This special post is accompanied by a 10 minute video of watching paint dry
November 30, 2007
Special HP open thread for realtors, mortgage brokers, appraisers, bankers and other REIC to come clean and apologize
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20 comments:
Funny. Very funny. Hats off, too, to the creator of the video.
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Is this the line for tickets to Supertramp?
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I guess I'll go first..well its not really an apology.
I became a real estate broker in 1999 and was active until 2004.
I got fed up with the dishonesty and manipulation etc. I was also bothered by the high commissions... People making tons of money for little effort. And also those with "reputations" as go getters being the worst in terms of real service to their customers.
The final straw was I was working with an older lady who said god had told her to use me as a realtor. We went to the same church. I worked with her to get her place ready..then she said her doctor wanted to buy her house as a vacation place..they Had already agreed on a price and would I help. I explained to her that she really didn't need me and she could go down to the escrow office and they would help her with the contracts. Thought I had done the right thing. 2 weeks later I see her home listed...I was upset...she called me to explain... Basically she was an old lady who had been manipulated by a "friend" to sign with another realtor..the home sold two weeks later for about $25,000 less than it should have.
The system is broken. I think this crash may be the impeus for a new system to take hold. 6% commissions are outrageous..and I got tired of fellow relators trying to justify it..unjustifiable...blah blah marketing costs..blah blah advertising.
The worst was how cutting commsssions was branded as being a weak realtor. Especially by those raking it in.
Saw the worst side of people.
Would like to be the one who develops the new approach that supplants the current system.
I knowed it wuz wrong but I done it anyhow! Lawd I is so sorry!
U.S., Banks Near
A Plan to Freeze
Subprime Rates
By DEBORAH SOLOMON and MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS
November 30, 2007
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration and major financial institutions are close to agreeing on a plan that would temporarily freeze interest rates on certain troubled subprime home loans, according to people familiar with the matter.
With more than two million home loans expected to reset to higher rates, such a move could help people stay in their homes and provide confidence to investors anxious about the spiraling mortgage problem and a possible recession. It would represent the biggest public commitment yet by the administration, which has begun to take some heat over the lack of major initiatives.
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While watching that video, I stumbled on this random video. I thought it was quite amusing.
Best Wedding Dance... Ever?
Appologize?! They don't think they've done a thing wrong.
Wow there really is 10 minutes of paint drying! Awesome.
1.2 million realtors and one willing to come clean so far
Yup, about what I expected
And people wonder why 'REALTOR' is the least respected profession in America
I have been a CA real estate broker since 1996 and though I used my license mostly for other things, I did sell a small number of houses. While I understand everyone's frustration with the high costs of commission, one has to keep in mind that a realtor only gets paid after the deal has closed. Which means a realtor has to invest time and money without any guarantee of compensation and doing it with fickle and unloyal people. How would you like to show homes every weekend for two months straight to a couple who on the next weekend, while you are actually taking a short break, walk into an open house and write up an offer with another agent.
While there are no shortage of agents who are unethical and who use high pressure sales to get people to buy or sell, the vast majority of our customer base do not respect our time and the fact that we don't make a dime until a deal is closed.
For those of you who think it is so easy to give up literally every weekend, to hand hold almost every client, because they are unable to consumate the transaction on their own then you go get your license and give it a try. It is not that easy. The majority of agents make a small living, it is the heavy hitters with staffs that make the lion's share of the commissions.
While there is plenty of room for improvement, realtors provide a service. If it were so easy to buy and sell property, then why would there be so many agents. How many of you have actually sold a home or bought a home on your own after spending the time researching the do's and don'ts? I know it is not rocket science, but like your stock broker and sales people, they perform a service that you are not willing to do yourself.
Fortunately I am no longer in the business and never really liked the idea of being "the neighborhood specialist", but real estate is not going away. It will evolve, but it is here to stay. We are not the enemy, we are just like you and some of us (not me) are losing homes and jobs, yours is next. The true culprit here is human greed.
I just posted the bit about being a real estate broker and I have one more comment to make. I am also a licensed real estate appraiser and am no longer in the business either.
Appraisers had a tough job during these last few years trying to keep up with the fast appreciating market. Just like in any profession, there are always people who are unethical. This profession is no exception. But the one thing that people have to realize is that appraisers do not create value, they reflect value. When I did appraisals, I had to analyze the marketplace around the subject property, hence I reflected the value of that marketplace vis-a-vis the subject property, I did not create a new higher value.
Obviously some appraisers stretched the limits on this stuff and underwriters let it go through. Shame on all the bad apples in all levels of this line of work. But this would not have happened if greed had not set in. Once greed hit in then the feeding frenzy kept going.
I turned down a lot of work from mortgage brokers trying to push a certain value. I personally just couldn't do it. I prepared quality appraisals that were rarely kicked back from the lenders. I used to tell these mortgage brokers that the property wasn't worth what the borrower needed. I can't tell you how many times, the brokers only wanted an extra 10 or 20K to make the deal work. Other's pushed the values, I did not. But the broker's stil liked my work, because the chances of it getting kicked back from underwriting were very slim.
Quality is the name of the game here and once we get back to true quality, then we can all rest easier. Until that time we have a long way down to go before things get better. I wish you all luck as you negotiate your way into future homeownership.
Is this the line for tickets to Supertramp?
Not sure but it's Breakfast in America.
I'm trying to replicate a cricket noise...
we are just like you and some of us (not me) are losing homes and jobs, yours is next. The true culprit here is human greed.
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You are NOT like me. If you lose you house and job it is your and your industries fault.
I,otoh, bough a home I can afford-fixed rate 30% down, not a 'RE commodity', and I will not loose my job.
Having been a SoCal appraiser for the past 20 years and brought up in the old school. I can say the profession turned sour in 2004. There had been a huge influx of inexperienced low skilled appraisers that came on-line and took over. All lenders, realtors, repeat ALL, welcomed and embraced these low skilled people masquerading as appraisers. I should add that there were also highly credentialed appraisers working the system. The rule became that if value was not hit there would be no more work coming your way. This would include anything stated in the report that would kill the deal.
In 2004 my income derived from mortgage appraisals dropped off a devastating 80%. I have since diversified into non-mortgage related appraisal work and doing very well.
People need to understand that home values are falling and perched for a rapid freefall especially in working class paycheck to paycheck neighborhoods. For those folks that have purchased a home in the past 12 months, your upsidedown. If you have a copy of the appraisal and it says that neighborhood values were stable, get a real estate lawyer and go after the appraiser lender and realtor, get your money back, go housingPanic.
>> While watching that video, I stumbled on this random video. I thought it was quite amusing.
No one else did. Stop posting this stupidity.
RE should be separated.
YOu should pay someone for advice when buying and advice when selling...flat fee or hourly rate. No commissions.
Then pay someone else a fee for helping you sign the paperwork/nonsense.
The way it is now, agents "hit the lottery" when they "sell" a house, in many case all they do is put a sign out front. Then other agents starve because they can't "get listings".
It's not hard to sell houses. It's easy. No real "work". But on the other hand, you could be the hardest working person and not sell anything. Bizarre profession.
fmw said...
we are just like you and some of us (not me) are losing homes and jobs, yours is next. The true culprit here is human greed.
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You are NOT like me. If you lose you house and job it is your and your industries fault.
I,otoh, bough a home I can afford-fixed rate 30% down, not a 'RE commodity', and I will not loose my job.
Ah, but I saw the writing on the wall and I sold earlier this year and I was just like you, I had been a homeowner for 10 years with a normal loan. Now I am out of the game and out of California waiting on the sidelines.
People need to understand that home values are falling and perched for a rapid freefall especially in working class paycheck to paycheck neighborhoods. For those folks that have purchased a home in the past 12 months, your upsidedown. If you have a copy of the appraisal and it says that neighborhood values were stable, get a real estate lawyer and go after the appraiser lender and realtor, get your money back, go housingPanic.
This is all we need, thousands of lawsuits. In order to sue you have to have damages. If you had a 100% loan how were you damaged? You are just paying expensive rent and then asked to move. This is the last thing that we need. It is ridiculous and will only give the greedy another ability to try and get something for nothing. The industry will sort itself out and get rid of the idiots and the inept.
They're still waiting for things to return to the "normal" days of 2003-2005.
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