0 Your Real Estate Agent Is Useless

Posted on June 24, 2011 by All Access Boston

No really…the person you are paying to list your real estate is completely useless. You’re not paying them a fee? You’re still trusting them to get your property rented AND to put a decent tenant in there. They aren’t doing that.

Ok, fine. Maybe a few real estate companies out there are doing their jobs. Bottom line: Most aren’t. I have absolutely no qualms telling a landlord that they are using a useless agency or telling that particular agent that they are a waste of time. Here’s a list of things that agents I’ve had the displeasure of dealing with over the past month have done…

1. Not bother to show the property themselves. THIS IS YOUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY!
*If the person you are listing your property with won’t bother to show up to show it themselves, why in the world are you trusting them with your investment?

2. Offend my client and then ask me to apologize to them on their behalf. This sounds like something that would go on in 7th grade…except a 50 something year old man who wouldn’t stop talking about how long he’d been in the business did just this. I was embarrassed for him. He should quit. I hope he reads this and realizes just how ridiculous he is.
*If the agent you contract to represent you is offending potential tenants, FIRE THEM!

3. One agent sent me a lease that was filled out incorrectly…twice. Again, this was supposed to be an “experienced” agent. She was so experienced that she would take her sweet time responding to time sensitive messages because she was so busy (presumably messing up other deals).
*If the agent you have hired to rent your property can’t write up a binding lease, fire them.

I could go on. I dealt with an agent who tried to illegally act as the agent representing a landlord when they were, in fact, the landlord, just to charge a fee. You can represent your own property if you disclose that you own it, but this was just straight up theft.

Frankly, I am not alone in being appalled half the time at the people I have to call colleagues. There are other hardworking real estate brokers out there who get just as angry as I do on a weekly basis because of unethical business practices among Boston real estate agents.

Is this a rant? You bet…but maybe some of those hardworking brokers will read this and begin calling out these bums just like I do. Maybe, if you own property, you’ll think twice about who you list it with and save yourself a headache along with some cash. *Side note – A horrible little head shot on a business card doesn’t make an agent good. Neither does working for a big name firm. If anything, relying on that company name makes it easier for unqualified agents to exist.*

If you want your property treated as a priority, list it with All Access Boston. We will take care of you. If we don’t think we are the right company for you, we will let you know. It’s time real estate agents gave themselves a good name. It’s starting with us.

0 Real Estate Agent’s Fiduciary Duty

Posted on May 14, 2011 by All Access Boston

Last week we went over real estate fees and how they come into play in a deal. Today I’d like to quickly flip the topic and address the real estate agent’s obligation to their client. I’m talking about a Boston real estate agent’s fiduciary duty. If you are a real estate agent in Boston and you don’t understand what that means, you need to go back to real estate school before you find yourself in a whole mess of hot water.

This is only going to quickly touch upon the topic of fiduciary duty. There is much more to it than this, but I’ve recently been dealing with an agent who is so ignorant to the concept that I just had to blog about it. In basic terms, fiduciary duty is your obligation to look out for your client’s best interests in a business capacity. This encompasses a number of things but the bottom line is that you represent your client and their interests alone (not yours).

Breaking Fiduciary Duty

So…as a listing agent, you wouldn’t start telling the agent representing the buyer about the financial troubles of the individual selling. This would give the buyer all sorts of ammunition to negotiate a better price because they know that the seller is hurting. You would have gone directly against the interests of your client, the seller, and costs them money. In a nutshell, this is exactly what a listing agent did by giving me certain information about their client’s financial status concerning a condo. This gave me the ability to negotiate more favorable terms for my client because I knew they couldn’t be turned down.

Then, to push the envelope of ignorance even a bit further, they asked me to change the terms of the deal based on where my client’s income was coming from. Since I’m not a fan of breaking state or federal housing laws, I told them that this was illegal and that I would not. The listing agent seemed surprised to find out that this was illegal. I can’t say I was completely shocked because of the way things had been going so far, but to seriously not know the Fair Housing Laws is just asking to be sued.

My message to brokers is this: Train your agents well. If you don’t, they will cost you.

My message to landlords: Choose your listing agent well. You have more to consider than the name on the front door of your agent’s office.

There is more to a real estate relationship than the bottom line. There has to be complete trust and an agreement that is honored to the letter. Remember agents, your job isn’t just to get a signature on a piece of paper and a check in your hands. The day that it is, you are no longer an agent worth trusting.

0 Boston Apartment Approval

Posted on April 13, 2011 by All Access Boston

Sometimes clients don’t receive Boston apartment approval. There are a million different reasons that you may not be approved but the bottom line is that the decision is the landlord’s, not ours. It’s not fun being told that you can’t have the apartment you wanted, but it’s something you need to handle constructively or else you’ll just hinder your Boston apartment search even further.

Needless to say, when you get the news that you aren’t approved, you’ll be angry and disappointed. You may want to lash out, but frankly, that will get you no where. Sometimes we have clients blame our agents for the landlord’s decision. I can assure you, while we can sometimes help you get approved, we can not force anyone to accept you as a tenant. In fact, we want you to get that apartment just as badly as you do. After all, it’s our job to make you happy (and we don’t get paid unless you get approved).

So, step 1 is to get your emotions under control and don’t take things out on your real estate agent. If you feel like you were somehow discriminated against by a landlord, by all means, bring it up with your agent and we can help you follow the steps necessary to take action against any discrimination. For more information on that topic, see the MA Fair Housing Laws.

Step 2 is to see what your options are. You may be able to salvage things and still get that apartment with a cosigner for your Boston apartment. We’ve even had clients who we’ve helped deal with faulty credit scores so that they could have their dream home. If, however, no options are available to get you into that particular property, it’s important to be able to move on so that you can find the next best suitable option and make a move on it.

If you’ve been working with one agent the whole time, don’t run off and work with someone new. Not only will that not improve your chances of being approved at all, but you’ll have to start from the drawing board regarding your apartment search. A new agent doesn’t know what you’ve already seen. They don’t know what you like and don’t like. Most importantly, if an agent has already shown you a number of apartments in Boston (and had you sign an agency disclosure form per MA law), you can’t rent any of those properties through anyone else anyway or you’ll be held liable to the original real estate agent for a full fee. No one wants to pay twice.

Most importantly, be realistic about your situation. If you weren’t approved because of your credit score, you’ll want to make sure you look for apartments that will accept a cosigner. Your agent will know which ones do and which don’t. If you don’t get accepted because you don’t make enough money, you’re going to need to lower your budget. Don’t expect to be approved for a $3,000 a month luxury apartment if you are making $4,000 a month. Similarly, if you are trying to share an apartment with other tenants to save money, accept the fact that some landlords won’t let more than a certain number of people apply depending on the size of the apartment. It is their right to limit occupancy.

As I’ve said many times before, finding an apartment in Boston is all about speed. Know what you want and apply for it when you find it. The less time you take to apply (and get all of the required paperwork in) the better chance you have off getting Boston apartment approval…and the quicker you can move on if you don’t.

For more assistance, contact an All Access Boston real estate agent directly.

0 Boston Apartment Safety | Carbon Monoxide

Posted on January 19, 2011 by All Access Boston

Have you checked to see if your carbon monoxide detector this year to make sure it’s working? You should. Most CO related deaths happen during the winter. With just a little effort, you can avoid a huge tragedy. Boston apartment safety is something we all need to be a part of.

Avoiding Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Let’s go over the things you need to do to make sure your household is safe from carbon monoxide poisoning:

1. Make sure there is a CO detector on every floor of your home, preferably near the bedrooms if they are on that floor.

2. If you are renting and there is no carbon monoxide detector in your home, contact your landlord immediately. Massachusetts state law demands that every apartment has a working CO detector. Your landlord should reply with “Oh my god, it must have fallen out a window and disappeared. I will have one installed within the next 24 hours”. If they put up ANY sort of fight about getting a detector in there ASAP, let them know that you will call Boston Inspectional Services and report them. That will do the trick.

3. Make sure to check your furnace at the beginning of each cold season to make sure that it is running correctly. Blocked furnaces vents and chimneys are the leading cause of carbon dioxide poisoning. Newer furnaces have fail-safes to automatically shutdown if there is a blockage, but let’s face it, Boston isn’t exactly known for its new construction.

It’s really that easy. Boston apartment safety doesn’t take much, just a little bit of diligence. Keep yourself safe this year and check those carbon monoxide detectors.

5 Boston Apartment Lease Info

Posted on October 25, 2010 by All Access Boston

No one likes paperwork.

You didn’t like getting it as homework when you were 8. You don’t like having to take up your time filling it now either. Do we blame you? Nope.

Such are the pains of life however that sometimes we must fill out a form or three. In the case of renting an apartment in Boston, this is just a necessity. After all the ink has dried, it’s in everyone’s best interest anyway.

Of course, if you’re renting an apartment, you already know that you’re going to have to fill out at least an application and the lease itself. Sometimes there’s a little more to it than that however.

Let’s go over some possible scenarios where you’d have to add to the paper pile and why…

1. You need a guarantor/co-signer.

Your credit is the first thing a landlord is going to check when going over your application. Even if you make 60k a year, you aren’t getting that $1,200 studio if your credit is sub-par. It may seem silly since you obviously make enough money and maybe those credit issues were from some epic disaster a year ago. Regardless, the landlord needs to be sure that the money will show up in their mailbox on time every time.

In this case you get what is called a guarantor or a co-signer. This is someone who is guaranteeing your rent payments by putting their name next to yours on the lease. If you miss a payment, they are just a culpable as you are. Obviously their credit and income needs to be checked too so they have to fill out a Guarantor Form. Sometimes this form even needs to be notarized. In our experience, asking Mom or Dad to cosign isn’t as painful as asking them to get something notarized. No one wants to drive to the post office or bank just to get something stamped. The landlords word is law here though. Remember, they haven’t approved you yet if you need that guarantor so arguing over a notary is not only a moot point, it’s a bad idea.

* I once had the father of a client (who was also a lawyer), tell me that the notarization was stupid and useless and he didn’t want to do it. I explained that it validates the signature in court if there is ever a need. He claimed it didn’t. I don’t think he was a very good lawyer. In the end he did it. Do you know why? Because he had to if his son was going to live in that apartment. Paperwork – 1 , Lawyer – 0.

2. The landlord has an addendum for their lease.

What is an addendum you ask? This little piece of paper is an “add-on” to the lease. It may have additional agreements or any other manner of rule regarding the apartment that the landlord wishes (as long as they don’t go against Massachusetts law).

Most often you’ll just see things that are already in the lease spelled out in plain English or something about ‘not grilling on the porch’ or ‘no partying’. The landlord has their rules and wants to make sure the tenant follows them so they add the addendum to make the rules legally binding. Just bear in mind, this apartment is just a rental for you so burning candles on the carpet (yes I’ve seen it) may seem like no big deal, but this is an investment for the landlord and they need to take care of it. Sometimes there is just one addendum, sometimes it’s raining addenda. You can go over any questions regarding them with your real estate agent.

3. Massachusetts Lead Law Notification and Mold Addendum.

If you’ve rented an apartment in Boston or the Greater Boston area before, you’ve seen the MA Lead Law Notification. This has to be added to every lease per MA law. It spells out the risks of lead based paints which were used until 1978. Boston buildings are pretty old on average so the likelihood of lead paint being present somewhere in the residence (even under layers of latex paint) aren’t negligible. The landlord has to disclose whether or not lead paint is present, or if they don’t know. (Read more about Massachusetts lead law.)

The Mold addendum, while not required by law, gives warning concerning dangerous molds and fungus.

All of this boils down to a solid, binding contract between you and the landlord that spells out everything clearly and protects everyone’s rights. Sometimes people are hesitant to sign their names to additional paperwork but with a little reading and a conversation with your All Access Boston real estate agent, any concerns can be put to rest. We have the experience to walk you through this paperwork so that you feel comfortable signing your name on the dotted line.