Things that annoy me #42,067...
I'm shopping for a condo and called the realtor from one of the listings I'm interested in. She apologized as the property was sold and neglected to notify the website to remove the ad.File this under unprofessional laziness.
Some realtors have other listings and bait people with really good ones that just happen to have been sold... but if you are interested, they have others that are somewhat more expensive than the one that hooked you in.
File this under deceptive sales tactics.
Comments (5)
Maybe you've tried to bid on a foreclosure the very first day it gets listed only to be told another offer was accepted... that's because they have to list the property but insiders already have deals in place before the listing hits the internet.
When I was a Realtor (before the market crash), there was a well known Realtor in a different town, who used to have his picture posted on billboards and newspaper ads, etc....
When he would meet with owners of a home the price he would tell the owners was significantly higher than other Realtors. So, the naive sellers would choose him, because they figured they would get more money when it sold......until reality set in and the opposite happened. Because the homes were overpriced, they would sit on the market unsold for a long time. The longer it sits on the market, the more the potential buyers perceive that something must be wrong with the home, and thus the less they are willing to pay for it. Now that he had the listing, 1/2 way through the listing agreement, he would tell the seller, that the market changed (it didn't) and that now they should lower the price. Because those homes sat on the market a lot longer. they ended up selling for less money, than if they were listed accurately in the first place.
He didn't care. Because he got the listing as well as a sign on their lawn to advertise his business.
So, to the naive, he looked like he was the guy of choice. He was actually the guy to avoid. .
When you go to sell, get at least 3 agents from 3 different agencies to give you a listing presentation.
When they give you the price to list the home at, make sure they have the recent sold prices from several very comparable homes. That is what should decide the sale price for your home. If you find that 2 of the agents are very close to each other in suggested sale price and one isn't. Go with one of the other 2. Those 2 are likely being honest with you. The other one is either being dishonest, or is clueless. Either way, that's the one to avoid.
The tactic that you stumbled upon is a bait & switch type situation, which is less harmful than what I described above, but wrong nonetheless.
Don't forget to look for the homes/condos for sale by just picking up the past due taxes, that's where the real deals are but you need to do the research or call your local tax office on how to. I charged a $125 to clients to do that research. I hated it but they got the good deals. You have to monitor constantly to find them because they are grabbed up fast. There are auctions too.