3 ms·

I find that it's very similar to mob tactics. Prospective homeowners just get passed and funneled from person to person that they effectively have no choice but

by bmitc 3y ago

I find that it's very similar to mob tactics. Prospective homeowners just get passed and funneled from person to person that they effectively have no choice but to interact with. And each of those people take a piece of the pie.

SoftTalker 3y ago
And there are a lot of fear tactics used as well. Or FUD, at least. "Don't skip the inspection, what if something is wrong" sounds sensible but pre-purchase home inspections are quite surface level, will only find visible, obvious problems, and in the fine print they disclaim responsibility if they miss anything.
- pixl97 3y ago
  I mean yea, but also not yea. It's definitely you get what you pay for. If you have a good home inspector they may be able to tell you something like "Yea, the roof is fucked", or "That crack you didn't notice in the foundation is really bad news". I don't build homes nor do I troubleshoot them on a daily basis. Someone that does, and has a at least a modicum of experience will still notice more than I.
  - hibikir 3y ago
    It definitely isn't: There is little repeat business, and realtors do a lot of the recommendations. So you absolutely can end up paying top dollar for an inspection that appears thorough, but is nowhere near good enough. It's just a very inefficient market, fraught with dark corners. That's why people hate it. A world where an expensive inspector actually meant higher quality would be far better than what we have
- bmitc 3y ago
  In my area, you won't get an offer accepted if you don't waive the home inspection. In fact, it's basically required to waive all inspections, such as radon and others. So the state says you have a so-called right to these, which divests the state from liability, but on a practical level, you need to waive these. Buyers end up having to buy ~$1M homes based upon just looking at them once or twice over just a couple of hours with basically no history given at all. It's such a messed up process. I get to do more due diligence buying something off of Reverb or eBay than I did with our home. And as you say, all of the people you're forced to interact with force you to sign papers that says that they have no responsibility for anything whatsoever.
  - khuey 3y ago
    > In my area, you won't get an offer accepted if you don't waive the home inspection. This is a consequence of an extreme lack of supply in your area rather than some sort of realtor conspiracy though.
    - bmitc 3y ago
      That certainly affects it, but the realtors are still part of the process, and they have no incentive to encourage the inspections aside from the people they can refer if you insist on them. Right now, the only thing you are effectively entitled to know about the house, on a practical level, is that the house exists.
- eddyfromtheblok 3y ago
  I've had good inspectors who point out everything wrong with a place. I cancelled offers based on their reports. Recently, however, I was on the way to the inspection and had a flat tire, so I was late, both seller and buyer agents were there with the inspector and my agent made sure to tell a different inspector what questions I had from the previous one, and completely missed on the inspection report that the outdoor electrical socket did not have GFCI and it actually had visible burn marks on the paint, also they didn't report that there was no carbon monoxide detector. Just very basic stuff that should be addressed before the transaction is finalized and is part of the negotiation and can lower your price some when the seller doesn't want to fix everything. I suspect that my agent implied that I was putting a lot of stock into their report and pushing him to minimize issues while I wasn't there. The good inspectors told me about a condo loft that had plumbing issues throughout, probably a $5000 repair, and at a house, a sagging pier and beam foundation causing all sorts of problems.
  - SoftTalker 3y ago
    That seems to highlight the problem with agents, they are supposed to represent your interests but they actually only want the sale to close so that they make their commission. That is how they get paid; that is their incentive.
chubot 3y ago
Yeah I saw this a lot -- real estate people would recommend someone for some kind of independent opinion, but that person has a long-term relationship with them (passing referrals), but no relationship with you The problem is inherently that most people are buying a home for the first time. Or they buy maybe 3 to 5 homes in their life. So it's very easy to build up an information asymmetry / cartel there
- bmitc 3y ago
  Agreed. It's the ultimate of example of "I know a guy". Haha.

by bmitc 3y ago

SoftTalker 3y ago

And there are a lot of fear tactics used as well. Or FUD, at least. "Don't skip the inspection, what if something is wrong" sounds sensible but pre-purchase home inspections are quite surface level, will only find visible, obvious problems, and in the fine print they disclaim responsibility if they miss anything.

pixl97 3y ago
I mean yea, but also not yea. It's definitely you get what you pay for. If you have a good home inspector they may be able to tell you something like "Yea, the roof is fucked", or "That crack you didn't notice in the foundation is really bad news". I don't build homes nor do I troubleshoot them on a daily basis. Someone that does, and has a at least a modicum of experience will still notice more than I.
- hibikir 3y ago
  It definitely isn't: There is little repeat business, and realtors do a lot of the recommendations. So you absolutely can end up paying top dollar for an inspection that appears thorough, but is nowhere near good enough. It's just a very inefficient market, fraught with dark corners. That's why people hate it. A world where an expensive inspector actually meant higher quality would be far better than what we have
bmitc 3y ago
In my area, you won't get an offer accepted if you don't waive the home inspection. In fact, it's basically required to waive all inspections, such as radon and others. So the state says you have a so-called right to these, which divests the state from liability, but on a practical level, you need to waive these. Buyers end up having to buy ~$1M homes based upon just looking at them once or twice over just a couple of hours with basically no history given at all. It's such a messed up process. I get to do more due diligence buying something off of Reverb or eBay than I did with our home. And as you say, all of the people you're forced to interact with force you to sign papers that says that they have no responsibility for anything whatsoever.
- khuey 3y ago
  > In my area, you won't get an offer accepted if you don't waive the home inspection. This is a consequence of an extreme lack of supply in your area rather than some sort of realtor conspiracy though.
  - bmitc 3y ago
    That certainly affects it, but the realtors are still part of the process, and they have no incentive to encourage the inspections aside from the people they can refer if you insist on them. Right now, the only thing you are effectively entitled to know about the house, on a practical level, is that the house exists.
eddyfromtheblok 3y ago
I've had good inspectors who point out everything wrong with a place. I cancelled offers based on their reports. Recently, however, I was on the way to the inspection and had a flat tire, so I was late, both seller and buyer agents were there with the inspector and my agent made sure to tell a different inspector what questions I had from the previous one, and completely missed on the inspection report that the outdoor electrical socket did not have GFCI and it actually had visible burn marks on the paint, also they didn't report that there was no carbon monoxide detector. Just very basic stuff that should be addressed before the transaction is finalized and is part of the negotiation and can lower your price some when the seller doesn't want to fix everything. I suspect that my agent implied that I was putting a lot of stock into their report and pushing him to minimize issues while I wasn't there. The good inspectors told me about a condo loft that had plumbing issues throughout, probably a $5000 repair, and at a house, a sagging pier and beam foundation causing all sorts of problems.
- SoftTalker 3y ago
  That seems to highlight the problem with agents, they are supposed to represent your interests but they actually only want the sale to close so that they make their commission. That is how they get paid; that is their incentive.

chubot 3y ago

Yeah I saw this a lot -- real estate people would recommend someone for some kind of independent opinion, but that person has a long-term relationship with them (passing referrals), but no relationship with you The problem is inherently that most people are buying a home for the first time. Or they buy maybe 3 to 5 homes in their life. So it's very easy to build up an information asymmetry / cartel there

bmitc 3y ago
Agreed. It's the ultimate of example of "I know a guy". Haha.