From time to time, I come across things that just make me shake my head. When those things relate to other real estate agents it is particularly frustrating.
I am sure that many of us cringe a little when someone who has the same job we do does things that make us all look bad - or in this case, just plain stupid.
In this particular case, I am referring to agents who want us all to believe that they "specialize" in some way. Let me quote a recent article that actually managed to make it into the newspaper. This article was announcing a new real estate agent joining a local firm:
"...will specialize in residential sales in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties."
Now, just for some background information, or for those unfamiliar with these counties in California, lets review a few facts. First, what it means to "specialize". According to dictionary.com, specialize means:
3. to render special or specific; invest with a special character, function, etc.
4. to adapt to special conditions; restrict to specific limits.
6. to specify; particularize
Here is a little more information:
Populations of(2005 Estimate - US Census Bureau ):
- Santa Clara County:1,699,052
- Santa Cruz County:249,666
- Monterey County:412,104
Sizes of:
- Santa Clara County:1,291 Square Miles/600,685 housing units
- Santa Cruz County:445 Square Miles/101,040 housing units
- Monterey County:3,322 Square Miles/136,549 housing units
So come on folks, can we really call that specializing? When an agent looks at you and tells you that the area they specialize in covers 3 counties, shouldn't it be ok for us to laugh in their face? Or at the very least chuckle a little bit and leave?
Frankly, I could never keep a straight face and tell someone (never mind having it printed in the freaking newspaper) that I "specialize" in an area that stretches from the south end of San Francisco Bay to beyond Monterey Bay.
Now I understand the shiney new agent that is hungry for that first client. But good God, there is no way that this person knows all the sub-markets that exist in these counties. I have lived in Santa Cruz and Santa Clara Counties for over 35 years and cannot lay claim to knowing all the markets within those areas.
Of course, this is just the tip of the "Stupid Things Real Estate Agents Do" ice berg. But it is also one of the things that folks who will someday need the services of a good real estate agent should be aware of. If a real estate agent makes these kinds of moronic statements to try and get your business, call them on it. Explain how covering an area that spans 5,058 square miles and over 838,000 residences is really the opposite of specializing in anything. Even worse are the ones that proclaim this kind of thing on business cards, web sites and other advertising. There is nothing wrong with grilling your potential agent about these kinds of things.
To those Real Estate Agents out there who want to do their part to earn our business some respect, gain the respect of those who seek your services and generally don't want to sound like a moron to anyone who is actually paying attention to what is coming out of your mouth, think a bit before daft comments like this spews out.
Be brave enough to really specialize. Pick your local community and specialize for real. There is nothing to stop you from saying your happy to service any needs across the whole freaking state, but since we are in a business of words - both written and verbal - lets at least pretend we know what those words mean and how to live up to their definition.
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