Well, this is a comment I hear when I prospect for listings, and I have heard worst. Some people will say Realtors are no better than a used car salesman. Poor used car salesman they always get picked on. Well, you know I was in the lobby of my office, and unfortunately one of the agents in my office has a 5 year old son, who has Leukemia. Currently we have people donating things so we can purchase raffles, so we can raise money to help the agent with medical expenses, and so forth. I then saw agents who just donated money and did not ask for a raffle, and you know now that people are hurting for money. Anyway, I started thinking about all of those people that Damned me on the phone, and how they have such a poor perception of agents. How we are so greedy and we are only looking to make our commission. What good are we. Agents are just snakes in the grass,etc... Then I looked over and saw that agent dig money out of their pocket and just donate without question. Well, I for one am glad to be associated with all of those Damn Agents, who really have hearts of gold. I have to chuckle now when I hear those comments from buyers and sellers, only if they knew what we are really like.
John
Unfortunately everyone has come into contact with that 1 bad apple in the bunch and it spoils the rest of us. Agents in my office are not only goo, ethical, and honest agents, but they are good people also.
Yes David, I agree with you. I find most agents are very ethical people and have big hearts.
John - My own story of how I got into real estate revolves around those perceptions. I had one bad agent and I thought the worst things about Realtors. I hated the idea of them. Then I bought another house and through all the problems and trouble we had buying it, my agent was cool as could be. I ranted to him, I threw my hands up in frustration at things that were out of our control (loan), and not once did he flinch. I never felt he was looking at me with dollar signs in his eyes. In fact, two and half months outside of our closing date as we were preparing to close finally, I apologized for making him work so hard and wait so long to be paid. He turned to me and said, "Don't worry about me, I'll get paid eventually. Let's just get you into the house that you want." I could tell by the way he said it that he was confident that the money would come, but his real concern was helping my wife and I. I still speak to him to this day.
Hi John. Its ironic that some people feel that way about realtors as well as attorneys, and other professionals. I sent out bulk mailings to all homes in my farm areas recently. A gentlemen called me when he received his. He began ranting that all realtors are stupid and that he wanted all of us to stop mailing him "this trash". I apologized to him for the inconvenience this mailing had caused him and suggested that he remove his personal information from the property appraiser's records so the mailings would stop. He continued to rant and finally hung up on me. It seemed to me that it would have been simple enough to turn around and place the mailing in the trash can. People can be strange and we are all "stupid" or "damn realtors" until they need one.
My prayers are with the agent's little boy.
Hi Matt, I can relate to that story. I bought and sold real estate as an investor for 8 years, before I became a Realtor. Well the investor groups always chanted to us to stay away from Realtors, because they would not understand what we did. They did always say that 2% of the Realtors are probably good, but difficult to find the good ones. Granted not all Realtors are perfect, but there are some really great ones out there.
Lynda:
Thank you for your prayers. I had a good friend who past away recently from Leukemia, so it trouble me to hear when a little kid gets this disease. I agree with you on what you are saying, except maybe for attornies LOL.
JohnP
John, do hope that little boy recovers and lives a long and healthy life. Lukemia is a horrible disease and its hard enough when an older person has it, but a little 5 year old has not even begun to live. My prayers are with him and his family.
LOL. I worked with attorneys for years and years and just like realtors, there are some that should never be allowed to practice.
I hope this market weeds out the type of Real Estate agent that gives us all a bad name.
I would like to see our education requirements increased GREATLY. This business is no place for part timers and those who do not have the dedication to improving the overall quality and perception of the industry as a whole.
Marcy Spieker
As with any profession there are a few bad apples that spoil the barrel and then there is everyone else. One reason we get a bad rap is because most Realtors only get paid if a deal closes and thus we have a stake in getting it closed.
Hi John, some people just like to rant and rave and if you are in their line of vision it is your turn.
Yeah people we run into while prospecting are generally like that. They think agents should just sit around waiting for the phone to ring. Unfortunately the agents that do that don't sell many homes, don't have much money,won't be in the business much longer and can't show people how they might have a heart of gold or not.
This is a people business, if we did not like or love deally with people we should find another line of work.
Prospecting can bring out the best and the worst, I have been in the business for 23+ years and I have seen it all. From dogs that were sent to attack, to a homeowner threating to turn his water hose on me. So--- the only thing I can say is stay positive and have a good attitude. There are many more individuals that are nice.
We have all heard this. Real estate agents are the greatest....For example, in my office the secretary was in dire need of money for Christmas, so we took up a collection and gave her the money at our Christmas party. I wrote a post on this ... Do You Have an Office Angel?
Yes damn realtors... every industry has undesirables.. if a stranger comments on normal marketing techniques. clearly they have issues.... we have alot of wonderful agents in our office as well
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