Are a lot of Realtors unethical?  I've had some bad experiences and was shocked.?
479002
Here near SF, California, at least, you need to have permits to count the square footage of your basement. You can't count the bathroom's square footage either unless you have permits for it.\n\nI'm not sure about the HUD or FHA part of your question. \n\nIt doesn't seem like your agent is being unethical. \nWhy don't you ask your agent directly, so you can clear things up for yourself? Your agent seems fine to me. The problem here may be miscommunication. Perhaps due to you being away?
886730
There are a lot of considerations, including your asking price, the housing market where you live, condition of the home and the aggressiveness of your Realtor.  A GOOD Realtor should be able to provide you with guidance based on your specific situation and market.
814775
I was an agent with ReMax for a while and it's a very high turnover company because of the high expense to its agents.  I personally know two brokers in my city who closed their ReMax offices and joined another ReMax office because they both said they made more money as a ReMax Realtor.  Apparently ReMax has very high fees for their brokers too.  I'm just finishing up the broker course and I'm planning on starting my own company.  If you are going to do a franchise though, I would recommend you go with another company, not ReMax.\n\nI hope that helps.  Good luck!!!
668862
Probably not, they are probably trying to scare you, but probably won't sue you.  If this were to go to court the realtors are the professionals and you can easily paint yourselves as being taken advantage of.  No realtor wants that, so they will almost never sue you (they may sue each other for how the commission is split after a sale but I've never seen one sue over a contract that wasn't even accepted).\n\nAs to the legal issue, you have an agreement with your realtor.  If your realtor found a "ready, willing and able" buyer, and the buyer gave you a full price offer with no contingencies and has excellent credit (ie no chance they will pull out of the deal) and gave you a reasonable downpayment; then YOUR realtor is due their commission EVEN IF YOU REFUSE THE OFFER (thats almost certainly the agreement you signed with them - check the agreement to make sure).  \n\nTypically the other realtor gets their commission from your realtor (ie you pay your realtor 6% and the other realtor gets half or 3% of that commission).  This transaction is done at the closing table so it looks like you are paying both realtors yourself, but actually you are paying your realtor and they are forwarding an agreed amount to the other realtor.  Thus, the realtor would sue your realtor, not you (but your realtor could in turn sue you if they thought the commission was due).  So, in a round about way the other realtor could sue over this, and the lawsuit could come around to you, its rare but it is possible.\n\nHowever, going back to the 2nd paragraph, the offer has have absolutely no contingencies, be full price, and be from someone with perfect credit and a reasonable downpayment.  Offers never are written with no contingencies, usually are not full price (though you did say this one was full price), and the buyers often don't have excellent credit or a reasonable downpayment (admittedly these last 2 conditions are subjective - may need to check with a local lawyer on exactly how these are defined in your jurisdiction).  Thus, you can almost certainly refuse the offer with no fear of reprisal.  \n\nIf the contract has any contingencies, just tell your realtor to tell the other realtor you refuse to accept a contract with any contingencies, and now the property is off the market.  Again, this contract does need a contingency for this to work, but virtually every contract has a contingency.  Again, even if this contract didn't have any contingencies and met all the other conditions, I still doubt the realtor would sue, but they could.\n\nFor more info I'd consult a lawyer as things could be different where you live, but this really sounds to me like a realtor just being a jerk.  Good luck.
444826
I looked into becoming a realtor a while ago, I'm a SAHM so it sounded good.  Hours wise, its pretty flexible in that you decide how many you want to work, how many clients to take on.   Depending on your financial need, you might just need to sell one house a month.  But what I found out (which is why I couldn't do it) is that it's a lot of start up costs.  You have to pay for the training (usually given through a real estate company), pay for your testing, pay for your licensing and to be on Realtor Boards.  Plus there are annual dues for being on the Realtor boards (which is required by most real estate places).  So here, start up was going to cost about $1700.  But if you can swing that, its really flexible in that you decide how much you want to take on.  But, keep in mind that most open houses are on the weekends, and that most people like to go see homes on the weekends or after THEY get off work.  So it might not be a real scheduled job for you, just flexible in how much you want to take on.  Money wise, its like 7% that you get.  So whatever the sold house goes for, you get 7% of it (in Michigan anyway).  So the money can be very good.
470673
realtors work for the seller.  If you are the seller, interview several agents and pick one you can work with, you are paying them a nice chunk so they should be more accomodating to you.
819775
Self discipline and a strong work ethic, even in the face of no immediate results.\n\nThe great lie of self-employment in general and real estate (sales and financing) in particular is that big money is to be had with very little effort - that it's all golf courses and Mercedes Benzes.  \n\nNothing could be further from the truth.  In many marketplaces, real estate agents are overpopulated for the market - number of realtors way outstrips the average number of transactions.\n\nThis means you have to work constantly, hard, every day, to distinguish yourself from the huge pack of agents who don't put in a full day's work every day.  \n\nThe public's perception of realtors is that they're lazy, they don't know what they're talking about, and they're WAY overpaid for the service they actually deliver.  And you know what?  In MOST cases, the public's perception is ENTIRELY justified!  \n\nThat being said, the minority of agents who work hard, produce in both boom and bust markets, and continually rise to the top REALLY DO DESERVE what they get because they get up early, work hard, don't goof around, and generally approach it like the difficult job it really is.\n\nWhy do I have this opinion?  I was in real estate financing for over 10 years, did everything from processing to origination to management to business development to executive management.  I worked as an in-house lender (the mortgage guy inside the local real estate office) and saw the way that realtors work day-to-day.\n\nBest to you.  Work hard, work smart, put in a full day's work and you'll succeed.
1150555
I found 33 homes that meet your criteria on www.realtor.com.  Also check out www.zillow.com for recent comparable sales (not asking) prices.\n\nVisiting these web sites before going on too many trips with your realtor should speed up the process and I think you'll be happier with the results.\n\nGood luck!  There are a fair number of homes in your price range there.
157296
Don't do it!! Run in the opposite direction.\n\nThe last time I started purchasing a property, the LLC was a front for a big bunch of scam artists.\n\nRun Man!! do it now!!
341185
I use a program that allows all my clients to look at real estate in all 50 states, with out the annoying pop ups and advertising. It's a cool system, but it's proprietary. The problem with Realtor.com, is that your clients are exposed to other Realtors. You run the risk of loosing them to another Realtor and cutting you out. If you would be interested in the program that I mentioned, contact me directly.
1072767
I hate to be a devils advocate but if I were you I would take it to a Real Estate lawyer, and quick! Most of them will give you a free consultation and if they think you have a good case they will take it on for a piece of the winnings.  A lot of them won't charge you if you lose.
799102
I work for a real estate agent. Situation like this doesn't happen very offen. I'm surprised that happened to you. I doubt it will happen agin!
678969
From my experience, absolutely from a home owner. My husband and I just bought our first house this week from an individual.  We had several bad experiences with our realtor. Just alot of underhanded bidding within his real estate firm.  Plus, they take that 7% commission rate.  So, when the real estate co prices houses, they usually up the price to account for this. \nIf I had it to do all over again, I would not get a realtor to help in my search.  Look in your local newspaper, homes for sale books, search the web. It took us almost two years to find a house, just keep looking. I would explore both options though. Just do the looking yourself and save yourself some hassle.
483303
Yes this is VERY true! They are a very hard company to find because of what they offer. They really don’t advertise because, well they don’t have to. My husband and I used them and received a check at closing for over $7,000. Can you believe it? We paid off our car and one credit card with the extra money and here is something else they offer.  If the home you purchase is over $400,000 the pay you %75 of their commission. (Do the math on that one, WOW!) Plus no matter what the amount of the home you purchase they also pay for your home inspection and your home appraisal.  They are a fantastic company and we refer them to everyone. I highly recommend them. Their phone number is, 407-384-0044, ask for Frances she’s great.
1038455
Good luck selling without a realtor. 99% of people just aren't comfortable without one. Too many things to miss or overlook. If you've tried to sell one using a realtor already, and had no luck, something is wrong with the house other than the price. Did you have a lot of shows? Did anyone make an offer at all?
66968
Great question, I believe it boils down to experience and results.\n\nMixed in is ethics and looking out for the clients best interest.\n\nI also beleive agents/Brokers are broken down to two camps. One at listing and one at representing buyers.\n\nIf your listing your property, you want an agent that is able and experienced enough to obtain the highest value in the open market.\n\nYou want an agent to be honest with you and tell you the truth vs some fantasy.\n\nWhat are the agents marketing skills?, do they use the internet?, do they have a digital camera? Look at ther personal website.\n\nAsk for a copy of actual sales on an annual basis. More the better.\n\nA good agent will sell 3-4 a month vs 6 in a year.\n\nAs a buyer's agent, similiar questions. How many buyers did you represent in the past year?\n\nPlease supply references and call the reference's of what they liked or disliked.\n\nInterview mutiple agents/brokers.\n\nIn addition the longer tenure in the business. What professional designation has the agent obtained? CRS is good.\n\nLook at http://www.Realtor.com http://www.Yahoo.com under real estate and in Yahoo look at the agents presence. This will speaks volumes.\n\nI'm not impressed by companies but by the individal experience of the agent.\n\nThey say 95% of real estate is sold by 5% of agents.
436242
I think most of the no money down, subject to, and lease option stuff is crap.  Perhaps after you have gained experience you can get deals no money down.  I lived in a college town also and saw the same thing happening in my town.  Rentals were everywhere.  I got started in real estate as a birddog.  I made $500 finding leads for an investor.  $10/ per lead he didn't have to close for me to be compensated.  There are only so many investment opportunities in one market though, so now after much debate I am becoming a realtor. Then I plan on being a commercial broker and THEN an investor. It is gonna take a while. I really think that you need the money/ experience/ connections/knowledge before getting into such a heavy endeavor with such thick legal implications and even scarier liabilities/consequences. If you don't know what you are doing you can get hauled off to jail for 3rd degree felonies with that no money down garbage.  Besides that most single family homes make next to no cashflow, especially with the way interest rates are going up. HARD WORK HARD WORK HARD WORK!