Do you think this person lost equity on their home purchase?
By Jessica Swesey, Tuesday, January 29, 2008.Bookmarking Sites
We ran across this newly created blog today, http://rottenlyingsleazyrealtors.com/, courtesy of a link thrown in at the end of an AdAge story chastizing the National Association of Realtors over its latest buy-a-house-now ad campaign. (Read the AdAge story here.)
It's another example in recent weeks of people piling on blame to Realtors for their housing woes. Last week, we heard about home buyers suing their agent because the value of their house fell right after purchase and they feel the agent is responsible.
But the blame game isn't what's interesting about all the mud-slinging. Everyone who's in a mess right now is looking for someone to blame. Heck, the Realtors blame us, the media, for creating this downturn. Some of the media blames greedy lenders; some blame greedy borrowers. Pick your target on this one.
What's interesting is that it points to a need to rebuild some trust between consumers and the real estate industry. Real estate agents even before the downturn suffered a bad image in the minds of consumers, and with emotions flaring in the midst of this housing recession we're likely to hear more backlash from people looking for someone to blame.
Some agents appear to be finding success in building consumer trust through blogging. What are some other ways to combat this in a down market?
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Submitted by Anonymous on January 29, 2008 - 8:41pm.
I am just curious why the blog you mention doesn't want agents names revealed in people's rants? They must be scared of a slander lawsuit against them for hosting the blog.
Submitted by Anonymous on January 29, 2008 - 10:19pm.
I would imagine that this blog's title will be short-lived because of its Realtor(R)trademark violation.
Submitted by Anonymous on January 30, 2008 - 6:55am.
I think it's great that this website www.rottenlyingsleazyrealtors.com has not received any comments from anyone else. Plus, the blog author posted this on 1/17/08 and hasn't made any new posts since then. Maybe this will be very short-lived.
Submitted by Anonymous on January 30, 2008 - 6:59am.
Put NARWisdom.com in your feed reader and you'll hear about things like this sooner! ;)
Consumer trust (or lack thereof)is HUGE. I think it is the single most important reason to write a real estate blog. Forget the SEO, forget the "leads". Use your blog to gain trust and it will serve you well.
Submitted by Anonymous on January 30, 2008 - 7:59am.
Its not just about trust, its about value for services. Consumers, both buyers and sellers, are looking at the largest portion of costs in the transaction (realtor commissions) and asking "and what did I get for that?" Tremendous pressure has been placed on lenders to reduce cost but what have realtors done to reduce costs? reduce service? Are realtors who represent buyers glorified cab drivers? If it fair to assume that the buyer's realtor is to get the best deal for his 2.8% commission? Would that not include investing a little time to scope out the neighborhood and the price being paid for similar properties? If someone is negotiating on my behalf I would want them knowledgable about the entire transaction, not just how to get to the closing to pick up their check. If you want trust, you have to act the part.
Submitted by Anonymous on January 30, 2008 - 11:03am.
Someone once said, "success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan". Today we witness many high profile people, companies, and industries blaming everyone else, but themselves for their current plight and then off to some sort of "rehab". The American public is a forgiving one if the mea culpas are sincere. There are a resentful public, however, when they perceive the guilty are adamant about their guilt or their is no remorse. Folks, there is a problem. Much and many have contributed to the malaise (translation: there is enough blame to go around). Let's drive this bus looking through the windshield, not the rear view mirror.
Submitted by Anonymous on January 30, 2008 - 4:40pm.
This is going to get much worse before it gets better. Any working Realtor® knows that in the last year, some of their clients' homes have gone down in value. It's the nature of the market we're in. We have all had listings that sold a year ago that could not sell for that same price today... again, the nature of the market. What is different though is that now that the recriminations and finger pointing has begun in earnest, everyone affected is going to hire a lawyer and look for anyone with deep enough pockets who is willing to settle out of court. How do we prevent that? I'm not sure there is any way to prevent the recriminations and lawsuits except for the market to rebound- soon.
Submitted by Anonymous on January 30, 2008 - 6:22pm.
When I started my real estate career in 2000, sellers in ownership for two years expected - or were sometimes pleasantly surprised - to just barely break even at top dollar for their home, to cover costs of sale and their mortgage balance. It seems the public has come to consider real estate akin to the stock market, in terms of short-term gains. However, has anyone seen a lawsuit by an investor suing the stockbrokers? What has our industry come to, when consumers demand sharply reduced service provider fees without a reduction in service, and also a guarantee on the investment of the consumer's choice?
IMHO, real estate should not be a quick buck. The most stable investments are those viewed over the long term, and isn't that what buying a home used to be about?