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There is a plus side to the housing market being in a decline, and that would be the limited amount of bad agents out there. This is a great benefit if you are in the market to buy or sell a home, because chances are you will find a more reliable, up-to-date realtor. In the past a lot of agents did a lot of their work from their offices, but now they really do need to be out in the field in order to be successful. With that information though, you do still need to be careful in choosing your agent.

There are still people out there looking to make an extra buck, and are only part time agents. The clerk at the gas station may take on a client or two for some extra money. Even the utility worker can claim he is a full time agent, when he’s not. When this type of deception is going on, it is not beneficial for the buyer or seller at all.

The market has undergone a massive upheaval and you can not do business the same way as five years ago. In Big Bear, bank owned properties make up 10% of the inventory and 40% of the sales. If your realtor is not proficient in dealing with REO’s, Short Sales, etc, you are asking for trouble.

Here is an example of a predicament one of my clients was recently involved in. The clients I had been working with made an offer in escrow with a bank that was out of our area. We held up our part and followed all instructions that we were supposed to, while waiting for the escrow to be opened. With the last 20 sales that I have worked on with bank owned properties, there has always been an issue opening the escrow.

To make a long story short, after weeks of no response to my pressings, the bank finally admitted to me that they had accidentally filed the paperwork with the wrong office. And to add insult, they suggested that we could still be liable for the delay. I turned it all around, but some people are just gone terrible with details. I think I am getting too old for this business!

Had I not known what I have learned from all my experience with REO’s, this could have gone really bad for my client. Less-experienced realtors are dangerous in these types of situations. So protect yourself and only work with someone who works in realty full time.

Author Steven Blagow is an experienced Big Bear, CA foreclosures realtor and an expert in luxury realty. He is in fact one of the top Big Bear, CA houses realtors in his service area.