Real estate blog entries tagged with opinion by Bryant Tutas, Selling Florida one home at a time (Tutas Towne Realty, Inc and Garden Views Realty, LLC)

Home : Blogs : Bryant Tutas : Broker Bryant's Real Estate Ramblings : Tag "opinion"

opinion: Real Estate is a Business. Treat it like one. - 04/08/10 09:58 AM

Earlier today I read a post byJoshua Pettus titled "I Quit!", "I Need a Real Job!", "I'm Broke!", and Other Things I've Said Recently A very well written post pretty much pouring his heart out. Give it a read.
Anyway, after reading his post I dug back through my archives and dug out this article I wrote in August 2007. My advise was good back then and I stand by it today. Maybe it'll help somebody.
First, it's important to remember that Real Estate is a business NOT a job. When you are a business owner your job is to find … (116 comments)

opinion: The Lender needs to remove the "Deficiency Language" from our Florida Short Sale Approval or we ain't closing!! - 03/25/10 09:49 AM

Well OK then. BUT.....did you know getting it removed is not enough? "What ya talkin' 'bout Willis?" Having the deficiency language removed from a Florida Short Sale approval letter don't mean squat. Of course, I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. So you need to seek legal advice if this is a big deal. But here's my opinion. Not only would they have to remove the deficiency language BUT they would have to add a clause stating that they will NOT go after you for a deficiency. AND I personally don't think this would make a … (24 comments)

opinion: Why do Buyer's agent rely on listing agents for their compensation? - 02/22/10 10:52 AM

.....and then complain about it! Today I want to talk briefly about co-brokes and the "ole' 50/50 rule". In my area it is quite common for short sale listings to have verbiage in the MLS remarks stating that what ever commission is received will be split 50/50 with the selling agent. Then of course they offer a ridiculously high co-broke so the uneducated Buyers agent believes he will get that x% co-broke when most of us know the short sale lender will rarely allow more than y%.
I don't handle my listings that way. I offer z% percent as a co-broke … (43 comments)

opinion: GMAC Short Sale Verbiage is Stealing MY Money! - 02/14/10 10:00 AM

Hi Folks. Richard Zaretsky wrote apost earlier this week titled SHORT SALE MARKET EVOLUTION - GMAC SOLUTION TO FALSE BUYERS If you haven't read it pop over and do so.
Richard's post spawned an article by Bill J Archambault titled Successful REALTOR Or Failed Social Reformer.
Bill's post got me thinking about this one. Funny how that works!
Here is the language GMAC wants if you have a short sale with them as the lender:
2-3% earnest money must be agreeable to buyer. Contingencies must be removed 14 days after we issue approval letter and earnest money becomes non-refundable. If buyer … (71 comments)

opinion: If it sounds too good to be true........ - 01/28/10 09:18 AM

Hi folks. Did you know, when I wake up in the morning the first thing that comes into my head is, "What can I Blog about today?" Then the phone rings and my question is answered.....
"Good morning, Tutas Towne Realty, this is the incredibly good looking and intelligent Broker Bryant speaking, how may I help your dreams come true today?"
"Hi Broker Bryant, this is your Seller over at 4321 Desperation Ave. I'm calling to let you know I have found a Buyer for my house. My neighbor, who has lots of money, wants to buy my house. I … (79 comments)

opinion: Quit whining about Short Sales. YOU are the problem. - 12/28/09 05:41 AM

Hi folks. I was commenting on an article by Russell Shaw over at AgentGenius earlier and one person actually stated that instead of trying to solve the short sale issue we should be working on speeding up the foreclosure process.
Speed up foreclosures? Sorry but I’m in the business of helping people salvage some of their credit and get out of a bad situation with the least amount of damage. Speeding up the foreclosure process helps nobody.
Short sales fail due to:
Lack of knowledge on the part of the agent. Contract prices that are too low. Not qualifying the … (56 comments)

opinion: Is the REALTOR(R) Code of Ethics stifling competitive business practices? - 12/16/09 07:51 AM

***FOR REASONS BEYOND MY CONTROL THE COMMENT THREAD ON THIS POST WAS SHUT DOWN BY ACTIVERAIN DUE TO TOO MANY COMMENTS. They are working on the issue. My apologies for our conversation being yanked in the middle of talking.
Hi folks. Debe Maxwell wrote a post yesterday titled “I won’t swim in your toilet if you don’t pee in my pool”. Her post, in a nutshell, is about a REALTOR® actively soliciting one of her active listings.If you haven’t read her post please take a minute to do so. I’ll wait. La lala la lala….OK are you back? As … (159 comments)

opinion: Do you trust your REALTOR®? Better think again. - 12/13/09 05:30 AM

OK before I get started let me say that I know from experience that most REALTORS® are good hardworking trustworthy folk. BUT…….not all.As in any profession there are wolves in sheep clothing. You may think they are looking out for you when the reality is they are just looking out for their wallet.Recently I have had agents on the other side of the transaction literally crying and begging for me to get an offer accepted because they needed money for Christmas. I would like to say I was shocked but I wasn’t. In my 15 years of being a REALTOR® not … (138 comments)

opinion: So..does the co-broke matter? - 12/11/09 08:28 AM

This discussion has been taking place on AR since it's inception.
Some of my favorite responses are:
I don't even look at that until I'm writing the offer. We should never put our own self interests ahead of our clients. I show my buyers listings no matter what the co broke is, as it is our duty to our clients to show listings that fit their needs. My question is....Why are agents so afraid to admit that commission does matter? What aren't you having these discussions with your Buyers PRIOR to them agreeing to hire you. How many of you, … (80 comments)

opinion: A Plea to the National Association of REALTORS(R).......SHUT UP!! - 11/21/09 08:08 AM

Hi folks. This post is inspired by Linda Davis' great article "The NAR Predicts Sunshine and Lollipops". Her post is referring to the NAR's Chief economist Lawrence Yun once again making statements about the Real Estate market that are really nothing more than "spinning" reality to help REALTORS(R) put money in their pockets. As a REALTOR(R) myself I personally find his comments on the state of the market embarrassing. Why can't he just be truthful?
In 2007 we were asked to pitch "Now is a GREAT time to buy Real Estate". Fortunately I didn't jump on that band wagon either. In … (122 comments)

opinion: Social Media. How to. What to. When to. Who to. - 11/02/09 07:34 AM

Social Media. How to. What to. When to. Who to.Have you ever wondered how many Social media experts there are out there? If you do a Google search for "Social Media Experts" you get 80,000,000 results. Holy crap Batman!! Now I'm sure this figure is waaaay off so let's say there are a million "Social Media Experts". A million people telling us.......
How to interact with others online. What to write/post/tweet/update about. When to write/interact/tweet. Who to befriend, become a fan of, linkin with. If Social Media is about interacting with each other then shouldn't we know this stuff already? … (25 comments)

opinion: In order to succeed we must know when to be flexible. - 10/26/09 10:25 AM

A while back I called one of our fellow ActiveRainers. I did this because I had received an email and could tell this person was struggling a little in their business and needed some words of encouragement. So I called.
Anyway, it seems discouragement was setting in because she was going on listing appointments but was losing them on pricing. Then they would list with another REALTOR® and after several months, and a few price reductions, the property would sell at close to the list price that she had suggested from day one. Have you ever had this happen?
I … (111 comments)

opinion: Have professional courtesy but don't cross the line. - 10/16/09 09:43 AM

Hi folks. Let's talk a little bit about professional courtesy. I hear this term quite a bit on AR and in my business. Usually, it goes something like this:
"The listing agent should have told me he had other offers on the property, as a professional courtesy". "Even though my buyer's offer was a low ball the listing broker should have gotten back to me before the offer expired, as a professional courtesy." You get my point. Anyway, let me see if I can shed some light on this professional courtesy "thingie". First, I want to say, that anyone who has … (102 comments)

opinion: REALTORS(R) are the root of all evil!! - 10/10/09 08:24 AM

REALTORS(R) created the bubble and we are the reason the bubble burst.
REALTORS(R) sold houses to anyone that could breathe because we are money grubing theives.
REALTORS(R) give bad advise because all we care about is our commission.
REALTOR(S) are the root of all evil!!
Or so some would want you to believe.
Especially the "bubble heads". They feel that we were out there setting prices higher and higher because the Buyers would pay it. There is some truth to that but the price was dictated by the market, not REALTORS®.
I can remember, in 2005, going back and forth with … (154 comments)

opinion: Do you pay for leads? - 09/30/09 07:47 AM

If you answered "No" let me ask you this. Do you really believe that? Do you understand how lead generation works?The answer to the question should always be "yes". Here's why.Leads ALWAYS cost us something. Leads cost:
Money Time Effort Or any combination of the above Most successful REALTORS®, or anyone in business for that matter, uses a combination of the three. If you are spending your time and effort on blogging, social networking, building relationships or whatever you do that doesn’t cost you money you still have a cost related to that time and effort. It may be a … (31 comments)

opinion: Buyers don't suck......do you? - 09/26/09 08:01 AM

I read a post recently that was bashing Buyers. The author/agent had shown them houses for several days only to have the Buyer end up purchasing a home through another agent. As alway there were many agents in the comment section calling the buyer names. I have never agreed with the "Buyers are Liars" mentality so want to share my thoughts on this.
First I want to say, if something is not going the way you want it to, look at yourself. Try to find out what it is that you are doing that is creating the issue. We can't … (118 comments)

opinion: How to list a property that's already listed. - 09/17/09 09:05 AM

Do you ever take post dated listings? What I mean is, a potential Seller calls you up and wants to get together and discuss placing their property on the market, the catch is, they are currently listed with another company. What do you do? Well, I'll tell you what I do, I go over and take the listing. Did you know this was perfectly ethical?
What you can't do is try to convince them to cancel their existing agreement or bad mouth their current Realtor. Also, you must post date the listing agreement. But other than those three things, this is … (267 comments)

opinion: Are you protecting the public or pampering agents? - 09/06/09 11:03 AM

Here’s why I ask. My real estate practices are very aggressive. Without a doubt I have pissed a few agents off over the years. Some agents have called my buisness practices unethical, illegal, unprofessional, moronic, deceitful, bait and switch, confrontational, self indulging and blah, blah, blah…..I could go on but you get my point.
By the way, did you know accusing a REALTOR® of using unethical or illegal practices when they aren’t is in itself a violation of our CoE (Code of Ethics)? Don’t believe me? Go check it out. SoP (Standard of Practice) 15-2.The reality is that I am just … (42 comments)

opinion: A Short Sale Contract is STILL a Contract! - 08/15/09 09:10 AM

Hi folks. Allison Stewart wrote a very good post this week titled WALK THIS WAY... CAN BUYERS JUST WALK AWAY FROM A CONTRACT?. Allison’s post is talking about Buyers who feel they can just walk away from a Short Sale transaction and get their deposit back because they are just tired of waiting. They feel the contract is not binding.Here is my opinion on why Buyers feel this way. They are misinformed. A Short Sale contract is no different than a regular contract with the exception of the 3rd party approval contingency. This contingency is related to the Lender approving the … (174 comments)

opinion: Disclose multiple offers? Sorry...it's none of your buisness! - 08/12/09 06:30 AM

Hi folks. I’ve read a couple of posts this week that have left me scratching my head. Both were about listing agents and their “unethical” practice of not handling multiple offers according to the Buyer agent’s expectations.In the comments on these posts the listing agents were called lazy, unethical, unprofessional, bad, rude, unfair and greedy. The consensus was that “The listing agent was not looking out for the Seller‘s best interest.”Well my question is: “How do you know what’s in my Seller’s best interest”. The answer of course is “you don’t“. You have no clue what my Seller and I have … (33 comments)

Related Links: