here they are. Careful. They've been brewing for a little while. There is a house in my subdivision that has been under contract since February... that's right, February. It will six months if it closes on time. This house is listed with a flat-fee company. The listed price was reasonable (I'll be curious what it actually sold for). When it went up for sale, it was a well kept house. Of course, now it looks pretty run down. The grass was cut once or twice, and is LOADED … (4 comments)
client protection: But Wal-Mart does
- 07/15/07 03:32 AM
I promised a continuation of my last blog, and here it is. In the last entry, I talked a bit about limited service and discount brokerage. This time, it will be more about eliminating agents from the picture. OK, here is the shocking statement to start off with. Buyers and sellers don't need us in order to complete the transaction. That's right, we are not a necessary ingredient. Obviously, the buyers and sellers need each other. They need a real estate attorney to complete the transaction. Usually, they need a mortgage broker. That's pretty much it. They don't need a … (3 comments)
client protection: Mercedes-Benz doesn't discount
- 07/15/07 03:00 AM
The world has changed. The question is, "What are we going to do about it?" Wal-Mart, Target, Harbor Freight Tools, and scores of other discounters are thriving. But, is that the model that we should pursue? Is that what our customers really want? Are we headed for extinction? With all of the various avenues for information available from valuation websites to transaction advice, are buyers and sellers going to cut us out of the picture? Should they? Obviously, the real estate agents among us have opinions about most of these questions. And they probably line up pretty well. There are a … (4 comments)
Here is a look at the residential real estate market for Gwinnett County for the last two years as well as looking at overall trends that will affect investors and “move-up” buyers in the next few months. Looking at the numbers up through June of 2007, there are a couple of trends that seem to be materializing. New listings are up year to date (YTD) about 13% over last year. May and June are up 11% and 9% respectively over the same period last year. The trend seems to be new … (1 comments)
client protection: An unfortunate stereotype, part II
- 07/03/07 12:16 PM
I was talking with a lawyer friend of mine, and the previous blog came up. He relayed an experience to me that he was involved with. In another state (thankfully) there was a case with a Broker that sold a house he owned. It seems that he lied on the property disclosure, wrote both sides of the sale, fought against the buyers having their own representation... and even against an inspection, and had plenty to hide. The buyers are not blameless, but this should never have happened. It seems there was a wonderful pond on the rear of the … (1 comments)
client protection: An unfortunate stereotype
- 07/02/07 01:30 AM
I had an interesting experience yesterday, and I'll get to it in just a moment. On TV, or in the movies, I often see derogatory stereotypes of real estate agents. I see us portrayed as less than intelligent, greedy, and not very scrupled. We aren't portrayed as dangerous, but rather ineffectual. It has always bothered me, since in most of my dealings I have dealt with agents that were honest and hard-working. Of course there have been a few that weren't the brightest bulb on the tree, but they weren't actively working against theirclients or customers. That changed yesterday. I went … (6 comments)
There are a few things that have my shorts in a bunch... so, here they are. Careful. They've been brewing for a little while.
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