Shaming Scummy Realtors

[Anonymous]

I actually think it’s a bit scammy of homeowners to do next to nothing to their homes other than a renovation 11 years ago and expect $$$. That’s a real small house for that price.

[Anonymous]

I think OP should follow her plan of action. It would make her and her husband look like even bigger fools than OP's post showed. Along the way they may land in legal defamation or slander and end paying the realtors much more than the final selling price of the McLean house.

[Anonymous]

Op is right because it has a 1/2 acre lot. That ups the price. The realtors were scammy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Until you sell the house, you don't know who is correct.

You really sound... unwell. Why on earth would you harbor such deep anger about realtors giving you a price you don't agree with? This is a business transaction. Leave emotion at the door. Don't like their approach? There are a million other realtors.

I fear for anyone who interacts with you. Do you always understand disagreements as personal insults? Your behavior is truly disturbing.

Do not mess with the livelihoods of others. These people have not harmed you in any way. It would be cruel and unfair to harm them.

+1
What is WRONG with you OP??

[Anonymous]

The scummy realtors are in the back pocket of a spec developer who want to acquire your estate sale on the cheap. They want that land.

There’s a realtor in our neighborhood in NW DC who hovers like a hawk when one of the old long time residents die. She is very good at convincing the out of town family members to sell off market to her developer clients for 15-20% below fair market value.

Those realtors are not working for you; they are working for their repeat clients (developers). Stick to your guns and don’t let them abuse you & low ball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents have a SFH on a half acre in Mclean (22101), which, for non locals, is arguably the most sought after zip in the DC area. The house is owned outright. It is absolutely move in ready, and updated with new a kitchen and baths in 2014, but it is 'modest' at 3000sqf, 4 beds, 3.5 baths.

The lowest priced SFH in that zip is 1.8. My sister and I have been interviewing agents to either sell the house now or put it into a rental program until the market improves (spring 26/fall 26, lower rates when the Fed cuts, etc.).

Two of the 5 agents we spoke with tried to persuade us to list the house at 1.2. That's $200,000 BELOW Fairfax County's assessment. The other 3 suggested a list of 1.7- 1.8. We thanked the low ballers and declined their services and they both wrote us emails telling us we were 'ignorant' of the market and would 'NEVER' get 1.7.

The tone was rude, aggressive and unsolicited. It also smelled a lot like misogyny.

My DH wants to put them on blast, broadcast their emails, contact their brokers, slam them on the NVAR website, contact Richmond etc. I want them to suffer consequences too.

Have you ever gone scorched earth on realtors trying to take advantage of you?

If so, how?

It's hard to take your post seriously when this is objectively not true (and very easy to verify). You don't have other exaggerate, you could just say "the houses are expensive."

[Anonymous]

Seems like OP has done a lot of sock-puppeting on this thread.

If someone were to dox you online just because they had a workplace disagreement with you, would you think that was fair?

You are irrational and your reflex is to be cruel. I hope I don't know you in real life, OP.

[Anonymous]

It's scary to think we're interacting with people like OP. Any discontent on their part, and off they jump into retribution mode.

Be careful of libel and slander, OP. There are laws in place for people like you.

[Anonymous]

OP you sound unhinged.

[Anonymous]

Some people are good/great at their jobs while others are not. Not sure if you can judge a realtor based on your one-off interaction on one property. No need to shame. We are in 22101 and have noticed (not scientifically but more by casual observation) that houses in the neighborhood seem to be sitting longer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Have you ever gone scorched earth on realtors trying to take advantage of you?

No, but it's likely par for the course. It's an issue of mixed incentives.

Realtor is only getting a fraction of a percent of the sale, they are just trying to maximize their likelihood of making a quick sell and minimize the effort.

We had a similar issue with a realtor in our area. I got the impression that they really didn't like our house. Our house is basically the largest in the neighborhood. He wants to sell it at the same price as all the other houses in the neighborhood.

They make a big deal about the schools. Ours is in a so, so school area. He went on about how he sent his kid to Holton. It was weird though. I was trying to get some comps to make an argument for my pricing, and I pointed out another house in a similar school district also a so so school district. Same size house, and the realtor is like, "but that's a nice neighborhood". So there it is. Realtor lives in a big house in a poor school district and sends his kids to private school. Ah hah! Fired.

I didn't go scorched earth, but I talked some people in the neighborhood he tends to work, no one likes him.

[Anonymous]

One thing I tell my clients is that we, as Realtors, don't determine the list price, you do. Our job is to provide you with data and guidance depending upon your needs and motivation. There will always be some of my colleagues that will recommend a low price looking for a fast sale or "multiple offers" and there will always be one or two that will try and "buy your listing" by offering you a high value. For an appraisal, we need three comparable sales. Look at the data and make an educated decision based upon the square footage, style, upgrades and lot size. If you're still not confident, get an appraisal done. If you start to high in today's market, you may end up chasing it down and you could get less in the end than if you accurately priced it to begin with. Any questions, feel free to ask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents have a SFH on a half acre in Mclean (22101), which, for non locals, is arguably the most sought after zip in the DC area. The house is owned outright. It is absolutely move in ready, and updated with new a kitchen and baths in 2014, but it is 'modest' at 3000sqf, 4 beds, 3.5 baths.

The lowest priced SFH in that zip is 1.8. My sister and I have been interviewing agents to either sell the house now or put it into a rental program until the market improves (spring 26/fall 26, lower rates when the Fed cuts, etc.).

Two of the 5 agents we spoke with tried to persuade us to list the house at 1.2. That's $200,000 BELOW Fairfax County's assessment. The other 3 suggested a list of 1.7- 1.8. We thanked the low ballers and declined their services and they both wrote us emails telling us we were 'ignorant' of the market and would 'NEVER' get 1.7.

The tone was rude, aggressive and unsolicited. It also smelled a lot like misogyny.

My DH wants to put them on blast, broadcast their emails, contact their brokers, slam them on the NVAR website, contact Richmond etc. I want them to suffer consequences too.

Have you ever gone scorched earth on realtors trying to take advantage of you?

If so, how?

The lowest price SFH in that zip code is actually 1.25.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s absolutely not the most sought after zip in the DMV.

Georgetown, Kalorama, Mass Heights, Kent in DC all have much higher median home prices and some of the most expensive homes in the area.

Here comes the obligatory "apples and oranges" contribution from the local Sherlock

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The scummy realtors are in the back pocket of a spec developer who want to acquire your estate sale on the cheap. They want that land.

There’s a realtor in our neighborhood in NW DC who hovers like a hawk when one of the old long time residents die. She is very good at convincing the out of town family members to sell off market to her developer clients for 15-20% below fair market value.

Those realtors are not working for you; they are working for their repeat clients (developers). Stick to your guns and don’t let them abuse you & low ball.

This. It sounds like OP's parents property is a candidate for a tear down if it's in a desirable part of that zip code. .5 acre lots can command north of 4 mil for new construction homes in some neighborhoods, so developers or families realtors work with are seeking the best deals. It's nothing personal, and OP's parents are not "targeted" or discriminated in any way. These realtors likely cast a very wide net trying to find someone who would give them a deal for a quick sale especially when they have buyers standing by and waiting for a deal to come up. Think of it as a "wholesale" deal.

it's just opportunism and nothing personal. It's your right to just walk away and find someone who would work with you to sell at whatever price you want.