Will this work? Frustrated buyer to get real estate license
I'm all for thinking outside the box. After all, it takes a little creative thinking to snag a half decent home in this market without breaking the bank.
But I wonder if our buddy "Frank" may be pushing the envelope here a bit.
The last time we checked in with Frank, our friendly IT guy was getting back into the hunt for an affordable home in Boston's perpetually overpriced suburbs, having rebounded from a layoff that sidelined him for a good part of 2010.
But Frank keeps striking out, mainly, at least in his view, because he bases his offers on what a home is truly worth, not the listing price.
Some may call it low balling; Frank and others on this blog would simply call it common sense.
His most recent foray - offering $400,000 for a newly built Woburn colonial originally listed at $480,000. It wound up selling for $450,000. (My apologies to Frank, It was last listed at $449,000 and has been put under agreement - the sale price may be even lower. That should cast his decision to offer $400,000 in a somewhat different light.)
So Frank has decided if you can't beat the real estate industrial sales complex, maybe it's time to join it.
"I'm going to become a Realtor," he told me over the phone yesterday.
I didn't fall out of my chair, but I certainly had some questions.
As it turns out, he's put down the $200 for a month-long course and has already attended his first class.
If anyone asks, he has a pat answer he hopes will throw off any suspicions.
"I am here to help people buy their dream homes," he tells me. Sounds good, but you can't stifle a laugh while you are saying it.
OK, so why go to all that trouble.
Well Frank figures that with his Realtor license in hand, he can ditch the brokers and go to see the houses he wants to see on his own. Plus, he gets access to MLS listings.
For a couple hundred bucks and a few evenings in a classroom, he figures it's a bargain.
And, beyond that, he's always wanted to learn all those secret Realtor handshakes and code works.
Will it work? I don't know but it should be interesting to watch.
