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After a $1.8B verdict, the clock is ticking on the 6% realtor commission

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Re: After a $1.8B verdict, the clock is ticking on the 6% realtor commission

#91

Post by jandrese »

UncleMeat wrote: post #60
koolba wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of all the scams associated with real estate transactions, title insurance is kind of legitimate. The title chain itself may be recorded, but there may be some lien against the property that was not properly recorded. That’s the situation you protecting against. Now whether that’s worth .5-1% is debatable.

Title insurance is a real thing, but it is wildly overpriced for the actual risk.

Does anybody know of someone making a successful claim with Title Insurance? I've long been skeptical about how often those situations happen.

Re: After a $1.8B verdict, the clock is ticking on the 6% realtor commission

#92

Post by Auracle »

ceejayoz wrote: post #38
ant6n wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tell of what?

That there's a reason they need the HDR to make it look better.

The reason is to not have the windows be absolutely blown out. They both look better that way and you can see the view, of the house has one.

Of course, there’s tastefully doing it and…not. When I did real estate photography I (almost always) solved that problem by using additional lighting inside to somewhat equalize the interior and exterior brightness. It looks a lot better in the end but it’s also a lot more work and requires more equipment.

Re: After a $1.8B verdict, the clock is ticking on the 6% realtor commission

#93

Post by [deleted] »

roflyear wrote: post #47

Lots of people hating on realtors here, but my buying realtor: - Put up with me through several offers that fell through due to issues with the house - Met me quickly several times to see houses in a very hot market (covid) - Constantly found me homes that met my criteria - Was able to "get the dirt" on the homes and give me good advice for the homes that fell through, not pressuring me to buy And my selling realtor,…

[deleted]

Re: After a $1.8B verdict, the clock is ticking on the 6% realtor commission

#94

Post by bob1029 »

roflyear wrote: post #47

Lots of people hating on realtors here, but my buying realtor: - Put up with me through several offers that fell through due to issues with the house - Met me quickly several times to see houses in a very hot market (covid) - Constantly found me homes that met my criteria - Was able to "get the dirt" on the homes and give me good advice for the homes that fell through, not pressuring me to buy And my selling realtor,…

My realtor drove 160 miles today on my behalf, just to make sure I didn't forget something minor during a pre-closing walk-thru. I've had prior realtors that would have absolutely found an excuse to miss things like that. She also realized that I might not be able to make closing time due to commute logistics with my job and so proactively rescheduled it for 1 hour later in the morning. I found out about the problem in a text message after it was already solved.

My realtor is about saving me time & frustration. I don't have to think about what a title company or MLS is, how many there are, how they work, who to talk to, etc. None of it. I say "I want to look at houses in area XYZ" and next thing I know I have an agenda with route in my inbox and tentative dates for viewing. Even closing feels like it goes warp speed with this person. I've never had it take more than 45 minutes and I'm going on the 4th time. Every part of the experience should feel like cruise control if you are working with good people.

I totally get the arguments on the other side though. If you are looking for something modest/routine & you also don't have a lot of constraints, the 3%+ fees start to look very manipulative. Additionally, if you are willing to spend some of your own time to do legwork on various logistics, then I can understand why you'd rather that money just stay in your pocket.

For me, I'd happily burn thousands of dollars to save half an hour depending on how mentally stressful that 30 minutes is expected to be. Look to tax filing services if you need another example of the same psychology. Turbotax never takes me more than an hour and never comes back weird, but I'd happily cut a check to make the whole notion of doing my own taxes mostly go away.

Re: After a $1.8B verdict, the clock is ticking on the 6% realtor commission

#95

Post by lazide »

zdragnar wrote: post #83
_heimdall wrote: post #68

Now we just need an explanation of how the hell appraisers come up with their numbers. Not only is it functionally useless to ask someone to measure fair market value of an asset that already has someone offering to buy it at a specific price, the appraisals seem to come in ridiculously close to offer price every time. I've had to deal with around 8 appraisals over the years as buyer or seller, I only had one that di…

The job of the appraiser is to demonstrate to the bank signing a mortgage that the deal isn't a scam. If a house would reasonably be sold for $250k, but the buyer is buying at $2 million, there's probably some very good questions that need to be asked about where the money is going. On the other hand, if an appraiser can demonstrate that: - properties with similar features have been sold in a similar price range in s…

The last deal I did, the appraiser asked me (the buyer) if I was okay with the appraisal, or wanted a different number.

Re: After a $1.8B verdict, the clock is ticking on the 6% realtor commission

#96

Post by wredue »

k2xl wrote: post #16

Ever since I bought my first house I have always hated the concept of realtors. Maybe before the internet it made sense because it wasn't easy finding houses. But what value does a realtor actually bring in the age of Zillow, Redfin, etc... Also - the percent structure has never made sense to me. Why should a realtor make more money just because the house is more expensive? Does a realtor really deserve to make 60k o…

They save you maybe like 2-5000 worth of time sometimes if you have a good, knowledgeable realtor who has done their homework.

Beyond that, 6% is obviously asinine.

Re: After a $1.8B verdict, the clock is ticking on the 6% realtor commission

#97

Post by lazide »

dkjaudyeqooe wrote: post #82
pradn wrote: post #21

A good realtor can guide you through the market, inspections, and negotiation - all of which hugely affect the largest investment most people make. But that's no reason for them to demand a PERCENTAGE off the sale of the home! Closing fees plus realtor fees are a big reason why it takes so long for a home to break even for most people - something like 7 years in NYC. And one reason why there's so much pressure for ho…

Still doesn't explain or justify why you're paying for the realtor on the other side.

Market monopoly.

Re: After a $1.8B verdict, the clock is ticking on the 6% realtor commission

#98

Post by tempsy »

pradn wrote: post #21

A good realtor can guide you through the market, inspections, and negotiation - all of which hugely affect the largest investment most people make. But that's no reason for them to demand a PERCENTAGE off the sale of the home! Closing fees plus realtor fees are a big reason why it takes so long for a home to break even for most people - something like 7 years in NYC. And one reason why there's so much pressure for ho…

That isn't what this lawsuit was about though.

The main issue is the listing agent splitting the commission with the buyer's agent, not that the seller has to pay some % of the sale price as a commission.

Re: After a $1.8B verdict, the clock is ticking on the 6% realtor commission

#99

Post by Johnny555 »

_heimdall wrote: post #68

Now we just need an explanation of how the hell appraisers come up with their numbers. Not only is it functionally useless to ask someone to measure fair market value of an asset that already has someone offering to buy it at a specific price, the appraisals seem to come in ridiculously close to offer price every time. I've had to deal with around 8 appraisals over the years as buyer or seller, I only had one that di…

the appraisals seem to come in ridiculously close to offer price every time.

Few people make wild offers unrelated to the market price and even if they do, sellers rarely accept them. So it makes sense that the appraisal usually comes close to the offer price since both the buyer and seller usually do at least some research of looking around at comparable sales.

Though I saved $25K on a house once when the appraisal came in $25K under my offer price. I told the sellers that the bank wouldn't give me a loan at the current terms over the appraised price and I didn't have another $25K in cash to put down on the house, so I'd have to withdraw the offer. The seller made an appraisal appeal that went no where, so they reduced the selling price by $25K.

Re: After a $1.8B verdict, the clock is ticking on the 6% realtor commission

#100

Post by pradn »

4death4 wrote: post #27
pradn wrote: post #21

A good realtor can guide you through the market, inspections, and negotiation - all of which hugely affect the largest investment most people make. But that's no reason for them to demand a PERCENTAGE off the sale of the home! Closing fees plus realtor fees are a big reason why it takes so long for a home to break even for most people - something like 7 years in NYC. And one reason why there's so much pressure for ho…

> A good realtor can guide you through the market Sure they can , but the entire incentive structure creates a situation where it's in the agent's best interest to get the sale done regardless or the outcome to the buyer/seller.

There's also the Principal Agent problem here. If the seller's agent gets the home sold for an extra $50,000, the agent only makes an extra $1500. If this takes an extra month of work, it may not be worth it. And what guarantee does the agent have that their extra work will actually pay off?

Good agents do get referrals, which is a good incentive to do a good job. But are homeowners even able to tell apart a good agent from a bad one? If someone's slick and kind, the bed-side manner might be enough to be considered a great agent. But they might just be less competent compared to a more gruff one.

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