Thread: Real Estate Agents

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

If we don't hunt around for good service from ethical businesses we can hardly complain.

Nailed it.

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

...I think this just confirms the oxymoron of "male intelligence."....

Is that 'female logic?'

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

If we don't hunt around for good service from ethical businesses we can hardly complain.
Paul

This is true but you may buy strawberries and food twice a week, So you can go to a fruit shop or coles or woolies. But when you get car serviced each 6 months it takes a long time to find one you can trust (that does not still mean honest).
Thats the bit that gets annoying.
Secondly it seems that the proportion is also wrong, bad strawberries once every 20 punnets is 5%, I'd say that trustworthy tradies (I'll expand the list) is the much smaller minority.
What I have worked out and I'd like to see what other think, If someone says to you "I'm not going to rip you off" (in some form or other 'I'll do a good job at a fair price'), They are telling you that they will rip you off, they will do the opposite. I've had it with plumbers, fencers and mechanics and sparkies. The ones who don't say that are usually better. Get verbal quote for 80 an hour, do 3 hrs work and get a bill for 475. I've got to get written quotes, They then don't want the job.......

Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers

Is the 'female logic?'

Cliff

My firm belief, without any proof, is that it came from a female of the species and a fairly disillusioned, possibly scorned one at that. The statement may well be both an example of "female logic" and a retaliation all rolled into one.

I hadn't realised exactly which can of worms I was opening when I said that.

Regards
Paul

Just another oxymoron.

Originally Posted by _fly_

This is true but you may buy strawberries and food twice a week, So you can go to a fruit shop or coles or woolies. But when you get car serviced each 6 months it takes a long time to find one you can trust (that does not still mean honest).
Thats the bit that gets annoying.
Secondly it seems that the proportion is also wrong, bad strawberries once every 20 punnets is 5%, I'd say that trustworthy tradies (I'll expand the list) is the much smaller minority.
What I have worked out and I'd like to see what other think, If someone says to you "I'm not going to rip you off" (in some form or other 'I'll do a good job at a fair price'), They are telling you that they will rip you off, they will do the opposite. I've had it with plumbers, fencers and mechanics and sparkies. The ones who don't say that are usually better. Get verbal quote for 80 an hour, do 3 hrs work and get a bill for 475. I've got to get written quotes, They then don't want the job.......

Fly

I agree and that was part of my point. For most, a house purchase is the largest financial transaction in their lives. Buying a car is the next largest. The consequences are so much larger than the purchase of groceries.

In the medical arena the consequences are potentially disasterous or even life threatening.

The mechanics and tradies are all tacked on to the backs of the houses and cars and perpetuate our miseries if they too are bad.

I wish to amend my earlier statement on dentists and doctors. I parted company with one dentist and two doctors last year. I really hope that I don't have to go through the same process this year. They were either arrogant, mercenary or forgot who was the customer.

It doesn't mean I have this view of all medical practioners.

I am becoming increasingly intolerant of poor service no matter what field it may be in. I am, in a constructive way, attempting to do something about it. I have to say that it is frequently inconvenient and almost always expensive.

Regards
Paul

So to sum up this thread, ignoring the grocery shopping and other red herrings thrown in :

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

For most, a house purchase is the largest financial transaction in their lives.
Paul

and unless it's a new house, bought direct from a builder, it is second hand one. Bit like buying something from Ebay in that you rely on the opinion of a seller's agent who

Originally Posted by _fly_

are there for themselves first, the seller second and the customer buying is the MUG that must be conned.

so if the agent conned you

Originally Posted by munruben

.."oh the salesman told me a fib" Join the real world.

don't complain and employ your own buying agent.

Would you buy a second hand bomb from a shady car dealer without checks, well the same goes for buying a house.

Buyer beware.

Peter.

Real estate and cars are very emotive subjects, and good salesmen sell the sizzle and not the sausage There's always going to be tears with these two.

TT

Depends on your definition of 'good'.

There are good ones who make a dollar & don't care & then there are good ones who get return business over the years.

Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers

Depends on your definition of 'good'.

There are good ones who make a dollar & don't care & then there are good ones who get return business over the years.

Fair point. It was a subjective statement, as is this debate.

TT

First, I'm really sick at the moment, but I'm still going to post

Second this is probably going to take this further off topic and afield. Apologies in advance, but hopefully you'll see why I feel I should comment.

One of the great rules of life is you reap what you sow.

I often bang on about politicians being a symptom of a disengaged and unsophistocated electorate. People rail against them because they are on show, but they aren't the root of the problem, if people really could be bothered they would vote for better representatives.

Some decades back clever clever people changed the marraige rules and now we have that awful family law system. Result ? and man with half a brain thinks twice before exposing himself emotionally or financially to any woman.

(wait for it, the point is getting closer now...)

Over the we have become increasingly litigious and far less grateful. I recall having dinner with a bunch of doctors a few years back and the whole nights conversation was insurance premiums, litigation, overheads. The reality is we engineers make far more money after costs than most "normal" doctors (by that I mean all areas of the profession, but not those who've gone into the business side in a big way). They work longer hours, and frankly if I had to deal with the clinet/staff/regulation issues they face there would be a massacre within hours.

Dentistry is worse. Engineering has the highest suicide rate while studying of any profession, but I believe dentistry is top or close in practice. I'm told they link it to inflicting pain on people day in day out (and that's just the bill..boom boom).

It gets talked about a lot, but it bears repeating.

A very great many people in western society and particularly here expect everything to go their way, and for someone else to pay if it doesn't. I'd been bending people's ears about the brisbane floods for the last 15 years and the number of times they'd just look at me like an alien.. then when it all goes pear shaped they whinge. I tell them about my experiences with insurance companies, she'll be right. No cover, whinge...

I was born in north queensland. Home Hill floods about every 15 years. People just get on with it. I grew up in the western suburbs of sydney, and when I was young the georges river would come up about every 6, same houses flooded every time. They chucked out the damaged stuff, brushed themselves off and got on with it.

The media would have us believe Australia is a better place than it was in the 70's. That isn't my memory. I recall a time when nearly anyone who wanted a job had one, when one could have a decent standard of living on a labourers wages, and when it was quite common to find a millionaire and a cleaner standing side by side burning sausages together on a saturday arvo. for one would trade the skinnychinolatte foccacia and biscotti for a bit of those times back again.

Anyway the point is, don't believe what anyone tells you. Read your contracts, research your purchases, and only part with your hard earned when your sure. Your an adult, take responsibility.

Better climb down off my soapbox, air is thin up here

Damian, you're right in many ways about the equality of people back then. I remember one bloke at a place I worked. The boss had asked him for references and he said, "you can have them when you give me references from three blokes who have worked for you". The boss laughed and took him on. He was a good worker by the way.
I know things are different but these days things like resumés seem more important than the people behind them.
Cheers,
Jim

Most of the family Law was drafted by Justice Elizabeth Evatt so what chance do you have?

Originally Posted by damian

I often bang on about politicians being a symptom of a disengaged and unsophisticated electorate. People rail against them because they are on show, but they aren't the root of the problem, if people really could be bothered they would vote for better representatives.

At the end of the day we only get to vote for those whom the parties put forward, which is why we got a plethora of independents elected this time around.

Originally Posted by damian

The media would have us believe Australia is a better place than it was in the 70's. That isn't my memory. I recall a time when nearly anyone who wanted a job had one,

You're darn right about that, those times will never be repeated in a 1st world country, until the 3rd world countries have caught up.

TT