Three Realtor-Related Questions

[roamingzebra]

There already are a couple of threads on realtors, but thought I'd throw in my own questions.

1. Chemistry. How much does chemistry count between the client and the realtor? I know someone who is very knowledgable about real estate (and has bought/sold many houses) and he said if he didn't personally like the realtor he was introduced to, he'd walk out and find another one. He wanted someone who had a personality he could work with. That surprised me. I thought chemistry would almost be incidental when we're talking about big money.

2. Realtor Career/Education Background. Are there any backgrounds that are better or worse for realtors? We've gotten fliers from local realtors wondering if we're interested in selling (we aren't at the moment), but I notice a wide variation in background. The ones that seemed most impressive to me, based on their detail orientation, had either a law or engineering degree (yeah, I know, I was surprised to see these backgrounds too). My gut tells me that's the wrong background for real estate, but it would probably be a better fit chemistry-wise. Or am I over-thinking this and prior education/career experience is a minor consideration?

3. Survived 2008. In another thread, a recommendation was for realtors who were in the business before the 2008 financial crisis and still practicing. How does one find out that information? I see fliers that tout a particular realtor as "Realtor of the Year", selling X number of houses and X dollar amounts, but never anything saying they've been in the business 15 or more years or that they've been successful in both up and down markets. Ideally, I'd like to see a database that has this information so one could just call the 2008 survivors and ignore all the rest. (Yeah, haha, dreaming, but there has to be some way of finding out this information other than just randomly calling realtors and asking, right?)

[Freetime76]

1. Chemistry - it makes sense to decline to work with a person that you do not like right away, or find abrasive or negative or…just don’t have a good vibe for some reason. Even more so if you’re in the business and buy/sell often. If someone can’t present a pleasant, positive, helpful (or all business, if that’s your preference) impression in an initial conversation, then forget it when you disagree about something pressing.

2. ??? I don’t give a rip what s/he did before becoming a realtor. Nor do I care what the person who sells me my car did before sales. Really, I wouldn’t even know, because I don’t look. We aren’t going to be friends(especially after I don’t agree to lower the price, or won’t fix an inspection item). I am hiring them for exactly one transaction: sell my house or help me buy a new one.

3.You might try the National Association of Realtors and see how long a realtor had a license. You might go by age as in if the person was 12 in 2008, probably not selling homes except in Monopoly.

Are these your top 3 items, or are you just asking?

If you like researching and analyzing, good! Because the biggest impact to Your buying or selling experience and financials will come from your own self wink: : doing your own homework, your own research on areas/listings/solds, being present for inspections, and determining what you can afford (what’s your bottom or top number, where can you give in).

I’d take a realtor’s input as food for thought advice, not gospel - it’s your money, your home, and you have to make your own decisions.

I’m more interested in a realtor who is serious about the business - I might use a new one if I’m confident in the area enough to compensate. This person should communicate in a way you use and a very prompt time frame. Must sell more than a home a month. Also, if reviews online are available, do read them. No reviews doesn’t mean anything though - excellent realtors in some parts of the country have no need to bother with Zillow or online reviews.

Another thing, if you’re really into it: you can go back through a prospective realtor’s prior listings and see how much the initial list was vs sold price (history on websites like Zillow, you won’t be able to see seller concessions like closing costs, but you can get an idea). How did they do? If you want a buyer’s agent, then see what types of homes they were involved in.

[roamingzebra]

Are these your top 3 items, or are you just asking?

Just asking.

I'm confident in most things in life, but the thought of selling a home paralyzes me. So every few years, I try to learn a few more ideas so I can get more comfortable with the idea of an eventual home sale.

If you like researching and analyzing, good! Because the biggest impact to Your buying or selling experience and financials will come from your own self wink: : doing your own homework, your own research on areas/listings/solds, being present for inspections, and determining what you can afford (what’s your bottom or top number, where can you give in).

One concern is that all the houses in our area are unique. We did an assessment several years ago and the comparables were laughable. There just really isn't a good way to compare houses that are so different. They had to go outside our neighborhood to find comparables which meant they weren't factoring in our unique view. I'd like a realtor I could have a good back and forth with and who can work out these sorts of ambiguities. Which is one reason why chemistry and background could play in.

I realize these are marginal questions, but the more of these questions I get answered, the higher my confidence level will be.

BTW, I've used background experience to good effect in other fields. I've found that people with a military background have been much better with some of our contracting and repair jobs.

[vested1]

I always research the sales history and time on the market statistics for a realtor I am considering using. I have only one question for a potential realtor if I am either buying or selling.

Will you represent the other party too if they ask you to?

If the answer is yes I move on. The most honest realtors I've dealt with refused to represent the other party when asked. They are employed by you to serve your interests, and no one else's, including their own.

[ncbill]

I always research the sales history and time on the market statistics for a realtor I am considering using. I have only one question for a potential realtor if I am either buying or selling.

Will you represent the other party too if they ask you to?

If the answer is yes I move on. The most honest realtors I've dealt with refused to represent the other party when asked. They are employed by you to serve your interests, and no one else's, including their own.

Like any other salesperson, their interest is turning over inventory (i.e. your home) ASAP.

IIRC, studies have shown when they put their own house on the market they keep it on there longer to get a higher price.

They won't do that with your home, but will instead push you to accept a below-market offer so they can get paid and move on to the next deal.

The highest-rated Realtors are the ones who have closed the most deals...they aren't ranked on getting you your asking price.

It's not worth their time for you to make another $10k for only 1.5% to them since the rest gets taken by their agency & the buyer's agent.

[bsteiner]

...
Another thing, if you’re really into it: you can go back through a prospective realtor’s prior listings and see how much the initial list was vs sold price (history on websites like Zillow, you won’t be able to see seller concessions like closing costs, but you can get an idea). How did they do? If you want a buyer’s agent, then see what types of homes they were involved in.

Note that some brokers mainly get listings, and some brokers mainly sell houses that others have listed.

[Aged Maduro]

As someone who has worked in many facets of the real estate industry for twenty years let me let you in on a little secret. When it comes to selling your home, none of those things matter. There is one thing that matters: Price. All Realtors do the exact same thing. They post pretty pictures on the Multi-List that has been monopolized by the National Association of Realtors to protect their dues paying members and justify their existence. Then those same pretty pictures get blasted out on Zillow and Trulia and they put a sign in the yard.

You know what the Realtor does next?....Absolutely nothing. They wait and let buyer agents show the house until it eventually sells. The most effective Realtors are the ones who can get their clients to lower their price further and further while pretending to work in their best interest. That's it. I hear the same story over and over again. A client doesn't "like" the Realtor that they are working with because they can't get the house sold so they fire that Realtor and hire a new one. Then guess what they do? They lower the price when the new Realtor has the listing and it magically sells. Some people have this impression that their Realtor gets out the phone book and cold calls everyone in town or spends all day hunting down leads to find a Buyer. It doesn't work that way. It is churn and burn. That being said, you unfortunately still need to hire a Realtor to sell your house because of the aforementioned monopoly power of the NAR. There is no other way to get on the Multi-List. Realtors get their "professional licensure" in a two week traning course. The barrier to entry is so low it's laughable, and that is exactly how the NAR wants it. The more dues paying members the better, because they are looking out for themselves and not the consumer. There are numerous anti-trust suits currently in the courts, and one day the NAR will be defeated. One day the American consumer will prevail.

[roamingzebra]

The most effective Realtors are the ones who can get their clients to lower their price further and further while pretending to work in their best interest.

On the flip side, sometimes the sellers are the ones at fault. There have been houses in my area that have been too long on the market because the seller (undoubtedly overriding the realtor) is adament about getting his own price. Eventually the house becomes a laughing stock because it's on the market for seemingly years. There's a fine line between pricing it too high based on one's own misguided valuation (usually a fault of the seller) vs pricing it too low so it sells fast (as you have mentioned, usually a fault of the realtor). These sorts of things are why I dread selling.

Not to mention, there are the concerns that the longer the house is on the market, the longer the owner is paying property taxes, homeowner's insurance, utilities, etc.

[Spooky]

We fired a realtor once, because he would never give us any feedback on the house. People would show the house, and we saw all the business cards, and we could never get him to tell us what was said. He never recommended anything in regard to lowering the price or doing anything different. So we fired him, and found a new realtor who did have us lower the price slightly, but also she put her own money into hiring a staging company and having new pictures taken. The house then sold within a month or so. I'm not sure that we had more "chemistry" with Realtor #2, but I appreciate that this seemed like her job, not that being the listing agent was her passive income.

[brandy]

Possibly depending on state law, you can sell your own house yourself. I did, two of them, in Arizona, several years ago, using the book "How to Sell Your Home in 5 Days" by Bill Effros. I'm a regular person, not a sales person by any means, and was successful. The author gives all the info in his book, all readable, easily do-able. There are real estate agents who will, for a fee (I think mine was $250.) list your house on the MLS it with a photo, and FSBO--for sale by owner--with necessary contact info.
I just looked it up on the https://www.thriftbooks.com/ site, there's a copy there.
I was able to list a minimum price, and did.
It cost me time put in, cost of making copies, a contractor's box for a key (about $20,) and the listing fee. I also had a home inspection done, placed on a kitchen counter for interested parties to peruse. The buyers paid their agent themselves, part of the sales paperwork. I used paperwork provided by the title company.
or, use a FSBO website and info there.
Best wishes on your sale.

[snackdog]

The best realtor is the one doing the most business in your area. They know the market the best, have the most contacts, and can get the job done the best for all parties (especially themselves!). In most markets, this is a pretty small list of people to screen. Pick the one you like.