So the realtor said he would show us the house. For $75.

[Robb]

Unbelievable.

Said since we weren't being represented by a realtor, and "probably wouldn't buy the house anyway," he would charge us for his time and the gas.

What a moron. I'm sorry, did the real estate market rebound while I was taking an afternoon nap? Hello? Buyer on the line here...

...And he wonders why we don't have an agent. :eyes:

[flvegan]

1. Moron.

You'd think he'd show you the house, then, if you didn't like it, try to become your agent...or show you other homes.

[KitchenWitch]

2. Is the house you wish to see going to have an open house soon?

Seems like kind of a hinky practice to me (charging $75)

[PeaceNikki]

3. I have never heard of such a thing!

I wonder if the party that he is representing is aware?

[Madrone]

4. I HATE realtors.

With a passion usually reserved for lawyers and tax collectors. Never used to - Until I started dealing with them and their computer issues. They are like cockroaches - kill one and 10 more rise up to take their place. Yet they all think they are AMAZINGLY important. HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO assholes! There's like 1,869 of you in a 2 mile radius! YOU'RE NOT THAT SPECIAL.

Did I mention I hate realtors?

[Radio_Lady]

10. Right now, I think they are working hard for their money. Our two are about to lose our account

-- not because the market is crap... but because we got cold feet about moving into a new housing development where the builder just announced a Ch. 11 bankruptcy.

I feel sorry for the main realtor -- she is working on commission only.

[Madrone]

18. As with anything else....

There are exceptions that prove the rule. ;)

One of my FAVORITE customers (I work in IT) was a realtor, mainly becoming one because she didn't like the rest of them. :rofl: I miss her. She died last year of lung cancer.

[MrsBrady]

5. maybe he had already started happy hour...

except forgot about the happy part. :shrug:

what an idiot.

[Radio_Lady]

6. Boy, that's a new one on me. Times are tough out there... we just managed to

break a contingency deal with a builder (wrote the agreement in April 2008; builder declared Ch. 11 bankruptcy last week).

We have had nothing but lookers (and one pair who offered us $50,000 less than we were asking) since putting our home on the Portland market. We've come to the end of the road. One couple said there wasn't room for their grand piano in our house (2597 sq. ft.) One person said there were too many steps on our staircase! One couple said it was too far from his job, although the wife liked the property.

Hey, folks, there are reportedly 17,000 homes on the market in Portland, Oregon.

"Bye-bye for awhile and keep a smile!"

Radio Lady in Oregon

[Dangerously Amused]

7. Take him up on it.

When you meet him there, tell him you're going to charge him $85. for the privilege of showing the house to a prospective buyer in this crappy seller's market. Or he could just show it to you for free, and you'll just call it even 'cause you're cool like that.

Jerk.

[Madrone]

9. I like the way you think!

:thumbsup:

[Dangerously Amused]

19. Eh, I have my moments. Thanks. : -)

[Robb]

11. Sort of like that idea

Of course, I told Mrs. Robb to just let it go. She about lost it on the guy on the phone.

"I want to tell those poor people what a crappy agent they have!"

"They'll find out soon enough."

[elleng]

8. I've got a BEAUTIFUL house,

and you can see it for NOTHING!

Just RING the doorbell!!!

If you're near DC, that is!

[Robb]

14. Ah yes! I've already got one, you see! It's verrry nice!

...And if you need one in CO, lemme know. :D

[Radio_Lady]

22. "Knock knock" !!

"Who's there?"

"Radio Lady."

"RADIO LADY WHO...?"

I'll yodel for my breakfast, if you wish.

Cordially,

Ellen Kimball in OR

[Oeditpus Rex]

12. Letter to the editor time!

Mention the realtor by name. Several times.



:evilgrin:

[LostInAnomie]

13. I would have told him to kiss my cock.

I'd buy another house and then call the agency he works for and tell them that he is the reason they missed out on the sale.

[MorningGlow]

15. Uh, that may violate the Realtor Code of Ethics

If the guy is a licensed Realtor, that is. You might want to report him. I don't think they can do that. Might be worth looking into.

[Robb]

16. There's a realtor code of ethics??

:D Sorry, cheap shot.

[MorningGlow]

21. I know, right?

But there sure is. Imagine what the field would be like without it! :scared:

[Chan790]

27. He can't do that...

It violates at least 3 of the 17 articles of the Code of Ethics:

Article 1: REALTORS® protect and promote their clients’ interests while treating all parties honestly.

Article 6: REALTORS® disclose any fee or financial benefit they may receive from recommend-ing related real estate products or services.

Article 7: REALTORS® receive compensation from only one party, except where they make full disclosure and receive informed consent from their client.

Also: http://www.realtor.org/realtororg.nsf/pages/codeofethics-consumerquestions

So...if this guy is a Realtor...you might want to let Natl. Association of Realtors know.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Headquarters: 430 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL. 60611-4087
DC Office: 500 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001-2020
1-800-874-6500

Note: I'm not a Realtor. I don't even work in the field of real estate or property.

[Kutjara]

17. It's probably the only way the schmuck has of earning $75 these days.

He needs the money to put gas in the Hummer he bought two years ago, because he thought it made him look cool and intimidated buyers. Now he's back living with his mom and thinking about enrolling in some refrigerator repair courses at the local tech college.

[no name no slogan]

20. Wow, apparently he doesn't want any new clients, either

I would think that he'd jump at the chance to show a property to somebody who is currently without an agent. I actually got my current agent by calling her office about a property she's listing (I viewed it, but didn't buy).

And given the fact that it's a buyers' market.... geez, this guy is an idjit.

[DarkTirade]

23. ... wow. That's just kinda stupid.

Nothin' like alienating the people who PAY YOUR FUCKING SALARY.

[KitchenWitch]

25. Hey, the GOP has stock-in-trade by doing that very thing

x(

[DarkTirade]

26. No, the GOP screws over the people who pay their salary, but then kiss their ass

to keep them voting for them.

[bluesbassman]

24. If the agent is not the broker, you should inform the listing broker.

I'm not one for ratting people out, but this is totally unacceptable behavior. The broker should be informed, and if this person is the broker, you should file a complaint with the Department of Real Estate.

As a side note, if you are seriously looking for a house, you should find an agent you are comfortable with. The reason is simple. If you buy from the listing agent, whose interests do you think they are most concerned with? Of course it's the seller as they have a contractual obligation with them. Further, by having your own representative, you should not have to pay more as their commission comes from a split with the listing agent.

I recommend that you interview several agents who are top producers in your area of interest. You can find this out through the local Realtor association or Title companies will give you a referral. Good luck.

[Robb]

28. Eh, I'm letting it go

Healthier for us not to keep thinking about it. Karma and what-not. ;)

As for the other, we've had good luck flying without an agent in the past, and really still are.

My philosophy is twofold; first, the trouble with commission-based sales being how both agents get a payday, is neither has any incentive to get the deal to a lower price. The seller's agent wants the highest possible price because that means it's the biggest commission. Why would the buyer's agent negotiate for the lowest price?

Second, that 3 or 6 percent is a lot of dough in a lot of transactions. A $250,000 house, 3% is $7,500. The way I see it, that's an awful lot of lawyer hours I can hire to get an excellent contract and title work -- and the lawyer went to law school. ;)

I'm not saying everyone should go this route, but I'm comfortable with it.

[NC_Nurse]

29. That's bizarre. I've never heard of a realtor doing that. Definitely a moron.

[dembotoz]

30. show him the door--for free!!

[AngryAmish]

31. Realtors are morons

A person could study for ten hours and pass all the exams they have to - a reasonably intelligent person that is.

[Blue Diadem]

32. I recently read about realtors considering fuel surcharges

I didn't know that in some areas realtors were already doing that and charging for their time too. It doesn't surprise me, after the experience we had and after hearing my son discuss some of the agents he had dealt with. He and his wife ended up with a "for sale by owner" home just as we did in Mi.

When we were looking for a house, we felt somewhat pressured to sign an agreement with a realtor just to look at a house. It had been years since we had purchased a home and had no idea what the new procedures were with the buyers agent/sellers agent. The guy was an a$$ and wouldn't show us homes we wanted to look at or email us info on homes within our price range. Even if we bought a home that we found and looked at ourselves, made the deal ourselves, he would get a commission. So, we waited out our contract time.

We later found out that our agent liked to deal in the big sales and didn't want to bother with a smaller deal.