Creating our own monsters

Dr Frankenstein created a monster that he eventually couldn't control and perhaps we Realtors are doing the same with today's buyers. Buyers today are becoming more and more aggressive, often to the point of becoming ridiculous in their offers and much of it is our fault. Certainly buyers, like everyone else read all of the articles in the papers and see the stories on the news about how bad the market is in Michigan and how desperate some sellers are to get out from under their homes. then they see all of the foreclosures and that the banks are starting got dump some of those properties f0r extremely low prices, often just 30-40 cents on the dollar. So I guess it's hard to blame them for being aggressive. But it isn't that hard to point a big finger at the Realtors who are advising some of these buyers.

Realtors should feel some sense of obligation, whether they represent the buyers or the sellers, to create deals that make sense and that is not always happening. Now, I'm not saying that a buyer's agent shouldn't try to get the best deal for his/her client, far from it, that is their obligation. But when their own CMA evidence points to a 90 or 95% offer, they should have a little backbone with clients who want to offer 75-80%, just because of some article that they read in the paper. Deals need to be a win-win for both parties and that means that sellers (having already swallowed their pride of ownership and given up on what they thought the pace was worth) shouldn't have their noses shoved into a pile of dung offer, just to satisfy the whim of some speculative "buyer" who is just trying to steal a house. Somehow an "Offer Rejected" doesn't seem strong enough and perhaps there should be a "take your offer and shove it" reply form.

But, I guess there will always be sleazy buyers, out to take advantage of anyone that they can find and there will seemingly always be a ready supply of equally sleazy real estate agents and brokers, out to make their buck any way they can. Nature has a way of filling a void, even if it is occasionally with scum. So, if you're a seller, expect to run into a few of these low-life's. and, if your a buyer, try to hook up with an agent who will protect your interests; but, not one who will recommend that you low-ball every offer, just to see how desperate the sellers are right now. Remember in a win-win situation, you have still won!