ironbar Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I was wondering what the more worldly members of the forum would make of my encounter with a real estate agent. We are in the market for a new house (as background, I’ve owned two homes, but never dealt with a real estate agent- first house I bought directly from the builder, present house- for sale by owner deal). Found a seemingly nice house, in a neighborhood we like- looked it up on Yahoo real estate, checked it out on Zillow, and another real estate sight. Used the contact info, provided on Yahoo, called the agency offering the house, said I wanted to see that house, they asked if I had an agent, (which puzzled me, if I had an agent why would I be calling them?) No agent, I told them. Next day I get a call from an agent to schedule a showing. He wants to know where I work,( ok he needs to know if I could buy the house) so we talk about that. Do I own a home? Yes, and we talk about what I plan on asking for it when it goes on the market- (I was very specific on this I told him exactly what I was going to ask for it). Set a time for the next day. When we arrived, first time I noticed the agent’s name on the sign wasn’t the name of the guy showing it. I guess that should have been a red flag- but we looked at the house. The guy wouldn’t shut up, constantly talking about BS, launches into how accurate my price estimation on my home was, since he did a market analysis on it,(on his own, I never even implied I would agree to one) yadda, yadda. I managed to look the place over, fairly well even with this guy annoying me. A constant barrage of questions, I answered truthfully, but never volunteered any info. Made no agreement with him, left with thanks, if I need you I’ll call you. He start calling me- saw the house on Tuesday, he calls on Thursday, I blow him off. Calls again on Sunday, being a real pain. Just blow him off again. Tuesday, I finally make up my mind- nice house over priced, so I made what a co-worker called a ‘Dramatic’ offer. Faxed it to the listing agent. This guy goes nuts, calling me, told me it was cutting him out- his time was so valuable, price of gas, etc. So my question is, what am I guilty of here- bad manners? Unethical business practice? Or just being a hard nosed Yankee, when it comes to my money, here in the more ‘gracious’ south? A coworker pointed out that I was on a track to not pay the agent a finder's fee, which I can't understand- I found the place, not anybody else. Am a just insensitive, or as ethical as a Wall Street banker? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoolaman Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Sounds like the way things are done here in Australia. No such thing as a buyer's agent. The seller hires an agent to sell their house, and the commission is paid out of the sale price (ie by the seller). You call or visit the sales agent and they take care of the whole process. Very simple low BS equation. I don't really understand what a buyers agent would do except collude to rip you off and charge a fee for doing something you'll have to do anyway. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamingknives Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 As an estate agent, if they're anything like the ones we have in the UK, it would be virtually impossible to exceed one in poor manners and unethical business practice. Keep in mind that they are motivated solely by a quick sale and the attached commission and any claim otherwise is a lie. If they want to get bent out of shape about it that's their problem, not yours. It sounds like he's assumed something and is hoping that you're weak-willed enough to just go along with it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jussi Köhler Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 You did nothing wrong, you'r just having to do with the worst kinds of human beings on earth. In Finland we take them behind the sauna and .... nevermind. They are a pest. Worse than the plague. I really truly despise them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I don't know much about real estate agents, but this guy sounds like a real creep trying to cut himself in on the dough. If he keeps calling you, tell him one more call and you are going to the police. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigduke6 Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Yeah, it's just a guy trying to make money off you by taking advantage of your politeness. BIG RED WARNING FLAG: If a guy like that says your estimate of the price is "accurate", that means that really you are high and the actual price is lower. I guarantee that 100 per cent. No, make that 150 per cent. You made no contract verbal otherwise that you would compensate him for his time or gas or anything else. He makes his money if there is a sale, period. As to the actual agent being different from the one on the sign, well, I guess he could be tag-teaming or a subordinate or there's some kind of split going on. All quite possibly legit, but frankly not of much interest to you. You just want the house, and who has the right to sell it, you could care less as long as the deal is legal. A simple way to clarify things would be just to ask "I notice the realtor names on the "For Sale" sign and your business card are different. What gives?" Either you will get a straight answer or you won't. I think a factor is that the housing market generally is in the dumpster and agents often live on sales percentages, and without sales percentages they have no income, and no income for any length of time makes most people desparate. I personally wouldn't waste my time getting mad at a person like this, but I would tell him that I'm not interested and if he continued to pester me I'd warn him I'm going to call the cops and make a note of the date and time of the conversation and ideally have a witness, and if he didn't quit then I'd make a second note and file a complaint with the cops, 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I was wondering what the more worldly members of the forum would make of my encounter with a real estate agent. We are in the market for a new house (as background, I’ve owned two homes, but never dealt with a real estate agent- first house I bought directly from the builder, present house- for sale by owner deal). Found a seemingly nice house, in a neighborhood we like- looked it up on Yahoo real estate, checked it out on Zillow, and another real estate sight. Used the contact info, provided on Yahoo, called the agency offering the house, said I wanted to see that house, they asked if I had an agent, (which puzzled me, if I had an agent why would I be calling them?) No agent, I told them. He needs to know if you have an agreement with somebody else. In short, does he have to split the commission. Next day I get a call from an agent to schedule a showing. He wants to know where I work,( ok he needs to know if I could buy the house) so we talk about that. Do I own a home? Yes, and we talk about what I plan on asking for it when it goes on the market- (I was very specific on this I told him exactly what I was going to ask for it). Set a time for the next day. When we arrived, first time I noticed the agent’s name on the sign wasn’t the name of the guy showing it. I guess that should have been a red flag- but we looked at the house. The guy wouldn’t shut up, constantly talking about BS, launches into how accurate my price estimation on my home was, since he did a market analysis on it,(on his own, I never even implied I would agree to one) yadda, yadda. The listing agent is not necessarily the same as the guy showing the house. In fact, rarely is it ever. I managed to look the place over, fairly well even with this guy annoying me. A constant barrage of questions, I answered truthfully, but never volunteered any info. Made no agreement with him, left with thanks, if I need you I’ll call you. He start calling me- saw the house on Tuesday, he calls on Thursday, I blow him off. Calls again on Sunday, being a real pain. Just blow him off again. Tuesday, I finally make up my mind- nice house over priced, so I made what a co-worker called a ‘Dramatic’ offer. Faxed it to the listing agent. This guy goes nuts, calling me, told me it was cutting him out- his time was so valuable, price of gas, etc. So my question is, what am I guilty of here- bad manners? Unethical business practice? Or just being a hard nosed Yankee, when it comes to my money, here in the more ‘gracious’ south? Hey, the guy did take his time to show you the house, he does deserve something. You were cutting him out. A coworker pointed out that I was on a track to not pay the agent a finder's fee, which I can't understand- I found the place, not anybody else. Am a just insensitive, or as ethical as a Wall Street banker? You found the place how? Drove by and saw the sign? (pay the agent) Looked it up on a real estate site? (pay the agent) Or did you knock on the door and ask the guy out of the blue if he was interested in selling? (pay the homeowner). Look, this is how these guys earn a living. They do a lot of advertising and leg work for you. As in telling the homeowner he's smoking crack if he thinks he's going to get that price. Get a good agent working for you and the process can go very nicely. He will find the homes you didn't even know were out there. btw, Zillow is almost worthless, they are consistantly over the real value. When you find the right place next time, make an offer with earnest money, and make it contingent on an independent appraisal and an independant home inspection. Both very important, and if they don't come in right, you just walk away from the deal. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieseltaylor Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 i think what has to be made clear is: A] the Yahoo contact was he selling agent for the owner or B] was he inserting himself into the process as the buyers agent and should be rewarded for "finding" the property I suspect B] given the story so far. If this is the case the idea is to load your site with really tasty properties and when contacted you then contact the real seller or agent. The actual vendor may not wish to cut in this guy for the introduction and he is going after Ironbar for some money. As Ironbar has been apparently mislead by the Yahoo man then I would think there is no contract. However it is probably worth checking the Yahoo site to see for any strange wordings or quasi-contracts that Ironbar should have seen. I would also flag this issue up to Better Business or its equivalent if the Yahoo man is purporting to be an authorised agent of the seller. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironbar Posted October 3, 2008 Author Share Posted October 3, 2008 Well as an update, they never responded to my offer, I think I might have shocked them. Just to be clear, I have no problem dealing with the seller's agent- I just don't understand how this guy is trying to insert himself into the deal as a "buyer's agent". If he should be compensated, let it be from the seller's comission, I don't think I, as the buyer, should pay, say $500 for the privledge of reading a sign posted on the lawn, or an entry on a websight and 30 minutes of showing the house. The actual yahoo page, if interested, http://realestate.yahoo.com/Tennessee/Red_Bank/Homes_for_sale/f8e67e2dbfdcba7faaf9cc1ce2ed83c;_ylt=AjUWAtX1ux1sKYCTsMI44a_nMrQs?p=Red%20Bank%2C%20TN&type=classified<ype=1 Big Duke I told this guy what I would ask for it, not what I would take for it! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieseltaylor Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Might be interesting to hear what the Prudential agent for the sale thinks is going on Listing courtesy of: PRUDENTIAL REALTYCENTER.COM Agency Phone: (423) 842-8887 Agent Name: FELICIA HUDSON 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hakko Ichiu Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 Clicked on the listing linky, then clicked on "See more Pictures," and got the following message: The property you've requested is no longer available. Please try searching again to find other properties that match your needs. So, did they accept your offer? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shredder Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 Real estate agents are nothing more than used house salesman. Don't waste one second of sleep over it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironbar Posted October 5, 2008 Author Share Posted October 5, 2008 Nah, I offered way lower than what they wanted. I'm just really cheap, lol. Shredder, that seems to be about 99% of the feedback I'm getting, thanks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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