RealTown's RealTalk

Jack,

I'm not sure where you got the impression we disagreed here, but I don't think we do.  What I was referring to was the "equating" of Consulting to Fee for Service in the title of this string, which I think is very misleading and might discourage curiosity about the Consulting model itself....and I know that's certainly not what we want (both for the agents AND for their clients)   As I wrote in the post that challenged the "a.k.a." in the title:

""Consulting is, at its core, about CHOICES and about TRANSPARENCY. Could ONE of those choices include fees for particular services? Absolutely. Just a "commission paid at the close of escrow" can be one of those choices."

My intent was to simply make the distinction that Fee for Service is not the same thing as Consulting (which is what the title of this string implies when it says "a.k.a.").  Charging fees (whether for a task, bundles of tasks, servicing of events, as a flat rate, etc.) can certainly be among the options that a Consultant offers...just as Commission after close of sale can be an option, or a "shared risk" approach which might well reduce the total charge with up front payments reducing the agent's "risk".

And that was my point as well in saying "Consulting is a mindset, not a method of payment".  I think many agents have not ventured into adapting consulting into their business because they erroneously believe they will no longer be able offer "commission paid at closing".  As a Consultant, there are many methods of compensation...commission is simply "one of them" rather than the only one. 

Fred Pickard wrote:In answer to Merv's question on state by state laws -
Pennsylvania only allows the Broker of Record to "hold themselves" (advertise) that they are a real estate consultant. Salespersons and Broker -Associates cannot. In fact, the state has fined a few people over the years for advertising this way.

Of course, as one of the original colonies, some of our laws go back the the day William Penn stepped off a boat at the Delaware River landing and said "Ben Franklin will be here in 120 years. I don't want him to be a consultant."

Just to set the record straight please read Sub chapter B General provisions Section 201 Definitions. You will find that the only Difference between a Broker of record, Associate broker and Broker is The broker can be the same person who owns and is the Broker of record. The broker can be a company which is run by a non-owner broker of record and last is the Associate broker who has no management duties However all three hold and test and take the same CE and a broker of record and Associate broker may advertise as a consultant. read the regs for your self they are on line to the world.

Philip J. Cunningham Sr.e-pro Joseph Solomon Realtors 304 Huntingdon Pike Rockledge,PA 19046 http://GreatPaRealEstate.com Office 215-379-1722 Fax 215-379-1622 E-Mail PhilCunningham2004@yahoo.com