| Ethical REALTOR® in Port Orange, Daytona Beach Area Seeks Honest Buyers and Sellers |
THE REALITY OF WHAT'S REALLY HAPPENING IN REAL ESTATE! (Not what the media says)
I couldn't have said this better myself. As a matter of fact, Paul covered some areas I haven't been comfortable with, by taking a solid stand that I'm now adopting myself. This is a great post for me to give notice to my own work area in Daytona Beach, Port Orange, Ponce Inlet, and all of Volusia County Florida, that I am NOT a REALTOR® who is willing to work with every real estate customer who comes along, wanting to work in the gray areas, and/or make my job even more difficult than it already is. I choose to uphold the law, and represent real estate buyers and sellers who truly need my services to buy and sell real estate in an ethical manner.
Read Paul's post below.
www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com
What is it about the rain that brings the mischievous out to play?
Real Estate sales is the type of racket that leads one to bump bellies with all manner of folk. Over my years in the industry to date, you might say I’ve been sheltered. For all of the horror stories that float about a brokerage regarding the customer from hell, or the underhanded agent that shafts a fellow colleague out of a deserved paycheck, the instances in which I have encountered such REALTOR kryptonite have been few and far enough between to defy instant recollection. Challenges and difficulties, to be sure, but no readily recounted tale of woe regarding a true American consumer psycho. Either the good people of Scottsdale, AZ are simply of good stock, or my conscious decision not to hand out business cards at the dog track every Saturday afternoon as a central component of new client acquisition was prescient.
When the downturn in the market that first became evident in 2007 gave way to a full-fledged nosedive, however, a bunch of loose cargo in the back of our plane and overhead storage bins unloosed itself. Ending up in the aisles and on the laps of well-behaved passengers, we find ourselves wading through the cretinous stowaways in attempt to pull the decent home buyers and sellers from the acrid wreckage. Wouldn’t you know those oily ne’er do wells always seem to reach the emergency exits first; whooping it up as they slide to safety wearing a stolen oxygen mask. Don’t worry about granny in seat 46C. She can hold her breath for up to 18 seconds at a stretch.
To answer a few of the more “creative” questions I have fielded recently, I figured I’d simply draft a response to which all such future inquiries may be pointed.
No, I will not help you tie up a property with a straw buyer until such time that you can amass your down payment and/or financing. It’s a fraudulent offer, and one made in bad faith.
No, I will not write offers on 15 short sale properties at once for the same buyer. Short sales are frustrating, but it’s not just a numbers game. I will not grease the wheels to a seller's foreclosure by tying their property up with an offer you have no real intention of seeing to fruition.
No, I will not give you a guestimate on how long you can live in your house rent-free before your mortgagor initiates foreclosure proceedings. There are more than enough homeowners in need of loan modification or short sale assistance. I cannot in good conscience help you game the system and further bog the process down for those in true need of help.
No, I will not help you buy a property as a primary residence if I know that you have no intention of ever occupying it. There will be many dubious, and potentially fraudulent purchases made in the rush for the tax credit, but I won’t be a part of any of them.
No, I won’t secure a tenant for the property upon which you have stopped paying your mortgage. That “free money” that goes in your pocket until the bank forecloses and boots the unsuspecting tenant out carries a steep price.
No, I will not be party to any side agreement pay-out in a Real Estate transaction that does not appear on the settlement statement.
Rationalize such schemes all you like, but a treacherous climate does not excuse treachery. Not only does potential harm fall on specific parties, but on the greater good as well. Don't look to me to make my own biological contribution to the cesspool we’ve been forced to bathe in for many moons now. Moral and ethical constraints aside, for no deal is it worth ruining a hard-earned reputation and future livelihood. This is how I feed my family.
Your shenanigans are not worth my license.Now, if you would kindly hurry up and slide into the waiting arms of the authorities below, there are good people on this plane who need my help.
Thanks Lisa,
I agree! When your ethics and goals are clear your choices are easy!!
Kim- I agree. And this couldn't have come in a more timely manner for me. I've been working with some customers who were just fine until an attorney gave them slimy advice. That advice, instantly changed my working relationship with these customers. I was uncomfortable with it, but couldn't really put my finger on the problem. But Paul very clearly addressed it here. Now I know why I was uncomfortable, and I have a clear conscience about moving on, and no longer working with these customers. It's just a shame, because prior to this we had a great working relationship =(
Kudos Lisa and to Paul for penning such a great piece. We ALL know what's right and what's wrong. What we choose to do determines who and what WE are!
Gerry Suarez, Jr.
Your FHA Loan Pro!
Great reblog. I missed the original. It's pretty sad what's happening to people out there. The saddest though is the agent that is so desperate they do put up with these sellers.
Hi Lisa, What a great article for a reblog. I think in difficult times a lot of difficult questions are asked and answered. It's always best to make sure our answers are ethical and legal.
Makes perfect sense to me. Some people you just don't want to work with.
No deal or commission is worth your livelyhood !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!