I have always seen that there is a certain amount of distrust toward Realtors but it's grown even worse lately. This is communicated in various ways, from body language to straight forward vocalization. I expect to see this from For Sale By Owners who definitely don't see a value in what we do, but I've seen it from buyers as well. I see and hear the laments of other Realtors who are faced with mild to harsh mis-treatment from potential customers who feel that they are justified in the way they treat Realtors.
Let me say that I understand, to some extent, how this has come to pass. There are plenty of Realtors out there who are mis-treating their clients and customers, bringing much of this wrath upon Realtors as a whole. There are plenty of Realtors who have purposely decided to demean potential clients by disregarding the importance of their time and efforts in buying or selling a home. In recent years, more and more people have flocked to the Real Estate industry not unlike the Gold Rush that forged the western half of our country in the past. Not unlike those times, there have been those who have "struck it rich" and those who have failed horribly, ending in ruin. Maybe it was during this time that some Realtors developed their predatory practices, but I doubt it. I think it's human nature and we take the good with the bad.
With that being said, let me say that much of the angst against Realtors is unwarranted. Let me explain some things about Realtors for the consumers in our market.
1. Realtors are real people. NO, we don't just pop out from under our desks each day. We are normal people who live in your neighborhoods, our children go to school with yours. We have spouses, mortgages, car payments and yes, we actually work for a living. We have the same worries as most other people, plus the added concerns of each and every client we are helping at the time, because we are responsible for them during the process of buying or selling a home.
2. Realtors make alot less than you might believe. I know, those advertisements say that we are all multi-million dollar producers. That's the amount of Real Estate we sell, not the money we make doing it. In the Greater Wilkes-Barre area the average sold price for a home is $73,700. (2005 data, see http://www.city-data.com/city/Wilkes-Barre-Pennsylvania.html) It takes a great deal of effort to reach a multi-million dollar mark. I hear it all of the time how, now that I'm a Realtor, I've hit the big time. I'd say that is definitely not true. I left a job making about $55K/year to sell Real Estate. I went through a period of time where I made next to nothing and have only recently begun to earn a comparable income to the job I left, which still leaves me short of my last year's earnings on the whole. Factor in the expenses of driving clients around in my car all of the time, advertising their listings plus maintaining a professional image and I make even less.
3. Realtors have to work within a schedule. I'm sure you've heard the saying, "Time is Money". For a Realtor, this couldn't be more true. We only have a certain amount of time to do the things we need to do to make a living. Since the time in each day is limited to 24 hours, we have to use that time wisely in order to optimize our income. When a customer calls us and asks to see a list of houses, but hasn't checked with a financial institution to see if they can even buy a house, they are putting us in a precarious position. Do we spend time with this person, hoping that they are going to be able to buy a house, or do we spend our time with the person who comes prepared to make a purchase? Most Realtors are going to go with the qualified and prepared customer any day, because just as we owe a duty to the customer to work with them, that customer owes a duty to us to be prepared so the transaction goes smoothly. The same concept holds true when a customer calls and asks us to make an appointment to show them houses, then shows up late or not at all. This is disrespectful and wastes our time, which could be better used helping those who sincerely want us to help and value our time.
4. Realtors make a commitment to our clients. If you've dealt with a Realtor in the home buying process, you've probably been asked to sign a Buyer Agency Agreement. This agreement basically provides the commitment from the Realtor and Broker to the buyer to look after their best interests in the Real Estate transaction. There is also a commitment from the buyer to work with this specific Realtor and Broker during the course of their home purchase. Our commitment to the buyer is solid as the commitment from the buyer to us should be.
5. Realtors are professionals. I know that I may be stepping out on a limb with this one, as there are Realtors who don't act professionally. We do have to go to school, get a license and go through some amount of training in order to do our job. We are also held to standards that, if not met, could mean severe disciplinary action including fines and suspensions, even revocation of our licenses. We have to know our markets in order to survive and we have to know the process in order to make it a smooth one for both buyers and sellers. Realtors also have to commit a good amount of their income and time to continuing their education each year. We don't just learn our jobs and that's it. We have to continually be learninng new things as the market changes.
6. Realtors' spouses are saints. I had to add this one because my wife would kill me otherwise. She's always asking me, as I'm rushing out at the last minute to help someone with their last-minute emergency, "Do they realize that you have a life here that you're not taking care of?". Fortunately for me, she hasn't locked me out of the house yet, probably because I love her so much that she couldn't live without me, right? It's true though, most of us have to leave our families to help take care of our clients, most of the time without our clients even realizing the imposition it causes to our lives.
I know to some this might read like a whine-fest. It's not. I'm sure there are a multitude of professionals in the Real Estate industry who feel the same way. We, as an industry, need to present a more human face to who we are and what we do. The public needs to understand that we are an asset to have in a Real Estate transaction, saving them money and a whole lot of grief along the way.
With this in mind, as a consumer you might ask yourself, "Am I working WITH or AGAINST my Realtor?"
If you'd like more info about the author of this blog you can visit his website at www.wilkesbarrehomesales.com.
Until next time...
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