11 responses to “Is it common to get ripped off by real estate agents?”

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  rhsaunders July 27th, 2009 at 03:39

  Gregory

  No; it is very rare. Both the Board of Realtors and state regulators take a very dim view of financial shenanigans.

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  col. Kurtz July 29th, 2009 at 11:30

  Duane

  More common to get ripped off by Loan Agents….They are like the Health Insurance Industry….the more they rip you off the greater their year end bonus…..

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  loanmasterone August 1st, 2009 at 12:12

  Jacob

  The first thing you have to remember is that real estate agents work for you. You are paying for their services to direct and “ASSIST” you in the purchase or sale of your property.

  The next thing you need to know is that nothing is etched in stone about real estate. So when they come out and say we normally do this or normally it cost this.

  Tell them you are not normal and you want to do it the best way that offer the best benefit to you.

  Now about the commission or compensation, which is not etched in stone as they would have you believe. Any commission is negotiable and if they have a problem with that then they are in it just for the money.

  You should move on to another agent if they balk at negotiating a commission. Now no rasonable person is gonna work for peanuts and if they do what type of professionalism do they bring to the table? So if you expect an agent to work for 1-2 percent you are not for real and can not expect a real estate agent to do you any good.

  There are some agents that will work for that amount, they are called flat fee real agents and in my opinion do just as good of a job as anyone else can.

  I think a full time agent would be ok with a commission of between what they call normal and no lower than 3 percent. When I was a real estate agent I had several buyers and investors in my pocket therefore I did not have to do a lot of work therefore a quick sale. Sometimes the listing never hit the MLS.

  I don’t think real estate agents try to rip you off as much as an attorney or doctor would try to rip you off. Have you ever been in the hospital and was given an asperin? Then later find out the asprin cost $1.00 each and you had 20 of those buggers. Who is really ripping you off.

  It is a misconception that most real estate agents rip a person off. They are there to answer any and all questions you might have. If you don’t ask the questions they feel as if al is well with the information they provide.

  You may also listen to the shade tree real estate agents. If they know so much about real estate tell them to get their license and then they too can sell a property.

  When selecting a real estate agent to represent you, there are a few questions you should ask of them. You should also make sure you are compatable with the real estate agent. If you like to make jokes and is a little carefree. You would not be happy with a too serious real estate agent.

  1. How long have they been in the real estate busines?
  2. Is this a part or full time business fo them or do they work at Wal-Mart in the off season?
  3. Do they work in the area in which you want to purchase a home?
  4. Can they provide you with current references within 90 days of todays date.
  5. How long have they been with their current broker and how long have the broker been in business?
  6. Are you able to get your own mortgage firm if you are buying?

  I have found that if you are up front and honest with people 99.5% of the time people will be up front and honest with you.

  I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.

  “FIGHT ON”

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  Senator August 3rd, 2009 at 01:15

  Julie

  Remember, realtors are no better than salesmen. They sell things to get the commision.

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  Ross August 5th, 2009 at 03:06

  Nancy

  There will be a contact, look it over and make sure you understand it. Real estate agent work through brokers who for the most part are responsible for the actions of their agents. The industry is heavily regulated. I am not sure what you mean buy being ripped off. The only charges you should have would be the commission you pay when your home sells. That will be the amount you agreed too in your contract. All that is handled at closing and is spelled out clearly on the closing documents. The commission goes to the broker and the broker pays the agent. If the agent is getting paid any other way than he is braking the law.

  You need to understand that an agent is paid on commission. The more money a listing agent makes, the more money he makes for his client. If you were selling your home wouldn’t you rather your agent get 400k for it instead of 380k??? It is his job to make the most money for his client as possible, this also leads to a bigger paycheck for himself.

  If you are buying and you are not using a buyers agent your agent even though he may not be the same agent selling the home he may still be working for the seller. This makes his loyalty belong to the seller. Different state have different laws when it comes to representation and how their customers/clients will be made aware of this. In my state once we meet with the a buyer one of the first things we are required by law is to discuss representation. Buy law we need to present to them in writing a definition of all the possible types of agency. It is not a contract and nobdoy signs it, it is info to help educate the buyer. There are sub agent that work on the behalf of the listing agent, buyers agent working for the buyer, dual agents working for both, and transaction bokers working only to make the deal legally happen. When a the contract between the seller and the listing agent is created the seller has the option on what types of agency he will allow. The sellor could say he won’t pay a commsion to a buyers agent, only to a sub agent. This legally limits the agents how they can present the property if they are expecting to be paid by the seller. I the buyer seeks other representation than the seller has agreed to pay the buyer would need to pay the agent.

  I am sure there are dishonest agents out there just like any other business

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  shollia August 6th, 2009 at 19:01

  Rosa

  Our current buyer’s agent warned us about this one realtor.
  We were going to look at a house they were representing and our realtor told us that they had done some shady things in the past.
  Such as switching out refrigerators after a sale, not including certain things in the contract, etc etc.
  So make sure you read every single thing very clearly, and if you’re not sure about something and your realtor doesn’t want to explain it to you in a clear way, then don’t sign anything.

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  liberal48 August 7th, 2009 at 16:57

  Douglas

  It happens sometimes, but I don’t think it is fair to say it is common. One thing to remember if you are the buyer is that the agent is usually representing the seller, not you. In my experience, even though it is allowed by some states, I don’t think you should ever deal with an agent who wants to represent both the buyer and seller. That creates a clear conflict of interest, and should be avoided.

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  pamela d August 10th, 2009 at 09:20

  Terry

  l wonder sometimes myself about this

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  Expert Realtor August 13th, 2009 at 17:41

  Gerald

  Personally, I don’t see how that happens.

  I am a Realtor…buyer’s, don’t pay me anything.

  Sellers, pay me at the closing table and all costs are disclosed as a FLAT percentage rate which is discussed with them when I take the listing.

  If you distrust Real Estate agents that much, then you need to go at it alone (which will significantly increase your chances of getting ripped off…by paying too much or purchasing a substandard property) or get a reference from a friend.

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  Mrs HarleyBrat August 15th, 2009 at 20:38

  Annette

  ya know – no offense but I’m a Realtor and I’ve NEVER taken advantage of someone! I take my job seriously. I have even helped friends sell their homes for less than half my normal paycheck – I have helped people buy homes and given them back part of the commission (just to let them use it towards their closing costs to buy the house) Would you do your job and give back all or most of your paycheck to help your clients? Would you go to work to get less than your normal pay? I have & probably will again if needed. Every Realtor is not the same. Like attorney or doctors – interview them. If you had a bad experience with a Realtor – then I’m sorry for you because there are alot of good Realtors out there too.

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  Dawni Do Right August 17th, 2009 at 15:44

  Tamara

  One avenue can be your earnest money check.

  While left to manage a real estate office when the broker went on vacation to Europe, a client call our office to say he had just signed closing docs on a home purchase & he was angry with our office because his $10,000 earnest money check he gave his agent was not credited to him.

  After a few phone calls, I found out the agent in question had instructed his buyer to make his earnest money check payable to HIM!

  Needless this agent lost his license. He was really bad & after auditing other files of his, he was also ripping off landlords by pocketing rent money he had collected & said the renters never paid.

  The broker never caught on earlier because this agent was notoriously slack at turning in his transactions. He obviously wasn’t so much worried about getting commission checks since he was skimming money.

  This is a rare case, but there are truly evil & coniving people in any industry.

  Other than your earnest money, an agent will never ask you for any money. You pay your home inspector when you show up for the inspection. You pay for your loan application fees with your lender.