To really see the real estate business as it is, be a dumb consumer. Part I

In a recent post, I explained that my wife and I have recently relocated to central, Texas from the East coast. We purchased a resale home in a 55+ community last fall and closed in January 2010. Going to a new market we knew nothing about put us back in the category of "dumb consumer" and we needed help. No problem. Since I am a licensed real estate broker, I can certainly use my expertise to find the best buyer's agent available and make this easy as pie. Not so fast, Kimosabie.

It was easy to find the brokerage firm with the largest market share and after reviewing their agent profiles, I zeroed in on the perfect agent for us. Since I was a licensed broker, I thought a referral fee was in order; after all we were a ready, willing and able buyer intent on making a purchase. I was able to reach my agent of choice, explained my proposition, but was flatly rejected. According to her, their commissions are much too small to possibly afford a referral fee of any kind. WOW, never heard that one before. On to agent number two.

I called one of the New Jersey companies that make up what I affectionately call the evil empire. I had selected who I thought was the broker in charge so I could discuss with him various agents and make a selection. I didn't discover until late in the conversation it was actually an agent I was speaking with. No problem, he had all the right answers, seemed on top of his game, and was OK with the notion of a referral fee. I guess he could tell we were the real thing, or least worth a chance.

Fast forward to our first house hunting trip that included air travel to the new location, rental car, and a hotel stay for multiple days. Our first meeting with the new agent went well, and we gladly signed a buyer's representation agreement and got started, but with a few wrinkles. Seems the agent only owned a pickup truck (did I mention this was central Texas) and we could not all fit comfortably. Since I valued the car time we could spend with the agent, I offered to drive vs. taking separate cars. Problem solved. Next wrinkle, our agent made the appointments for the showings in the car on the way to the appointments. Seems everything here is on electronic lock box and 15 minute notice is just fine. Things are different here. Day one was productive, but we did not find the house.

Day Two. We discovered a particular model of home that really suited us. We liked everything about this model and the drawbacks were minimal. Now we are making progress. Let's focus on this model and see what's available. Bingo. We find one that is near perfect, lovely lot opening on to a wilderness area and the upgrades suit our taste. Time to make an offer, with one more wrinkle, this home is 15% overpriced. No problem, once they see a real offer and the comps they will agree with us on the value. Wrong. Seems the owner valued the wilderness view considerably higher than the premium we were willing to pay, or anybody else for that matter. The house never sold, is currently off the market and the current owners are still there. Too bad, but time to move on.

Day three. Well there is no day three per se. Our buyer agent informs us he doesn't work on Sundays. His wife gets mad if he does. Holy Cow, I understand the need for down time and religious preferences, but we are on a house hunting trip here! I am really feeling like a dumb consumer at this point wishing I had covered that point with him in my interview. I considered firing our buyer's agent, but decided not to. He was a decent guy, we had made progress, and I was not sure we could find one better. Oh well, accept it and move on.

Day four. We returned home and decided to regroup. We learned a lot, made an offer, and got an education in the market.

Stay tuned for Part II coming soon. We will buy a house.