HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

August 29, 2007

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

So, tell us America, what are you thinking about realtors and mortgage brokers these days?

25 comments:

Anonymous said...: SCUM!!!; August 29, 2007 10:16 AM
Econ_E said...: It's the fat cats at the top of the food chain that I hold the most disdain for. The ones that ran the companies that made out like bandits earning tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars per year in this ponzi scheme. Nothing but pure transference of wealth by putting the majority of Americans in deep deep debt.

Most people in this world aren't very intelligent. The realtors and mortgage brokers were the unwitting pawns of the people at the top. Many of them will be hurt the worst as due to their lack of true intelligence (coupled with the nature of human greed) they bought the hype more than anyone and hold many of these "investment" properties. Learah with his cheerleading probably "affected" them worse as a group than any typical homeowner.

The people at the top are expected to be smart. How could they not see what they were doing was completely wrong and unethical and just plain bad math? Liars Loans? Qualifying only on teaser rates? So many aspects of these loans just stunk. Period.

Not many people have ever been to a 2nd world non tourism based city and seen what it is like. I have feeling that they will know what it is like soon enough.; August 29, 2007 10:55 AM
Anonymous said...: Most hated professions in america

scum !; August 29, 2007 11:39 AM
Anonymous said...: Burn em at the stake; August 29, 2007 11:59 AM
Anonymous said...: Make satan look like a alter boy!; August 29, 2007 1:13 PM
Anonymous said...: I have actually met a couple who have their integrity intact. We had a problem with our house after the warranty ran out. Our realtor went to bat for us and so did the builder. I was really suprised so I can't say they are all bad.

I also met a Realtor accidently when I was looking for a rental. He told me back in April that I was smart to be renting. He said he was leaving the profession for the most part and going back to teaching.

Then there are probably the other 90% that deserve everything they have coming. Bring on the ground glass and salt lube.; August 29, 2007 1:17 PM
Anonymous said...: But Greg Swann said home prices can only go up!; August 29, 2007 2:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Keith, even you admitted, in a post long ago,that the two real estate agents that helped you in Phoenix were honest and professional. It's a familiar pattern: everybody detests Congress, but their individual congresman is a good guy; everybody detests doctors, but their individual doctor is a good guy.

A rising market creates a lot of financial geniuses, and many of these geniuses became real estate agents. A falling market creates a lot of refugees. The ones who remain will be the veterans who have seen a down market before, and some of the recent crop who do try to be professional.

Sellers need agents even more in a down market. Buyers are harder to find, anxieties are higher while the deal is closing, and the mechanics of the deal itself will often be more complicated. Watch for naive and desperate sellers getting sucked into owner carryback second mortgages.; August 29, 2007 3:24 PM
Anonymous said...: I have a friend who works (yes, not laid off yet) for Countrywide. I was told about the unbelieveable amount of irresponsible mortgages that they allowed to go through, even when it was obvious that the applicants were lying. My friend would try to stop it and ultimately the manager would say to take it, they needed the commissions. So, selfish greed is still at the heart of this matter. Realtors-well they know when they are selling trash and they try to pawn it off on you, especially if they think you are desperate to get out of where you are coming from. They steer you to the house that has problems and hope you don't see the obvious. I had a realtor show me a "vacation property" that was a piece of trash. Plastic sinks, cheap flooring covering something worse. Cheap cabinets, and very amateurish window frames around new windows. Price? Only.. 90k she said. I was really mad. I could build a more sturdy place myself with cinder blocks over a concrete foundation. I said it wasn't worth 20K and no doubt she did not like the idea of me "wasting her time". But I drove 80 miles to see this junk. So, yes, some realtors are just out for the sale and don't care about their customers. I also inquired how long the property had been vacant. She used a real estate term "for some time" but it could have been years. So, I don't see them as buyer friends.; August 29, 2007 3:38 PM
Anonymous said...: Oozing carbuncles on the face of society. Absolutely contemptible vermin.; August 29, 2007 3:42 PM
Anonymous said...: So, tell us America, what are you thinking about realtors and mortgage brokers these days?

A step below child pornographers, who at least don't defraud their customers. LOL; August 29, 2007 3:45 PM
Mammoth said...: “…what are you thinking about realtors and mortgage brokers these days?”
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Gather ‘round the fire, HP’ers, for a long but worthy read:

As I recently posted, the tenants moved out of my rental house after 6 years, so I decided to make it pretty and put it on the market.

Yes - a bit late to the game, but ‘Seattle is different,’ (sarcasm turned off) and worse comes to worse, if after 2 months it doesn’t sell then I can just rent it out again. Had it 10 years so it will be cash-flow positive.

Anyway, yes I confess I was working with a realtor but haven’t signed anything with him. This was the guy who I bought the house through back in 1997. He works with first-time buyers, and his angle is to keep in touch with them so that when they finally go to sell, they hire him as their agent.

He recommended a drywall repairman to spruce up the interior – just some minor stuff like the drywall tape coming loose & fixing some dings & scratches in the walls. Well, this guy did a sh1tty job and didn’t clean up after himself; left a mess everywhere he worked inside the house. Nothing major, mind you, but it pissed me off.

So I called the agent and gave him an earful. Of course he apologized all up and down, as this must’ve scared him into thinking that he was going to lose “his” commission. Apparently he contacted the repairman, because he called me.

I told this bozo in no uncertain terms exactly what the problem was, and would you believe this @sshole had the nerve to argue? I listened really, really hard during this phone call and never once heard the words, “I’m sorry.” That did it!

Hence, yesterday I had the agent meet me at the house and showed him the bits of paint, dried drops of drywall mud, overspray, and plaster & sanding dust all over the carpet and on the brand-new bathroom floor that I just laid down. Then I pointed out the stuff sprayed into the electrical wall outlets and the excess drywall mud the jerk dumped under a bush in front of the house.

The agent feigned outrage and again apologized. I told him that this shabby work was not what I had expected from somebody whom he referred me to.

And furthermore, I also let him know how disappointed I was in having trusted him, pointed out that this is the kind of stuff that will damage his reputation, and THAT HIS SERVICES WERE NO LONGER NEEDED.

Man, you should have seen the look on his face – it was like a thirsty person on a hot day taking a deep gulp of orange juice, only to find out that it was a glass full of piss he just drank! Or like in the cartoons, in which there is a picture of a dollar bill with wings, flying away toward the horizon.
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Any realtors reading this? Yes…I thought so. Keep in mind that today’s seller has PLENTY of available agents to choose from, and also now has a better chance at selling WITHOUT an agent than ever before.

So you may want to think twice before recommending that moron you know who does home repairs and kicks back to you a percentage of his takings, because it may backfire right in your face, just as it did for this realtor who stayed in touch with me for ten years thinking I owed him something.

-Mammoth; August 29, 2007 3:46 PM
blogger said...: There are good honest ethical and moral realtors out there. Take Osman for example, or Danielo (remember him - the one who said the NAR were corrupt liars?)

Diamonds in the rough

But as a class, as a group, not much good to say about 'em

And the rot starts at the top - the NAR; August 29, 2007 3:56 PM
Anonymous said...: Loss of credibility when it comes to their opinion. For the last number of years I kept hearing how real estate never goes down, time and time again. That appears not to be so. From now on, Ill take matters into my own hands.

Mr. Consumer.; August 29, 2007 4:52 PM
Anonymous said...: Takes all the effort I have not to drive over those goddman realtor open house signs one every street corner. If I'm on my bike I "accidently" run them over if I have to stop for a light. Just the pictures of those over painted, plastic smiles and poddle hair cuts make me want to vomit.

pwnd; August 29, 2007 5:03 PM
Anonymous said...: Anonymous said...
Takes all the effort I have not to drive over those goddman realtor open house signs one every street corner. If I'm on my bike I "accidently" run them over if I have to stop for a light. Just the pictures of those over painted, plastic smiles and poddle hair cuts make me want to vomit.

pwnd

August 29, 2007 5:03 PM
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Fairfax County has an ordinance about the posting of these signs on the roadsides. They are illegal and not permitted, so all the realtors put them out on Friday night & pull them back in Sunday night. During the boom, 04-05 realtors did not care about losing the signs they were making so much money. I remember county trucks w/ crews just driving down the shoulder w/ their flashers on harvesting 100s of the damn things. Now you see just a few few during the week and then all of a sudden on the weekends they just bloom!! Obviously they are now much more cost sensitive to lost signage costs!!; August 29, 2007 5:21 PM
Kilgore786 said...: Hey Guys,

I understand your venom, I really do. As an industry, the chickens are coming home to roost and our collective kamra is kicking us in the ass.

That said, I ask you to consider the fact that the industries in question also contain alot of honest individuals who were just trying to provide for their families in the best way available to them.

I myself work directly for a bank but I did used to work at OCuntrywide. Alot of the stories abotu Countrywide are true which is why I came over to a small local bank with a reputation for integrity.

I've never committed fruad, I tell people if it's a better idea to rent and I don't push people into products that aren't appropriate for their situation. Heck, I haven't written an ARM in over a year since I left CW.

I'm not rich and don't drive an Escalade. I'm just working in the profession that helps me feed my family the best.

Also consider all the other people behind the scenes who are now out of work, processors, underwriters, secretaries and such. Many single moms just trying to feed their kids.

We as an industry are getting what we deserve and to be honest it's healthy in the long run.

But please remember that there are individuals out there, who are awesome people, with good hearts who are hurting right now.

Believe it or not, we're not all scum.; August 29, 2007 5:26 PM
Kilgore786 said...: Believe it or not, not all of us are scum.

I fully understand your perception of us, (I am a lender), and to be honest, we as an industry have a lot of bad karma coming back on us and the proverbial chickens are coming home to roost.

That said, there are alot of us that are honest, hard-working individuals who really do the best we can for our clients.

The only time I've written ARMs have been for military folk who knew they were only going be around a couple of years. I've never commetted fraud and if can see that it makes more sense for a prospect to rent I tell them that.

I'm just doing the best I can to provide for my family.

Also please take into account all fo the people beind the scenes that are out of work. The processors, the underwriters, the ops staff and such. Many of these individuals are single moms just doing the best they can do to support their fmailies on as single income.

Sure some of us are scum, I used to work at CountryWide and as a broker and have witnessed some shady stuff. But I've also seen people spend $2,400 of ther own money to close a deal because they've mispriced a scenario and didn't want their borrower to bring cash to the table, just so they can keep their word. I've seen a realtors take old furniture to the dump for an elderly lady 3 months after closing because her son was out of town and she had nobody else to do it and it was just the right thing to do.

Sure, alot of us are worthless, maybe most of us. But not all of us.

Thank you for your time.

Peace; August 29, 2007 5:37 PM
Anonymous said...: No different than I ever did!; August 29, 2007 5:59 PM
Anonymous said...: I turned mine into the Departmnt of Financial Crimes here in Florida.
Seriously.; August 29, 2007 6:02 PM
Anonymous said...: Most Realtors are useless. However, there are some good ones. The Realtor I used to buy my first house in NJ is by far the best Realtor I have ever worked with or came in contact with. She's been at it for 20 years and knows her sh*t. Back in 1997, we were looking at a Condo Conversion she was holding an open house for. Long story short she convinced us that we can afford a SFH and she was right. She set us up with FHA Financing and pretty much held our hand every step of the way. The house she showed us was a fixer upper and it was a good choice we ended up living there for 5 years and made a decent profit when we sold in 2003. I used her to sell in 2003 when I moved to Florida and she was equally awesome. She had multiple offers within the first 2 weeks, arranged for contractors, inspections, etc.

However, the 2 Realtors I have encountered in Florida so far were useless pieces of sh*t. The one I used to sell my last house didn't even show up at settlement (she went to the wrong office -- real dipsh*t) and the appraisal came in 15,000 short. (This was during the boom when values were still rising so it just proves her market analysis was bad); August 29, 2007 6:33 PM
Anonymous said...: I'm thinking....

MMMMMM Ramen.......chicken flavor......

Maybe going long Nissin Foods??? Tokyo:2897; August 29, 2007 7:12 PM
Anonymous said...: Im a loan officer with 18+ years experience. Have a borower right now who is buying a property 1/2 price from what the sellerr paid a year ago. The worst part is that this is an investment for my buyer. Sounds like a good deal, but the proposed purchase investment will have a negitive monthly return of 25%.....ooooucch. Buyers are just not with it HP. I am thinking of leaving the mortgage business because I just cant't stand the stupidy of the borrowers?; August 30, 2007 12:02 AM
Tyrone said...: They are the Lawyers of the 21st century.

See my tribute to them at my blog.; August 30, 2007 2:29 AM
Anonymous said...: Realtors and Loan officers? Unlucky and out of work.
I hope they have 2nd jobs and have saved for a rainy day. I could go on about the rain, but I'll just leave it like that.; August 30, 2007 7:49 AM

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August 29, 2007

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

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