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Mud-slinging, bad-mouthing agents STOP!

By
Education & Training with ClubWealth®

Is it just me, or has this industry allowed negativity and back-biting to creep in? Too often it seems that agents spend way to much time complaining about and filing complaints against their competitors, rather than focussing on selling homes!

I actually had a seller who pulled their keybok (doorknob and all) off their house without telling me (Mr. soon to be divorced seller was mad at Mrs. soon-to-be divorced seller and was getting back at her). An agent in my market (to remain unnamed) discovered the missing keybox during a showing attempt, and rather than calling me, filed a complaint at the NWMLS (our mls). Not only did the NWMLS decide I should have been clairvoyant and known that the box was gone, THEY FINED ME $15,000!!! No kidding! Would have been nice if she (the agent) had simply called me so I could address the issue!

Have you ever has a complaint filed against you by another agent that you felt was warrantless? Could it have been resolved with a phone call instead? Did your mls/board fine you without cause or evidence?

It seems to me, that for the most part, most agents are genuinely primarily concerned with selling homes. Most seem to keep to themselves and simply work hard... Unfortunately, there are bad apples in every bunch, who seem more interested in causing problems for the 3% of the agents who do 70% of the business!

Let us all commit ourselves to being more proactive in our business, and less judgemental of our collegues in the industry. Let us re-commit ourselver to being positive, abundant thinkers who realize there is more than enough out there for all of us, and immediately stop the practices of mud-slinging and bad-mouthing.

We owe it to ourselves, our clients, each other, and our industry to be much more professional in the year ahead!

Michael Hellickson can be reached at www.ClubWealth.com or by calling 253-444-5554.

Posted by

Micheal Hellickson

Club Wealth

206-300-1000

Karen Feltman
Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, IA KW Legacy Group - Cedar Rapids, IA
Relocation Specialist in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

That fine sounds a little excessive.  What rule did you break exactly?  Maybe you added an additional zero in there?

Jan 31, 2011 06:21 AM
Dick & Sandy Beals
Wilmington Real Estate 4U Wilmington, NC - Wilmington, NC

$15,000.00???  There are hit men who work for less!  I'm hoping that is a misprint....anyway we did have an agent file a complaint against us for a ad we were running....made a mountain out of a mole hill.  Had our hands slapped and a $100 fine

Dick Beals

Jan 31, 2011 06:25 AM
Michael Hellickson
ClubWealth® - Bonney Lake, WA
Real Estate Speaker, Trainer, Coach

I wish i had added an extra zero, but it's true, and you're right, $15,000 is EXTREMELY excessive! The rule basically states that if my listing in mls says there is a keybox and for some reason there isn't, I am guilty. Problem is, I HAD ABSOLUTELY NO WAY OF KNOWING HE TOOK IT OFF!

Have you ever heard of anything like that anywhere else in the country?

Jan 31, 2011 06:27 AM
Michael Hellickson
ClubWealth® - Bonney Lake, WA
Real Estate Speaker, Trainer, Coach

Sorry to hear that Dick... at least $100 is a reasonable amount... And yet, it was actually $15,000 (that's fifteen thousand!) How crazy is that?!

What's the biggest fine you have ever heard of ANYWHERE in the country besides mine?

Jan 31, 2011 06:28 AM
Janet McCarthy
San Diego Homes Guide - San Diego, CA
Broker Associate

I think the agent was way out of line for filing a complaint especially without calling you first.  I know it's frustrating to show up to show a house ( with clients) and find to box or no keys.  Sometimes agents take them, sometimes they forget to put them back, sometimes they haven't had a chance to put them on.  It's all about communication and sadly in your case no one was talking.  Realtors are problem solves so now is your chance to shine. Hang in there.

BTW how to Mr (angry) soon to be divorced seller get the box off?  

Jan 31, 2011 06:33 AM
Gerard Gilbers
Higher Authority Markeing - Asheboro, NC
Your Marketing Master

I wonder if they would have to refund the fine because they didn't know it there was a violation until they were told.

It's sad that the other agent didn't have the courtesy to call you to find out what was going on. I have run into several situations where the combo given was wrong and one was missing (most were REO). I also think that $15,000 was excessive for an unintentional issue on your part.

Jan 31, 2011 06:36 AM
Michael Hellickson
ClubWealth® - Bonney Lake, WA
Real Estate Speaker, Trainer, Coach

Janet, he took the whole door knob off and replaced it with a new one... :(

You are SO right! We are (or should be) problem solvers. Ultimately, I believe it boils down to really caring about our industry as a whole. We need to "play nice" with each other.. :)

How would you have responded to the agent post-complaint?

Jan 31, 2011 07:05 AM
Michael Hellickson
ClubWealth® - Bonney Lake, WA
Real Estate Speaker, Trainer, Coach

Gerard, thank you for the feedback. Unfortunately, our mls (NWMLS) seems bent on going after bigger agents at all costs. Their attorney even told me once that he only cares about the ones doing under 10 deals/year, and he has made it his mission in life to bring the ones doing more volume! Sad but true!

What's the craziest thing you have seen in your area/mls?

Jan 31, 2011 07:07 AM
Dick & Sandy Beals
Wilmington Real Estate 4U Wilmington, NC - Wilmington, NC

That is Ridiculous!!!  Maybe you do need a hit... I would be definitely fighting this one!!

Dick Beals

Jan 31, 2011 09:37 AM
Michael Hellickson
ClubWealth® - Bonney Lake, WA
Real Estate Speaker, Trainer, Coach

LOL... Problem is that it's not something I can fight in court where rules of evidence apply... They actually fined me over $90,000 for the same BS kind of stuff in 2010, with no right to appeal to an actual judge! If I could, they would lose every time!

Ultimately, Seattle is one of the most difficult markets to be a large volume broker in, due to mls and DOL politics. Seems like every top producer here has fought (and lost) many of the same battles...

Hey, jump on my facebook page and like it when you get a chance, so we can keep in touch! :)

www.facebook.com/clubwealth

 

Jan 31, 2011 11:16 AM
Dick & Sandy Beals
Wilmington Real Estate 4U Wilmington, NC - Wilmington, NC

This is just unbelievable!  Looks like Iwon't be doing business in Seattle.  What does your MLS do with the fines?  Lower the dues (ha, ha)

Dick Beals

Feb 01, 2011 06:54 AM
Michael Hellickson
ClubWealth® - Bonney Lake, WA
Real Estate Speaker, Trainer, Coach

lol... they pad their pockets! :) It's funny, because they complain about the high producing agents, but then fine each of us so much more than everyone else, that we end up supporting the MLS!

It would make you sick to see the stats on NWMLS fines to me, vs the two largest companies, vs the average agent in mls on a per occurance basis! The two big franchises (windermere in particular) are fined less than 1/3 of the NWMLS average while I and a select few other top producing independant brokers are fined 3 times the NWMLS average!

Feb 01, 2011 07:00 AM