Starting in the 1990s, the United States experienced a period of unbelievable prosperity through investment in real estate, followed by an equally dramatic decline and loss in values during the past decade. As in most bull times, a group of less-than-scrupulous real estate licensees emerged that took advantage of unsuspecting buyers and sellers. Unlike licensed REALTORS®, these shady characters didn’t adhere to the Realtor Code of Ethics. Northern California REALTOR® Mark Schweller shares some red flags that can identify whether the agent you are working with is a “Shady McGrady.” “During the good times, the money was flowing into the industry like water over the Niagara Falls. Basically, if you were a warm body, banks were lining up to loan you money through stated income loans, adjustable rate mortgages or even negative amortization loans (where the balance that you owe the bank could grow beyond the value of your home). This rainbow time in real estate was great for the short run, but not necessarily reality
Starting in the 1990s, the United States experienced a period of unbelievable prosperity through investment in real estate, followed by an equally dramatic decline and loss in values during the past decade. As in most bull times, a group of less-than-scrupulous real estate licensees emerged that took advantage of unsuspecting buyers and sellers. Unlike licensed REALTORS®, these shady characters didn’t adhere to the Realtor Code of Ethics.
Northern California REALTOR® Mark Schweller shares some red flags that can identify whether the agent you are working with is a “Shady McGrady.”
“During the good times, the money was flowing into the industry like water over the Niagara Falls. Basically, if you were a warm body, banks were lining up to loan you money through stated income loans, adjustable rate mortgages or even negative amortization loans (where the balance that you owe the bank could grow beyond the value of your home). This rainbow time in real estate was great for the short run, but not necessarily reality.
Let’s be honest, when you take on a mortgage it doesn’t come with a pot of gold, but rather the promise of at least 30 years of hard work before you are free and clear, owning your home outright.
Because fortunes were being made overnight through real estate investment in the early 1990’s, our industry began to attract unscrupulous agents and brokers, motivated purely by greed. Their goal was to make a sale, and it didn’t matter what interest rate was charged to their client or how poor of a long-term investment the property might be. I refer to these fly-by-night real estate licensees as the Shady McGrady Group. This Group is motivated by their own self-interest.
So, how do you recognize if your agent is a Shady McGrady?
If your agent has two jobs, they might be a Shady McGrady.
If your agent doesn’t have an office space where they conduct business or is running a brokerage out of their home, they might be a Shady McGrady.
If you mention your agent’s name to another agent in the market and get either no response or wide eyes like they just witnessed a car accident, they might be a Shady McGrady.
If your agent doesn’t have a solid website where you can go and search the MLS for free and gain information on community events, you might be working with a Shady McGrady.”
Click here to read more of Mark Schweller’s blog.
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Remember – not all real estate agents are REALTORS®. You can avoid the Shady McGrady’s by working with a licensed Realtor. To find a Realtor near you, visit Realtor.com and click on the ”Find a Realtor” button.
Excerpt from:
Are You Working with a Licensed Realtor?
