tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post1686073060566917232..comments2024-03-19T07:48:54.021-06:00Comments on Gus Van Horn: Technology can't pinch-hit, either.Gus Van Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-70999399746300425042008-07-13T07:47:00.000-06:002008-07-13T07:47:00.000-06:00"$275k or less"If we decide to buy in Boston -- an..."<I>$275k or less</I>"<BR/><BR/>If we decide to buy in Boston -- and its already exorbitant cost of living would scare me a little even if the prospect of a severe economic downturn didn't loom -- a realtor who could find us anything more than a lean-to for that price would qualify as a magician!<BR/><BR/>I envy that!<BR/><BR/>In any case, what you describe is exactly what I'm talking about when I speak of the advantages of specialization. Thanks for the concrete example.Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-39775194604655039562008-07-13T01:00:00.000-06:002008-07-13T01:00:00.000-06:00When buying our house, our realtor used the intern...When buying our house, our realtor used the internet MLS service and Google Maps the way we imagine Bach used the organ keys. We were able to lay in absolutely hair-splitting search criteria, such as setting up border streets for our search area, excluding older neighborhoods, tile roofs only, FHA availability, no short sales, single-level, 3 or 4 bedroom only, $275k or less, time on market less than 60 days, and so on. But when our realtor really earned his commission was when we toured the resulting very efficient lists and he still found disqualifiers that my wife and I would never have spotted... so that by the time we found the house we bought, we knew we weren't missing out on any superior alternatives.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10125745545009130612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-26084713732155382492008-07-12T07:26:00.000-06:002008-07-12T07:26:00.000-06:00"All information is useful, but has to be put in c..."<I>All information is useful, but has to be put in context and has to be verified by the facts of reality</I>...."<BR/><BR/>This is what determines whether someone is using intellectual division of labor as a tool or as a crutch.Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-12791105550346935842008-07-12T00:23:00.000-06:002008-07-12T00:23:00.000-06:00The internet is like percepts, it needs an integra...The internet is like percepts, it needs an integrating faculty to process it if it is going to be useful on the conceptual level. <BR/><BR/>Now, I've been a Realtor, and I know Realtors, and non-Realtor sales associates. I know one in particular who makes a very good living and I accompanied him to several showings. His observations were very pertinent things the buyer was often not aware of. But just like the internet, he cannot pinch-hit either. He, like the internet, is just a transmitter of perceptual information. (I don't necessarily mean on the perceptual level; I mean not yet processed by YOU the BUYER). <BR/><BR/>All information is useful, but has to be put in context and has to be verified by the facts of reality; Integrated. The internet can tell you the facts about what houses were recorded sold at the local courthouse, and for how much consideration. You can do your own field research. A Realtor or licensee can point out that this or that is susceptible to termites and what the proper proceedure is here or there, etc. <BR/><BR/>All the information must be processed by the buyer. Unfortunately, this sometimes includes macro-economic information that is either unavailable or unattainable by the buyer. <BR/><BR/>Gus, truly, your title for this post is apt. Nothing can integrate for you. The internet, nor the licensed broker should be counted on to do that job. They have specific jobs (to provide facts for you to integrate), and hopefully, they do them well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-46435419390165657442008-07-11T20:27:00.000-06:002008-07-11T20:27:00.000-06:00Setting actual fraud aside, "caveat emptor" applie...Setting actual fraud aside, "<I>caveat emptor</I>" applies. <BR/><BR/>But the Internet could make it easier to compare notes on real estate agents....Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-63517421135221910232008-07-11T19:34:00.000-06:002008-07-11T19:34:00.000-06:00That's a good point, Gus....But I thought the whol...That's a good point, Gus.<BR/><BR/>...But I thought the whole idea of Real Estate Agents <I>was</I> to rip you off. I.e. they have the knowledge that you lack and would use it to take advantage of you.<BR/><BR/>Or maybe that's just the ones I've met. Heh.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-51109850976124322942008-07-11T11:25:00.000-06:002008-07-11T11:25:00.000-06:00"But it isn't true," I said."Do you want the loan ...<I><BR/>"But it isn't true," I said.<BR/><BR/>"Do you want the loan or not?" she asked.<BR/></I><BR/><BR/>The mortgage crisis, reduced to the primacy of existence vs. the primacy of consciousness, in two simple sentences.Kyle Haighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608497826478356055noreply@blogger.com