I Posted this blog, my very first blog ever, on 7/1/08 on my Real Town blog site.  Much to my surprise, I won the Real Town/Inman blogging contest. They are sending me to San Francisco next week to attend the Inman Real Estate Connect conference.

I've been asked to post it here on Acitve Rain as well. 

Would love to hear your feedback.

What would I want if I was a buyer???   I'd want someone who wasn't trying to sell me.  Sell me anything so they could make a buck.  I'd want to think that they were looking out for my best interest and was really listening to me. How do you develop that kind of trust in a relationship?  I would want to know the whole deal, start to finish, be honest with me, don't tell me stuff just because you think it's what I want to hear. Educate me. People don't buy real estate every day. It's an alien experience for most.  Tell me the truth. 

In the past, being honest has cost me, but I know that honesty in the long run has paid my bills, and made me more money then its cost me. Plus, I've never (touch wood-did I mention I have stupid superstitions from my mom), have I had anybody sue me in 23 years.  I hear that's pretty good.  

As a buyer, I'd want to know all, and maybe I wouldn't know the questions to ask. In other words, I wouldn't know what I don't know. Makes sense doesn't it.   I'd like to think I treat everyone that way. No falsehoods, no wasting their time. What concerns me, is that other practitioners don't do business that way.  I think they should. It really messes it up for the rest of us.  Again, as a buyer or seller, I want to be told the deal, no holes barred, lay it out.  If you decide for whatever reasons this doesn't work, I'd like to think I am professional enough to say, "just remember me to your friends, and remember also, that I helped you make this informed decision".    

What's better, happy customer/clients that trust and value your opinion, or being this hard sale real estate agent that brow beats someone into a decision that maybe they will regret. It gives real estate agents a bad name.

I have sold to customer and client's friends, family, co-workers, and gosh I have been around a while, now their kids, but I feel a sense of pride. I work with my husband, Kevin.  A great man, who is the best person I know.  I think that's pretty good after all these years of working and living a life together. I've heard him tell people they shouldn't buy something because it wasn't right for them.  I use to look at him funny when he said something like that. Occasionally I would cringe, remind him of what we do for a living. But guess what.... he's been doing this longer then me, and he's right.  By my calculations he's been in this business about 34 years. His entire adult career.

The gist of what I have to say, is that if more individuals in our profession, could think of others before their bank account, our profession, would have a whole different rep (my kids word for reputation). In some cases with other agents that I've had the unfortunate experience of working with, it has been extremely negative and, oh god, painful and depressing. I feel sorry for the people they are representing.

My personal campaign is to continue to increase the perception of the integrity of our overall industry.  We would all benefit. We all spend mucho time, money, educational pursuits, etc. to stay alive and thrive in our careers.  We deal with people who are making the single biggest investment of their lives.   Don't they deserve the best of the best?   Absolutely.

I have some solutions, o.k. maybe not all the answers, but some of them.   Increase the c.e. requirements. Charge us more to stay in business. Probably not a very popular opinion. What other profession, can you get into with little or no investment?  You don't need to buy or lease an office, hire staff, office equipment, purchase inventory and more.  You take a class, sit for a test, come out with a license and "voila" you hold yourself out as a "real estate professional"......pleeeease......... some of these agents are retired from other careers and they profess to know more about assisting a buyer or seller then I do about performing a root canal.  Let's raise the bar. Get the dead wood out and be the experts we profess we be.

Enough of my opinions. But I think they are very valid opinions.  Let's weed out the garbage.

Who do I think I am, just someone who thinks people should be treated fairly.

Monica - Ocean City, Maryland