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the outlook is so bad they've even set up a food pantry with pasta and canned goods so struggling agents won't go hungry
BAHAHAHAAHAHAHH! Oh and did they learn their lesson... young grasshopper!
You guys, have a heart to realtors LOL
Thank God I am doing well enough to feed myself!
Hi Jessica, Do you still have those $1 houses for sale in Detroit? I'm planning to buy one for my homies.
What you reap, is what you sold
What's the cut for a $1 listing?
"One dollar can get you a large soda at McDonald's, a used VHS movie at 7-Eleven or a house in Detroit.
The fact that a home on the city's east side was listed for $1 recently shows how depressed the real estate market has become in one of America's poorest big cities.
And it still took 19 days to find a buyer.
The sale price of the home may be an anomaly, but illustrates both the depths of the foreclosure crisis in Detroit and the rapid scuttling of vacant homes in some of the city's impoverished neighborhoods.
The home, at 8111 Traverse Street, a few blocks from Detroit City Airport, was the nicest house on the block when it sold for $65,000 in November 2006, said neighbor Carl Upshaw.
While selling a home for the amount of change most people could find between their couch cushions is unusual, some abandoned homes in Detroit sell for $100; vacant lots can be purchased for $300.
"My 14-year-old son could buy a block of Detroit property," said Ann Laciura, senior servicing specialist for the Bearing Group
"
Holy Jesus, it cost $10k just to sell a $1 house. LOL
"So desperate was the bank owner of 8111 Traverse Street to unload the property that it agreed to pay $2,500 in sales commission and another $1,000 bonus for closing the $1 sale; the bank also will pay $500 of the buyer's closing costs. Throw in back taxes and a water bill, and unloading the house will cost the bank about $10,000."
i like the 1000 cash back part, lol... i can buy 100 more houses!
Space...seriously? You're laughing? You don't even know the people who are "at food pantries". You don't know if they are honest or dishonest. Please don't live up to my biggest complaint about the "hard core doomers" on Zillow.
You should never laugh at the misfortune of others. Every person that loses a home has a reason for the foreclosure, and sometimes the stories are very sad. Whatever your opinions on housing and everyone involved in the RE industry does not change the fact that enjoying others' misfortune is wrong!
I understand your issue with agents Space. I have some of the same complaints as you. I really shouldn't have called you out on the post, I should have emailed you. I know you probably didn't mean to offend anyone, and I don't hold it against you. I just don't like it when people laugh at others' misfortune, Realtor or not. So, I'm sorry for calling you out like that, it was immature.
Could someone flag my original post on this thread and have Zillow delete it? I can't flag myself, but I would if I could.
Nvrmnd...flagged myself.
Poetic justice. They put lots of unsuspecting (stupid) first time home buyers into their graves over the past 10 years, now they get the same. Good.
How do you know?
I really don't think we should laugh at the misfortune of realtors. I believe most are nice people. But I think the whole job is unnecessary. I believe it's going to the way of the travel agent. As more info is becoming easily acessible there is less need for realtors.
When I was getting my house ready to put on the market, I put an ad on craigslist to have someone come clean it, and I ended up using this nice couple that came out, they did an excellent job. They were realtors. They said with the market so bad they had to start the cleaning bussiness. Of course they gave me a little sales pitch, but I was set for FSBO.
I think it's a good idea for any realtors who are struggling to at least acknowledge that it possible thier careers might diminish and start training or looking for a new career.
Of course there are a few good travel agents left, and there will always be a few good real estate agents left. But in the not to distant future the norm will be to not use a realtor for buying and selling your home. IMO
There are ways to change and adapt to the market. By unbundling your services, you stand a much better chance of staying ahead of the curve. I don't know if it will go the way of the travel agent, in that the transaction is a bit more complicated to put together than a trip. However, I do see the unbundling of services, so as to let the buyers and sellers choose their level of service.
This will actually help the real estate industry in the long run. People will know EXACTLY what they are getting for the money. It will become fee based, and commissions as we know them right now will be much different, and paid differently too.
I make all my travel arrangements myself--but then I have time to check things out, find the rates I want, book things online, etc. Some people don't or just don't want to bother. And so travel agents remain. I don't think real estate agents will go away completely. If this period gets rid of many of them (usually the ones who didn't really want to work too hard in the first place) then that is a good thing, but I would like to have the option to use agents if I want to. And when I sell my house, I will use an agent because 1)around here there are so few FSBO homes that there is a stigma attached to them, I think and 2)I know a good agent will help me sell my house. It is too bad that some real estate agents are needing food pantries, but people in all sorts of jobs lose their jobs sometimes. They deal with it, usually by looking for other work. That's what I had to do a few years ago, even taking low-paying jobs while I looked for something better. So, no, I don't laugh at agents who are struggling, but I don't feel sorry for them if they are not, as 4jacks says, "looking for a new career."
Th
You don't know if they are honest or dishonest.
You can say the same thing about my profession as well. However one bad apple will drive many good folks down as well... someone in your industry needs to take leadership and clean
house. Then your profession can earn deep respect from the public.
The problem is REA's are sales people....
lets be honest...no one really gets excited about dealing with a sales person. To add insult to injury these sales people started making quick and easy money compared to previous years during the bubble peak. Then many of them that only knew that kind of sales transaction because they came in during the bubble peak got screwed because they were un-prepared for the the lean times. Most of them are the ones who may be having housing issues of their own. Poetic Justice? Maybe but sad none the less.
Yes, sales...it's tough. But I truly think that real estate is starting to trend towards consulting, and representation more and more. Sure there is still the "sales training", and NAR are the biggest salesmen themselves, but look at the people on here. Rob for instance is quite good at what he does, and knows how to steer people away from trouble. The same goes for Marci, Elvis, GRI, CHUTTA and quite a few others (sorry if I didn't mention your name). I think we like being able to sleep at night, and if that means giving up a commission and steering someone to rent, than that's what we'll do. More and more this will become commonplace, and we should cheer it on as much as possible.
if you didnt think to prepare a 6mo or 1 year cushion while feasting on dates over the last 4 years then obviously you dont have any experience with a less than bubbled market...
All those people you mention I am pretty sure did RE sales before the peak era. The major component of REA’s is sales period. You can spin it how ever you need to, consultant, guidance, consulting or what ever to make your self feel better but that’s the bottom line...sales.
And you can believe whatever you want about the whole bunch, as I will continue to consult and represent.
Bellafineteine,
The three properties I have sold in Detroit went for 205,000, 175,400, and a lease with option at 1500 a month and purchase price of 174,900. Otherwise I mainly work in Oakland County,which is the fourth wealthiest county in the nation. Our office did 31 million in April. So, Yes I can feed myself and No I don't sell 1.00 properties.
... and, it's free and anonymous
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Real estate agents losing their homes!
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On Realty Road, It’s a Rough Ride
http://www.newsweek.com/id/151748
Real-estate agents are an optimistic bunch, but it's hard to put a positive spin on the nation's deepening housing bust. In the past year, the average U.S. home has lost 16 percent of its value, and the number of homes changing hands has dropped by one third since the market peak in 2005. Since most agents make money only when houses actually sell (most earn no salary), that's leading to a sense of desperation in some hard-hit regions. In one Los Angeles-area brokerage office, an agent told NEWSWEEK, the outlook is so bad they've even set up a food pantry with pasta and canned goods so struggling agents won't go hungry.
Consider the scene at Prudential California Realty in Cypress, a community in well-heeled Orange County. Manager Christine McGowan says she's watched a number of her employees lose their own homes to foreclosure.
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