From the annual Harris Interactive Poll on prestigious occupations comes this shocker: Lookee who is sitting firmly at the bottom of the list. And this is nothing new. Harris added real estate agent / broker to their poll in 2003 and we've been at the bottom every year with the exception of 2005 when we were just (barely) above stock brokers. Oy. Why might this be? Why does John Q. Public have such a lowly opinion of the real estate agent? Could it be the absurdly low entry “barrier”? … [Read more...]
How to Fire a Real Estate Agent
From the Inbox: I do not think my agent has my best interests in mind. I am trying to buy a home and she keeps showing me homes that are to expensive. When I ask her to show me lower priced homes, she says “but you are qualified for this amount and you wont be happy with a smaller home”. I do not want to push the limit I am qualified for. I tried talking to her but she wont listen. I signed a paper saying she was my agent but I never got a copy of it. I want to use a different agent but … [Read more...]
Real Estate Blogger Card Sells for Record Amount
Grant Freer at RealSeekr knows an investment when he sees one. Grant was the winning bidder in an eBay auction for an autographed, mint condition real estate blogger trading card featuring yours truly.In a frenzied bidding war, Grant pulled ahead and won the battle with a bid of $225.Oh wait, there is a decimal point in there… Looks like $2.25 is the winning bid. None the less, it is the highest amount ever paid for a real estate blogger trading card. The fact that it’s the … [Read more...]
How to Pick a Real Estate Agent
TheStreet.com has a decent article out today — How to Pick the best Real Estate Agent for You.Now if you happen to be in the Phoenix metro area, that’s a no brainer. But if you’re not fortunate enough to live in our fair city, then this article may be worth a read.I do, naturally, have an opinion or two on it.Any article that provides insight on picking an agent should mention that you need to interview two or three agents before choosing. Yes, you can learn a lot about … [Read more...]