Real estate was the lunch topic of discussion....and everyone knows someone who knows more than any Realtor could ever hope to learn about real estate of course...sigh....
Soooo....my friend told me of her friend who had listed with a discount agent to say all of this money in commission. (THIS Discount agent from our experience does not return phone calls promptly and showings are set through him....sigh again.)
Querying further...."Are they down sizing..'moving out of state.....?" I asked...Oh no my friend said...they just decided they wanted to rent.
What is wrong with this picture ? Moving from over 5,000 square feet...to renting...hmmmm....end of lunch and on to the court records on the computer....Uh huh...no surprise....the decision to move is not theirs...but their lender's decision. The price is not appraisable...but one they may believe will cover the debt with multiple lenders.
Records indicate that they have been down this road before...guessing that their "stay of execution" was a loan modification...that "worked for a while"....for the bank extracting every nickel from the Sellers.
The financial situation could not be "righted"...and the Discount agent has done his job in violating the ethics "oath" we all take.....Honor thy Market Analyis....unless it gets you a listing...which I never understand because it is not going to produce a sale in these kinds of cases. There is no price reduction that will "save" them ....and the Discount agent doesn't do short sales...he just makes the sellers believe that isn't necessary by listing the property at a price that will never have a SOLD sign on it. Over pricing is not unique to Discount Agents of course...In our market...very, very common....let the Seller name the price, throw a sign on the lawn and a listing in MLS and call it real estate....oh not...ESPECIALLY not when this puts the Seller(s) in danger of foreclosure. ('Ethics anyone ?)
For those of you who are reading this blog and are choosing to single out the term "discount agent" without the qualification that this agent...and often the case in OUR market...buys listings...does not return calls...does nothing more than put the sign in the yard and listing in MLS
and we could list the times that agents with these practices help take a Seller into foreclosure....That is the point....and guessing no one in this forum endorses that action.
I emailed my lunch friend.....and told her that when her friend expresses some frustration with the house not selling....we would be happy to talk with her.....and we can only hope that we get to talk with her before the Sheriff has his sale.
If you or anyone you know has a story about their house...that just isn't selling for the price that they have in mind....that has lingered on the market at a price far above the rest of the neighborhood....Call us...let us refer them to someone who can help them. If there are alternatives to a short sale...we will explore them....If a short sale is the alternative...we will list and close it or refer them to someone in their state who can.
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