Why are agents dumb about schools?

I find real estate agents infuriating. The number of them that don't know anything about the towns you might look in astounds me. That should be the first thing talked about. You can be given an "unbiased" run down of town attributes. People are going to know for themselves what is most important to them. Giving them condensed info about communties would at least suggest agents did some research, and are earning commission for more than unlocking a door. If you are a "sales" person, as agents are sell them what they need/want by helping them to evaluate the pros/cons of the available products.

I am a Realtor at Coldwell Baner in Newton...when I have a new buyer client, especially one from out of town, I have them meet me in my office so I can find out what they want. Many buyers are completely unaware of Newton or the surrounding communities, so we get in the car and drive around to different town centers etc. Many know they want urban, suburban or rural, so that narrows the choice down. I will not get into a what kind of people live here discussion, that is steering and oftentimes bigoted. You can give a general rundown of towns pros and cons from their prosective, size of town, commute, restauranrs etc., but in my opinion they need to see the towns.

II,
I suggest you work only with agents who work and live in the towns you are looking in. They will know the town well.

Real estate agents are more than someone who just unlocks a door. The process of buying property from the showings to the closing has many steps and details that must be attended to. Agents must be organized and maintain meticulous records. Money deposits must be handled properly. Agents are licensed professionals and must adhere to rules set out for that profession. Loyalty to your client must be maintained. Their best interests must supercede your own. We must take classes to keep our license. And we constantly deal with people and their baggage, emotions and bad habits. Many times a house for sale means there has been a divorce or death. Emotions run high. There are also safety issues. Not everyone maintains their homes properly. Handyman Special electrical wiring! Broken basement stairs!

I really get tired of the agent put downs. This profession is not rocket science but it is not as simple as it might seem. Some days I wish it were! Still, I like what I do. It's never boring.

Margaret. What do you do when it's winter and you can't get a sense of the town? This is what I find frustrating about my experience with a Newton realtor. As out-of-towners, how am I supposed to get a sense of the different villages? I rely on my realtor to help find a community that reflects my needs and values. In my opinion, a realtor should be an advocate for helping me find the right home and neighborhood for my family.

II,

I agree with Sally. There are people who can't meet your needs in every profession, and Real Estate has very few barriers to entry, so it's easy and inexpensive to "try". If you're working with an agent who isn't meeting your needs, start checking around and find one who is. As for the schools part of the discussion, I tell my clients that town prices are based on proximity to Boston, convenience (highway access), and schools as the big three, with some mitigating factors that are on the smaller side. Regardless of the school system, people PAY for school system reputation, and that something that is relatively easy to demonstrate in a CMA. You don't have to take someone's word for it - it's baked into the price, for all to see.

Rona, please forgive the hi-jack, but I would really like to know the answer to a couple of things:

Sally wrote: Many times a house for sale means there has been a divorce or death. Emotions run high. There are also safety issues. Not everyone maintains their homes properly. Handyman Special electrical wiring! Broken basement stairs!

I'm dying to know just how many of the millions of dollars agents, brokers and sellers have made in real estate transactions in the last 10 years can be directly attributed to divorce/death sales? Just curious if this has now been determined to be the cause of the last bubble. BTW, I know of some folks selling now that are not divorced or deceased - just underwater and scared.

Also, no kidding emotions run high! Purchasing real estate is not like purchasing a jersey at Nordstroms. You can't take it back if you don't like it! As for "Safety issues"...huh, I can't remember the last time I saw an agent list a property spelling out known safety issues and Sally, it seems to me you acknowledge existence with that statement. Personally, I don't consider the term "handyman special" to cover it, but I guess that's a whole 'nother topic - language and the way real estate agents manipulate it.

Hrrmmm...come to think of it Rona, I may have brought us back around to topic again.

Rona, glad you posted this topic. I wouldn't expect my real estate agent to be an expert on whether the local high school's Science or Music Department has superior training and experience. The agent will however put a client or customer in touch with the appropriate school administrator. Town and School officials are usually more than happy to talk with prospective buyers who have specific concerns or needs. How about the quality of local medical services? I'll drive someone by the local hospital. Technical questions? Let's go in and ask someone who knows what they're talking about.

A couple of notes from Rona:
For Margaret:
When it is winter, you can still find out a lot about a town by attending indoor events. What does the library, the recreation department and the local community theaters have to offer? How do people behave on the grocery line? Do you attend a house of worship? That's indoors most of the time.
As a broker, I can only guess at what will suit your family. If I make too many assumptions, I am doing you wrong. Personally, I get pretty good at knowing what my clients want because I ask a lot of questions and notice a lot of reactions.

Jim,
Most people use the medical facility that their health insurance is affiliated with, not the local hospital. I have had only had one client who had a critical need to be near a certain hospital; she had a condition that would require sudden attention from specialists at a downtown hospital. I'd consider health care a red herring unless a client had a specific need.

Am I wrong about either of these things?

"Agents avoid subjective judgments."

Rona, that's a good one (sarcasm). I only wish it were true.

Fearing the real estate market was going to crash, I sold three investment properties in 2006. Many of the agents I dealt with told me I was crazy to unload these multi-families on a "hunch," and that areas like Metro Boston don't lose value because of its “desirability.” Some were so obnoxious they went so far as to say they guaranteed my properties would “double in value in the next 5 to 10 years,” and that I'd look back and wish I'd never sold. My response: then buy them if you’re so sure I’m wrong.

The great irony of all this is I sold one of the homes to a young family who I still see on a daily basis because coincidentally our children attend the same preschool. Each time I see them, I can’t stop thinking about how the home I sold them has fallen in value by 25% and they’re obviously way underwater as they only put 5% down. I also think about their realtor who even at the closing table kept the big sell on telling them they were getting a great deal on a home that would only go up in value.

So much for realtor’s being objective.

Why would a good realtor assume anything? Just ask what factors are most important.

Is it not legal or ethical if I ask a realtor to show me communities with an established [Vietnamese] population?

Well, I was at an open house near Savin Hill, and the RA didn't know the red line ran near savin hill. Nothing much surprises me any more :-)

People should interview their real estate agents more.

How long have you been in the business?
Are you full time or part time?
What is your average sales price?
How many transactions have you done in the last _ years, and what is the breakdown of buy sides and sell sides?

Some towns have an awful lot of realtors who have been doing nothing for many years. A pro real estate agent will know what these answers are, the ones who are kitchen brokers, in the business for something to do, socialize, see other houses....are a waste of time.

Case in point - at one point in July of 1998 there were 12 - yes twelve - houses listed for sale in Cohasset. There were over 350 real estate agents and salespeople licensed in that town at that time, not to mention the almost 500 people licensed to sell real estate in Hingham.

How many properties were all those Realtor GRI ABR CBR SRES ...[deleted] selling? Not many, but they had been touring open houses and selling houses by luck once a quarter for many years, and picked up enough info along the way to paint a pretty picture of experience. You know a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while, and a turkey can fly in a hurricane too.

Would you buy a house from a blind squirrel? How about a windblown turkey?

It;s up to the buyer to do their due diligence and figure out who is a pro and who is not.

Some of the comments on this entry are describing agents who are not doing their jobs. Sellers, do you know who is staffing your open house? Is it someone who is unaware of basic mass transit info?
WSJevons, it is NOT legal for an agent to point you to communities where homes are full of members of an established ethnic, racial or other protected class category. That is directly steering, whether the client asked for it or not. I took a fair housing class which described just this situation. An agent is breaking the law if a white person wants a white neighborhood, or a Vietnamese person wants an Vietnamese neighborhood. The client must identify the ethnic, racial and sexual orientation (and other) identities of the neighbors, never the agent. That's the law.

Rona,
To be very clear, the agent can show me a neighborhood that is predominantly [established protected class] ONLY if I ask him/her to, correct?

I asked an agent to show me neighborhoods that weren't so white bread (or something along those lines) and offered up several protected classes. Did I force the agent into breaking an ethical code or law in this case?

WS,
The way I understand it, the agent you are describing broke fair housing law. An agent must not identify your neighbors based on their ethnicity, race, religion or sexual preference, even if you ask him/her to.
This is wrong: I don't want to live around [fill in the blank with another group you hate.]
So is: I don't want to live with "white bread." (I assume you are "white bread" yourself.)

Not only is it discriminatory, but what if she/he is wrong? Maybe the place she/he steered you to is full of "white bread" now that people like you are moving in!

Also, you didn't force anyone. It sounds like this agent was happy to break the law.

Not only is it discriminatory, but what if she/he is wrong? Maybe the place she/he steered you to is full of "white bread" now that people like you are moving in!

Rona,

Thanks for the info*. It is tough to find truly integrated communities in Boston.

Any readers (who are not real estate agents) have thoughts on communities that have a diverse mix of people?

* Is white bread a protected class?

Rona, what about when a person asks about schools within the same city? Is it wrong to say that one particular school within a city has a less desirable reputation or another has a better reputation among residents?

Rich, you're an attorney so you should know this. I cannot and will not say one school is better than another, even within a school system for the reasons stated above.
Example: An elementary school could have a music program that one family would think is better and another family would think is a waste of time. An elementary school could be in the part of town where protected classes live, or don't live.
Parents need to choose schools based on their values, not mine. I generally give an overview of the objective differences and send them off to look at the numbers. Objective differences include new buildings, building size, or if there were specific awards given there.