"WHO WOULD HIRE SUCH A PERSON?"

Hi Georgia: Bless you for your cognition!! You fully understand what "Pay-to-Play" really means! I think it is only fair that we keep those who do not yet fully comprehend what happens with that particular way of doing business in our hearts--one day they will get it; of that I am certain!

Hi Debb: That is so funny! I find the same thing here--however, those shiny faces no longer have the smile that used to accompany the eager response--now it is tears for all the money spent on Z during one of the slowest markets in memory!! You can't MAKE a buyer buy a house!! You can pay big $$ all day long but as you well know, in a down market very little sells--unless you have a following of loyal buyers and sellers who know you well and respect you enough to continue using your valuable services! Thanks for sharing your experience! 

Hi Laura: "Adapt" or be left behind--Is that your suggestion? I don't agree, Laura. Adapting is one thing but to intentionally continue to "Pay to Play" is downright suicidal, IMHO...We are a good example of that right here in the Hamptons. There is just a handful who continue to pay--those agents are now in the position of paying thousands a month (Some say $6K) and they are not making any money--they haven't made any substantial income for months now and we don't know for how much longer this downturn will last....You tell me what is going to happen to them. Meanwhile, Z is contacting the same clients and customers directly. I liken it to a retailer who is loyally carrying a line of clothing while the clothing manufacturer is out there undercutting the retailer online....It never lasts! Someone is getting hurt and it isn't the manufacturer! Thanks for opening up the conversation....

Hi Ken: I totally agree--the agents who survive will be the ones who, with nose to the grindstone, continue to plug away and continue to work hard to get listings and to attract buyers...The others will "Pay to Play" until they go bankrupt or until they get other jobs! There is no way this business can be sustained the way they are going...I also agree that brokerages will be out of business in 5-6, years if it even takes that long! thanks for your valuable input here!

Richie: You are so accurate in your analogy! This is a dog eat dog business anyway--to add to that the likes of the big Z and you have a predictable demise...of someone! Here, it is the agent; next, it is the agency! After that, there will be calm in the street with dead bodies lining the thoroughfare! I can guarantee those bodies are not from Z, T or even R! "The Loss of (not-so) Innocence"

Myrl: You can say that again! Feeding that beast is the thing that has always gotten to me--it is such a good analogy yet those who do pay look the other way when it is mentioned! I do have a few agents who have come to me to tell me that they have stopped paying and it is the higher paying agents as well...they get "it"...

Hi Sally and David: Thanks for reading and commenting here...Some people will never get that they are destroying our reputation by continuing to pay the beast...those are the ones who will one day wake up without a source of income and feel so sad that they shelled out the fortune to the one who destroyed their livelihood! They are literally paying them to do it!

Michael: Sorry to say that here in this market I am watching as agents lose their houses and fall into poverty...either that or they are leaving for a paying job, having given up the ghost..leaving a shambles behind them--those are the agents who only paid for leads--never learned the research necessary to get the leads on their own. It's like a child who was never given the chance to learn things on their own--always had a parent who stepped in and bailed them out of everything! Such a shame but they have brought it upon themselves...I swear I am witnessing a new effort for agents who have never figured out how to determine the market value of a property or learned how to figure out setbacks and lot coverage etc, suddenly taking a new interest and needing guidance to do it right...SAD! These same agents paid for years, as newbies, for their leads and took the Z estimates as gospel--sold their clients down the river, because I swear, those houses that they sold at the distorted higher prices now sit--the owners can't afford to maintain them and the price they paid will come back to even only after another 10 years or so...it is nuts here! Prices have come down 20-30-% and they STILL sit! 

Hi John: You gave me quite a chill--Yes it does sound just like Zillow!! The fact that I have been saying this to the real estate community since the beginning is the worst part for me because NO ONE listened to me! I did not get my point across and that is killing me! I have been blogging and telling the real estate market nationwide what was coming--how did I know? Because they made that their mission statement---"To put all brokerages out of business"...No hiding the fact--it was stated up front as they opened in 2007--as they sold off EXPEDIA to the highest bidder, making their fortune that put them in the position to do just what they are doing today! It is the scariest thing I have ever witnessed! Thank you so much for your valuable input here, John. I totally agree that we are on the cusp and it is not comfortable--I speak to my fellow agents every day and it is amazing how they respond--some shrug it off (those are the ones addicted to the lead generating machine that just kicks out fake leads, garbage that makes it LOOK like they are giving you what you paid for; but it really isn't!) and some are as incensed as I am....but it is now just so much noise--meaning nothing! I am afraid it is too late--we need to put our thinking caps on because I truly believe that Z will get its comeuppance in the end and will fade away because of inadequate knowledge. We have to be ready--our companies must change course and design local-focused, agent focused branding that cannot compete with Z and R and any other listing platform bent on destroying something as complex as real estate transactions...!!

Hi Renae: I have found that there are 2 types of agents who buy leads:

• Newbies, just to get their phone to ring and
• established agents who think they are missing out on business and are too lazy to do the hard work.
• Just MHO

Thanks for reading and commenting!