Fellow Phoenix area real estate blogger Steve Belt had a great post today about “opting out” of Trulia Voices.

For those not aware, Trulia Voices is a web based “Q&A” area where ostensibly anyone — agents, buyers, sellers, lenders, the curious — can post questions which are then open to being answered by, in theory, someone qualified to answer.

The problem as Steve outlines (as have I and others, particularly yet another Phoenix real estate blogger Jonthan Dalton) is that Voices has a “point system” that ranks agents based on the number of answers they provide — apparently with zero regard to the quality of said answer. This ranking systems leads to a feeding frenzy amongst real estate professionals as they submit answer after answer in the hopes of climbing the ladder to be anointed “The Best” voice.

So what you get is some agent from Maine that most likely can’t find Gilbert, Arizona on a map answering a question specific to the Gilbert real estate market.

Voices is full of, “Call me I can help!” answers, or “Ask your Realtor for specifics” — which is fundamentally a worthless answer for a “consumer” seeking help.

Steve said in his post:

In response, I’ve decided I can no longer associate myself with Trulia Voices. I look at it as an example of guilt by association. If I blindly continue to ignore the problem, in effect I am part of the problem, not the solution.

. . .

So I’ve decided the best solution for me is to opt out. I’m not going to answer questions from Trulia users at Trulia Voices any longer. If I find a question I like, that I want to discuss, I’ll discuss it here. I suppose you could say, I’m on strike from Trulia Voices.

Unfortunately, I’ll be joining Steve on the Voices picket line. Sad, because it had such potential as a conduit for folks with real estate questions to get answers. All Trulia has to do to fix the problem with Voices is eliminate the silly ranking system. Yes, there will be far fewer people answering questions, but who really needs the guy in Long Beach telling the person wondering about Scottsdale schools what to do? End the ranking system, and you’ll find Trulia Voice answers from local agents and experts who know the market and want to help.

Pete Flint, the Founder and CEO of Trulia, commented on this blogs “Why Trulia Voices Drives me Crazy!” with:

. . . However now there has been a significant increase in usage and a wide spectrum in the quality of answers, we are working on rethinking this and building out a better way to rank contributors . . .

Well Pete, it’s been just over two months since that comment and if anything it’s gotten worse on Voices. I’ll just sit out until when/if something really changes…

Technorati Tags: Trulia Voices, great ideas gone bad

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James Thorner, St. Petersburg Times Staff Writer, penned an article last week titled, “Paying a 6.5% commission made sense“.

Looks like Mr. Thorner instructed his real estate agent to offer a “higher” commission to the buyer’s agent in order to motivate buyer’s agents to show his home.

I’ve discussed buyer’s agent incentives here before, and my opinion on this is clear — any agent that specifically sets out to show their clients homes with higher buyer agent commissions/bonuses is doing their client a disservice. Your job as a buyer agent is to find your client the right home, at the best price for THEM, not for YOU. Period, end of story.

Mr. Thorner makes some interesting points in his article. Yes, he is a journalist and part of his job is to sell newspapers. But what I find disturbing here is Mr. Thorner is writing from the perspective of a home seller. That he feels the way he does should be a wakeup call to every agent out there. I have no doubt that Mr. Thorner is not alone in these thoughts:

A commission is prize money.

Interesting. I wonder how many people out there think of their own paycheck as “prize money”? I work my ass off for the commissions I earn. This so-called “prize money” pays my mortgage, clothes my children and allows my family to live.

All things being equal, a buyer’s agent will show a home paying a 6.5 percent commission to one paying 4 percent.

Undoubtedly this is true in some cases, but certainly not in all cases. I know countless agents that don’t consider the buyer side commission and/or have their buyer clients sign buyer broker agreements (BBA) up front that outline all commissions paid. In most BBAs, the buyer’s commission is offset by the commission the seller pays. For example, if I have a signed BBA at 3%, and the seller is paying 3%, then the buyer owes no additional commission. If the seller is paying less, the buyer makes up the difference. If the seller is paying more, then that additional amount is rebated to the buyer at close of escrow. This is all clearly discussed and disclosed up front. The buyer knows exactly what the numbers are before they even see the home.

Less than two weeks after my Realtor and I signed the contract for 6.5 percent, we had a deal on my house. An acquaintance living nearby who offered 4 percent hasn’t sold his house in a year.

Congratulations. I’m not completely familiar with the real estate market in St. Pete, but I suspect two weeks on the market is well below average. However, it would be interesting to know how your acquaintance’s home was comparatively priced, its condition, and the seller’s motivation. Commission is just one of many factors involved in the sale of any home.

Call it luck if you must. I priced my house toward the lower end and left it spic and span.

Hmm. Isn’t plausible that the condition of your home and the aggressive pricing were just as responsible for the quick sale (if not more so) than the extra half a percent of commission? Pricing your home at the low end and keeping it spotless isn’t luck. It’s smart.

But you can’t go wrong playing to an agent’s self-interest.

As hard as it is for many to believe, real estate agents are human beings (well, at least most of them are). And yes, some will put their own, short-sighted interests first. The savvy agent however will realize that taking care of the client, assisting them in every step of the process, and getting them the best deal possible will over time serve their own self-interests far more than pocketing an extra half a percent in commission. It’s called building a loyal client base, gathering repeat business and getting client referrals. I’ll take that any day over some “extra” commission or bonus.

To the agents reading this, think about Mr. Thorner’s perspective the next time you talk to a potential client. There is a very good chance they feel the same things he does.

To the folks out there that may be considering buying or selling a home, think about Mr. Thorner’s perspective when you interview agents. Do you want an agent to help you that is motivated by the highest commission they can get? Find an agent interested in you as a person, interested in helping you get the best deal you can. Of course your agent is going to be concerned about the commission, it is their paycheck after all. But you can find an agent with enough business acumen to realize that putting your interests first and foremost will also help their own business in the long run (not to mention it’s just the right thing to do. Something about that Golden Rule… it has worked for a really long time…).

H/T to Jessica at Inman

Technorati Tags: real estate commissions, buyer broker agreements, public perception of realtors

Shailesh, The Arizona Mortgage Guru, hosted the 65th edition of the Carnival of Real Estate. Check his winners and honorable mentions here. Kevin Boer takes the top spot with his outstanding post, “What The Microsoft-Facebook Deal Means For Real Estate — Part 2: Revisiting Move.com Vs. ActiveRain.”

Real Estate Convergence hosts next week’s Carnival of Real Estate.

The Odysseus Medal picks are also up. Geno Petro’s post, “Memoirs Of A Big Fat Liar” takes home the Odysseus Medal. If you don’t read Geno, you are missing one of the best writers on the net. The whole net. The Black Pearl went to Krista Baker for “Negotiating Commissions with Buyers”, and The People’s Choice was Gary Elwood for “The Curious Secret to Getting People to Believe You“.

As always, the short list was stellar. You can nominate posts (you own or others) for the Odysseus Medal here. Thanks to whoever nominated my post this week!

It should come as no surprise to even a semi-regular reader of this blog that I’m not a big fan of Realtor.com. But Move.com (the “parent” of realtor.com) has done a very good thing to help out those displaced by the horrible fires in southern California.

A lengthy (and growing) list of temporary housing in the San Diego / Los Angeles area is posted at Move.com.

There are also links to additional housing resources.

Here is a map showing locations of temporary housing. Click on the map for more details.

View Larger Map

Nice work Move.com!

H/T to Dustin Luther

I started reading Dilbert years ago when I was in semiconductor manufacturing. When not in the fab, I lived in a cube farm. I swear Scott Adams, Dilbert creator, worked in the cube next to me. Or at least attended the same meetings…

Technorati Tags: Dilbert, internet addiction