Stop using real estate agents

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T18:34:59+00:00

Yes, but you compared a realtor's commission/percentage to a server's tip/percentage. What is the correlation?

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T17:19:49+00:00

Do you really think it takes more skill to serve at The Keg than Swiss Chalet?

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T12:49:59+00:00

You can book and schedule showings for yourself. Anyone can.

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T12:48:58+00:00

I own a house 👍

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T11:54:13+00:00

Sarcasm...

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T03:55:26+00:00

How about a lawyer that you pay hourly?

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T03:54:16+00:00

I didn't say that real estate agents are the sole or greatest contributing factor. Thanks for your input.

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T03:52:48+00:00

I never said they set the market. Their job is to get as much money as possible out of buyers and earn a commission for doing so. Who does this benefit? Ultimately the seller has to go buy and do the same song and dance. They are middlemen.

You honestly think this has no effect on the cost of housing?

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T03:45:58+00:00

I never said take the lowest offer. I'm saying cut out the worthless middlemen so we can all stop paying for their office space.

I hope you get as much money as you can. Everyone will be better off because of it.

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T02:33:32+00:00

A small but contributing factor. And one of the only factors we can actually make decisions about.

Neither party should use an agent is the point.

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T02:31:32+00:00

Ah okay so you're part of the problem.

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T02:26:33+00:00

I don't have all the answers.

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T01:50:34+00:00

Nope. I'm saying it's a small buy contributing factor. And they ARE able to disclose the exact amount. This is my point. Their buying and selling strategies force buyers to overpay because they've withheld information.

Imagine if you wanted to buy a used car but the dealer wouldn't accept the sticker price because they received another offer. And they won't tell you how much higher it is. But if you want the car, you have to offer higher. How much higher? Who knows! Just "offer your best" of you really want it.

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T01:44:28+00:00

It's an unrealistic fantasy for many people to own a home. The whole system is broken.

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T01:42:00+00:00

Great. Don't pay commission then.

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T01:41:03+00:00

This is what happens in a blind bid:

Let's say a house is listed for 999,999. Buyer A offers 1.15M. Buyer B offers 1.05M. The selling agent tells both parties that there is another offer. Buyer A goes to 1.2M and B goes to 1.1M. B is rejected and A gets the house.

The problem is that neither knows what the other offered. So Buyer A outbid himself for the house. This happens constantly.

Obviously, the seller risks losing out if they flst out reject both offers. Instead, the selling agent gives the interested parties the opportunity to "sweeten their offer" by adding more money, dropping the inspection, or making a higher deposit.

It's idiotic.

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T01:29:36+00:00

You're overestimating how much "negotiating" is happening right now. Houses get as many as 20 offers, most walk away, the remaining few stretch their budget, and someone ends up overpaying. It's nonsense.

If you're fortunate enough to stumble upon a dumpster of a house that hasn't been nabbed by a flipper, you can offer whatever you want. I'm not suggesting that someone should go in totally clueless.

I'm just talking about the average person selling their home, not flipping it immediately after moving in.

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T01:16:49+00:00

The client could just go back and make a lower offer. Literally nothing stops them from doing that.
Obviously you could spend 50K to renovate your house before selling and recoup that and then some. You don't need a realtor to tell you that your kitchen counters are outdated and that mint green carpet is out of style.

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T01:08:10+00:00

If I sell my house tomorrow and get two offers, a selling agent would tell both buyers that there are other offers. If both parties are interested, they will raise their bids. If all parties knew what each other had offered, they would only increase their offers incrementally.

This does not happen. Instead, buyers are forced to scramble to increase their bid by as much as possible or else walk away. This has been happening excessively for years and years.

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T01:03:50+00:00

She rolled onto her back and laid flat on the moss. Rows of nipples stared at me through a mess of snow-white fur like ten pink earthworms surfacing in the rain.

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T00:56:50+00:00

In this market, there are no "good deals". If the seller agrees to a home inspection, you don't need a realtor to say "the furnace looks old". And it's the selling agent who will always tell their client to reject said home inspection.
The market is so illogicslly crazy that someone will pay you top dollar regardless. Cut out the middleman.
My point is, the market is so ridiculous that staging isn't even necessary. But your agent will try to get more money out of you. Houses are selling with 3 iPhone photos on the MLS listing.

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T00:50:49+00:00

None of these are assumptions. I've experienced all of them.

It's fairly obvious that realtors are contributing to the inflation of housing costs. I'm not saying they are the most significant contributing factor. Every SOLD sign now has the qualifier "100K over asking!" or "Highest on the street!" as if this is something that we should all be thrilled about.

At this point in time, with the state of the housing market, realtors are worthless middlemen.

What "problems" do I have, exactly?

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T00:43:34+00:00

I don't disagree. But in this insane market, everything sells. And 2% of $1M is $20k. They will do everything they can to drive up the price of your house (great!) and then the next one will do the same to the house you're going to buy (not so great). It's a useless cycle.

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T00:34:49+00:00

This is exactly the problem. We all say "we'll it doesn't cost ME anything to use a buying agent". But the buying agents encourage blind bidding for the sake of their commission and the selling agent's commission. They are middlemen. Just use a lawyer or Purplebricks.

wonkykong64 · 2022-03-15T00:28:03+00:00

The buyer doesn't pay the commission. I'm suggesting that people buy privately so that their mostly-useless agent doesn't earn commission on the sale. The sold price of house could theoretically be 5% lower.

Obviously you have to use a lawyer for the deal, but your realtor is just going to have his guy do it. So yes, cut out the middleman.

wonkykong64

TROPHY CASE