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The Ugly Truth Behind “We Buy Ugly Houses”

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Re: The Ugly Truth Behind “We Buy Ugly Houses”

#141

Post by poulsbohemian »

conductr wrote: post #133
gnicholas wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is it you anticipate happening that will trigger the change you describe in coming years? We were grossed out by our agent a decade ago, and when we went with a different agent (who came highly recommended by a neighbor whose house she sold) in a more recent transaction we were met with even more dishonesty than before.

Less volume will push the underperformers/hobbyists out of the RE agent business. Word of mouth is not a great way to hire, there a lot of incompetent but charismatic people in this industry. I interview a handful of them and then I basically do all the negotiating myself. In my opinion, they’re just there to unlock the door so I can view the home/or put my listing on the MLS. Once an offer is being made, they just c…

>Also, never sign a buyer representation contract.

FWIW: In one of the states where I do business, it is about to become law that we have to have these with clients. I expect it to be a total clusterfuck.

Re: The Ugly Truth Behind “We Buy Ugly Houses”

#142

Post by dclowd9901 »

bhouston wrote: post #75

They are a discount buyer, so it is generally a bad deal to use them and you basically shouldn't unless you have no other option. It is similar to getting a pay day loan, or selling stuff to pawn shop or keeping a balance on your VISA. You are going to get a bad deal. I don't really know what to do about it. How can you ensure people are educated enough to know that a discount buyer is a buyer who will under pay for…

Cool. I’m sure the cross section of people who would be victims to discount real estate buyers and visitors of this site is basically one circle.

I’m sorry but your comment is weirdly unconstructive.

Re: The Ugly Truth Behind “We Buy Ugly Houses”

#143

Post by poulsbohemian »

mindslight wrote: post #134
poulsbohemian wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I wish more older Americans understood how these people really work. I wish more Americans overall understood how real estate works. I see people get screwed all the time because of bad information. Here's an example: several times a year I will talk with a member of the public who will say something like "we want to work with the listing agent because then we won't have to pay as much commission" not understanding…

Listing Realtors (TM) rely on people's misunderstandings to get them to sign those lopsided agency agreements in the first place (3% of a capital asset for setting up a key box, taking mediocre pictures, and writing a description of the property!), so those less critical misunderstandings are just part and parcel of their market. You should never skimp hiring a real estate attorney, as they will actually go to bat fo…

I'm sorry you've had such bad experience with realtors... just some thoughts:

-- My experience with real estate attorneys has been as mixed as your experiences with realtors. Some know what they are doing, many do not. Many care about billable hours just as much as the outcome. YMMV.

-- Some realtors care about volume, and some care about their fiduciary responsibilities to your business. If they are actually a Realtor and following the standards set by the NAR, then volume or commission % shouldn't be their motivation. Again - just like any profession - some are good, some suck.

-- Finally, regarding commission percentages - yeah, in many markets commissions shouldn't be as high as they have been. In my market(s) we are seeing commissions decline. That said - I regularly more than pay my own commission in the earnings / savings I negotiate for my clients. If I make you an extra $50K and I get $10K for that service, I've earned my money. Again - if you haven't found that with the agents you've used, I fully encourage you to report any fraudulent activity to the local real estate association and/ or state agency. In any case if you don't receive the service you expect, find a new agent.

Re: The Ugly Truth Behind “We Buy Ugly Houses”

#144

Post by dclowd9901 »

tmm84 wrote: post #33

I wish more older Americans understood how these people really work. My parents live in a neighborhood that has gone down hill through the years. They called up a company who did this kind of home buying. Usual visual inspections and the like went on with a quote being issued. They saw the amount was a little over the remaining mortgage which was less than the market value of the house. They decided to ahead of time…

Elderly people need an 811 (the service you call to check for buried hazards) for shit like this. Basically a free service they can call to verify if something is a scam or not.

Re: The Ugly Truth Behind “We Buy Ugly Houses”

#145

Post by dclowd9901 »

dmbche wrote: post #79

Exchanges of over some amount of money should be supervised by a third party just to check it's not a scam - how hard could it be? I can't believe there are no safeguards for people...I can't believe it wouldn't be worth it socially

Parties can agree to have an intermediary that brokers the transaction, but most opt not to add the overhead.

Re: The Ugly Truth Behind “We Buy Ugly Houses”

#146

Post by dclowd9901 »

Andaith wrote: post #53
andrewstuart wrote: post #41

>> Home ownership is the American dream: In Australia, for many people the (new) Australian dream is: "One day I hope to have the income to be able to afford to pass the grueling real estate agent's suitability test to rent a house and move out of the tent/car."

I don't even know how we got here. Population growth has been below average for the last 3 years(no immigration). Housing/Apartment construction didn't slow down. I just don't understand it. Mortgages are insane. If you're buying a rental property with a mortgage, you can't afford to not rent it out. But home costs are up, rental costs are up, and properties are vacant. Do we really have so many people able to afford…

I’ve made the argument that owning multiple properties should basically be completely untenable or outright illegal for many years but every time I bring it up, even the poorest people in the conversation decide that’s a bridge too far, like someday they’re going to have a beach house in Laguna.

People in the US, at least, can’t stand the idea of not being allowed to own absolutely everything you want.

Re: The Ugly Truth Behind “We Buy Ugly Houses”

#147

Post by dclowd9901 »

iosystem wrote: post #52

Reminds me of recently reading an opinion about how thrifting has been ruined by the upper middle class. The person expressed how thrifting is a necessary need when growing up poor and how the trend of thrifting in popularity among middle class has reduced the quantity of quality items to basically none. Quality of life I believe is getting worse for a lot of people regardless of how long we can force people to stay…

If anything, thrifting is about the most democratized activity there is. The bad that I see in thrifting is resellers who dedicate their whole life to combing thrift stores, estate sales and garage sales, finding items with a lot of resale value so they can hock them on EBay or in their own boutiques.

Re: The Ugly Truth Behind “We Buy Ugly Houses”

#148

Post by danielmarkbruce »

granshaw wrote: post #109
danielmarkbruce wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Often two people want to do a transaction without anyone else knowing about it. The US is, to a large extent, built on the idea the idea of individual freedom etc etc.

Home sale transactions end up being public record anyway tho

Yup, and practically speaking the IRS ends up knowing about virtually every meaningful transaction too. But, the people get to do the thing without anyone knowing they are going to do it, or stopping them doing it, or in most cases many of the details.

Re: The Ugly Truth Behind “We Buy Ugly Houses”

#149

Post by conductr »

poulsbohemian wrote: post #135
conductr wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also would add, RE just isn’t that complex. It’s mostly standardized contracts in use. The contract to rent an apartment is usually more complex than the average RE sales contract. Read them ahead. Study the market to form your own opinions. Learn about what’s actually happening (agent can be helpful here) and what negotiating techniques you can deploy in the process. For most people, it’s worth your time.

I'd agree in general... that said, those standardized contracts change regularly, often because someone sued someone else leading to updating those contracts. So a real estate agent who stays up-to-date on contract issues can make a difference. As you point out - where an agent will really shine is market information and negotiating. I saved a client a ton of money last night because I out-negotiated the other side.…

> I saved a client a ton of money last night because I out-negotiated the other side

You’re in the business so this might seen brash but it’s not meant to be. I’m just a pretty experienced buyer/seller.

The assumption I have to make is 1) buyer couldn’t have negotiated that themselves (I happen to be a good negotiator) and 2) further negotiated to keep the buyer’s agent portion of the commission (it’s a standard seller’s cost they’ve already agreed to pay so doesn’t matter if it goes to me or to an agent, net to seller is the same). I’ve done both, regularly. It’s not for everyone for sure, negotiating skills are the hardest to screen for when I have used agents but people not knowing how to negotiate should definitely focus on trying to find that skillset. But saving more than you cost someone is good, but not guaranteed and it’s always possible to pocket the fee you do charge; so you still have a cost and I usually have to decide if “you’re” worth it for something I can do over a handful of calls/emails.

Also I’m a landlord and those contracts like you said are much more dense. Where I am, the standard sales contracts change annually but not significantly in the last 15 years anyway. For example, I’ve noticed they’ve recently done away with the X days after in favor of precise dates. The math involved in X days and then finding later it lands on a Sunday or something was always sloppy IMO so I welcomed this change. But anyway, the fact it’s focused on a sale makes it so much easier to read than a lease which specifies so much more about condition, use, pets, roommates, etc.

Re: The Ugly Truth Behind “We Buy Ugly Houses”

#150

Post by wombatpm »

seattle_spring wrote: post #126
chasil wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rock Island, Illinois was listed on Salary.com several times as one of the five least expensive places to live in the U.S. Our winters are not very pleasant, but if you like to ski, there is plenty to indulge within a two hour drive.

If you like to ski, Illinois is close to the last place you should be living.

We are within an 8-10 hour drive from some of the best skiing in the Midwest
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