BiggerPockets

What, exactly is part of the JOB description of the real estate agent, beyond showing property, selling it, and getting the check?
I am working with " A" . He is to help me find a rental property and so far he's showed me several houses. I expected discussion on the merits of each for my goals, even while driving to the other places, but there has been little to none. He has been prattling on about everything but the houses and my needs.

I insisted on having a rental agent meet us last week to give me an idea of rental value of a few places. That agent showed us a couple of places HE recently had listed, but the listings had expired. I asked him if the owners were at all flexible, and as he replied MY agent interupted and warned the guy about responsibilities of an agent. That rental office fellow is no longer associated with the seller, that listing died weeks ago, and I thought MY agent was to help ME. I did not ask how low the seller might go, I asked if there was any flexibility. He finally said, " you can ask." I was not happy with MY agent interrupting that info. It could have been the difference between a sale or not.

Is the agent's job to point out advantages/disadvantages of various places, good and bad things about properties, physical and otherwise, guide the buyer even a little, and otherwise discuss what the buyer is looking for? Is it the agents job to stop info, or to secure it?

I'm not happy with him right now. What is the agent's job beyond opening properties to show a potential buyer?
Thanks.
A miffed ofgift

It's been my experience that agents tend to be very gun shy when it comes to giving advice. They like to point out factual things (these cabinets are made of oak, etc.) but if it gets into anything subjective it seems like they're afraid to even offer an opinion. I don't know if it's a fear of a lawsuit or something else. I've also never had one who had any useful information about what a particular property would rent for.

I also think there's a little bit of a conflict of interest for any agent involved in any transaction. Whether an agent is representing the seller or the buyer, in almost all cases he/she only gets paid if a deal closes. At first blush, you think " well, the agent's on my side." Certainly a seller might think, " well, the more I sell the house for, the more the agent gets paid, so surely he/she'll want to sell it for as much as possible." But in reality, it seems like it's in the selling agent's best interest to convince the seller to sell it for as little as possible, and for the buying agent to convince the buyer to offer as much as possible, since even large differences in price (say $10K) only amount to a small difference in the commission, while not having a deal go through would mean no commission at all.

That all being said, however, I do find them to be useful whenever I'm looking at an MLS-listed property. I just try to remember what they will and will not tell me and keep their motivation in the back of my mind. I can't imagine a scenario, though, where I would want one when I was looking to buy a house that wasn't listed on the MLS.

is agent orange real? or a joke?

now a real estate agent should be able to give you the comps of renting and selling numbers. I know mine does at least. As for opinions from a real estate agent. they are bound to the contract and cant be partial to one side of the other. this is why they only present the facts. it's important to tell your real estate your goals of a property that you are searching for. if you dont give the agent direction they may not ask for the direction. Im lucky enough to have an awsome Real estate agent she's also very cute.

Originally posted by "mach"

Yeah I'm not a big fan of Realtors. I have had the same problem you have about the agent just not helping. It is like he sends me automatic emails takes me to the house and opens the door. then I'm on my own the guy wouldn't even give me ballpark prices on repairs, AVR I just wanted his opinion. Recently I have been looking for a new home and contacted a Realtor and I told him I was going to talk to some builders first. They guy told me to tell the builder that he is representing me. LOL not sure what this guy was thinking. I never met him in person. I guess I would do the same if I stood to make $12,000 commission. Hang in there you can still find a good Realtor to help meet your goals. never never go with a Realtor that someone else recommends without interviewing them first.

You have to realise a realtor is not a contractor or inspector and does not know the costs or underlying condition of the home. I would be very afraid to give estimates on repairs to a buyer on a home because if they get into cost over runs guess whose fault that is. I will go back to a home with clients and meet their chosen experts that will prepare estimates for them. It's a liability reduction for me to get your experts to give you estimates

By the way if you are still looking for that 800,000.00 house you can tell them that you are working with me!!!!! :lol:

i interrogate them - and then chose I mean they are going to be part of my team and find me good deals and I want the best. My agent that I am currently working with now my second one (as I have started in real estate investing) will be showing me some property this weekend and during the showing we will have discussion on the market/rent/ will it go up/ my ROI/ etc - if he cant answer then its a done deal for him and I go to the next - but if he is willing to find the answer then that is a plus - but some things he should have some knowledge about, esp if they have they own investment property, which they should

As far as I can tell Realtors are afraid of the liability and for good reason.

If you ever want advice on whether a deal is good or not then just try running the numbers in our property analyzer. I have a tutorial in the link in my signature.

SO the real job of a Realtor is to Locate a property, take you to it, Open the door, and give you comps and they do that for a mer 6% of 500,000. No wonder why they don't like questions.

I know realtor's work hard for there money. To me they honestly have to be more involved. I think if for sale by owner took off more, Realtors would be hurting. Don't get me work I do work with Realtors but they are very hard to find sometimes harder than finding deals.

With all due respect, what does it matter how knowledgeable the agents are if they are unwilling to share the fruits of that knowledge (i.e., educated opinion)?

That's an excellent point and I hope a realtor responds to it. I realize that we're discussing an issue that's larger than a single deal (liability for Realtors), but there has got to be a happy medium. You might be super-knowledgeable, but if you don't share that knowledge with me then you're adding zero value to the deal.

Originally posted by "spizzo"

What information are you looking for? We can tell you that given the price of the property and the going rent/selling price you COULD bring a return of your investment of a certain percent. It all depends on market conditions and depending on where you are that could change in the next 3-6 months. We can tell you what areas are hot, and where you have the best chance at getting what you want, whatever that is.

That is just factual information. If that were the only information expected of real estate agents, there would be no need for them to be licensed, educated professionals.

Originally posted by "spizzo"

Realtors do risk liability so we have to walk a fine line

I completely disagree with this statement. The whole reason to have a licensed professional is because his/her professional opinion is superior to that of the non-professional. Agents aren't the only profession that can be sued.

Imagine if you were involved in a court case and a settlement was offered. Now, how would you feel about your lawyer if all he/she gave you was the factual content of the settlement offer and the risks of going to trial. That's not what the lawyer is there for. The lawyer needs to give you advice -- " I think we can do a lot better at trial because of X, Y and Z..." The lawyer might be wrong (you may end up losing at trial) and it is ultimately your own decision. That doesn't mean you will sue your lawyer for that advice (you might, but being wrong isn't the same as malpractice).

Imagine if you went to your doctor with some unusual pains and all he gave you were a bunch of stale facts about potential therapies -- " Well, there's an X% chance it's your appendix, with a Y% chance that, if it is your appendix, it will get better without surgery, and there's a Z% chance of complications with surgery..." Yes, you need to make the decision about whether ultimately to actually get the surgery, but your doctor (who probably faces a much greater risk of getting sued than any real estate agent) has to give you some guidance and opinion -- " I think it's your appendix and you need to get it taken out right now." Even if you subsequently die during the operation, it doesn't mean that the doctor committed malpractice for advising it, nor does it mean that it was bad advice (though, being dead, you might disagree). It certainly doesn't mean that he/she shouldn't have given a professional opinion in the first place.

A real estate agent should be held to the same standard. Yes, it's the buyer's (or seller's) decision, but there should be insightful opinion given by the agent. Is this a good price for this house? What will this house likely rent for? What will prices be like in this neighborhood a year from now? Professionals should act like professionals. Nobody knows the future, and opinion can be given with that caveat, but the purpose of all of your training is to help less-trained (unprofessional) people make better decisions. If you won't give an opinion because you are so afraid of a lawsuit every time you might be wrong, you really aren't doing your job.

Originally posted by "spizzo"

I can make a guess, but it would be just that.

No, I can make a guess, you, as a paid professional, should be able to provide an educated opinion. They are not the same thing, and neither requires knowledge of the future.