Real Estate 102
I'm appalled at the sorry state of many real estate agents, and I use the term "agent" very loosely. Maybe the time has come to install taxi type meters in agents cars and bill by the hour and mile. $5.00 for dropping the flag (letting the buyers into your car) $20.00 if you actually have a car with a comfortable back seat. $1.30 per mile. $0.17 per minute waiting time. $10.00 per door opened with key box. $20.00 for para-legal services, filling out a sales agreement. $1.00 per page for faxing said sales agreement to listing agent. $1.35 per page for incoming fax.
Absurd! Of course! Few are worth that much!
Agent. "agent >noun 1 a person who provides a particular service, typically liaising between two other parties. 2 a spy. 3 a person or thing that takes an active role or produces a specified effect."From my WordPerfect program dictionary.
"1 a person who provides a particular service"Some still do drive their buyers to the listings, some. All most all use the key box to open the houses. Most will write in the address and the buyers offer on the 16 to 23 page form that disclaims all for liability both statutory and presumed. Most "present" the offer by fax.
"liaising between two other parties" For most this is a real creative stretch of the imagination!
"2 a spy" Well most will check the address on a map. Few will take the time to check the public record, about the property or seller.
"3 a person or thing that takes an active role or produces a specified effect." If you consider being ambulatory active.
How does the "agent" justify their fees beyond what I've listed if they don't council the buyers?
How? What set me off? Consider the following:
"whomever sold her that house should have advised her to meet with a financial planner" "Sometimes we are counselors but venturing into the mortgage process may bite you. You can recommend without crossing lines but when venturing into unlicensed territory the liability gator can bite you. I offer my thoughts but rarely do I get involved with the financing side". "We need to take caution so as not to overstep out limits of expertise" "She should have been advised somewhere along the line to speak with a financial planner" "As a REALTOR I seldom get into financial discussions with my clients"
These "agents" were all making excuses for not counseling a home buyer about the down payment and loan on a house. While some advice seeking financial planning advice, the practical matter is that few people will. The REALTOR and the Mortgage Originator are the only financial people most buyers have access to! If the buyer is pre-qualified or pre-approved then the duty is on them, but if they come to the lender with an O & A that is contingent upon a 50% loan the client is obligated to buy if that loan is available to them!
There is a great quot attributed to a 17th century Member of the English Parliament to the affect that an agent/representative of the people owes his people his wisdom. Why would your people deserve less?
If you can't advise your buyers some thing as simple as "Equity Is Optional / Liquidity Is Mandatory" what justifies your fees or license? The question applies equally to real estate and mortgage people! A mortgage person who can't or refuses to counsel their buyers is worth $200.00 to $300.00 for clerical services no more!
Remember you don't have to know all the answers, but you must know the questions! And, ask them!
Bill
William J Archambault Jr
The Real Estate Investment Institute
10 Suggestions!
With out his advice even Mosses would have had little value.
He didn't know the answers, but he knew the questions and where to get the answers!
To extreme? Maybe.
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