I was showing homes the other day, and I made 6 calls to agents about their property. Many of the MLS listings said, "Listing agents must be called before showing," and there was no lockbox. One agent's message said she would return later this weekend from vacation but left no other contact information. The others never returned my calls at all. This is very serious. These were all occupied homes currently listed for sale. This is extremely unprofessional and unethical while the listing brokers are supposed to be taking care of the needs of their sellers. However it is always the broker that is at fault because agents are only licensed under the tutelage of the broker's license to do business.
The next issue is the listing agents picking numbers out of the air and calling the listing a 'short sale' even though the mortgage lender(s) have never even been contacted. So placing a 350K price on a 550K home is more like the story of the butcher that falsely advertises that he has "Ground Round for sale only .69 cents a pound!" When you ask for 5 pounds of the ground round the butcher says, "Sorry I am all out of ground round, is there is something else I can help you with?" That is bait and switch!
This leaves a really bad taste in everyone's mouth. The buyer thinks you are literally lying to them. They believe the home is really available, and you will not sell it to them. The buyer first contacted you that they needed a home with a quick closing, and do not realize this could be the road trip to nowhere for the next 8 months. It is a sad situation for the seller that does not realize what is going on, the buyers agent that may lose their client, and the buyer that will waste about 6 months plus of their time. The listing agent knows better, but cannot resist placing their sign out there so they can attract more buyers. So everyone will suffer as this avoidable tragedy will play out.
My only thought is that much of what we are witnessing in today's market can be avoided. Bad MLS entries, and listings that intentionally mislead the public and other agents is unacceptable especially when it comes from a lack of any supervision. In many of our markets current real estate sales are off anywhere from 20-50% from previous market peaks. There is a lot of free time to go around, and brokers should be taking advantage of it. This isn't the time to be out on the golf course, or attending unproductive luncheons. There are real tasks at hand. The pubic is watching. Reviewing new listings, listing prices, viewing a CMA, checking MLS entries, and looking at recent neighborhood sales would be a good start for any broker.
Agents that have never produced a sale and are carrying 15 listings should co-list with a more experienced agent. There are sellers needlessly rolling into foreclosures as some in our inustry play "Make believe real estate agents or play attorney advising sellers to do a short sale without advising of any of the consequences" All agents shold know that there is a legal difference in selling homes, and practicing law. In all of these situations mentor and training programs - teaming experienced agent to novice would be a very practical move. Brokers should routinely monitor new agent performance, not allow part time agents to pretend they are doing full time work. Brokers should actually look at complaints against agents instead of dismissing them. Greedy and neglectful brokers are more interested in the numbers of agents, then the quality of agents that work under their license. The brokers are placing themselves at high risk for lawsuits, liability, and action brought about by public complaints to the real estate commission, not to mention the loss of business, and perhaps even the cost of legal defense.
Real estate used to be a profession filled with individuals that took their job an responsibilities seriously. It was a great career path. Our industry routinely provided a great service to our clients, and that no longer seems to be the case. Obviously, something has changed drastically. It remains to be seen if the incredible increase of new agents before the bust has fueled this problem.
Today the real estate industry becomes incensed on any inference of impropriety and right or wrong it defends the lack of professionalism because these profit centers are at the core of the deal. Sadly most of us have become numbed and all accepting of this new normal. As an industry, we wonder why fraud is rampant, and yet cannot see that buyer agency and listing agency have become nothing more than a self serving joke. When the stuff hits the fan - brokers should not scratch their heads and ask "What happened?" They need to look no further than themselves for the answers. They had the power to change this, but chose not to. At the root of this problem lies the new concepts in real estate of mega brokerages and an absentee management style. For too long brokers have not conducted their business as they once would, but it is never too late to change. The choice is theirs alone.
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Jim, you really picked a good topic tonight. This is the very reason why I started my own brokerage this year. Now if only I could clone myself so I can have responsible agents! I have impossible high standards. Congrats on the ambassadorship!