Michigan has been attempting to pass an anti-discount broker law for a couple of years now. Under the proposed legislation, no agent or broker could take a listing without offering FULL SERVICES. It would limit discounters for taking fees for just MLS or an a la carte type business. I have been following the legislation for the past two years and pressing my lawmakers to stop this bill. It is stalled in committee.
I would say a realtor is like a politican. My own congressman is great but the rest are crooks. My own (insert any person) is great works for me and makes my life better however the rest are crooks.
This is how you can explain the low ratings for car salesmen, lawyers, realtors or (as my skin crawls) congressman.
Still the best thing for the market is that it is free and open. We must have choices and the cream will rise and the rest get feed to the hogs. When lawyers and realtors set the rules and restrict the market you and I pay.
Car salesmen do not set the rules and that is why good ones stay and bad one are driven out by the consumer. Realtors, lawyer and the like rig the playing field and try to control the market. We suffer because they do this. We pay more because of it. I could go on for hours.
Okay there is a lot of Realtor bashing going on so I thought I would share a little. I am a realtor. I have only been one for two years. I used to work Fed Ex and invest in homes on the side. I hurt my back and couldnt work for Fed Ex anymore so I figured being a realtor was a good idea, I still invest of course. Okay thats my background so heres what I have figured out. There are a TON of realtors in any given area, the competition is tough. Having that many people in a profession that doesnt even take a highschool degree you can bet you will come across some real jerks, losers, unprofessionals, etc etc. There are also many professional and helpful people in the buisness. The trick is finding out which is which. And unfortunately most are nice when you first meet them so you usually have to really get to know them before you really know them. One of the problems is because it is a commission only basis there are a ton of little crappy companies that will hire ANYBODY to work for them. Because they know if they dont sell oh well, its not costing them anything to have them work there. I suggest when looking for a realtor you look for a large reputable company. Yes you can find a bad realtor at a good company and vice versa, its just a start.
Okay so now the discounted fee companies. First of all realize if you are not a realtor you may not understand. It is true that its a free world and there is a place for anybody who wants to sell something at any price they want. You want to list your house and pay 1 percent to a realtor, go ahead, free country. Want to list it and pay a realtor 20 percent, thats okay to. But please dont think that you can do what you want and then make me help you sell it, sorry. Just as you can list for what you want, I can show any properties that I want. As long as I dont discriminate on race, or religion, or familial status I can show, promote, market, sell, any properties I want. I can tell you this much. If I look at two identcal homes and my buyer asks which one I like better and one is offering 1 percent and the other is offering 3 percent which one do you think I am going to recommend? Have you ever told someone not to shop somewhere beacause they had cheap crappy items? I have. Same as a dicounted broker, you get what you pay for. Now if you have an intelligent buyer and an intelligent seller who know everything there is to know about real estate(maybe two investors) then you may not need a realtor. But almost always one or both parties dont have a clue what their doing. They dont undertsand contracts, inspections, financing, lead based paint, seller disclosure statements, deadlines, contingencies, title, escrow, and the list goes on. Also a realtor helps you get the most for your money. I see FSBOs all the time. They are either over priced or under priced. I almost never see one priced just right. Sure you can go pull county records and see what things have sold for (FSBOs almost never do) but do you know the way a market is heading? Do you know how a market feals? Buyers market? Sellers market? I do. So in closing remember these things: You get what you pay for, its a free country, and there are a lot of good and bad realtors.
I asked this question last year and no one seemed to have any good leads. Hopefully that has changed.
Must not be a demand or the cost is to high to start one.
J
How about Property Investor Magazine? Good articles for the most part. Go to http://www.propertyinvestormag.com
Bill
What is it about?
Michigan has been attempting to pass an anti-discount broker law for a couple of years now. Under the proposed legislation, no agent or broker could take a listing without offering FULL SERVICES. It would limit discounters for taking fees for just MLS or an a la carte type business. I have been following the legislation for the past two years and pressing my lawmakers to stop this bill. It is stalled in committee.
The Department of Justice has weighed in on this matter with an opinion at http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/comments/216469.htm
But, the NAR is doing all they can to keep their monopoly in place.
Those who have power hate to give it up. Ask Bill Gates.... Congress you name it.
I think everyone has a right to make money and I have a right to save money. Thanks for the input.
J
I would say a realtor is like a politican. My own congressman is great but the rest are crooks. My own (insert any person) is great works for me and makes my life better however the rest are crooks.
This is how you can explain the low ratings for car salesmen, lawyers, realtors or (as my skin crawls) congressman.
Still the best thing for the market is that it is free and open. We must have choices and the cream will rise and the rest get feed to the hogs. When lawyers and realtors set the rules and restrict the market you and I pay.
Car salesmen do not set the rules and that is why good ones stay and bad one are driven out by the consumer. Realtors, lawyer and the like rig the playing field and try to control the market. We suffer because they do this. We pay more because of it. I could go on for hours.
Thanks for the input.
J
Okay there is a lot of Realtor bashing going on so I thought I would share a little. I am a realtor. I have only been one for two years. I used to work Fed Ex and invest in homes on the side. I hurt my back and couldnt work for Fed Ex anymore so I figured being a realtor was a good idea, I still invest of course. Okay thats my background so heres what I have figured out. There are a TON of realtors in any given area, the competition is tough. Having that many people in a profession that doesnt even take a highschool degree you can bet you will come across some real jerks, losers, unprofessionals, etc etc. There are also many professional and helpful people in the buisness. The trick is finding out which is which. And unfortunately most are nice when you first meet them so you usually have to really get to know them before you really know them. One of the problems is because it is a commission only basis there are a ton of little crappy companies that will hire ANYBODY to work for them. Because they know if they dont sell oh well, its not costing them anything to have them work there. I suggest when looking for a realtor you look for a large reputable company. Yes you can find a bad realtor at a good company and vice versa, its just a start.
Okay so now the discounted fee companies. First of all realize if you are not a realtor you may not understand. It is true that its a free world and there is a place for anybody who wants to sell something at any price they want. You want to list your house and pay 1 percent to a realtor, go ahead, free country. Want to list it and pay a realtor 20 percent, thats okay to. But please dont think that you can do what you want and then make me help you sell it, sorry. Just as you can list for what you want, I can show any properties that I want. As long as I dont discriminate on race, or religion, or familial status I can show, promote, market, sell, any properties I want. I can tell you this much. If I look at two identcal homes and my buyer asks which one I like better and one is offering 1 percent and the other is offering 3 percent which one do you think I am going to recommend? Have you ever told someone not to shop somewhere beacause they had cheap crappy items? I have. Same as a dicounted broker, you get what you pay for. Now if you have an intelligent buyer and an intelligent seller who know everything there is to know about real estate(maybe two investors) then you may not need a realtor. But almost always one or both parties dont have a clue what their doing. They dont undertsand contracts, inspections, financing, lead based paint, seller disclosure statements, deadlines, contingencies, title, escrow, and the list goes on. Also a realtor helps you get the most for your money. I see FSBOs all the time. They are either over priced or under priced. I almost never see one priced just right. Sure you can go pull county records and see what things have sold for (FSBOs almost never do) but do you know the way a market is heading? Do you know how a market feals? Buyers market? Sellers market? I do. So in closing remember these things: You get what you pay for, its a free country, and there are a lot of good and bad realtors.