REBLOG OF MELINA TOMSON: Tie yourself to the mast

This was originally posted on the Get Real Estate Blog.

I'm starting to see why Odysseus tied himself to the mast.

Temptation is just too great.

Sitting at home in the comfort of your electric blue Snuggie, homemade hot cocoa brimming with mini-marshmallows by your side, you decide you need some help. You don't need no stinking expensive lawyers or real estate agents people that know a lot about real estate. Luring you online with the sweet persuasion, the Sirens forum calls to you...

 

"I'll give you the information you want for free, just tell me your secrets," it whispers. 

 

The hot cocoa makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, temporarily rendering you passive. The Sirens downfall, in my opinion, was their failure to go to plan B...the Snuggie and hot cocoa. Filled with visions of world peace, you succumb to the Sirens random people that you don't know online and listen to their great words of wisdom. Much better than hiring a local attorney or working with a real estate agent who has read your contract and knows state real estate laws. These lovely voices online would never lead you astray...

 

Tie yourself to the mast dear consumers, or at least buy some beeswax for your ears. What Odysseus knew that some of you appear to be missing is that the lure of free advice online is fraught with disaster. Waiting for you by the sweet sounds of FREE advice are those rocky shoals waiting to crash your real estate contract into bits. Everyone wants reassurance, but state laws and customary practices vary so greatly from state to state that often the information you get online isn't right for you.

 

• Did you know that in NYC, they don't use an MLS?
• Did you know that in some major cities that listing agents attend all showings?
  
• Did you know that in Illinois an attorney writes up a real estate contract, where out west they only get involved when there are problems?
• Did you know that in North Carolina the attorney does the closing on a house, while we use title companies in Salem Oregon.
• Did you know that in Texas the sales price of a house is confidential and not public record?
• Did you know that in Salem Oregon that our rate of foreclosed homes isn't the same as say, Compton, CA?

 

The problem with going online and asking a bunch of strangers what you should write in your offer, what you should counter with in negotiations, whether or not a seller is being reasonable, is that none of us is privy to your contract, terms, and local market conditions/customs. The urge to bypass paying someone for advice is a strong and powerful force, and surely if Odysseus was a Jedi master he just would have gone all Yoda on those Sirens. Alas, you and I only get to carry those seemingly cool plastic light-sabers that break the moment you engage in battle leaving a young child forsaking all things made in China...but I digress from the point.

 

The point is that a real estate contract can be complicated. It is one thing to seek reassurance from your fellow oarsman that you are rowing the boat correctly. It is another thing to fail to tie yourself to the mast and be pulled in with erroneous advice from Sirens trolls that enjoy the sounds of their own voices as they lead you astray.

 

Tie yourself to the mast, dear consumer. Tie yourself to the mast.

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