Realtors Beware and Forewarned !!

Shannon Gaskamp Northern Kentucky Real Estate (Regional Realty) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:34:21 -0700

There is a lead-generating company that associates themselves with Activerain called RECR (Real Estate Client Referrals) that, in my opinion, is a complete SCAM! Not that the other companies that are out there are above board, but I trusted this one because of their affiliation with Activerain and because they offer a NO RISK, 90-day money back guarantee for their services. I received a call from one of their sales people about a month ago that assured me that they had a "qualified" and thoroughly scrubbed buyer that was looking to buy in my area and they were not already working with a realtor, all they needed was someone to take the lead.

The assurity that I was given by the sales person was that for $495.00 I would receive 5 "qualified" and scrubbed buyer leads and if it turned out that the lead was bogus they would replace the lead with a qualified lead, but that if for any reason I was not satisfied with the service that I would get a full refund.

Needless to say, all of the leads that I was given were folks that could not get financing, at which point RECR did replace the lead with another person that wanted to buy a house but could not get financing, GREAT!

Realizing that this was going to be more work, just following up to make sure that I did not loose my investment, I asked for a refund. After phone calls and e-mails, I finally spoke with someone in customer service named Gary Taylor. He explained that I could not expect to get back my full investment, only the unused portion. I explained that none of my investment was used since I never received a qualified lead. At that point I asked that my issue be escalated to Clint Miller, the former Remax agent, turned lead generator extrodonaire, and also found on Activerain. He told me that he could not do that since Clint was not in customer service and did not have any hand in issuing refunds, then he promptly advised me to look at my contract! Oh, now I am seeing see how this company works. Even though their web-site touts NO RISK, and 90-Day money back guarantee, that is only if they don't send you any lead, so basicly the amount that I paid was debited for the buyer referrals that turned out to be bogus. Hmmm, that my friends is when I realized that I had been scammed. And to add fuel to the fire, the phone conversation with the CUSTOMER SERVICE rep ended with him stating "I guess, the next time you do something like this, you will read your contract more closely". As if I did not feel bad enough for falling into another one of these lead generation scams, I was scolded by the customer service rep!

So, in an effort to save others that may be tempted, please be forewarned and know that the only lead generator that can be trusted is you!

Shannon Gaskamp / Regional Realty / Northern Kentucky

Do I need it, or do I want it?

Shannon Gaskamp Northern Kentucky Real Estate (Regional Realty) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:06:19 -0700

After reading someone else's blog about being able to compile a description of my life in only 6 words. It has been on my mind all day today. To be honest, since I turned 40 last year it seems that things are so much clearer to me than they ever were before. Is it because I have less distractions in my life now? My son is grown and I can focus more on my needs as opposed to him being the center of my life, or maybe since I am more financially stable and don't have to worry about how I am going to come up with money to pay bills until the next month of worrying how I am going to pay bills? Maybe it could be that at this age, I finally realize that I don't actually have to look like a super model to be acceptable in todays society and I truly understand what my mom used to tell me about how it is more important what you look like on the inside than on the outside.

All of these things, among other daily stresses, used to clog my brain on a regular basis and I have come to the conclusion that I see things clearer now because I regularly ask myself "Do I need it or Do I want it"?. It is so easy to waste precious moments of this life worrying about things that you have or don't have, not to mention the worry and stress over "things" that you want or think that you need. I mean seriously, does anyone really "need" a $50K car or a million dollar home with 5 bedrooms when you have no children at home? Believe it or not, just a few short decades ago there were families of 6 that lived and thrived happily in a 3 bedroom 1 bath home. An now it comes to the part of my ranting where it actually relates to real estate. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the benefits as a Realtor of the urge that numerous folks have to up and move just because the want a bigger closet or nicer yard or something closer to work, etc. But I have to think that all of this moving just to satisfy our need for better or bigger or nicer has to play an important role in the meltdown of our real estate industry as it stands today. I am no saint myself. I am now in my fourth home in 10 years, so I am to blame as well. Anyway, we have totally gotten away from the "old" way of thinkingabout buying and owning a home. I know I am not the only one that remembers the days when you did not buy a home until you had 20% saved for a down payment and when you bought it you stayed there unless something major happened. I can still remember the days when folks said "you are crazy to sell your house unless you have been there at least 10 years. You will loose your 'you know what'. No one says that anymore. Is there anyone that is holding us accountable anymore? (It certainly is not going to be Realtors or mortgage lenders) When did we start buying and selling homes just because it was a buyers market or a sellers market, that never seems to work out that well, does it? Does it really have to come down to the foreclosure departments, judges and court systems of our country to tell us, "Hey, you really can't afford this house".

Anyway, as my rant comes to an end, my only point is that we have no one to blame but ourselves for the mess we are in right now. Just because the bank will give us a 120% loan does not mean that we should not "save-up" for the down payment and walk-in with positive equity, and just because the appraiser says that the house is "conveniently" valued at the exact amount of the purchase contract does not mean that is what it is actually worth, and just because your realtor calls you to tell you about an awesome deal on a house that is perfect for you does not mean that you have to jump on it immediately (I know, I know, that is totally counter-productive to my own efforts to survive as a realtor).

The only one that is going to hold us accountable for our actions is us! We all know this, but somehow have forgotten it. Maybe it will help, if we all ask ourselves "Do I actually need it, or do I just want it"?

Have a great day!

Shannon Gaskamp

Regional Realty

Florence, Ky.

Shannon Gaskamp Northern Kentucky Real Estate's Blog

Realtors Beware and Forewarned !!

Do I need it, or do I want it?