The Trouble With Some Realtors

There is a plus side to the housing market being in a decline, and that would be the limited amount of bad agents out there. This is a great benefit if you are in the market to buy or sell a home, because chances are you will find a more reliable, up-to-date realtor. In the past a lot of agents did a lot of their work from their offices, but now they really do need to be out in the field in order to be successful. With that information though, you do still need to be careful in choosing your agent.

There are still part time housewife’s out there who do a deal or two a year for some extra money. The checker at the local Von’s still dabbles when an unsuspecting victim falls into the web. Even the meter reader for the electric company will try to pass as a full time professional realtor. They are not doing their clients any favors.

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.

Author S. Blagow is an experienced Big Bear, CA foreclosures realtor and well-trained in luxury realty. He is in fact one of the most respected Big Bear, CA houses realtors in his service area.