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Public Opion of Realtors

Created by:

Kris Coutant, Licensed Real Estate Agent, Hudson Falls, NY

Date: March 25, 2007, Number of Replies: 27

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I apologize for the long post, but this really bothers me. I realize that I am preaching to the choir on this one, but did anyone else read the article on MSN about what your Realtor isn't telling you (http://realestate.msn.com/Buying/Article_mw.aspx?cp-documentid=4220787)? The article did a so-so job explaining why we can't offer information/opinion on such things as schools, better neighborhoods etc. What I found quite disturbing was a link within the article to a message board (http://boards.msn.com/RealEstateboards/thread.aspx?ThreadID=171348) about do you trust your Realtor? Apparently it really hit home with a lot of folks. I read the post entirely this morning, when it was 7 pages long. Now about 8 hours later there are 15 pages. If anyone wants to wonder why we rate somewhere near attorneys and used car salesmen, read the experiences some of the people have had. Please don't immediately start bashing, some of the posts sound like they are from real winners (whinners??) and there is the stat that those who are happy tell 3 people, those who are unhappy tell 10. I probably would have just left it as some unhappy campers, but millions real estate transactions each year will have some ugliness. Except that our agency has a mall kiosk that I manned this afteroon. I spoke with a husband/wife who live about an hour away from me, in an area that I am not really familar with. Normally my response is to help them with some information (listings) only and explain that I really can't service them properly in an area that I am unfamilar with. This poor couple has had three bad experience in the past few months, just trying to buy a house. From the broker who didn't disclose he also owned the property, and only agreed to the contract to prevent his house from going into foreclosure (the extra time the bank gave once the contract was in place allowing him to get current and he refused to sell), to an agent that refused to schedule a prompt appointment to see a property (his agent called, and was told couldn't be shown for a week, when he called directly as just a buyer, agent drove right over- then refused to show it with his agent there). Agent number 3 showed them a house that not only had a mold issue, but also dead rats. When they chose to leave, the agent stood there and yelled at them that they had to see this house. While she was holding her infant child in its car seat... These poor folks had already complained to the local board, only to find that it is a good o' boys club, run by some of the same people. He felt so frustrated, I did tell him that I would help him, as long as he realized that I am not familar with that area, and would do my best to help him. I will also add that another agent in my office had a similar situation, a woman called our office looking to buy in the same town. She had called several agents there, and no one was even returning her calls. So this was not a one time issue. My question to all - what can we do to help the public's opinion of us? I am sure that no one in this community behaves in this manner, and we all act as the professionals that we are. How do we convey to the general public, that first of all if they are not happy with their realtor, that if the agent is not behaving in a professional. ethical manner that there are options. Letting them know how to fire the agent, to file complaints at the local level. As well as all the wonderful things realtors do- I am sure all of us give back to our communities in so many different ways. How do we let the general public know that we don't have horns, or sell snake oil? Again I do apologize for the length of this, but I guess that I am fortunate that we don't have these problems in the area I work. So I had never seen such ugliness. Being called a blood sucking creature that served no purpose was a first for me. Thank you for letting me rant, and I look forward to any suggestions out there.
Kris Coutant
Balfour Realty Inc
Serving Upstate NY - Warren, Saratoga
and Washington Counties
kriscoutant@roadrunner.com

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Lasirenappb@aol.com

Date: March 26, 2007

Chris,

I think that in order to clean up the profession, we have to start in our own backyards. I'm only in the business 3 years, but have had two transactions with unethical agents. Whenever I want to file a complaint, my manager advises me not to (along with almost every agent I discuss the problem with) because "we all have to work together and you never know when you'll be working with that agent and need their help in the future." And, heaven forbid the real estate commission comes in to investigate!!! They might find that you've used the wrong font size in an ad and fine you, too! In my area, agents know who the bad ones are and just shake their heads that the bad ones are still in business. I say that unless we start cleaning out the bad agents they will be around forever. I finally have a client who wants to file a complaint and I will stand behind that client and hopefully something will be done!

Diane Glander

e-PRO

AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com.

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Lisa Silva

Date: March 26, 2007

Kris: I'm just as frustrated as you are. I have been a REALTOR for about 12 months, and I'm ready to quit. It seems like every time I meet a potential client, (a stranger), I am constantly having to prove myself... having to prove my value... having to prove my worth... I'm sick and tired of getting psychologically "beat up" by potential clients. Kris, than you for writing this post. I have often thought, "What am I doing wrong? Why is it so hard to get customers? What is wrong with me?" By writing this post, you have opened my eyes. I'm not doing anything wrong. It's a problem that is much bigger than just little ol' me. Maybe it's the nature of the business. I don't know how to change the public's opinion of us. Maybe the answer for me is - don't try to change their opinion. I have no control over what 50,000 other REALTORS are doing. I only have control over me. I don't work for the money, or my company, or my family, or myself... I work for a power far bigger than that. I wish everyone did. Lisa from Phoenix

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R.i." butch" Kaske, cfp, crs, dtm Licensed Real Estate Broker, San Marino, CA

Date: March 26, 2007

RE: The public's opinion of us: A few years ago a letter to the editor was published from this woman. The gist of her letter was as follows: I have lived in San Diego all my life and I can't afford to buy a home here because of "all the Fat Cat real estate brokers and investors who have driven up the prices in the San Diego area!" I responded with a letter to the editor: To the poor lady who can't afford to buy a home in San Diego-- ALL she had to do was look at last week's Super Bowl (when it was in San Diego) and notice the weather! (It was a usual GORGEOUS San Diego day!) and all the people back East who were up to their waist in snow !That is one of the reason the prices are so high--this area is a WONDERFUL place to live with climate as nice as you can find in the USA. Sure we have overcrowded freeways and all the associated problems with a larger and growing population BUT don't blame the investors and real estate brokers because the prices are more than she can afford!

R.I."Butch" Kaske, CFP, CRS, DTM 2006-2007 California Civitan District Governor

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Melina Tomson Licensed Real Estate Broker, OR

Date: March 26, 2007

In my previous life, before real estate, I was a child and family therapist. I was surprised when I changed industries at the perception of agents, but quite frankly, some of it is quite deserved. I was stunned at the lack of education and training of some agents. (Nothing like getting a legal document or email with spelling errors!) Like all industries, there are people that are incredible and people that are horrible. The problem with real estate is that people are trusting agents with a huge financial transaction, and so there is little tolerance for error. The basic gist I get from disgruntled clients, who have switched to me, is that their agent was not honest from the beginning. How many agents give away a free CMA on a house they have never been inside? I have walked into homes in nice neighborhoods that the pet odor and smoke odor from the home was so bad it sold for $40,000 less than comps would indicate it would. Soâ�¦how did this agent help the perception that agents are honest, and donâ��t â��buy listingsâ�� with an over estimate like that?? I personally donâ��t give away my time with free CMAâ��s, and most sellerâ��s respect that. Those that donâ��t arenâ��t clients I want. In my opinion, the problem lies with brokerages. Since all new agents have to have a principal broker, it really lies with those brokers to clean up their agencies. When brokerages hire people and don't adequately supervise or train them, it hurts everyone. As long as brokerages hire agents that "do real estate on the side," fail to disclose business practices (like not showing low commission listings), and not adequately train newbies, then this problem will always exist. I can tell just by which agency a real estate agent works for, whether I am going to work with a professional agent or not. It is going to take a lot of time for people to elevate their opinion of real estate agents. If you want to stay in this industry, then you have to get used to the fact that some people will not have a high opinion of you, until they work with you. Then you can change their mind and you help them to understand your value! Melina Tomson, MS ABR, e-PRO Tomson Burnham, llc 503-371-6515 503-588-1628

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Michelle Oliver, Orlando, FL

Date: March 26, 2007

I have been an agent for a little over a year and a half. It is true that some people, not all, have a low opinion of Realtors. To be honest, until I became one, I did not realize the amount of work that went into showing and listing property. I think one of the best ways to raise people's opinion of us is to be honest in all of our dealings. I have clients that have been "stung" by other Realtors and she told me that the only Realtor who has ever been honest with her is me. That made me feel great. Honesty may not always be what the client wants to hear (for instance their house isn't worth what they thought) but I have found that in the end, it earns you the respect of your clients. It is sad to hear how other Realtors have treated clients. I try to always remember to treat people the way I would want to be treated.

I have also, unfortunately, had client who had a complete misunderstanding of what our job is. One of my first clients called me a "thief" because I didn't tell her the current owners of a home had only owned it 17 months. As it turns out I did continue to work with these buyers and found them a home that they fell in love with. We have to remember that the sale and/or purchase of a home is packed with emotions and sometimes we are the ones those emotions are targeted at. I just continued to do my best for them and it worked out because I realized that the outburst from the client was mostly emotional.

Also, I think it would help if people knew the amount of time it takes to prepare for showings, to enter listings, etc. Most people think, like I did, that it only takes a couple of minutes to call and set up a showing and that's all the time the Realtor has invested. Maybe if we kept track of how much time it takes and reported that to our local boards or local newspapers, etc.

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Dee Miller, IA

Date: March 26, 2007

If you don't stand up and file a complaint how is anything going to get better.
I am enraged all the time about things agents in my area have said and done
with their clients. I always tell these people to call the company broker, our
local board and the Iowa Association of Realtors. If we want to be viewed as
professionals with integrity than all of us need to be proud of our profession
and stand up for it. I would really question a broker who says to say nothing.
Yes, we do have to work with everyone and there is always 2 sides to every
story but burying our head in the sand is not the thing to do!!!!

Dee Miller

--
RE/MAX REAL ESTATE CENTRE
1121 Shirken Drive, PO Box 189
Iowa City, Ia 52244
Licensed to sell Real Estate in
Iowa
(319)631-1979

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Pat@HallesyHouse.com

Date: March 26, 2007

Diane Glander said:

I think that in order to clean up the profession, we have to start in our own backyards. . . . . . ..

How many of your associations make their judgments on ethics complaints public? Mine doesn’t. In order to improve our image in the public’s eye, we need to lobby our associations to make ethics violations public. I’m not talking just accusations here, I’m talking about when your board’s ethics committee finds someone in violation of the COE and decides that the Realtor in question should be fined, attend further ethics training etc. I’d be willing to bet that if someone were to be found in violation that the penalties would be a little harsher (no more slaps on the wrist because nobody has access to what occurred).

If someone is unethical, they are going to be that way no matter how many classes they have to attend. Start hitting them in the wallet and in plain view of the public and some of them will straighten out their act and others will just lose business and fade away.

Pat Hallesy, ABR, GRI, e-PRO

Associate Broker

Keller Williams Realty

Fredericksburg VA 22401

¡Se Habla Español!

Direct: 540-736-7402

Cell: 540-848-0040

Fax: 540-736-4286

Search for your next home online at www.HallesyHouse.com

Virginia License # 0225057816

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Carolyne L Licensed Real Estate Broker

Date: March 26, 2007

Yes. Michelle. No one seems to want to talk about it, out in the open. I offered my articles to our local small town newspaper editorial commentary. They declined due to being afraid to offend other agents who then would not advertise with them, by having my name signed to the articles. All very political. They did offer that if I wanted to buy space to run the articles, they might think about doing an advertorial sort of arrangement maybe. Next. No thanks.

I currently have a good example: Five phone numbers to call, in rotation, until "someone" is located, so we can book a viewing appt. on a listing. No key, no lockbox. Big "bad" dog who has to be removed from the premises for each showing. House on market four months. Sellers with huge expectations who have a habit of misinterpreting nearly all comments. House needs lots of work. Sellers flat out don't believe it. Viewing after viewing after viewing; many turned down. Not convenient. Sellers bought another home out of town months ago and closed on it.

An agent's nightmare. I'm not sure that a large franchise company could deal with all the restrictions we must deal with, just to get an appt. booked. And, they truly do not believe anything I've said as to why their home has not yet sold.

In another case, we have had more than 254 phone calls and messages for a listing; on the market several months. Unusual property. People are shocked at the price. Its uniqueness brings the calls. Most of those callers do not speak English and that makes it extremely difficult to carry on a conversation. Price: 'x' - then they hang up in most cases. I feel sorry that I cannot communicate with the callers.

Then we have the callers on another property who insist that I drop everything and go "right now" to show them a listing; they, too, almost speak no English. Do they already have an agent? No; always deal with the listing agent. Why? Because the listing agent will give them back half of the commission. Not this listing agent. Thanks for calling. Bye now!

Don't misunderstand. I love everyone. But our "job," and a job it is, is getting more and more difficult, more and more complicated - and to add insult to injury there is the language barrier. What are we to do?

"Going where tomorrow is - hope to see you there." Carolyne

Proudly putting my name to my work :
CAROLYNE Realty Corp. Real Estate Brokerage
Brampton real estate = http://www.carolyne.com
http://www.TechOrganizer.com = http://www.MyBackUpBook.com/

----- Original Message -----
From: Michelle Oliver
To: carolyne@carolyne.com
Sent: Monday, March 26, 2007 8:26 PM
Subject: RealTalk: Public Opion of Realtors ID0025BB

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Subject: Public Opion of Realtors
Author: Michelle Oliver (michelle@listrightrealty.com)
Date: March 26th, 2007, 12:30 PM PST
ID: 0025BB
I have been an agent for a little over a year and a half. It is true that some people, not all, have a low opinion of Realtors. To be honest, until I became one, I did not realize the amount of work that went into showing and listing property. I think one of the best ways to raise people's opinion of us is to be honest in all of our dealings. I have clients that have been "stung" by other Realtors and she told me that the only Realtor who has ever been honest with her is me. That made me feel great. Honesty may not always be what the client wants to hear (for instance their house isn't worth what they thought) but I have found that in the end, it earns you the respect of your clients. It is sad to hear how other Realtors have treated clients. I try to always remember to treat people the way I would want to be treated.
I have also, unfortunately, had client who had a complete misunderstanding of what our job is. One of my first clients called me a "thief" because I didn't tell her the current owners of a home had only owned it 17 months. As it turns out I did continue to work with these buyers and found them a home that they fell in love with. We have to remember that the sale and/or purchase of a home is packed with emotions and sometimes we are the ones those emotions are targeted at. I just continued to do my best for them and it worked out because I realized that the outburst from the client was mostly emotional.
Also, I think it would help if people knew the amount of time it takes to prepare for showings, to enter listings, etc. Most people think, like I did, that it only takes a couple of minutes to call and set up a showing and that's all the time the Realtor has invested. Maybe if we kept track of how much time it takes and reported that to our local boards or local newspapers, etc.

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Terry Crook Licensed Real Estate Agent, Chapel Hill

Date: March 26, 2007

Ma'am, get over it! We are in a SERVICE business & our prospects/customers/clients are fully entitled to ask us what are we going to do for them!
If you stay in the RE business, you will find yourself illustrating your value to & benefits for many prospects & others throughout your career. Respect & performance recognition are earned, not a given with the license! Similarly, it is well to ignore the slings & arrows offered by various media hacks & wannabe critics who are more interested in selling magazines or their punditry than in education the public of the realities of our profession.

At 08:08 PM 3/26/2007, Lisa, ePro from Phoenix, wrote:

Kris: I'm just as frustrated as you are. I have been a REALTOR for about 12 months, and I'm ready to quit. It seems like every time I meet a potential client, (a stranger), I am constantly having to prove myself... having to prove my value... having to prove my worth... I'm sick and tired of getting psychologically "beat up" by potential clients. <snip>

Terry Crook, CBR, CRS, GRI, JIM 22, WW 22 , BB 22, GORT ('96), CFC, RTPFSE, OTD
The Crook in Real Estate! Mailto:tcrook@realtor.com
Coldwell Banker Realty Center, Chapel Hill, NC 27516 NC Lic#178364
http://www.ChapelHillHomes.net or http://www.TerryCrook.com

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