Ouch! That hurts! As a real estate professional helping people get into homes for over twenty years this "article" makes it sound as if "Realtors" are guilty of screwing the public. That is pure BS. Most are hardworking, underpaid and go above and beyond to help Americans get into a home. They work ridiculous hours, cut commissions, and carry all their own expneses----Like the "Flying Wallenda's" with NO SAFETY NET! Sure their may be a few bad ones in the barrel, but let's not throw the baby out with the bath water! Realtors have become a "commodity" in the publics mind to be used and abused and taken advantage of if they can---again not all but some of the time. Realtors are used by "looky loos" to open doors, chauffer, counsel, and more----any many times don't receive a dime. So sure regualte us----but then give us the same perks and renumeration as the financial industry. A GUARANTEED PAYCHECK, HEALTHCARE and such would be a good start! So "Zac" do you get paid, every week? or based on the number of people who read your rants?

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This article is pure BS. Realtors are already regulated by the state in most cases. Comparing a TV show with real life is silly. I think John said it pretty well.....especially when it comes to the financial industry!

http://www.MaineHomeConnection.com

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Many realtors are out to screw the general public for their own personal gain. Many make ridiculous exaggerations of how much people are going to make when they sell their homes. They do this for the commission money because if the average buyer knew prices were going to continue to drop, they would not buy, and the realtor would not get a commission.

The idea that realtors are hardworking and underpaid is laughable. Realtors are transaction leaches stripping 6% out of a transaction they did little to consummate.

I wonder if any of the realtors who duped people into buying homes in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 feel any guilt over the fact that the buyers are now underwater and the value of the home is declining fast?

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Zac,
- "I remember watching an episode of House Hunters where an agent told a family that the home they were looking at was certain to appreciate more rapidly than those in other neighborhoods -- there was no "caveat emptor" delivered along with that message, and yet the agent assumes no liability and gets the same commission even if the buyer is underwater within five months because of his counsel".

This is call "puffing" and it is not a common practice among us Realtors.

18 years in the business in 2 states gives me the authority to call this to your attention.

They may be a few bad apples especially in the craze of a seller's market where every Joe, Dick or Harry wants to get in to the industry without proper training, but this is not a common denominator.

I take my profession seriously and comments like this yes, bothers me.

John is right. We work round the clock, we paid all of our expenses, as the IRS is concerned we are employed; as our employer is concerned, we are independentant. So, go ahead, pay for all of your expenses, but do not try to deduct them from your taxes because you are considered employed.

From Fort Lauderdale, Fl.,
Marina Sarabia

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I do not feel guilty. No remorse.

I have never put a gun to any buyer on their heads to help them make a decision, and never have used any tactics that could jeopardize my livelihood. Not worth it. Moss of my client base has come back to us for second and third home.

6% ??

It's actually 3% and 3% (listing side and selling side).. Now in the years of seller's market it was more like 2% and 2%.

Now this 3% or 2.5% or 2% (actually I even saw .5% listed on the MLS due to SELLER'S greed back in 2005).. anyway, These percentages are split between the BROKER/employer and the agent. And the average last time I checked was 60/40.

Can not judge all of us for the few bad apples that showed up for the gold rush!!!

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As a REALTOR, have to agree to a degree- there are good and bad, and everyone should do some research prior to embarking on their home buying mission. You are either a good person with values or you aren't, you are either smart or you aren't. What I want to know - who is going to regulate the regulators? Don't you think it is getting crazy??? When I started in Real Estate - 1980 - the contract was one page - it now is on average about 15 plus. Most of it disclaimers to prevent lawsuits. How about we get rid of all the attorney's, use some common sence and go back to hand shakes and looking someone in the eye, your word is you contract- what good is all the regulating doing.... Madoff

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I just love how there are many that are trying to deflect and investigation into the real reason for this meltdown, the lenders themselves. During the go-go sellers market a few years ago the lenders were throwing money at people and telling them to go buy a house, not caring whether these people were going to be able to pay back the loan or not. I saw buyers with $35,000 gross yearly incomes being approved for $350,000 loans which as absolutely obscene.

Yes, there are some bad real estate agents out there, but when it comes right down to it, it was the lenders that controlled the purse strings and if they had say "NO" when they should have, we wouldn't be in this mess now. But, there were way too many loan officers out there that were more worried about the next payment on their Lexus than they were about the ability of their clients to pay back the loans. And this is why we're in the mess we are now. The few bad real estate agents had nothing to do with this.

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The problem here was not the real estate agents. Yes, there are always a few bad apples, but they represent a tiny percentage of the sales that occurred. The problem was the paradigm shift lenders went through after the government decided they were going to expand home ownership. The onus went from the old "Buyer, you must prove you have enough income and credit or we won't lend to you." to "Lender, you must prove this buyer can't possibly make his loan payments or the government will charge you with discrimination." Every loan that was turned down had to be carefully documented as to why, and statistics were kept to make sure every lender was making a large enough percentage of their loans to minority and lower income applicants.

Add that to the number of new home sales that were done with NINJA (No Income, No Job, no Assets) loans by loan companies that belonged to those same builders, and you have a situation where millions of loans were made to buyers who would not traditionally have qualified for mortgages. Many lenders justified their low initial rate loans (Buyers only had to have enough income to afford the first year's payments - with no regard for future increases.) by counting on continued appreciation that would give the new homeowners enough equity to sell at a profit in two years when their rate escalated. I've been a Realtor for nearly thirty years and I've never heard a real estate educator suggest a length of less than five years as the amount of time it takes for a buyer to be able to resell a home without having to seriously worry that the cost of reselling would be more than the equity appreciation during their time in the house.

FNMA and FHLMC also created a series of programs where the buyers got their down payments from the sellers. This was not allowed during the first 25 years I was in real estate, but new programs like "Ameridream" allowed sellers to contribute up to 6% of the sales price to a non-profit organization that turned around and gave the money to the buyers to cover their down payment and closing costs (Minus $500. for the organization.). Most sellers balked at the large contributions, but the banks and appraisers allowed those sellers to increase their prices to cover the costs - resulting in buyers putting zero down and getting loans for over 100% of the price the seller wanted. Buyers who thus have less than zero equity and no investment of their own money in their property are often the first to default on their loans. These programs ended at the end of October, 2008, but they may be coming back soon.

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As a real estate professional, it does sadden me to read comments like Mr. Bissonnette's. I know for a fact that there are bad agents out there and I'm all for getting the out of the business! I currently sit on my state's Board of Directors and I constantly push for tougher licensing and continuing education requirements for our industry. I think that if you want to be considered a professional you need to be a professional and that starts with education and commitment.

As for the comments made by IrvineRenter, all I can say is we should never make judgements about people in industries we know nothing about. To assume that every real estate agent makes 6% on every deal is proof that you do not understand how compensation works in our industry. Let alone, how hard we work. Many people who have a 9-5 job and receive a weekly paycheck can not fathom what it means to be an independent contractor and what financial responsibilities that entails. So when I read or hear comments like that I just chalk it up to ignorance and move on.

Finally, that all important "who is responsible for this mess" argument that seems to never go away. In my humble opinion, I believe we ALL are. And by that I mean REALTORS, Lenders, Builders, law-makers and buyers! REALTORS should have been more professional and warned their clients about what was going on. Lenders should have taken it upon themselves to not write ridiculous ARM and Negative-Am loans. Builders should have never over-built like they did. Law-makers should have stepped in and started putting a halt predatory lending sooner. And buyers, well they should not have been so greedy to want more and more house that they know they couldn't afford. So, I feel every single one of us holds a bit of the blame and it's time we all turn that finger around and point it at ourselves!

Just my two-cents and I hope and pray that each of us has a 2009 that provides good health and prosperity!

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