Unfortunately, over the last few years there’s as many or more unqualified slobs IN real estate than outside of the trade.
Not an agent, but in a closely related field. In the last 2 years, I’ve seen 2 agents out-bid their clients on houses. Two more aske me to falsify information on federal grant forms and were dense enough to make that request by email while copying the federal office. Another has failed to disclose serious health and environmental issues at several listed properties after both she and her clients were made aware of their presence.
I’ve overheard one agent tell their customer how to avoid paying me and other trades.
Another 4 or 5 have licensed simply because it allows them first shots at properties to flip (another bottom-feeding creature in the RE market), then pass the seconds on to their clients.
Agents may know location, layout, feng shui etc., but most haven’t the slightest clue when it comes to how a house is supposed to function and are 99.7% resistant to learning about it.
Real estate sales has abysmally low barriers to entry and after about 36 hours of “training”, enter the market with not much more than marginal form sense, hoping a boss babe attitude and a tight blouse will overcome all the rest.
At the end of the day, whether it’s the buyer’s slob or the seller’s slob, both have a vested interest in the property selling for the highest price possible.
You make very good points, but the unqualified slobs I was talking about were potential buyers who couldn’t qualify to buy a dog house.
Any realtor worth a dime will prequalify their potential buyers and will not waste their time, the buyers time, or the sellers time by showing a buyer a property they cannot possibly get a mortgage for.