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Comment by notadoc | Hacker News Reader

> The entire process is filled with random quagmires

OK, but why is that? And how many of those "random quagmires" are coming from realtors?

The real estate industry reminds me of the tax preparation industry or car sales in the USA. My opinion is they are all (by design) intentionally annoying, cumbersome, overly complex, overly expensive, and excessively time consuming, seemingly for no reason other than to protect vested interests. These areas are ripe for dramatic disruption.

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They usually come from City Councils, county boards, school levies, HOAs, insurance requirements on page 192.PGP.168, etc. that are changing all the time. Depending on where you are in the US, it really can be that bad very quickly. Ever buy a house? The contract you sign is literally thousands of pages of legalese that may or may not contradict everything else in it. The Real Estate Agents (REAs) give you 'cover' and smooth out all bumps. Joan knows Frank on XYZ council, therefore you'll never ever catch any flack. Freddy is a REA you used and therefore everything is 'above board' as far as a judge cares, next case please. Ahmed knows good and bad home inspectors, it'll take you 3 months of 8 hour days to begin to figure them out. Etc. Yes, corruption/nepotism sucks, PM me when it has passed from the face of the Earth. If you are buying a home in anywhere near a 'desirable' market, use a REA. 5k for 'peace of mind' is more than worth it.

In the 10 or so real estate deals that I have done over the past few years, I have to say that the realtor (even the exceptionally good ones) never pointed out any of the nuances of the perils related to the entities you mentioned above. In all cases, it was me, due to bad past experiences with HOAs for example, who was proactively demanding that I be given the HOA restrictions before making the contract; there were plenty of deals I walked away from when I thought the HOA was power hungry and ridiculous. EDIT: I am not dismissing the role of realtors - they had good tips that I use to this day. Here is one: start the homeowner's insurance purchase/quotes during the option period to ensure that any related surprises here will enable you to walk away during the option period than trying to deal with killing the deal with the much-higher earnest money amount at stake.

I have to say that the most insightful article I have ever read about realtors came from the controversial Freakonomics. It clearly outlined the separation of concerns and interests and made it clear to me that if a real estate deal is to work well, the only person responsible is me and me alone.

> start the homeowner's insurance purchase/quotes during the option period to ensure that any related surprises here will enable you to walk away during the option period than trying to deal with killing the deal with the much-higher earnest money amount at stake.

Wow, this is great advice and something I would never think of doing.

> The contract you sign is literally thousands of pages of legalese that may or may not contradict everything else in it. The Real Estate Agents (REAs) give you 'cover' and smooth out all bumps. Joan knows Frank on XYZ council, therefore you'll never ever catch any flack.

That's why you pay for real estate lawyer to go with you to closing. That's the only person qualified to help you. It is the only person who represents you if you pay them.

You paid for a lawyer to go with you to the closing? Did they point out anything you had missed? (I've never heard of anyone doing that.)

Yes. It was money well spent. One of the docs was changed.

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