Poor Realtors, Poor Clients

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.

I have an example from my last escrow to share with you. My clients put in an offer on a bank owned property listed by an office from out of our area. We did everything we were supposed to do and were just waiting for escrow to open. I have sold around 20 bank owned properties in the last year or so and there is almost always a delay in the bank opening escrow.

To make a long story short, after weeks of no response to my pressings, the bank finally admitted to me that they had accidentally filed the paperwork with the wrong office. And to add insult, they suggested that we could still be liable for the delay. I turned it all around, but some people are just gone terrible with details. I think I am getting too old for this business!

Had I not known what I have learned from all my experience with REO's, this could have gone really bad for my client. Less-experienced realtors are dangerous in these types of situations. So protect yourself and only work with someone who works in realty full time.

Contributor S. Blagow is an experienced Big Bear, CA foreclosures realtor and well-trained in resort area realty. He is in fact one of the top Big Bear, CA houses realtors in his field.