Help me to understand why! - Posted by Thurman

Posted by Bill (OH) on April 22, 2000 at 06:30:10:

I’m afraid there are no easy answers. One answer is that whatever the seller tells the agent has to stay confidential UNLESS the seller agrees to disclose. The reason is that some of this information can tilt the bargaining process in the buyers favor. For example, lets say that the seller has contracted to build a new home and needs to sell his present home first—and the property has been on the market for six months. Wouldn’t that make most buyers figure the seller would be desperate for an offer—any offer? That’s why a lot of realtors aren’t forthcoming with these details—the seller dosen’t want the realtor to do so.

Another reason is that there are so many realtors out there chasing the listings. With the way many brokerages are operating, they don’t care why the buyer is selling, or if the buyer can afford to move–the name of the game is listings. Listings are like groceries on a supermarket shelf—if the shelf is bare, you are out of business. So, fill up the shelves anyway you can.

You also have to realize that many realtors don’t have a hands on followup any more. Once they get an offer in, they turn it over to someone who specializes in the financing of the deal, or to someone who specilizes in closing the deal. These types of realtors only see a small part of the big picture, and it cripples their ability to ask the questions that need to be asked of their sellers.

Bottom line is this—keep asking around, making offers and meeting realtors. Pretty soon you’ll figure out who has their act together and just deal with those folks.

Help me to understand why! - Posted by Thurman

Posted by Thurman on April 21, 2000 at 17:25:46:

How many of we, real estate investors, all go through the agony of dealing with Realtors to obtain needed information to structure a win/win offer to purchase real estate properties?

I’m not writing about making low ball offers (50-60% of seller’s price) or crazy offers (house with all the furniture, car in the garage, tools or no down payment, no interest loan carried with seller financing for the next 30 years), but making a offer that is good for, both, the buyer and seller.

Why don’t Realtors sit down with the seller and ask a few simple questions that will aid them to sell the seller’s house faster? Questions like:

  1. Why do you want to sell your house, Mr/Ms Seller?
  2. What mortgages and other liens are owed on the property?
  3. Instead of wanting all cash, what would you take in
    trade and cash?
  4. What will you do with the cash if you sold your house?

And why do Realtors think that they must protect their clients and keeping them and buyer apart?

A couple of days ago, I ask a Realtor (not the listing agent) if she could help me, by saving my time spent in the court house records, to discover if the sellers has any mortgages and/or liens on their houses and, if so, how much. Next day, she told me that the listing agent told her that she did’nt know and even if she did, she, the listing agent, would not tell her because it was not none of her, the buyer agent, business!

Just today, as I was reviewing a list of properties with the buyer agent, I notice that the average days that the properties were on the market was about 155 days. When asked “why?”, she remarked that the market was slow at the present time.

I almost lost my temper and wanted to tell her how incompetent she and other agents in the agency were and the disservice they giving to their seller clients. I wanted to tell them that they could sell most of their listings in the next 30 days! But I didn’t! Why? Because I reasoned that they would get defensive and become closed-minded.

Thanks for letting me vent, however, I still feel frustrated!

Your friend,

Thurman

Re: Help me to understand why! - Posted by SCook85

Posted by SCook85 on April 21, 2000 at 19:08:13:

Many of the questions that you mentioned in your post are asked by the Listing Agent. It is the listing agents responsibility to make sure the home is saleable but not their responsibility to provide you with that information. It is the responsibility of the realtor to get the best price and terms possible for the seller.

Also many lawsuits have forced realtors to back off. Most simply list the properties and keep their mouths shut, that is what they are taught to do now. Not really their fault but that is the case.

Sellers also list their homes with realtors so they don’t have to deal with all the types of offers that you want to make. It is a completely different playing field, if you don’t like it you just shouldn’t play in that arena.

Steve