Jeff Takle

Shazam. -Jeff Takle www.RentingYourHome.com - Landlords advertise to 20+ websites, run credit, collect rents, and manage maintenance at 60% savings.

BIG MISTAKE The argument isn't about what you "deserve" to make or whether one structure is better than another. The issue is this: statistically, agents have to do 40% more deals this year than they did four years ago to make the same take home pay. The discussion is how you can make a healthy profit in the next 10-20 years. Percentage commission? Ok. Flat fee? Ok. We SHOULD be talking about how to make MORE money in LESS time -- right now, all forces are pushing the industry in the other direction. Instead, we're pointing fingers to fellow deckhands on a sinking ship. Ahem. **Submitted by Rob Aubrey on February 16, 2009 - 5:43am. "This is not a new thing, it comes up every cycle shift." Except, Rob, that the last time this happened, people had no alternatives. Customers had no choice if they wanted to see what properties are on the market. Now they do. They had no way to run a CMA. Now they do. They had no access to legal forms, etc. etc. Now they do. The game has, because of the Internet & computer & info explosion, fundamentally changed. ****Chad Clement - thanks for the first, well thought out and presented defense for 6 percent. I think you're wrong, but regardless, you used something sane to back your argument up. Thanks. -Jeff Takle www.RentingYourHome.com - Landlords advertise to 20+ websites, run credit, collect rents, and manage maintenance at 60% savings.

Kaye, One main point you pass over, though, is why there is an upsurge of criticism in the past few years. While I totally agree that criticism without workable alternatives is not helpful...in fact, it's annoying...the current criticism identifies a growing mismatch in the marketplace. I'll take the easiest example: 10 years ago, if a consumer wanted to see what homes were on the market, they had no choice but to approach an agent. Agents held a paper binder with that week's listings; there were no alternatives. Consumers paid for that service as part of their 6 percent. Today, of course, listings are everywhere. And, regardless of whether Zillow is accurate or not, so are valuation tools. These value propositions were built into the agent compensation model that "justified" 6 percent. Realogy reported in their 2008 10-k that their global commission rates have dropped from 6 percent to 4.97 percent in the past two years (across 500,000+ agents). THAT loss is not recoverable in my opinion because it reflects the reduced value proposition that agents now offer...agents simply don't uniquely provide access to listings or valuations from the customer perspective, among other services also made obsolete in the past 4 years. So, while your argument against complainers is accurate, the argument that they're complaining because they don't see an agent's value is incorrect. They ARE seeing the value -- which is why they still pay 5 percent...they're complaining because agents are still pushing for a 6 percent that simply isn't justified any more. -Jeff Takle, author of "Revolution: How the Real Estate Agent Business Has Changed Forever", due out in summer 2009. Have a unique perspective? Email me-I'm interviewing unique biz models and industry experts through April. Owner, www.RentingYourHome.com - Landlords advertise to 20+ websites, run credit, collect rents, and manage maintenance at 60% savings.