Real estate agent again

[echnidna]

I agree with Sturdee!

[Iain]

Some people would actually find it fascinating to live in such a place and probably pay for the privelege, but with agaents and ethics where do you draw the line.
Why are the vendors selling, they have separated and divorce is iminent, what an opening for a low offer and a short settlement.
Tossed that one in so you can have a rethink on ethics.
I'm not an agent and I dislike most but when we bought our place at auction the agent asked if we wanted to take the key and have a look ourselves or have him with us, we opted for the former.
The place was run down and vacant and we had an opportunity to estimate how much it would cost to restore the house without him looking at his watch.
When we arrived on auction day we knew what we were prepared to pay and put in the low winning bid, two years on the place is nearly completed and I appreciate the agents willingness to allow us this option as there were no surprises.
I find that most people can see what is in front of them and cannot probe any deeper beyond the veneer.

[simon c]

1. That agent did his job very well. He is hired by the seller to sell the house and he has no right, legally or morally, to say anything that could hurt the sellers prospects in a sale. In fact if he had told the buyer the seller could sue him. The property market, like everything else, is buyer beware. If the buyer had been diligent they would have known. It is their own fault if now the purchaser pulls out and loose their deposit.

2. Yes, just because people died, however badly, in that house,it is not haunted. Most older houses have had people dying in it. FYI I bought my house from my parents. In our bedroom firstly my father died and then later my mother and no doubt at some stage me. This did not make it haunted and we don't have any problems sleeping.


Peter.

Not sure I agree with the first point in general. A seller can't mis-represent a sale and deliberately omiting to tell somebody a critical point that you were aware of is not acceptable. It's like the tobacco companies knowing that their product was cancer causing and addictive and hiding the fact. However, in this case I agree as it is questionable as to whether this information is really relevant.

And I totally agree with your second point. Most old houses probably had somebody die in them. If we were worried about ghosts then nobody whould ever set foot in a hospital as millions of people must die there.

[Sturdee]

Firstly I am not a real estate agent but a semi retired Accountant and having spent my working career firstly in a bank then a large restaurant ( Swagman ) an accounting firm and then a private golf club. Personally I dislike the real estate agents I happen to know and I don't trust them.

Nevertheless the fact remains that real estate agents are employed by the sellers to represent their, and only their, interests. They are paid by the seller not the purchaser. They are required to get the best price for their principal not a lower price by disclosing any defects or other matter that may reduce the price or saleability.

The only time that they may disclose any fact detrimental to the seller 's interest is when required by law and only then are they protected against any legal action by the seller.

This may not be what you want to read but that is the law in relation to master and agent. The way the law is now that agent could not have ethically or legally disclosed the fact of the murders and thereby reduce the sale price obtained.

The other point that I can not understand is when people make the biggest investment in their lives they fail to make the most basic enquiries into what they are buying before they enter a contract.

Why don't they engage their own agent to act on their behalf to investigate and negotiate on their behalf. If they buy a used car they get a RACV report or take a mechanic to check the car over. If they spend say $ 800,000 to buy a house they take no expert, builder or otherwise, with them. Relying on a solicitor, after having entered a contract, is only good if you had the right clauses inserted in the contract.


I know this may seem cynical but over the years I have seen so many stupid examples like this one that I have become immune to this socalled ethical argument when they are unhappy but they never seem to complain when it suits them.


Peter.

[craigb]

its interesting comparing the approach ( and costs ) of real estate agents in uk against here.

selling a house in uk about 2 years ago ... .

Yes but Jackie, you live here now.

With the greatest respect, how they do things in the UK, USA or Outer Mongolia is totally irrelevent.

Maybe we don't have "worlds best practice" when it comes to buying and selling real estate but, as with a lot of other things, that's just the way it's done here.

Craig

[Gumby]

let's put this in perspective.

There are no dishonest cops??

There are no dishonest politicians?

There are no dishonest lawyers?

There are no dishonest doctors bulk billing to their hearts content?

Ther are no dishonest chemists dispensing illegal drugs?

Come on people, stop generalising. People are people. There are honest ones and dishonest ones.

Line lefty, what do you do for a living? Are there dishonest people in your line of work and if so, does that make you immediately dishonest?

Nuf said.

[DanP]

There are no dishonest cops??

NUP.

[silentC]

Ah, the vendor's are dead, so no, it's not a very good situation for them.

I think you'll find that the vendor - Gonzales' grandmother and will executor Amelita Claridades - is very much alive. Or she was at last report.

[Wongo]

It is probably one of the most horrifying murder cases in recent time. The way they were killed, the media coverage and the images. It happened only a couple years back and it is still so fresh.

It is slightly different from say “your grandfather passed away peacefully in his bed 20 years ago”. Or “someone you don’t know got shot 40 years ago”.

Or maybe I am just a wuss.

Are all real estate agents dishonest? Probably no. I was just having a go at them. Don’t we all enjoy that from time to time?

[Wood Borer]

Wongo,

You are so forgiving. I judge people by their actions and the actions of all the Real Estate agents I have met places them in the self centred rude cheating category.

If I ever meet one that whose actions are to the contrary that Real Estate agent will be doing them all a favour.

Sorry to sound like sour grapes on this one but like I said I can only judge them by their actions.

[jackiew]

Yes but Jackie, you live here now.

With the greatest respect, how they do things in the UK, USA or Outer Mongolia is totally irrelevent.

Maybe we don't have "worlds best practice" when it comes to buying and selling real estate but, as with a lot of other things, that's just the way it's done here.

Craig

I'm not saying the way things are done in UK is 100% better ( the chain situation is an absolute nightmare for buyers for a start) I'm just pointing out that real estate agents in uk seem to make a fairly healthy living with sellers paying them a lot less money for a lot more work. Obviously being ripped off by real estate agents when you sell a house is traditional here so nothing can be learned from elsewere

I can't believe that it is in a seller's best interest ( and sturdee has quite rightly pointed out that agents work for the seller ) to refuse to put forward an offer to a potential buyer or to not keep any information on people who are actively looking and in a postion to buy a house in their area. Other than establishing a price ( and you can pay a valuer to do that ) - sticking up a board and putting some adverts in the paper mostly agents here don't seem to do anything but sit back and wait for their commission.

Even passing on basic information about a house for sale seems to be beyond some agents. Sample conversations in Real Estate Agents Offices

"I can't tell from the description or the picture - is it a garage or a carport with a door on the front?". answer "I don't know you'll have to go to the open for inspection". Can't get to the open for inspection ... tough luck.

"Can you tell me what the guide price is". Answer "No" So I'm going to take time off work to go and view a house which may not be in my price range. I don't think so. I'm going to get a deposit cheque together made out to the agent's trust fund and rock up to an auction where the first bid is going to be over my maximum. I don't think so. But the house could have been in my price range. I could have gone to see it and fallen in love with it. I'm not going to buy it if I don't go and see it, and I'm not going to see it unless I'm reasonably sure that it meets my needs.

I hate those real estate agents adverts where the picture of the agent and the name of the agent takes up half of the page and the rest of it is waffle about birds singing and how close it is to the local park. They forget to tell you if its got a garage, sometimes they don't even tell you how many bedrooms the place has got. So some poor seller has shelled out mega bucks for an advert that advertises the agent and doesn't advertise THEIR house.

One of the agents in the eastern suburbs has revamped their logos and signs. They now have an arty-farty board where 1/4 of it is lime green with unreadable script and the rest is photos of the inside of the house. How many bedrooms has it got .. who cares ... obviously not the potential buyer.
End of rant.

[TassieKiwi]

The agent's responsibility is to get the best price for the vendor. Full stop. Wouldn't you want him to do this for you?


As to the 'slimy estate agent', I agree that many are only interested in their cut, and hold the 'average joe vendor' in contempt, using the facct that you only buy/sell a few times in one life to feed all sorts of cr@p to you.

Neil Jenman gets a big bouquet from me with 'The Jenman Way"

[craigb]

Wow Jackie, you must have had even worse experiences with agents than I have

I've usually found that they're happy enough to give you a "price guide" even if it does bear no relation to reality.

You have to see it from the vendor's point of view too when it comes to inspections.

Selling a house is a real pain and the thought of an agent just dropping in willy nilly with somebody who MAY be interested in your property is enough to give you nightmares.

If the property is vacant then fair enough, but it's hard enough to keep the house up to scratch for the weekly open day.

I've met one or two agents that were o.k. Most of them are pond life IMO.

Craig

[jackiew]

the thought of an agent just dropping in willy nilly with somebody who MAY be interested in your property is enough to give you nightmares.
Craig

I think the best deal here is that a time mutually acceptable to buyer and seller be arranged for inspection. It isn't actually essential to have an agent there when you look round if the owner is there ... although in these days of home invasions its probably not a bad thing. I certainly think its quite acceptable for an owner/agent to request photo id of someone who is going to go into someone else's home and look round.

I had the interesting experience of looking round a home via a Jenman agent ... the owners were there but I wasn't allowed to talk to them directly ... so we had the ridiculous situation where I asked the agent a question he went over to them where they were standing in the garden and asked them the question ... listened to the reply .... relayed it back to me ... i then asked for clarification ..........

I'm going to inspect a house in my street during my lunch break. It seems totally bizarre to me that with no intention of buying I can go and have a sticky beak at someone else's house, but, as the owners obviously are happy to have all and sundry poke their noses in I shall avail myself of the opportunity.

[craigb]

I don't want to be there to answer questions when somebody is inspecting my property.

That's what I'm paying an agent for. To deal with the buyer and get me the best price possible.

Although in Sydney, most houses are still sold at auction, so it's the agent's job to get more than one punter to the auction

Or, even if they don't sell on the day, they'll generally go to auction first and the agent will hopefully have at least one serious buyer to negotiate with afterwards.

What is this Jenman agent thing? I've not heard of it before.