patrick.net

justme says

Klarek, I hope you are getting a BROKER license, not just a salesperson license.

It takes three years of being an active licensee before one can be a broker. Frankly I'm not sure if I want to go that far. My day job pays well enough and keeps me busy enough that I'd rather not jump all the way into a career of dealing with realtor scumbags every day. It's depressing enough just to listen to their radio ads and deal with them personally on infrequent occasions. To do it daily would probably kill me.

Just an added anecdotal story:

There's a short sale I'm interested in that's under contract. I called the listing agent this morning, identified myself as in interested buyer. She told me it was under contract, and when I asked what the offer amount was, she said "I'm not allowed to say..... but just between you and me, it's within the range of 330k-350k.

That's significantly less than I thought it would be and well below the listing price. If the buyers fall through with their lenders, I'll be the first person on her "to call" list (because she thinks I don't have an agent, and wants to double dip on her commission). She might have just cost her clients tens of thousands of dollars right there. She didn't even know my name, nor did I have to do more than ask. Not even nudge, just ask. It's almost impossible to engage with scumbag realtors without them doing something unethical, malicious, dishonest, etc.

Rob, I've been meaning to ask you, what are the chances I can find a broker that isn't a realtor? Do you pay all the NAR dues every year, or have you found a way around joining the cartel? That's really the biggest turnoff in this whole process, like joining Amway.

robertoaribas says

klarek can always join a 100% firm. I pay a monthly office rent of $25, and $250 per transaction to my broker, I submit all paperwork on online, and only go to the office if they are having a party.

That is a good arrangement. Particularly the party part lol.

klarek says

It takes three years of being an active licensee before one can be a broker.

Isn't it the case (in California) that with any 4-year college degree you can go straight to the broker exam?

klarek says

That is a good arrangement. Particularly the party part lol.

I'm biting my tongue.

justme says

Isn’t it the case (in California) that with any 4-year college degree you can go straight to the broker exam?

I don't know about CA. I do know that where I live (VA) it's a minimum of three years of active license to be a broker. Pretty sure there are no educational requirements. It's not like they bother trying to enforce the high school/GED requirements they established here. First day of class, all the foreign folks were asking about that because they went to high school in places like Mumbai and it's not exactly convenient to get high school records. A little *wink wink* from the instructor and some assurance that they needn't worry.

robertoaribas says

klarek can always join a 100% firm. I pay a monthly office rent of $25, and $250 per transaction to my broker, I submit all paperwork on online, and only go to the office if they are having a party.

Years ago I worked for a 100% shop. The way that they operated was share of office (according to sq foot), share of receptionist/secretary (me), share of advertising by line inch, and misc charges (supplies, etc). These were taken from commissions which were paid to the broker, fees removed, then paid to the agent. Personal fees such as MLS fees were paid by the agents... The realtors voted to accept/reject new agents - and "new" meant new to the shop, not the job. Everyone had at least 5 years experience and met a previous sales threshold. They were nasty, back-stabbing people who believed themselves superior to others. The shop ended up closing long before the recession hit.

You're in Arizona - and since the interwebs became the rave, I'm sure that things have changed. You don't take up space and your market is down. But how do you handle fees? Does the $250/transaction make up for it? Do you have a minimum? Just curious.

klarek says

Your mocking someone for wanting to save their friends and family from being robbed the rats such as yourself explains how you can do what you do and still sleep at night.

Klarkek: I get that you're trying to save some people money. But does that mean you have minimums and fees? Will you be able to pay for yourself, or merely subsidize family and eat your fees?

elliemae says

Klarkek: I get that you’re trying to save some people money. But does that mean you have minimums and fees? Will you be able to pay for yourself, or merely subsidize family and eat your fees?

I'm prepared to take a loss if need be. I'd make it up to myself when buying/selling my own properties. If my vitriol above is any indication, I have a pretty strong moral objective to the rats in this industry, and would take a loss to help a friend and hurt another realtor's bottom line.

justme says

You’re kidding me, right? NAR is another one of these so-called self-regulated organizations, similar to FINRA, SEC (only 10% jesting on that one) and so on.

Not kidding at all. If a real estate agent committed fraud and it's provable, you have a case.

RayAmerica says

Not kidding at all. If a real estate agent committed fraud and it’s provable, you have a case.

Provable. That would be the operative word.

Lame that you completely ignored my refutation of your bullshit above about being sued versus license revocation.

Klarek, it's good to know you live in VA.

Is it happened to be northern VA area, and your business area would be including Alexandria, Fairfax or Springfield? I may want to be one of your prey(?) when the time is right. Being a fellow patricker counts? :)

**
Ever got a letter from the other lawyer that stated "prove it"?
The proof must be 1. verifiable, 2. directly related to the very matter and 3. must be legally identified and imposable to be accepted in the court. Piles of proofs that suggest something, or even the fact this guy raped you from behind, don't do much if you unable to establish all of the above. That's why OJ simpson got away.

Seaside,

Yes, in Fairfax County. The land of the uncorrected housing bubble.

seaside says

Ever got a letter from the other lawyer that stated “prove it”?

realtors enjoy the business of lying every day, often to the detriment of their clients, yet never being held accountable. Hence the "what!? nobody sues us" excuse. They have one of the most powerful lobbies in the country and they engage in personally constructed services. Nothing they say is ever on record or verifiable, but everyone that's dealt with the scum knows they do it.

The fact that realtors are scum bags has nothing to do whether they commit illegal acts or not.
The common practices they employ often are to the detriment of their client, whether the client realizes it or not does not take away from the low life acts.

Realtors are just like that church congregation that protests at soldiers funerals, sure it's not illegal but they are still scumbags for using the death of a soldier to gain publicity, they use the ignorance of their clients to profit from directly and in the end hurt the clients and their family in the long run for their own gain.

Since when it did become acceptable to profit directly from others ignorance or lack of knowledge? It's certainly not right to do in my book, you provide a service or a product with integrity to your customer or employer and you do it in good faith. All of this is absent from most real estate transactions.

No wonder this country is in the sorry shape it is today.

ptiemann says

JimAtLaw says

If we simply killed every Realtor, aka used house salesman, who told prospective buyers that [..]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100923/ap_on_re_us/us_real_estate_agents_slain

Each Realtor should be given a gun to carry at open houses, of course tax payers should pick up the tab. :)

robertoaribas says

Ok, go back to ignorant generalizations, since you love it so much on here…

Relax, guy. Yes, I should probably have caveated my statement by saying instead of "all" realtors, really only 95% are terrible. No, I didn't say I was going to be a card-carrying NAR-bot. I'm trying to find a non-NAR broker in my area.

robertoaribas says

Even my good friends ignored me and found other agents to work with, so who did I really help? Nobody but nobody wanted to hear anything negative in 2006, they were all going to get rich.

People have selective memory when it comes to housing (and just about everything else). They typically "hear what they want to hear and disregard the rest." I've had the same experiences over the years. My nephew called me back when rates were at 7% fixed, 30 year and asked if I thought he should refi. I told him no ... that rates are definately going far lower that the 7. What did he do? He took a cash out refi and now is deeply underwater with a rate that is at 7. Buyers and sellers are adults, not little children. Although you'd never know it by reading these childish "every realtor is scum" posts.

RayAmerica says

Buyers and sellers are adults, not little children. Although you’d never know it by reading these childish “every realtor is scum” posts.

Those two things are not mutually exclusive. People need to be responsible, but realtards can and do hurt people.

RayAmerica says

Buyers and sellers are adults, not little children. Although you’d never know it by reading these childish “every realtor is scum” posts.

How convenient of you to leave the realtors , brokers, etc. out of the transaction.

They have a huge influence in buy and sell transactions when it comes to real estate.
They have a conflict of interest which creates a bad situation for the buyer.

Armando148 says

They have a huge influence in buy and sell transactions when it comes to real estate.

It reminds me of my RE course when I asked about the conflict of interest due to the seller paying the commission, and how higher or lower amounts going to the buyer's agent could get them to steer their clients to different houses in a completely self-serving manner. She said "we don't force or convince them what they should buy," and I was like "then what the hell are you there for?"

They like to have it both ways: you will suffer if you don't use our services/expertise, and our services/expertise cannot possibly influence your decision.

Who else is a real estate agent (all inclusive) out there? I would like to hear your defence.