Mark Wisterman's Paradise & Lake Oroville Real Estate Blog

Have you ever had one of those days, weeks, or years when you finally get so fed up with something that your head almost explodes. Well, I am having one of those moments right now, in good old Lake Oroville, CA. and I guess I am going to have to be the first one to do something about it since it seems that nobody else wants to.

Below is a letter I just mailed off to the California Department of Real Estate, in the hopes that something can finally be done to bring some of these REO agents back to reality. I am absolutely tired of these agents hiding behind the excuse that a bank owned listing exempts them from doing their job. They must be held accountable for their inaction.

February 16, 2010

California Department of Real Estate

Attn: Enforcement

P.O Box 187000

Sacramento, CA 95818-7000

Dear Sir/Madam:

Over my nearly 16 years in the California real estate business, I have seen a continuing deterioration in the care that many licensees take in the performance of their duties as required by the laws and regulations under which they operate.

With the enormous numbers of foreclosures that have come to the market over the past 3-4 years has come a likewise increase in the number of licensees who fail to fulfill their duties under their license. The biggest violations have to do with the lack of disclosures being made by listing agents for their bank owned listings.

In the past, if an agent neglected to provide me with the appropriate disclosures, a simple phone call to the agent fixed the problem. The missing disclosure would either be faxed or e-mailed to me promptly. This is not the case in today’s market environment. There are an ever increasing number of agents who either refuse, or ignore their duty of disclosure. In particular, many agents are not performing any type of diligent visual inspection, and the problem seems to be growing.

Enclosed are three examples of what we have received in our office lately from agents who have neglected, or ignored their duty to disclose. Each of these from agents representing REO listings.

While it gives me no satisfaction to resort to lodging this complaint with your department, I feel I can no longer sit silently by while our industry continues to shoot its reputation in the foot. I am sure that I will most likely suffer some repercussions from my fellow REALTORS for lodging this complaint, but at some point someone has to stand up for the right thing; not the popular thing.

If there is anything I can do to shed further light on these cases please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours truly,

Mark S. Wisterman

Broker/Owner

DRE# 01181168

 It seems that this week’s Lake Oroville real estate market report reflects some ongoing reporting issues the local REALTORS are having with our new multiple listing service system.

It looks as though that the inventory of unsold homes is beginning to increase slightly. This may be an effect of some sellers trying to get a head start on what most people think is the peak selling season of Spring. Hopefully we can get the bugs worked out of our new MLS system soon. Watch for the weekly sales numbers for the Paradise real estate market later this week.

A little while back I posted a blog article regarding the lack of attention that many REALTORS® are paying to their obligation and legal requirement to provide the proper disclosure documents to clients and cooperating agents in a transaction. Not much has improved since then. The biggest violators of the disclosure laws seem to be those agents that are working as agents for the banks.

Before I continue let’s make one thing clear: Not every REALTOR® who is working for a bank is ignoring the law. Most of them are doing what they are supposed to be doing.

There does, however, seems to be a growing number of  bank-hired agents in our area that have somehow come to believe that they are above the law, in fact REFUSING to comply with disclosure requirements. And to be totally blunt about it, I am tired of it. So tired in fact, that it is time to do something about it. Maybe it is time to start naming names on this blog site of those agents who seem to have acquired the arrogance of the banks to whom they have pledged their allegiance, and refuse to do their jobs. Or maybe the Department of Real Estate would be interested in seeing what some of these “agents” are doing; I mean, NOT doing.

Here is an example of what I am talking about:

I e-mailed the local listing agent for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) last week to ask her to provide me her inspection disclosure. She is the listing agent for all of the HUD owned homes in Northern California. As an agent for the seller she is required to perform what the real estate law calls a “diligent visual inspection” of the property and provide a written disclosure of her findings to my buyer. As the agent of the buyer I to am required to do the same.

Her response to me was that she “normally” does an inspection when she is representing the buyer. But because I was representing the buyer she did not feel she was required to do the lawfully required visual inspection.

We currently have another transaction with an agent from S. California who has a bank owned property in Oroville listed. He too is refusing to provide the results of his visual inspection. Know why? He has never seen the home and has no idea what condition it is in. Being an agent from out of town DOES NOT exempt him from performing his duties. It seems that the longer this foreclosure market continues the more these type of agents cut corners and violate thier ethics. Can you imagine what it is going to be like by the end of the year if something isn’t done to fix it?

So here is how I am going to help YOU become part of the solution. Beginning this week I will be sharing with you the disclosures you can expect to see during your Lake Oroville, or Paradise, real estate transaction. With this knowledge in hand you can begin to demand the proper disclosures from your agent and have just that much more piece of mind about the purchase of your new home.

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The rapid advancement of new technologies in the real estate industry has reshaped how we, as real estate professionals, conduct our businesses. As the onslaught of bigger and better things continues to provide more and more opportunities to represent our clients more fully and efficiently, there is a continual learning curve which confronts those of us who are trying to keep pace with the changes.

But REALTORS®  are not the only ones trying to keep up with all the advancements. Our clients are also working hard to understand how these new technologies affect them.

I think the best illustration of this is in the way sellers are still trying to grasp the way potential buyers are seeing their homes. In the “old” days, before the turn of the century, (around 1999 and before) the way sellers knew how much interest potential buyers had in their homes was from the number of buyers that actually showed up to the home with their agent to view the property.

Today’s technology though, has changed the way we gauge the amount of interest that is garnered by any particular property. No longer can we rely on physical showings to monitor buyer interest. With over 90% of buyers viewing properties online before ever calling a REALTOR®, it now is more important than ever for a listing agent to be able to show his/her client how much the home is being seen in cyberspace.  Without the ability of a seller to see what the level of buyer interest is, it is  impossible for the seller to make an informed decision on whether to make a price adjustment or maybe do a little sprucing up around the house. It is likewise just as difficult for the seller’s agent to know what to recommend to the seller without a COMPLETE picture of activity on the home.

Here are links to three reports that I think each seller of a home should have access to through their REALTOR®. These reports are generated weekly by the companies that provide the service, in my view should be an integral part of every REALTOR’S service to their seller in the Lake Oroville and Paradise real estate markets.

Click on each graphic link and look them over. If it is easier for you I have also included the text link. And be sure to ask your agent to provide these to you if he or she is not already doing so.                        

  Trulia Showings Report      RW Showings Report      REALTOR.com Showings     

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Don’t be alarmed folks, my lack of bloggingthis week was not a result of being on vacation (whatever that is), or that there isn’t anything important to talk about concerning Lake Oroville real estate matters.

The truth is I spent a little time this week to further my real estate education and spent a lot more time doing real estate research, looking for fresh ideas to discuss with you. The one thing I don’t ever want this blog to become is what I am seeing more and more of  in the real estate blogosphere; agents simply touting what a great market this is for buyers,  and NOW is the time to buy, and be sure to call right now because they are the best agent on the planet!!!!!! You know, the kind of agent whose picture of him or herself  is larger than the property photos in their ads!!

On the education front, my associates and I attended on all day class exclusively provided by the National Association of REALTORS®(NAR) to our office, and only 5 other offices in the state yesterday, in order to obtain our  NAR certifications for Short Sales and Foreclosures. At the risk of sounding like an advertisement, our office is the only one in Oroville and most likely the only one in Butte County to have ALL  our associates certified. With the information obtained from this class I will be able to provide my readers with the most current trends and procedures to assist you in one of these transactions.

I also have spent time this week researching new topics that we can discuss in the coming weeks. The biggest news on this front is that NAR just released their 2009 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. There is a lot of information in this report and I will bring items of interest to your attention as I continue to read through the 116 page report.

Well that is it for now. I just wanted to check in with you to let you know that I am still here. I’m just refilling the information pipeline.

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So you just had your offer accepted on a property in the Lake Oroville real estate market that is owned by a bank. Your agent opens escrow with the title company and advises you that the bank’s agent will be sending the appropriate disclosures for your review.

When you finally get the disclosures all you see written across them are the words, “Bank owned, Seller Exempt.” You ask your REALTOR® about the lack of disclosure and he or she tells you that the bank is not obligated to provide disclosures to you because the home was taken back in foreclosure.  Only problem is, that this is not exactly true.

While it is accurate that the banks are exempt from providing some disclosure documents, they are not exempt from ALL disclosure requirements. And your REALTOR is not exempt from ANY disclosure requirements. Unfortunately what I am seeing is banks, and agents alike, ignoring their disclosure obligations by hiding behind the “bank owned”  excuse.

Here is an example of what I am talking about.  The following link will take you to a disclosure a BROKER from another office sent to one of my associates as part of the broker’s disclosures. By the way, I really wanted to leave the broker’s name and office information visible but thought  that even though it demonstrated his incompetence, I don’t want to appear unprofessional.

Click Here to See “Disclosure” 

This document is a form that most REALTORS® are now using to fulfill their duty to perform a diligent visual inspection of a home and report their findings to the buyer. Writing “exempt” across the front of this form does not relieve the broker of his LEGAL duty to disclose and is not a correct use of this particular form.

As a buyer you, and more importantly your REALTOR® need to insist on getting the required disclosures from the seller, whether it be a bank, or not. Don’t continue with your transaction if you are being deprived of your legally required disclosures.

We’ll review what these disclosure documents are in upcoming posts.

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