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You are in huge error on the control of comments. It is absolutely to protect Sellers, not Realtors.
The buying public has hyper-sensitivity, superstitions, misperceptions, and avoidance of anything with any taint to it.
If someone slams a listing and without merit, it has to be explained away, but whether true or not plants a seed in the readers' minds, "I wonder how bad that house is?"
Stupid commentary could cost a Seller thousands for no reason, without bringing any value to anyone. It is most excellent that Realtors and MLSs have that standard. It separates us and places us on a higher plane of decency from the Zillows and Trulias and other muck.
People should visit and view homes that they want to consider buying, not dismiss them because of childish rants.
I'm not talking about childish rants and I think you know it. I'm talking about information like:
"Major traffic back-ups when the concert venue a mile away is open." This is something that might be seasonal or periodic, but will NOT be disclosed, so a buyer could miss it.
"FYI, tested positive for radon." Sure there's a law that it gets disclosed. Guess what? It doesn't.
"This house has been listed for five years and vacant for three of them." Yep. That sure won't be apparent or disclosed.
"Neighbor has a Harley."
I think you get my drift.
There's always the potential that someone will post something erroneous, but if a buyer likes a property, it will be upon them to confirm or refute it, which is possible if you have the information.
On the other hand, to exclude potentially crucial information from discussion when it's the biggest purchase of someone's life, well-- I'd call it anti-buyer.
Is it your buyers agent that knows little about the houses they are showing you or is it the listing agent that knows little about the property they are listing? How do you know there are things that your agent knows but they just aren't telling you? Again, how do you know there aren't any other offers?
Sellers agents. You go to the open house, want to know what school the house feeds to, what that manhole cover in the yard leads to, whether the siding is Dryvit, if there's a sump pump, etc. Have gotten "I don't know" responses to all this and more. If I were going to sell a property and make a 6% commission, I'd take a thorough walk-through with the owner and familiarize myself with more than just how many bedrooms and bathrooms.
Again, sellers agents know things (negative things) and don't tell you. Previous radon disclosures, structural problems, permits not pulled-- the evasive answers are really entertaining. I've even had sellers' agents change the story back and forth depending on what they think I want to hear.
We have been told on multiple occasions on multiple properties to "move fast" because there's a lot of interest. Or can we make our offer better because there's another offer. We don't move fast. We don't up our offer. The property sits for over a year. Yeah. That's "a lot" of interest.
Sorry to be so jaded. Just telling it like it happened.
All of this said, I can recall three sellers agents (in three years and umpteen houses) I really liked and one brokerage that seemed to have better than average brokers. They knew about their properties, priced them competitively and didn't try to evade or hard sell anything. Just straightforward. Any property they were associated with, I knew I could trust their answers.
The majority of the rest should be called "used house salesmen."
Ah, that's why I never heard of it. We don't have that feature in our MLS for agent comments. Therefore, not supported by Redfin in Phoenix. I'm surprised it's not classified as a private field not for public viewing.
I think the default is public and agents can set it for private.
I'm not talking about childish rants and I think you know it. I'm talking about information like:
"Major traffic back-ups when the concert venue a mile away is open." This is something that might be seasonal or periodic, but will NOT be disclosed, so a buyer could miss it.
"FYI, tested positive for radon." Sure there's a law that it gets disclosed. Guess what? It doesn't.
"This house has been listed for five years and vacant for three of them." Yep. That skure won't be apparent or disclosed.
"Neighbor has a Harley."
I think you get my drift.
There's always the potential that someone will post something erroneous, but if a buyer likes a property, it will be upon them to confirm or refute it, which is possible if you have the information.
On the other hand, to exclude potentially crucial information from discussion when it's the biggest purchase of someone's life, well-- I'd call it anti-buyer.
The concert venue might be material in NC.
The other three items are not.
If some idiot posted in public that a "neighbor owns a Harley," I would skip them and be on the phone to the broker in charge in a heartbeat. It is not a material fact about the property.
Vacancy is not material. Nor is it "crucial."
Remediated radon is not material. If an agent had that knowledge, the right thing to do would be to take it up with the broker, the BIC, and the State, but not to play gossip.
Off hand commentary on immaterial topics to gratuitously hurt sellers serves nothing but ego.
Now agents can review homes. They still have the "per MLS rules" restriction keeping other people from commenting on the home. Yes, I agree there might be inaccurate anonymous statements like on any online forum, but like any online forum, I think the majoritywould be honest opinions and certainly could be put to the lie by visiting a house or having a home inspector walk through it.
C- I beg to differ, here.
Have you considered relevancy?
All the adjectives used to desribe a property are subjective. One guy's dump is another guy's castle.
Some people believe a 10 year old house is old and ready to fall apart. Others prefer 100 year old homes, quirks and all.
Many people cannot see beyond the superficial and dimiss a terrific property for cosmetic reasons.
Some people are blinded by granite and stainless steel and don't notice rotting windows and vice-versa.
Imply a funny uncle neighbor and ........
Have you considered motivation?
Your kid was mean to my kid yesterday, so I am going to say something nasty about your house that you have listed.
An agent with a competitive listing wants your property to remain positioned amongst the unsellables and makes comments like "Can't wait to show this gem- worth every penny" to encourage you to dig your heels in on price.
Have you considered the potential for seeding?
Manipulation of social media via seeding is a growing market whereby people are compensated or otherwise rewarded for promoting brands/slamming competition on all sorts of forums. Forums dedicated to travel/cruising/lodging, medications and beauty/anti-aging products are common targets.
Sellers agents. You go to the open house, want to know what school the house feeds to, what that manhole cover in the yard leads to, whether the siding is Dryvit, if there's a sump pump, etc. Have gotten "I don't know" responses to all this and more. If I were going to sell a property and make a 6% commission, I'd take a thorough walk-through with the owner and familiarize myself with more than just how many bedrooms and bathrooms.
Again, sellers agents know things (negative things) and don't tell you. Previous radon disclosures, structural problems, permits not pulled-- the evasive answers are really entertaining. I've even had sellers' agents change the story back and forth depending on what they think I want to hear.
We have been told on multiple occasions on multiple properties to "move fast" because there's a lot of interest. Or can we make our offer better because there's another offer. We don't move fast. We don't up our offer. The property sits for over a year. Yeah. That's "a lot" of interest.
Sorry to be so jaded. Just telling it like it happened.
All of this said, I can recall three sellers agents (in three years and umpteen houses) I really liked and one brokerage that seemed to have better than average brokers. They knew about their properties, priced them competitively and didn't try to evade or hard sell anything. Just straightforward. Any property they were associated with, I knew I could trust their answers.
The majority of the rest should be called "used house salesmen."
Seriously I'm grinnning now, but the "Used House Salesmen" (a trolling term, BTW) are the people you would have making public comments on properties for sale.
If they aren't qualified at the open house, they won't magically get a lot brighter at the computer....
I think the lack of knowledge of construction, structure, and systems among many agents is quite sad. Really, I do. Often it is by choice, a defensive posture, as they think they can be liable if they are competent about homes.
Let's don't pander to them with further opportunity for goofiness in public comments.
You go to the open house, want to know what school the house feeds to, what that manhole cover in the yard leads to, whether the siding is Dryvit, if there's a sump pump, etc. Have gotten "I don't know" responses to all this and more. If I were going to sell a property and make a 6% commission, I'd take a thorough walk-through with the owner and familiarize myself with more than just how many bedrooms and bathrooms.
Most agents who sit opens are not the listing agent. Many have never seen the property before the Open House. They are there to make a connection and understand that it's highly unlikely that they will sell a property off an Open House, especially in this market.
No one is getting 6% commission. In our greater area, 5% is the most common commission. That is typically split four ways, listing broker, listing agent, selling broker and selling agent. If it's a relo listing, chances are there is going to be a 35-50% referral fee paid off the top of the listing side before the split.
Having said all this, I acknowledge that many listing agents seem to avoid getting to know their listings. Interestingly, they trend towards being top producers moreso than newbies.
Sellers agents. You go to the open house, want to know what school the house feeds to, what that manhole cover in the yard leads to, whether the siding is Dryvit, if there's a sump pump, etc. Have gotten "I don't know" responses to all this and more. If I were going to sell a property and make a 6% commission, I'd take a thorough walk-through with the owner and familiarize myself with more than just how many bedrooms and bathrooms.
Isn't it possible that the agent has more than one listing??? And FTR there isn't anything wrong with saying "I don't know". Would you rather they lie to you?
Quote:
Originally Posted by cohdane
Again, sellers agents know things (negative things) and don't tell you. Previous radon disclosures, structural problems, permits not pulled-- the evasive answers are really entertaining. I've even had sellers' agents change the story back and forth depending on what they think I want to hear.
If the selling agent knows something that is material fact about the house and they don't disclose then it's illegal and you have the right to gripe. However, not ever fact IS material fact (as Mike has pointed out). Just because it's something you would like to know about the property doesn't mean that by law it has to be disclosed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cohdane
We have been told on multiple occasions on multiple properties to "move fast" because there's a lot of interest. Or can we make our offer better because there's another offer. We don't move fast. We don't up our offer. The property sits for over a year. Yeah. That's "a lot" of interest.
"Lots of interest" can mean different things to different people. An agent could have just listed the house and have 15 showings scheduled. When you spoke with them you were #1. Did they have "lots of interest"....I'd say so. But interest doesn't equal an offer or a sale. If it did I would be a VERY wealthy man. Again...an offer doesn't always equal a sale. The agent could very well have had another offer presented but the sellers rejected it, or countered and couldn't agree to terms. Unless you have first hand knowledge of what was or wasn't presented you can only make assumptions...and you know what they say happens when you assume...
Quote:
Originally Posted by cohdane
Sorry to be so jaded. Just telling it like it happened.
All of this said, I can recall three sellers agents (in three years and umpteen houses) I really liked and one brokerage that seemed to have better than average brokers. They knew about their properties, priced them competitively and didn't try to evade or hard sell anything. Just straightforward. Any property they were associated with, I knew I could trust their answers.
Glad you found someone you feel that you can trust.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cohdane
The majority of the rest should be called "used house salesmen."
Glad to think you think so highly of all of us! Thanks.
Really sorry to be so pissy, guys. Won't go into details why.
Respectfully disagree, Mike on what is "material." A motorcycle with a loud tailpipe next door is as bad as living near the airport for many people. Not talking about mitigated radon, talking about an offer that walked previously after a radon inspection turned up positive-- still unmitigated, not disclosed. Vacancy for long periods of time goes hand in hand with potential for neglect and unseen problems. Also is material to raise a red flag on asking yourself why no one bought it before.
I agree with all of you that their could be bad actors/posters out there. But throwing out the baby with the bathwater on comments pre-emptively isn't helpful either. Like many online forums, others could contest or rebut what is posted. Corrections could be made with proof. Readers could rank comments as helpful, unhelpful, bs, etc. and build their own credibility ratings in the meantime.
I think it should at least be given a chance.
(FYI we went to an open house where two Redfin agents had posted comments-- one had remarked on a detail and was in error to the listing's detriment. I emailed them and they corrected it. So it's possible to develop a model where comments can add to the equation and be somehow moderated for accuracy. We may agree to disagree here.)
On another note, like real estate being local, perhaps agent behavior is local, too and I shouldn't paint with a national brush based on local experiences.
PS. I also wrote Redfin to suggest they provide agent profiles on tastes, so a buyer can "consider the source." It is subjective. House hunters need to know whether the comment is from someone who loves new construction or old houses or being in the middle of the action or the middle of nowhere.
I have often looked at old homes with original baths and kitchens. Everyone insists they must be updated. I only think they need to be updated if they're not in keeping with the architecture of the home. I LOVE original bathrooms and kitchens.
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