The Real Housing Crisis
You thought you knew what was wrong with the market. All the news outlets told you what the problem is and how it can be solved. Obama is going to throw billions of dollars at bad loans.
Sure all of that is bad, but the real problem with the today’s housing market is……
Real Estate Agents.
I spoke with several agents recently in various areas from things ranging from homes, condos and apartments. My needs vary depending on where I want to go.
So I tell an agent in Staten Island what I can afford, the areas I would like to go, and a few specifics on the type of home. She starts emailing me listings. The first thing I noticed is that all of the listing are at or above the max price I am looking to spend. Just because I said my budget was $600k for example, doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want a $500k home. The other problem was the homes varied too much as well. I said basement, I’d get no basement. I said 2000 sqft, she’d give me 1200 sqft.
Doing a search for an apartment yielded similar results. I tell the agent that I prefer something modern and no more than $1500/month. She came back with old apartments that need work, or some huge luxury pad that was $2000/month.
Is it really that hard to give people what they are asking for? If the clients expectations are too high, then tell them. If they need to spend more money, tell them. Don’t try to sell the client on something else. I understand they work on commissions, but guess what..when I’m ready to pull the trigger, I am going to find a different agent to work with.
The problem is that Real Estate agents don’t care. They will show you any piece of crap and hope you take interest in it. They probably don’t have anything that suits your needs at that given moment and with high hopes and desperation.. they show you anything they have available.. hoping you will like it in one way or another.
I am sick of it as well.