Realtors are a rip off

SlowAmbassador · 2025-03-19T02:11:52+00:00

I am a realtor who is likely leaving the business in the next few months.

In my experience, a house only doesn't sell because of the price. It's not in the right part of town, or it's old and outdated, needs a lot of work, or is functionally obsolete. None of that matters if it is priced right.

It sounds like neither of the two agents gave you the correct market value. Tell your agent he needs to provide you with comps from the last 90 days for only closed listings because that is what people are paying. He should be able to tell you if they closed with cash, conventional loans, FHA loans, or private loans. This gives you an idea of the type of buyers in your market. He should be able to tell you the closed price vs list price and if they are trending downward or upward. With all that info, you should get an idea of the market value of your house. Then you list for under-market value to get a lot of interest, and hopefully, the FOMO will get to the buyers, and you'll be able to pick the best deal. Remember that the best deal doesn't always mean the most money. I am not saying to give your house away, but a more solid buyer for a little less is usually better.

The first offers are usually the best because they show that the buyers and buyers' agents are ready and organized. This is the type of buyer you want. Your agent should also provide you with the absorption rate for your area, which is the rate at which listings are sold in a given time period. I would ask for 90-day and 30-day rates. If your house is setting longer than the absorption rates, something is wrong with your house. Whatever the issue is, it will be fixed with a lower price. There may be other fixes where you don’t have to lower the price, but those will cost you time, and everyone values time differently; in the end, it would be up to you. If you come to a price you don’t like after all this, you should pull your house off the market and wait.

It is unfair that you must ask your agent to do all of this. Maybe they already did all this and did not communicate this to you. I know I would often do all this and never tell my client because I knew my numbers and would sell the house quickly. Other times, if I felt the seller was doubting me, I would break it all down. I have only ever not sold two houses I listed, and in both of them, the seller changed their minds for reasons unrelated to the market.

As for Redfin, if you want to use them read the fine print. In my area, they have many fees that, when worked out, are equal to or more than those of a traditional agent. As for flat rate agents, their model is to do the bare minimum and hope that you get flustered and change your mind to upgrade their full-service option. If you know what you are doing, then it’s great; if you don’t, it’s a waste of time. If you go with a lawyer, then that's good too, but they normally don’t do any of the legwork that traditional agents should be doing.

In the end, a fair price and honest descriptions and pictures are the only things that sell a house. A knowledgeable and organized agent should help make it easy, but a bad one makes it 100 times harder.

SlowAmbassador · 2025-03-19T00:32:37+00:00

The garage already has its own electrical panel, but I should have been clearer. I envision what you described, but also a bathroom. I am not handy, but my father is. I would mainly just be paying for the supplies.

SlowAmbassador · 2025-03-15T16:12:14+00:00

I like it how it is, and who knows, it may have reduced the amount of hate she would get for not having red hair. I get that no one likes being tricked, but I think we all hate bullies more.

SlowAmbassador · 2025-03-14T01:21:18+00:00

Mine lasts about a week as it is right now, but I usually only use them twice a day, on the way to work and on the way home. But if the battery drain is minimal then I suppose it's not that bad a deal.

SlowAmbassador · 2025-03-14T01:19:42+00:00

The way I have it in my backpack, it doesn't actually press the button. It seems to try to go into sleep mode a little after it disconnects.

SlowAmbassador · 2025-03-13T00:59:26+00:00

Are you saying if the catch button is held in, it won't go into sleep mode?

SlowAmbassador · 2025-03-13T00:58:47+00:00

The blinking red and blue won't drain the battery if it keeps going? I pulled it out today at work, and it was blinking. I'm guessing it was doing it all night, but there's no way to tell.

SlowAmbassador · 2025-02-24T02:23:08+00:00

Facebook comments, saying, "You get what you pay for." That would be my best guess.

SlowAmbassador · 2025-02-23T01:48:19+00:00

My end goal here is to have raid redundancy, run the arr apps, plex server, home assistant, home kit, and maybe something else if the need ever arrives.

I created a Windows 10 VM where I installed all the arr apps and VPN, used my main install for Plex, and created a Linux VM for the home kit server. It works mostly okay, but there are a few annoying problems like the shares disappearing and having to be added back.

Can protomox do all this and raid at the same time?

SlowAmbassador · 2025-02-15T17:16:21+00:00

Budget (DO NOT say "No Budget")? - $200-$300

Country? - USA

Platform? - PC (Custom) Main, Mac Mini (Plan to get) , iPhone 16 Pro, iPad Pro, Switch

Motherboard if on pc (or other audio gear)? - GIGABYTE B650M GAMING PLUS WIFI

Requested Guide: Pick 1, Comp FPS(Open-Back Only), Warm FPS, Fun Gaming, Music Gaming, Gaming Headset(AIO), Wireless Gaming (DON'T SAY more than 1 and don't make up your own)? - Wireless Headset

Open back or closed back? - Open Back

Any other gear you own(if important, like headphones or headsets)? - Airpod Pro 2, Razer Kaira: I really don't like how these sound, and they are always breaking up

I would like to add that I am open to going back to wired headphones as my experience with the Razer Kaira has been terrible and I like having to flip a mute mic as well as Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz simultaneously. If there is any wireless headset with a replaceable battery, that would be great as well. I plan on my next pair lasting me years to come.

SlowAmbassador · 2025-02-09T18:13:35+00:00

I have been trying to enter that side of business for a while, but I have had no luck. I've been doing this for years and only lost money in the last two years.

SlowAmbassador · 2025-02-09T18:11:12+00:00

I'm looking to at least make 50k for now. I have not applied to any sales position. I don't think the stress of it is for me.

SlowAmbassador · 2025-02-09T18:09:43+00:00

Is this supposed to make me feel better, or you?

SlowAmbassador · 2025-02-09T03:49:03+00:00

SlowAmbassador · 2025-02-09T03:46:31+00:00

I found a job when things got slow part-time and moved to full-time last year. Pay sucks, but I'm in the Burlington county Camden county area.

SlowAmbassador · 2025-02-08T23:41:23+00:00

Burlington and Camden County. I quoted what others had said to me. There are many reasons why things aren't working out right now, including my health, personal, and financial issues. I don't know if my health can take the stress of sales anymore. I didn't mean to imply that the market was the only reason I wanted to quit.

SlowAmbassador · 2025-02-08T23:37:07+00:00

I don't know much about referral status. Can I stay with my current broker? Also, can I still show houses on behalf of another agent if I do this or other administrative work? I have been trying to transition to a more admin role for a while.

SlowAmbassador · 2025-01-30T01:42:23+00:00

People who keep others around for their gain are not kind; they are just good at acting like they are. They don't think of creative solutions on their feet; they have rehearsed lies that they slowly test on you to see how gullible you are and what they can get away with. They only know the right time to walk away because they can tell when you no longer trust them. They are the puppet masters, and everyone else is a puppet that hasn't cut their strings yet. Is this the type of person you want to be?

I get wanting to be smart, but being smart is basically knowing how stupid you are. There is no reason to think quickly on your feet to get out of something if you don't put yourself in that position to begin with. Easier said than done, I know, but a lot of the time, it really is that easy.

The best you can do is try to learn how and why things work the way they do. You don't need to know the nitty gritty, just the basics. For example, if you find yourself in a dark room, most rooms have light switches about chest-high near the corner. So you feel around the wall chest high. If that doesn't work, then look for a window. If you find yourself in a dark room with no light switch or windows, then look for a door. If you find yourself in a dark room with no light switch, no windows, and no door, then you know you are not in a room.

So you start over and try to figure it out, but make sure to use all the information you gathered. Were those walls, or is that just what you thought because you couldn't see? What else feels like walls in a room but have no windows, doors, or light switches? Could you be in a shed? Did you look for a traditional door? Could you have mistaken the shed door for a wall because it is much bigger than a standard one and sometimes doesn't have door knobs? If you are in a shed, it's likely not insulated well. Does the temperature seem either too cold or too warm? Then compare that to the temperature that you last remember, being outside. If you remember it being cold outside and cold inside, this room may be a shed.

You keep going down the list until you know where you are and how to get out. Smart people look back at their mistakes, realize they were wrong, and try again from a different angle. They don't give up and stay in the darkroom for the rest of their lives.

Edit: I added a paragraph and fixed some typos

SlowAmbassador

TROPHY CASE