I simply wanted to hear feedback from agents on the issue of "agents who work expired listings".
I recently was in a discussion where the concept was nearly horrifying to an agent. I said there was nothing wrong with it and he called me a "bottom feeder". After I was done laughing, I asked him to back it up and explain what was wrong with this practice. I also asked him to explain how it was wrong to comply with the NAR COE, he ignored all my valid questions and offered only redundant rhetoric that did not address any of my points.
I work in a small town, but always assumed this was quite common in big cities. I work expireds sometimes, depending on the listing and my needs, etc. And I can't even fathom the argument against it. I wonder if these agents are aware of anti-trust laws and so forth. To be against this idea of working expireds is to be against free trade & fair competition and in favor of monopolies. That IS what we are talking about here.
Do agents realize that this whole issue in the COE is about avoiding monopoly and complying with anti-trust laws? This is the same reason that an MLS would have trouble turning down any member that had complied with all requirements. I've seen them try to do so and always wonder why they would even mess with something so dangerous. I guess some folks are just afraid of competition.
Personally, this is how I see it: The agent who already has the listing, most likely for 4-6 months really has a HUGE advantage. They have the inside track, and have had perhaps 6 months to build a relationship, trust, and confidence from their seller. If they are even doing half their job, a stranger agent really should be no threat at all. And if a strange agent CAN come in after this period of time and establish more confidence in a five minute phone call than the previous agent did in 6 months, then we should look more closely at the first agent in my opinion for they must be doing something drastically wrong.
What do YOU think?
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