-Israel Barden
Originally posted at www.bigbearilluminated.com
One of the benefits of the market being in decline is the mass exodus of bad agents. If you are a buyer or a seller, the odds are much better that you will get a competent agent to represent you. Unlike days past when an agent just had to sit by a phone to do business, today's Realtor actually has to work his or her tail off to be successful. That being said, you still need to be careful.
There are still part time housewife's out there who do a deal or two a year for some extra money. The checker at the local Von's still dabbles when an unsuspecting victim falls into the web. Even the meter reader for the electric company will try to pass as a full time professional Realtor. They are not doing their clients any favors. The market has undergone a massive upheaval and you can not do business the same way as five years ago. In Big Bear, bank owned properties make up 10% of the inventory and 40% of the sales. If your Realtor is not proficient in dealing with REO's, Short Sales, etc, you are asking for trouble.
I have an example from my last escrow to share with you. My clients put in an offer on a bank owned property listed by an office from out of our area. We did everything we were supposed to do and were just waiting for escrow to open. I have sold around 20 bank owned properties in the last year or so and there is almost always a delay in the bank opening escrow. So, after a week went by I wasn't too concerned. After almost two weeks went by, I became alarmed. I called and emailed the listing agent two or three times a day for three days without receiving a response. I finally had to call his broker and demand that someone who was competent be put in charge of the deal. I was given an assistant who seemed to have some idea of how things worked. Finally, after almost three weeks, I was emailed an extension agreement that stated we were requesting an extension due to the listing office opening escrow with the wrong company and not realizing it for two weeks. Two weeks? If I hadn't called the broker with my concerns the listing agent would have just coasted along obliviously and incompetently until our deal crashed and burned.
I also have experiences that are the exact opposite. I sold a bank owned property a little while back that was listed by Theresa Grant with Coldwell Banker in Lake Arrowhead. Like most bank owned homes, it took the bank longer than usual to open escrow, but everything else ran perfectly. Theresa made sure I received regular updates and her assistant was on top of everything. I got all the paperwork on time and done correctly. Because we both did what we needed to do , the transaction was very smooth and I was able to give my client excellent service.
If you are considering buying or selling, ask the Realtor you are dealing with some qualifying questions before you proceed. Make sure they are a full time, professional Realtor and not a part timer. Make sure they have a good, working knowledge of the local market. If you are planning on buying in Big Bear, it is a very bad idea to use somebody from L.A. or Orange County. If you are planning on buying a Bank Owned listing, it is especially important to use somebody who is experienced in selling them. The banks do thing very differently and a Realtor who doesn't know what they are doing can blow the deal or end up costing you a great deal of money.
Comments