As housing flounders Realtors leave profession

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20378837/ ^ | 8-21-07

[Hydroshock]

WASHINGTON - Plummeting stock prices. Mortgage lenders filing for bankruptcy or shutting down. Layoffs at homebuilders and banks. Soaring foreclosures and loan defaults.

Damage from the nation's slumping housing market is evident throughout the economy and permeates financial markets. Add real estate agents to the growing list of victims, although they know few tears will be shed for them.

The National Association of Realtors expects membership rolls to decline this year for the first time in a decade. The group ended 2006 with nearly 1.4 million members — almost double the roughly 716,000 it had in 1997 — but expects 2007 to close with 1.3 million, a drop of more than 4 percent.

[4yearlurker]

I had cash money to spend. I eventually bought my house for 73 thousand cash money(cashier’s check) Whats to pre-qualify? I didn’t want or need a loan. I guess most of the Realtors didn’t believe me. Maybe I was small potatoes to them. Hence the reason for no call backs.

[DCPatriot]

LOL!

[poinq]

Bankers and Lawyers don’t take a percent of the home. Bankers take a percent of the money. But if you use it to buy a $500,000 home or a $1 million home they don’t charge any different as long as you have the collateral. Lawyers just charge a fixed fee. Why pay a realitor more just because you have an expensive house. They do no more work and they tend to lower the price at the drop of a hat.

[durasell]

That’s true.

[pierstroll]

not all realtors are brain surgeons. : )

Some people get fixed ideas in their heads and the business goes out the door. First thing is to listen and have a good idea of the scenario. Can't do that by asking a yes or know question.

Where did you buy for $75,000 and when?

[listenhillary]

Smarter ones buy up properties during good times that they rent out to help supplement their income during the slow times.

Even smarter ones would build cash reserves in the good times to buy the properties during the slow times when there are bargains galore.

I'm not a real estate guru. Last house I bought was owner to owner without the protection money.

[pierstroll]

Realtors don’t drop prices, the owner does, unless they’re weak and get run over by some spark plug.

[4yearlurker]

I bought a 3 bedroom,2 bath home in Southwestern PA. in The Mon Valley almost 2 years ago. We shopped around for about 10 months before we bought this home. I completely remodeled the inside myself for about another 20 thousand.

[pierstroll]

Best wishes from a former mountaineer. Don’t wander around in the dark, you’ll be in WVA.

[4yearlurker]

We actually want to move closer to WV. Greene county,PA. It’s God’s country down there. We are going sell this house,hopefully for a bit of a profit and sell my rental home I’ve had for about 14 years and by a small farm. That’s the last move I’m going to make. I want to raise chickens and can my own food. I’ll be as happy as a Christmas tree!

[RockinRight]

With e-bay and Craig’s List, you can easily sell your car on the net for reasonable market value, with low fees instead of letting a used-car dealer low-ball your car’s value.

Yes...but after 18 months of trying to sell my car on my own...with NOBODY interested once they heard the mileage...and lowering my asking price by $8000 over that time...I finally said "screw it" and took the hit and traded it in at a dealership. Why? I was going to keep the car forever at that rate.

[RockinRight]

Were you able/willing to show them proof of the cash? I’m not sure why they’d be unwilling if you could prove that. It would be no different than proving you’re pre-approved with a mortgage broker or bank.

[RockinRight]

Think of it at the flip side. I see it in the loan business too. Yes, we make more on bigger loans - it’s the only way things even out...because we don’t make jack sh*t on a $19,000 home equity loan.

The same is true for realtors. Now, if you want to argue there should be a point where the 6% caps off at a max flat rate, fine...but that’s another story.

[Paved Paradise]

You know it.

[Gorzaloon]

“returned to selling Used Cars and scrap metal...”

Scrap metal’s gone through the roof! Used to be you had to pay someone to haul off a junk car, now they pay you!

Well, then, I had better follow up my usual practice and jump in on the way down!!!

[4yearlurker]

I had the money in a savings account. No one asked me for proof. If a Realtor did ask me for proof I would have told him/her to stuff it.

[RockinRight]

Well, I personally would accept a signed letter saying you had cash available and leave it at that. No need to see a bank statement or anything like that.

Since these realtors didn’t even return your phone call anyway, the point is moot.

[Leofl]

Yep!!

[jiggyboy]

Ah here we go, this is just outside one of the malls in San Jose...

"What's so funny about that?" you ask. Patience! That was the "setup". Here is the "punchline":

Cue the "wah wah wah WAHHHHH!" trumpet guy!

What I find most hilarious is that there's no indication whatsoever that the UNLIMITED INCOME banner is any older than the FOR LEASE banner. Easy come, easy go.

[Mr. Jeeves]

LOL! OK, I’m stealing those. ;)