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Blue Collar AgentsBlue Collar AgentsA blog about discount real estate brokers and agents. Articles
Introducing CRAAP: Your Trusted Source for Reliable Appraisals
2008-01-20 20:40:00 I have never had an appraisal come in below value. Most of my clients and co-workers feel that appraisers are a joke. So, I spent some time thinking about it, “Am I giving these guys a fair shake? Are appraisers really the lackies I have considered them to be?” However, the more I thought about it, the more I found I wasn’t giving ... More About: Source
WA State Legislator Chooses ?Our House? as Theme Song
2008-01-18 18:22:00 The WA State Legislator convened for session this week. Their theme for the session? Our House by the Talking Heads. The song was chosen by Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown. When asked why she chose the song, she said, I think 2473 foreclosures in November in Washington State - so I think that?s why it?s an ... More About: Foreclosures , Song , Theme
Are Real Estate Agents the Butt of the Subprime Joke?
2008-01-17 20:47:00 So I don’t have any hard evidence to support this; however I am starting to notice a pattern with a lot of the short sales in my area. In the “Agent Only Remarks” I have started seeing this note: “Owner is a licensed Real Estate Agent in the State of Washington.” Obviously the real estate industry ... More About: Real Estate , Joke , Agents
Show me the Invoice
2008-01-16 06:37:00 Next time you’re hiring an agent to list your house, ask them to give you a breakdown of how much they are spending on advertising. The car dealers give you an invoice now. Why shouldn’t agents? Here is how the list might go: MLS: $600 a year MLS dues (Maybe $30 a listing?) Yard Sign: $35 to put up the ... More About: Show , Commissions , Fees
Theology, Postmodernism, and a Different Kind of Buyer
2008-01-13 20:38:00 I attend school in the evenings. I am getting a degree in Theo logy . My Momma told me “God won’t make you any money. You need to get a real degree.” (Well she didn’t say it like that, but you get the point) But did I listen? Nope. I’m one of those Postmodern kids of the 90’s ... More About: Real Estate , Buyer , Diff
A Question and Answer Session from Googlers
2008-01-12 05:25:00 Every so often I cruise my Statcounter log in order to see how the people who visit BCA find us. In general, about 80-90% find the blog through Google. Statcounter also shows me the search query that brought them to the blog. For instance, the most popular search query is for a photo of the Tacoma Public Library (Is that pathetic or what?). ... More About: Question , Real Estate , Answer , Commissions , Fees
There are some things ASIMO can?t do
2008-01-05 05:32:00 “Tapping progress on the shoulder and saying ‘More Forwards Please’.” This is how the HONDA commercial (see below) featuring the new state of the art robot ASIMO ends. Watching ASIMO climb stairs, twist, and walk through an art gallary is beyond inspirational. The potential for human creation in the realm of technology seams almost boundless. However, ASIMO, in combination with Century 21, ... More About: Real Estate , Cool Tech , Things , Asimo
YouTube and Craigslist?with our powers combined
2008-01-01 01:30:00 In my childhood of the 80’s Captain Planet was my cartoon of choice. “Wind, Fire, Earth, Water…. with our powers combined, we are Captain Planet.” I loved that Cartoon. I mean what better way to promote environmental values in the life of a seven year old then to create a water conserving, recycling super hero? …but I ... More About: Youtube , Tube , Craigslist , Powers , Comb
The One Law to Rule them All
2007-12-19 18:35:00 With all the talk about the sub-prime mortgage mess, the Fed is considering new regulations on the loan industry. Among other things, pre-payment penalties and no-doc loans are on the Fed’s chopping block. I always go back and forth with these sorts of efforts. The Ron Paul in me says, “Stay out of the free ... More About: Rule
I just can?t shut up: Why we were gone, who is back, and the plan for the f
2007-12-15 01:29:00 As you can tell, the Blue Collar Agents Blog has been silent for quite some time now. Some people on the blog have moved on to other industries, some of us have been too busy to blog, and some of us were just tired of blogging. Well, I have the itch to blog again. If ... More About: Real Estate , Back , Plan , Shut , Shut Up
Blue Collar Summer Blog Update
2007-07-17 22:25:00 No, we didn’t take the summer off… although that beach sure is looking good right about now! While everyone else sips their Coronas, Greg Swann has been busy compiling his compendium of postings about divorced commissions, which he says are the way of the future. Russell Shaw accuses Greg of taking sides with Kelman and insists it’s never going to happen. I’d say divorced commissions ... More About: Real Estate , Summer , Blog , Commissions , Fees
Elizabeth Weintraub of About.com calls Plagarism
2007-07-09 18:29:00 After writing a post about the ridiculously biased About.com articles of Elizabeth Weintraub, Elizabeth has issued Blue Collar Agents a formal request to remove the text of her articles. Elizabeth has claimed that the cited and verbatim quotes that were used in the post are outside fair use laws, and constitute plagiarism. Here is the friendly email ... More About: Real Estate , Commissions , Fees , Calls
The Computer Fights Back
2007-07-02 05:29:00 The fellows over at Agent Scoreboard have made a great response to the Century 21 Ad, “A Computer can’t do it all.” **There is one obscenity** More About: Fights , Back
This Week in the World of Discount Brokerage
2007-06-28 20:15:00 David Houle of Evolution Shift says Say Goodbye to the 6% Commission Rule: The recommendation here has been for residential real estate agents to either lower their commission from the standard 6% or add services and create new value to keep their commission at that level. I want to be very clear: I am not arguing ... More About: World , Brokerage , The World , Week , Disco
Lessons from the Haterz and Bubbleheads
2007-06-26 17:31:00 After interviewing Casey Serin, I began to look more in depth into the comments Casey receives on his blog. The comments looked strangely familiar. Terms such as troll, puppet, and sucker are used abundantly. Anonymous posts are rampant. After reading a few of these comments from the haterz, they began to look strangely familiar. Then ... More About: Lesson , Bubble , Lessons , Esso , Heads
An Interview with Casey Serin of ?I am Facing Foreclosure?
2007-06-25 17:36:00 Editor’s Note: Below is an e-interview I conducted with Casey Serin of I am Facing Foreclosure . Casey has gone under much scrutiny lately for his real estate investment practices and his marketing tactics. Recently he was dubbed by MSN “The World’s Most Hated Blogger.” The goal of my interview was to find out if the real estate ... More About: Real Estate , Interview , Commissions
Friday Fun from Bubba?s Appalachian Realty
2007-06-23 06:46:00 Wow… so I’m thinking this doesn’t quite pass muster to meet Fair Housing Laws… I hope this isn’t what people think of when they think of Discount Brokers ~ More About: Friday , Bubba , Pala , Frida , Appa
Why -Not- Use a Discount Broker?
2007-06-22 15:41:00 Why would a seller choose a “discount” broker? One reason is quite obvious - to save money! Another great reason might be that they feel the discount broker offers the best service. But, considering that discount brokers still hold a relatively small (albeit growing!) share of the real estate market, there’s obviously some reasons home ... More About: Real Estate , Broker , Disco , Discount , Disc
Its not just the high commissions, its the attitude
2007-06-21 05:08:00 Ridiculously high real estate commissions are not the only reason why real estate agents are disrespected, nay, despised by the general public; it is also the attitude of many agents that has taken the real estate industry to the bottom of the respect totem poll. It saddens me how many real estate agents have their nose so high ... More About: Real Estate , Commissions , High , Attitude , Mission
No Wonder Trev & Kelly Have Been So Busy
2007-06-19 02:30:00 Apparantly Redfin has been so crazy busy that they’ve had to temporarily stop taking new listings… wow! From June 16 to July 8, Redfin is not accepting new listing customers. You can submit listing information now if you’d like, but we will not contact you or list your property until July 9. If Redfin has already ... More About: Kelly , Been , Busy , Kell
Short Takes: Some Recent Topics of Interest
2007-06-13 22:29:00 Greg Swann at BloodhoundBlog tells us why real estate licensing laws are a criminal conspiracy against the consumer created by and for the benefit of a cartel. Greg Tracy at BlueRoof shares what he considers to be bad real estate marketing. Freakonomics discusses the a recent study that showed FSBO sellers in Madison, WI make out better financially than those ... More About: Topics , Interest , Recent , Short , Some
Washington Post: Full Commissions Make a Comeback
2007-06-10 01:31:00 The Washington Post and other news organizations have picked up on the latest Real Trends report, which indicates that real estate commisison rose slightly last year. According to the study, the average real estate commission last year was just under 5.2%, a rise of approximately 0.2% compared to 2005. Why the rise? The article cites a ... More About: Washington Post , Commissions , Fees
Do you sell real estate or just blog?
2007-06-07 04:57:00 At the risk of completely angering my fellow real estate bloggers, I am going to say something that just plain needs to be said: Some of you blog too much. I know this is an odd thing for a blogger to say, but it is true. There are some real estate bloggers who blog 2-3 ... More About: Estate , Real Estate , Blog , Real , Sell
What did Tennessee?
2007-06-06 06:51:00 The same thing Arkansas! Sorry… bad joke. But they are seeing a very sad day in regards to consumer rights in the real estate industry. I won’t go into much detail, because any commentary I could give would simply be put to shame by Little Pink Houses’ commentary. Go there, and read it. Amazing research. Amazing Commentary. I ... More About: Tennessee , Tennesse
Cheeziness and working in your client?s best interest
2007-06-06 06:19:00 I believe in all sorts of alternative models, and I never want to degrade someone within our own ranks, but I had to post this as an example of the type of things that are absolutely killing discounters. 1.) Would you trust this person to sell your million dollar home? Not me. 2.) I totally agree that ... More About: Interest , Ezines , Working , Client , Eres
Raising the bar will lower commissions
2007-06-06 05:18:00 Lets use some common sense regarding real estate commissions. Real estate commissions are high for two reasons: 1.) Brokers charge their agents a ridiculous amount of money to allow them to conduct business in their brokerages. (This is a gross generalization, but is pretty much true for most traditional brokerages.) 2.) There are too many freaking real estate ... More About: Real Estate , Commissions , Fees , Lower , Sion
I am Facing Foreclosure shuts down
2007-06-03 20:58:00 The most popular, and according to MSN, most hated, real estate blog in America has shut down. I am Facing Fore closure abruptly disappeared from the internet universe on Friday, presumably after Casey Serin, the blog’s author, could not fulfill a promise to his wife. Casey had granted Blue Collar Agents an interview regarding his experience with ... More About: Closure , Sure , Shut
NAR Features Oregon Discount Broker
2007-05-31 21:44:00 The National Association of REALTORS® ”30 Under 30″ included a “discounter” this year… congratulations to Shane May of Assist-2-Sell Buyers & Sellers 1st Choice for making the cut! Although he?d been around the track a few times?working for GMAC/Better Homes and Gardens, RE/MAX, and Century 21 within a six-year period?it wasn?t until this race car hobbyist opened an Assist-2-Sell ... More About: Features , Oregon , Broker , Count , Disco
Would You Choose Your Surgeon Based on How Much They Charged?
2007-05-29 19:38:00 Number 8 From Trevor’s list of Top 11 60 Minutes comments: Unfortunately, by this broadcast, the average consumer only received half the facts. First of all, how many of the agents working for these discount brokers are ?Realtors?. Realtors abide and are held to a strict code of ethics. Not all real estate agents are ?Realtors?. ... More About: Real Estate , Commissions , Fees , Would , Choose
Friday Fun from Point2Agent
More articles from this author:2007-05-26 03:32:00 Today’s Frida y Fun is at Redfin ’s expense… but what good are people who can’t take a little mocking from time to time? Don’t tell anyone, but the guy they interview with the SPAM… that’s me… but SHHHH, my clients don’t know. More About: Point , Gent 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
