Valasie August

Well, Bernice...I do agree with one of the previous comments made that these were NOT your opinions but rather those of others quoted. But, nonetheless, you have struck a chord, eh? I think most Realtors get what is happening here but the reality is quite shocking to the system. Mediocrity, poor quality of service, lack of professionalism simply won't be brushed under the rug by the general public anymore. And this is a good thing. When we have sales associates working in the role of promoting the best interests of their clients and not performing that task, then they are doing the public AND the entire industry a disservice. We need to upgade the professionialism of our agents AND their supervisory brokers in order for our industry to deliver the valuable service to the consumer that they want and deserve. In order to accomplish all of this we have to begin with accepting the truth about where we are an industry and what we are willing to do about it. Valasie (Val) August Managing Broker Long and Foster Real Estate, Inc

Teresa... You are so totally right on. Of course, we have to rethink the compensation and not JUST the physical plant costs. We should have been doing the second in 2005 and here we are as an industry making the consolidation slowly and kicking and screaming all the way. I liken the commission issue to the 5 stages of grief. That number we often have in our heads is in most cases, dead. It has been for some time now. We should be moving into the final stage of grief so that we can get on with what has to be done to sustain the economic future of our business and we instead remain in Stage 1...Denial, and for a long four years now. In fact, many in the industry have the EMT people still working on the dead body. Look...are there some practicioners worth more. Absolutely. Are they few and far between. Definitely. Like you said, I will CHOOSE to pay top dollar if I have the money AND I respect and experience the value. If I want the value at a lower price by choice or need, I will find it. I am a coffee connoisseur and my office in the Top 10 for my firm, yet these days, I opt for brewing a pot of coffee when I am leaving the house because even that $2 cup adds up. Do I prefer to have the coffee made for me, yes. But look...I have to find ways to cut expenses and this is one such simple way. So...compare saving $2 a day to $5000 on a transaction or even more. This is the real world and this is how it looks now. Not how we want it to look but how it actually DOES look. And it can be very good for those who get who is driving the train. Valasie (Val) August Managing Broker Long and Foster Real Estate, Inc

Our industry is broken indeed and the retooling for certain should have been done in 2005 at the latest. But here we are...the two big questions are who will do it first and do it best. Valasie (Val) August Managing Broker Long and Foster Real Estate, Inc