Anti-Realtors.....They Blame Us, But What About The Pool Guy?

Karen - Funny post!  As I started reading through your list, I started laughing.  As a mortgage gal, I've gotten my share of blame for the entire country's current financial woes.

Nevermind that in the nearly eight years since I've been in the biz, I never sold a neg am loan program.  Nevermind that in nearly eight years, I have never had a client I sold a loan to foreclose or walk away from their mortgage.  Nevermind that my entire mortgage career has been dedicated to assisting low-medium income first time buyers realize the dream of homeownership (with fully documented, fully amoritized, 30yr mortgages).

Just this morning, I was talking to a Realtor about some of local city/county/state down payment assistance programs and she commented about how much I knew about all the various programs and she asked me how I knew about all of these programs?  Because these are the types of programs that I have promoted for pretty much my entire mortgage career.  Because of that, every anti-mortgage wacko feels it's their duty to trash me every chance they get and to blame me and my kind (really love it when they throw in that lovely phrase - like I'm some kind of alien) for the mess that the US economy is in.

Most of the time, I can just ignore these bozos but the ones that seem to bother me the most, and I mean no disrespect here, are the rants that come from Realtors.  Go figure!

You know that you have written a good post when it solicits so many responses that are heart felt!

The way I look at it is, being a Realtor is a profession just like many others...   whether the nay sayers want to admit to this or not.  If you really do not feel that a Realtor is worth their fees then go it alone and stop all the negativity.  Some of us are trying to make an honest living.  I have literally worked for weeks or months on end with someone - not for any pay BUT FOR THE HOPE of a commission cheque at the end.  AND GUESS WHAT?   It will be WELL deserved when it comes!!!

Thanks Karen :))

That was a great post, and the comments were great, too. I really liked the list of 101 things that a Realtor does.

Karen, I think the problem with out society is over-generalization. It is not a good idea to over-generalize things but almost everybody tries to do that, including myself. Not every bankers are cons; not every realtors are cons; not every car salesperson are cons;....

Roland,

Loved that post here on Karen's blog.  That is such a correct list,

While I sat here and read all of the comments.  Now I know why I stay away from negative people, while I think this post was great....I'm exhausted with the negativity of some of the comments.

Karen M.

The real estate "sales" industry is up for a huge shake-up like the newspaper industry (the Internet happened), the car dealership industry (custom design happened), the telephone booth industry (cell phone happened), and many other industries.

Case in point, newspapers can count and quote all kinds of things they do for their readers and communites, democracy, nation, etc., but a majority of them are going to be eliminated. The economy just does not need them anymore.

National Association of Realtors is the largest trade organization in the world which enrolls practitioners like the mortgage industry signed up sub-prime loans. Snooze through 60 hours of class time, take a couple of tests and you are in. Work as a salesperson for a couple of years, take 120 hours of class time, take a few tests and you are a broker. Connecticut does not even require that you see a transaction through all stages of completion before you can become a broker and "represent" people with the largest purchase(s) of their lives. Scary indeed.

You can count all the wonderful things which real estate salespeople do for their clients, communites, nation, world peace, etc., but that is not going to keep a large number of real estate salespeople employed for a long time. The industry has changed big time and few of the savvy salespeople will command majority of the business.

Real estate "salespeople" are in denial and there is nothing wrong with being in denial as long as your spouse is kind enough to carry you. Yes, the "job" is fun and flexible but there is a reason why an average real estate "salesperson" makes $13,000/year which is barely above the poverty line http://aspe.hhs.gov/POVERTY/09poverty.shtml

NAR could have tightened up the requirements for becoming a "Realtor" and ensured resonable income levels for practitioners, but I guess it is too late. Realtors or not, the Internet is forcing many real estate salespeople to be out of business.

The new real estate sales paradigm just does not need as many people running around showing houses. A new CAR study indicated that only 20% of clients care for buyer agents' help with selecting houses. The rest only want the agents to help them get a better price. But that is a bummer. Until Realtors' seller bias is arrested, buyers ain't getting the best prices. :)

I guess that buyers can use a National Association of Buyer Agents. Any takers?

98% of Real Estate Agenst are professionals, 1% are learning to be, and the last 1%.... well, they don't count... LOL

Good post.  Anti-Real Estate Agent, or Anti - anything people are always good to hear from, just gives me practice on learning new objections and answers to those objections.

Karen,

Got this link for you from this bozo on another post/feed.  You'll get a lot of good link love on this post that's for sure.

Excellent job!  If they want to spread the wealth when business is good then they should spread the blame when it's bad.  Dont' have a crystal ball but I do have a snow ball.  Interested?

Wow, the NAR needing to do a better job?  Oh my goodness...now there's an original can of worms to open!

The NAR's business seems to primarily be that of collecting member fees and lining their own pockets...they aren't (As they would have us believe) on our side necessarily, like a lot of associations and unions that have been forced down the throats of folks, (They are in bed with most local associations, so you can't work if you don't join the NAR!) they may have originally been set up to serve us, it's members, yet eventually they serve their own agenda, and create unnecessary jobs within their corporate office much more than continuing to focus on and serve all members.  I'm not saying that they do absolutely nothing, that's not true at all, but I am saying that they clearly don't do enough which is obvious by all of us...are they not actively listening to us members?  Or is it that they listen, but do not hear us?  The commercial advertisements I see from NAR are very nearly laughable and wouldn't convince me to use a realtor...or any other service or product.

I believe that membership in NAR should be an option, and not a requirement to work, perhaps NAR members would receive some benefits that they asked for, benefits that non-members would not receive.   Yet to NOT be allowed to join a local board without first joining the NAR is, in my book...rather akin to being financially hijacked for ransom, only by joining NAR can you go about your business.  I feel that if we join state and local associations...that that should be plenty...local and state boards can offer member benefits to its members, why the heck should I be forced into joining the national association? 

It makes no sense to be required to join THREE associations, national, state AND local!    Again, if NAR membership was optional, I would have zero beef with them, heck...I might even join if given the choice...but they have created a scenario by bedding with local associations and you can't (In most places) join only state and local associations until AFTER you have joined the NAR. 

When I get my state drivers license, I am not required to pay for a local association fee, then a state fee, and yet another national fee...just to hold a license and drive a vehicle!  AND let me clarify that I don't actually have any angst towards the NAR itself, the part that makes me uncomfortable is that they have made membership a requirement rather than an option because they managed to wine and dine the local associations into making NAR membership a requirement, offering them (God knows what?) in exchange of requiring it's local members to also join the NAR.  THAT is the part that is NOT okay.  Of course, if given an option, I can imagine that a lot of folks might opt out if they were not happy with what the membership in the NAR provided...Something like that  might motivate the NAR do a better job! 

Wow...what a novel concept, you do a good job and then I use your services...or...you don't do a good job and then I take my business elsewhere.      

I have a great idea, we'll pay them a hundred bucks a year if the NAR served us better and we are pleased with their service...but we pay them only a one buck if we aren't happy with their service...maybe they'd begin to serve us better under that particular scenario!  I'd sign up with that program right now!  I can't help but wonder under which scenario the NAR might perform better, the one dollar model or the hundred dollar model?

But you are right on target, the NAR should be doing a better job, serving its members, and getting the word out as to all the tasks we take on behind the scenes...people don't understand that. 

I don't hate the NAR...I simply don't support being forced to do what should be an option...that's my opinion, you might disagree...and also...I could be totally wrong!  I'll accept being wrong, (I have no problem with that!) and I'll be pleased to learn from my wrongness...I just wonder if the NAR would do the same.

Carol

PS:  my crystal ball is in the shop being repaired...they've had it for a LONG time now!

Great analogies, Karen!  I wonder how many anti-Realtor bloggers work in the industries you list.  And I have always wondered about do-it-yourselfers.  They always know how to do it better than a trained professional.  They think we pay nothing to be a trained, experienced professional.  To them I say, "Save a penny, spend a dollar, have at it, learn the hard way, it isn't easy for us, either!"

'we take care of so much behind the scenes without concerning the client that they never know all that we do'

Truer words have never been spoken. I'm dealing with a client now who has NO IDEA how hard I've worked to keep their deal together, despite their idiotic behavior. In the end, they'll benefit from tons of instant equity and badmouth Realtors to their friends and family.