The sleaze factor in real estate

Every profession or workplace has the potential for some level of sleaziness to creep in, just due to human nature. There are, by nature, always those willing to cut every corner, bend every rule, ignore ethics and pursue success at all costs - the sleazeballs of the world. You most likely know one or two or have run into them somewhere - maybe at a car dealership or at a carnival.

The real estate profession has its share of sleazeballs too. These are the operators who lie about the square footage of a house, hoping to lure unsuspecting buyers in or conveniently forget to disclose some known issue or problem with a house, hoping that the home inspector will miss it. Taken to its extreme, these are the people who were in cahoots (what a great old word that is) with the dishonest loan officers to perpetrate loan fraud. Often these folks sign exclusive agency agreements with clients, giving themselves an unfair advantage i the market and putting their clients at a disadvantage, too. Many times they take what are called "pocket listings" - contracts to sell the property that are not entered into the Multi-list Service, so that only they know that the property is for sale. They then go out and try to find a buyer themselves, so that they can "double-dip" the sale - taking the commissions on both the buyer and seller sides of the deal.

We have some real sleazeball Realtors in our area and some are fairly "big names". You'll likely recognize these crafty operators when you meet them because you'll want to go home immediately and wash your hands afterwards. Their fast, slick talk is not a very effective cover for their true nature, but it does intimidate many into dealing with them anyway. If you hit one of these operators, just say NO and go get an honest agent. It really doesn't do you any good and it may even hurt your chances of selling to be represented by a sleazeball.