As a realtor, I won't try to convince you that your experiences are rare. They aren't. I think saying that the entire industry is scum is a bit of an overstatement. It tends to cater to people who don't want a boss and want to get rich quick. That is true. It think a lot of these dynamics you mention will only be addressed effectively by actual changes in the market by innovative actors. A good example is redfin (I think that is the name). They offer limited services but kick a large portion of the buyer-side commission (which is paid by the seller) back to the buyer. They don't drive around with buyers but they give them full online MLS access (which is common in CA) and give them comps so buyers have an idea of what an appropriate offer is. Even the most bitchy, clickish agents can't stand against a moving market. Just a thought --resident scumbag
That's actually not accurate.
Realtors are members of the NAR.
It does not have a bearing on their level of licensing.
I am a Realtor. I have a salesperson's license. My broker is also a Realtor.
By the way, while it can be beneficial to have a trade association (like the NAR) for the purposes of constructing a fair and organized market (though that is really a subjective measure), lots of the "benefits" (eg: code of conduct, pledge of fairness, listing services) are either redundant with existing structures or not implemented in a helpful way.
Ah abusive language is the last resort of someone with little left to say. Right. Making abusive generalizations about 300 million people sounds a lot like bigotry. Also, rude comments about belief systems that most people (on the planet)subscribe to is intolerant and prejudiced. I look forward to reading your future nuggets of "truth" and wisdom. Also, here is a link that might be helpful: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bigotry.
The beauty of baiting bigots is letting them make your point for you.
You actually responded to be calling you a bigot with a bigoted remark.
Brilliant.
You have lived up to your label well.
Thank you for that.
I am framing your post.
Intriguing that we can view so small a thing yet not have much in the way of controlling or manipulating it the way we would like to.
Also, pretty fascinating for something that is not alive.
I do find it interesting that you make a lot of posts talking about ignorance and yet you really just seem to be complaining about Americans, America, and whatever religion crosses your path.
Well Canada has no monopoly on bigots but you are a fun one to watch.
I am not sure what reminiscing about the good ol days has to do with the question at hand.
To clarify on my statement (which may have been too much of a shorthand for some) the purpose of banks is to make money through investing large percentages of deposited money.
Also, the easy interest banks gave back then is part of the reason many of those banks do not exist any more. My family, who has been doing real estate since the potato famine (that is not an exaggeration) hated the older interest practices of banks because the high rates meant that most folks in the US could not afford almost any credit regardless of borrowing history. However if you would like to just go off and tell me about the good old reagan and thatcher years and complain about the evil bank be my guest. I think we will both agree they need either better hedges against risk (eg:enhanced reserve requirements or double-backed credit ratings) or just better regulation. I am one of a rather small group of real estate professionals who would argue that.
Also, fingerprinting is still a really helpful practice.
I really don't understand how that got an insightful score.
It wasn't.
It just sounded like an ignorant rant.
Greed is the job of banks.
That they act stupidly when not regulated is not exactly a ground-breaking observation.
Fingerprinting is required in many states for all people involved in lending and real estate.
That is appropriate.
It cuts down on property theft and identity theft.
It is generally used as a way of screening out applicants in the industry.
If you saw the amount of personal property and personal private information that we put our hands on, you might think differently.
I think this is something that really should be done. The level of important information that passes through our hands is astounding. While some of this is public info (eg: trust deeds, some business income statements) a whole lot of it is private info (eg: socials (which you totally need for lending and buying), dl #'s, private account numbers). The problem is that in most states the education and bonding requirements for our positions and/or licenses is minimal or non-existent (eg: a local company used to offer to get you your license in one weekend). I am writing this as I host an open house full of nice things owned by a family that I have only ever met once. Fingerprinting lets government know if you have a record before approving licensure as well as helping the chain of custody when investigating information or property theft.
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If anyone is curious, the name of the store manager is Kara Stone.
As a realtor, I won't try to convince you that your experiences are rare. They aren't. I think saying that the entire industry is scum is a bit of an overstatement. It tends to cater to people who don't want a boss and want to get rich quick. That is true. It think a lot of these dynamics you mention will only be addressed effectively by actual changes in the market by innovative actors. A good example is redfin (I think that is the name). They offer limited services but kick a large portion of the buyer-side commission (which is paid by the seller) back to the buyer. They don't drive around with buyers but they give them full online MLS access (which is common in CA) and give them comps so buyers have an idea of what an appropriate offer is. Even the most bitchy, clickish agents can't stand against a moving market. Just a thought --resident scumbag
That's actually not accurate. Realtors are members of the NAR. It does not have a bearing on their level of licensing. I am a Realtor. I have a salesperson's license. My broker is also a Realtor. By the way, while it can be beneficial to have a trade association (like the NAR) for the purposes of constructing a fair and organized market (though that is really a subjective measure), lots of the "benefits" (eg: code of conduct, pledge of fairness, listing services) are either redundant with existing structures or not implemented in a helpful way.
Ah abusive language is the last resort of someone with little left to say. Right. Making abusive generalizations about 300 million people sounds a lot like bigotry. Also, rude comments about belief systems that most people (on the planet)subscribe to is intolerant and prejudiced. I look forward to reading your future nuggets of "truth" and wisdom. Also, here is a link that might be helpful: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bigotry.
That was supposed to be "...ME calling you...". Alas, I am beyond the help of spell check.
The beauty of baiting bigots is letting them make your point for you. You actually responded to be calling you a bigot with a bigoted remark. Brilliant. You have lived up to your label well. Thank you for that. I am framing your post.
Intriguing that we can view so small a thing yet not have much in the way of controlling or manipulating it the way we would like to. Also, pretty fascinating for something that is not alive.
I do find it interesting that you make a lot of posts talking about ignorance and yet you really just seem to be complaining about Americans, America, and whatever religion crosses your path. Well Canada has no monopoly on bigots but you are a fun one to watch.
I am not sure what reminiscing about the good ol days has to do with the question at hand. To clarify on my statement (which may have been too much of a shorthand for some) the purpose of banks is to make money through investing large percentages of deposited money. Also, the easy interest banks gave back then is part of the reason many of those banks do not exist any more. My family, who has been doing real estate since the potato famine (that is not an exaggeration) hated the older interest practices of banks because the high rates meant that most folks in the US could not afford almost any credit regardless of borrowing history. However if you would like to just go off and tell me about the good old reagan and thatcher years and complain about the evil bank be my guest. I think we will both agree they need either better hedges against risk (eg:enhanced reserve requirements or double-backed credit ratings) or just better regulation. I am one of a rather small group of real estate professionals who would argue that. Also, fingerprinting is still a really helpful practice.
I really don't understand how that got an insightful score. It wasn't. It just sounded like an ignorant rant. Greed is the job of banks. That they act stupidly when not regulated is not exactly a ground-breaking observation. Fingerprinting is required in many states for all people involved in lending and real estate. That is appropriate. It cuts down on property theft and identity theft. It is generally used as a way of screening out applicants in the industry. If you saw the amount of personal property and personal private information that we put our hands on, you might think differently.
I think this is something that really should be done. The level of important information that passes through our hands is astounding. While some of this is public info (eg: trust deeds, some business income statements) a whole lot of it is private info (eg: socials (which you totally need for lending and buying), dl #'s, private account numbers). The problem is that in most states the education and bonding requirements for our positions and/or licenses is minimal or non-existent (eg: a local company used to offer to get you your license in one weekend). I am writing this as I host an open house full of nice things owned by a family that I have only ever met once. Fingerprinting lets government know if you have a record before approving licensure as well as helping the chain of custody when investigating information or property theft.