Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Ethics, Housing Bubbles, and Dishonest Folks
Yesterday, I spent the majority of my day at an orientation meeting for new members of the Shoals Area Association of Realtors. Most of those there in the meeting with me were new real estate agents, and many of whom had never even sold a property yet. I felt a little out of place. I'm in my fifth year of real estate sales, have sold many properties, and have even taken the time to go get my Broker's license. Since I am still relatively new as an agent here in the Shoals area, I had to attend the meeting. It was a nice refresher course on the National Association of REALTORS Code of Ethics. I didn't learn anything new really, but I was reminded of things that I have experienced lately where Code of Ethics training comes into play. I'm glad they teach that stuff. Believe it or not, we live in an imperfect world that is full of imperfect people. People make mistakes, and then there are some out there that will lie, cheat and steal their way to the top. As we've spent many hours planning and preparing ourselves to take in new agents in the future, I think that honesty, integrity, and traditional Christian values are extremely important in this business. I can see where it would be easy to let dollar signs go to your head and take advantage of people solely for financial gain. No paycheck is worth the price of guilt.
One of the "big ideas" I have for our company is to one day incorporate Character Training into our real estate education classes. There are far too many snakes out there willing to prey on the gullible or inattentive. Back when mortgage companies were approving people for outrageous amounts of loan money, I remember warning my clients about this on many occasions. I told them that they were going to be approved for a much larger amount than they could really afford, but that they should know exactly how much of a down payment they can make, how much of a monthly payment they can afford, and know how long they want to pay on the house, and should always STICK TO THE PLAN! Some of my clients were tempted to look at houses that were out of their price range, and so sometimes I would have to give them a reality check, and remind them of what they really want, what they really need, and what they really can afford. Many agents didn't do this with their clients, and so people unwisely bought more house than they could afford. Because of this, our country's entire economy has slipped because of it. There were many real estate agents and mortgage brokers who were either outright dishonest or overly "creative" with their financing that led to a huge housing bubble, which now we know has burst leaving the rest of us to deal with the mess. Knowing all of this, I am really nervous about starting the recruiting process. I know there are good agents out there, but the thought of getting a dud that could tarnish my company's image terrifies me. I want people to be able to trust our company's agents and know that they are looking out for what is truly in the best interest for the client, and not the agent's pocketbook. Anyone out there know of someone who shares these values? Send them my way, because I would GLADLY work side by side with them.
Joshua B. Pettus
President/Broker
Home Grown Real Estate
256.541.0491
JBPettus@gmail.com
http://www.homegrownrealestate.net/
http://homegrownrealestate.blogspot.com
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