What Is Wrong With Some Realtors?

There is definitely one positive thing that has come out of the housing market being in the gutter, and that would be the fact that a lot of bad agents have been weeded out. The better news for you is that if you are in the market right now, chances are that you will be able to find a very knowledgeable agent to represent you. In the past agents typically did a lot of their work in an office setting, and these days they need to be out doing the legwork to satisfy their clients. But though there are now more few and far between, be sure to avoid less experienced realtors.

There is still the part time agent that is out there just to make a sale a few times a year for some extra cash. The cashier at the local grocery may take advantage of a not so up-to-date client in order to make some extra money. Even an utility worker in your town may try to pass himself off as a full-time realtor. In cases like this, they are more hurting their clients than helping them.

The market has undergone a massive upheaval and you can not do business the same way as five years ago. In Big Bear, bank owned properties make up 10% of the inventory and 40% of the sales. If your realtor is not proficient in dealing with REO's, Short Sales, etc, you are asking for trouble.

Here is a perfect example from my last escrow transaction. I had some clients that made an offer on a property that was out of our area. We of course held up our part of the bargain, and then sat back and waited to hear that the escrow was opened. In the last twenty sales I have had in the last year or so, there is almost always a complication with the bank opening escrow in a timely manner.

With this deal, I felt cool as a cucumber at first, but then I started to sour when I hadn't heard back from the bank in quite a while. Weeks later they confessed to having filed the deal with the wrong office. Then they suggested we may have to pay delay fees. I couldn't believe how ridiculous these people were. Needless to say, I was not having it and we got the deal squared away. But it was quite a lesson in the nerve of some people.

If I had not had any experience with this sort of scenario, I might not have caught the mix up in time. Someone who works in the industry part-time can cost their client a lot of money in these situations. Be sure you enlist the services of someone who has worked in their field for quite some time and can offer you added protection in your home-buying.

Author Bryan Cole is an experienced realtor and well-trained in resort area realty. He is in fact one of the top realtors in his field.