Virtual Real Estate Offices Give Brokers a Supervisory Edge

Written by: James Crumbaugh

Date: May 30, 2008 6:29:00 AM

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At the midyear legistrative National Assn. of REALTORS convention in Washington DC this year I was talking with a past NAR President. I asked this past President if he was aware of a law in Tennessee that states if a REALTOR lives 50 miles from a broker, he is not permitted to work for that broker and would need to select a different broker. He not only wasn’t aware of the law but like myself was somewhat surprised that a law like this would exist in today’s world.

I’m sure that this law was enacted to help the broker to provide supervision over the REALTORS working under that brokers license. Thirty years ago, maybe even 20 years ago, that may very well have been the case, but not today.

You have to stop and ask yourself the following question: "If a REALTOR lives 49 miles away and another REALTOR lives 51 miles away, is the state actually saying that the agent that lives two miles further down the road, can’t be supervised by the broker as well as the REALTOR that lives two miles closer? With today’s technology of letting agents fax or scan files and documents, and the ruling that electronic signatures are legal, this just seems to be an antiquated law that has yet to be revisited. The supervision is so much better today with technology, because rather than the REALTOR having to drive 49 miles to deliver the paperwork to his broker, the REALTOR can now have the paperwork to the broker is minutes rather than hours.

So if supervision is the key to this law, wouldn’t you think that the sooner a broker can review the paperwork to make sure everything is copacetic, the better the supervision?I state from experience that having a REALTOR that doesn’t do things right sitting across the desk from me never made that REALTOR start doing things right. The bad REALTOR will always remain a bad REALTOR and the only solution is to rid yourself of the bad REALTOR. Whereas a conscientious REALTOR will always try to do it right, so with technology, a good REALTOR can live a thousand miles away.

Now let’s discuss why this law is very GREEN unfriendly. In today’s world with global warming and the gas crisis, why in the world would a state require a REALTOR to drive to the office every time they have a new contract? Let’s think about this for a moment. A REALTOR lives 49 miles away. With this law they have to drive a round trip of 98 miles, polluting the air, burning fossil fuels and supporting our national debt because of having to buy oil from the Middle East. There is just nothing in this law that makes sense in today’s world

I never thought I would be an outspoken advocate of taking care of our planet, but in just the last month on two different occasions, I had cause to say “ Why are we doing this, it isn’t good for our planet”.

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RE: Technology Vs. Reality

Comment by: OneCall

- May 30, 2008 2:03:02 PM

Mr. Crumbaugh,

Thank you for your timely article. There are laws in each state that are absolutely inane. In my state of Massachusetts for example, lawmakers have recognized that certain property owned by debtors should be protected from collectors, to ensure they can get by, and to give them a realistic chance of repaying their debts. One provision however says that every debtor, no matter how large the debt, may keep ''two cows, twelve sheep, two swine and four tons of hay,'' while another protects ''one pew occupied by [a debtor] or his family in a house of public worship."

My company and others like mine offer services that can allow a Real Estate company to choose how much infrastructure to have. They could if they wish have no infrastructure at all. That's right, no office building, no rent no furnature, nothing. The good news is with the technology that is available, and has been for some time, supervision is easily attained, thereby allowing for a substantial reduction in cost, and great benefit to the Broker/Owner as well as the agent.

Laws like those in my state and those you site in Tennessee will hopefully change over time. More likely will be the fact that Brokers will begin to use the services available, and when all goes smoothly, no one's feathers get ruffled enough to invoke the antequated law.

Garrie O'Neill

OneCall

http://onecall.realtown.com