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Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bobby is sleepless in seattle who wrote (15118)	11/15/2003 2:58:13 PM
From: X Y Zebra	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

suggest that this is just a very simple profession that charges excessive commissions Exactly one of my earlier points. Real estate is NOT a simple business, in fact it is one of the most complicated ones, particularly of late given the EPA involvement, hazardous wastes/substances, its handling, remnants in the subject properties, wetlands issues, misrepresentation, radon, mold, and on and on and on... [and the subsequent consequences if not dealt properly] I am ready to admit to utilize the services of a knowledgeable broker, (and have done so), but only if he/she is professional, ethical and knowledgeable. One of the problems, as you have unintentionally indicated.... [by saying, I quote]: "The part that consumers should realize is that the fierce competition* amongst agents will take care of the commission issue."* ...is that there are too many agents. Indeed, they muddle the search for a good broker, and while the competition you allude does exist, it has a negative net effect, because in the end the dollars paid do not justify the real service rendered given that the majority of brokers are not properly educated to handle all the issues at hand. What I mean is that yes there is competition because there are too many of them, but the actual service provided is poor and to find the good brokers becomes a pain in the arse, as one has to muddle through a bunch of morons with a lose tongue that know very little about the business they are involved. On the other hand, if the licensing requirements were to be stricter, then the story would be different, as it should. The net result of this alternative would be that the commissions paid dollar, for dollar, would have more "bang". Residential brokers are incredibly lucky; for the most part, they deal with emotional transactions... there is little "logic" or I should say... numerical sense in these transactions. While I am willing to admit that emotions bring a different kind of problems, they escape a more rigid scrutiny by the principals. It baffles me that with the potential liability exposure due to the causes mentioned above, (EPA, Wetlands, etc.) they are still running around with little idea of the risk they and their clients could be exposed to... In the commercial arena, the scrutiny is far more intense and it is my opinion that the problem is of lesser proportions because many commercial firms do require a higher standard of proficiency from their brokers. So I agree with you, the real estate business is a complicated one and as it stands today, however, I dissent in that the average commission paid is not justified by the service rendered because the education and skill shown by the average broker is not up to par. As a plumber, I would rather let those folks handle their own sit anyway and help those that genuinely appreciate the help....* I would have never put it in those terms, but hey... since there are enough real estate agents who carry and muddle through so much BS the comparison is valid: i.e. the plumber, in this instance, is the attorney. He has to be called in to clear up the crap that the real estate agents leave behind... [this analogy of: attorney = plumber is great, they both are crap handlers ROFLOL!!]