Skip to main content

Moneyball

Back when the 2017 baseball season started (what seemed like twelve years ago to many), the Los Angeles Dodgers had an overall payroll for their roster totaling over $240 million – that’s a lot of money for men who wear tights, eyeliner, and play a game for a living.  The next highest payroll was the New York Yankees at a little north of $201 million.  Facing the Dodgers currently in the World Series are the Houston Astros, and they started the season with a payroll of approximately $124 million.  Just for comparison’s sake, the Astros were #18 on the payroll list, meaning that there were sixteen teams beside the Dodgers who spent more on their rosters and did NOT make it to the Big Game (actually, it’s Games – plural – and they seem to drag on forever). 

In essence, we’re witnessing a battle for jewelry (the highly coveted World Series Ring) and the chance to visit the White House without having to wait in line for a tour with one team paying $116 million more than the other team to be a part of this.  It remains to be seen who’s going to win this, but it’s GOT to be a little galling for the Dodgers to realize they’ve clearly overpaid for their ticket – it’s like being on a luxury cruise for which you paid full price and have a nice cabin only to overhear the couple next to you on the Lido Deck that they paid practically half of what you shelled out, and they have the biggest cabin on the ship!  When the World Series is over, and a victor is declared, it will obviously come down to one team outperforming the other – not how much money an owner decided to pay to cobble together their team. 

Whether you’re looking to sell your home or buy one, this little slice of life taken from the baseball world is something you should take to heart.  It doesn’t matter how much your prospective agent says she/he is willing to spend to market your property or what they’ll do to get you THE house, you should only concern yourself with one thing, and one thing only: their stats. Point blank ask them to show you their numbers – and the way they respond will tell you volumes, too.  If they sidestep the question and try to show you their Yelp reviews and testimonials on their website, keep this in mind: these things can be . . . manipulated.  That’s obvious, right?

Let me give you one more piece of advice: while you may think you’re the local equivalent to a member of the Shark Tank, I would recommend against trying to whittle down an agent’s commission.  Rather than seeking out the agent who’s willing to do the job for the least amount of money, look for the agent who’s willing to work the hardest for you and produce the best results. 

With all that said, I have one parting wish for you: may whoever you choose to represent you be able to help you faster than the length of a baseball season!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Definition of Insanity (in Real Estate)

More than a couple of years ago, I witnessed something that makes me laugh and cringe at the same time.  Having lunch at a local restaurant, I spied a real estate agent and a loan originator having what I would characterize as a “first date”. I couldn’t help but overhear little snippets of their conversation, and as far as I could tell, things were going relatively well . . . at least until the agent asked the LO this question: “So, do you like to sit at open houses with agents?”  I immediately looked to the LO’s face awaiting the response.  I didn’t need to hear another single word coming out of the LO’s mouth because his face said everything:  you would have thought the agent had asked him if he enjoyed bobbing for apples in a pool of acid judging by the look on his face.  While his face was communicating complete revulsion, his lips said, “Yes, of course.”  And that’s when I looked over at the agent’s face to see, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Time for a New York-Style Housing Fix

Previously, I’ve written about a man who works in our office who lived in New York City back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s – let me assure you that while that does seem like a very long time ago, it’s not nearly as far bac k as when the wheel was invented and humankind learned to harness the power of fire. If you’ve been to New York City recently and blissfully walked around Harlem to get chicken and waffles at Sylvia’s on Malcolm X Boulevard between 126 th and 127 th Streets or stopped in at Keybar on 13 th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A to wedge yourself into a cozy corner next to their notable fireplace, you wouldn’t get a sense that these areas were once . . . not as welcoming and glitzy as you now see them. Our office mate has told some fairly interesting stories of living in those and other areas of New York City that give a much different sense.   In the late ‘80s/early ‘90s, no matter how many great things you heard about Sylvia’s food, 127 th Str...
Post a Comment
Read more

Change: the Only Sure Thing

Which headline is better for grabbing your attention and prompting you to read the article to which it’s attached: “Credit Reports to Exclude Certain Negative Information, But Read on to See if This Even Applies to You” or “ Credit Reports to Exclude Certain Negative Information, Boosting FICO Scores”?   Obviously, the former is less than tantalizing while the latter makes you say, “Tell me more!”   I was in the “tell me more” camp, and the folks at The Wall Street Journal sucked me into their vortex. The development, set to go into practice on July 1 st , is certainly a departure from how the Big Three (Experian, TransUnion , and Equifax) have done things in the past, but it’s not going to wave a magic wand and make bankruptcies, foreclosures, short sales, etc., go away.   It’s sort of a bittersweet development.   Let me explain: Many tax liens and civil judgments will be removed from people’s credit reports if they don’t include a complete list of a...
Post a Comment
Read more