'Full-service' should live up to the name
Letter to the Editor
By Inman News, Thursday, February 19, 2009.Re: 'A fee-for-service future' (Feb. 18)
Dear Editor:
The problem today arises that you have a lot of folks calling themselves real estate agents, yet they don't provide all the services that we expect of a full-service agent.
In other words, there is a lot of incompetence. The public has come to realize this and they are going with discount brokers rather than full-service because they don't want to pay for services they are not getting.
Brokers are going for quantity rather than quality. Too many agents are in this profession for money, only never giving a thought that they are to provide a service.
In the last two weeks I have contacted three agents via Realtor.com for information on income property I had an interest in. Two never responded and the third said they would get the information I requested, yet I have never received the requested information or a follow-up call.
Boyd McClean
Loucks Management
Alamogordo, N.M.
***
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Submitted by Sandra Mathewson on February 19, 2009 - 6:58am.
Boyd,
I think you are applying the term "full service" before there is any contractural relationship which is where full service comes in.
If you are contacting agents through an internet site, you are "inquiring". I receive inquiries all the time, I send the information, sometimes expensive postage and never hear from these people again.
Why don't you contact these agents again and tell them you want to sign a "Buyer Broker Agreement" and see what the reaction is?
Submitted by John Rakoci on February 19, 2009 - 7:10am.
Sandra - right on! I or an assistant will send listings and general info to those inquiries. I do not have time to do the ground work for another Realtor the customer decides is closer or a relative. Being along the Carolina coasts a lot of tire-kickers with no intention of buying call or email. Those that are serious get the time they need and deserve.
Submitted by REALonomics .net on February 19, 2009 - 8:00am.
Boyd,
Two statements in your Letter to the Editor ring our bell:
"...folks calling themselves real estate agents."
AND
"...there is a lot of incompetence."
Despite all of the internal rhetoric that fills the ears of the industry participants, ours is an industry with too many participants, too little standards-based brokerage firms and far, far too little high level business training.
According to our analysis, the industry can only adequately support about 300,000 agents and brokers nationally.
During the market run up we, that's us, the industry, allowed about 250,000 people to flood into the industry as what you term "folks calling themselves real estate agents."
Of course, at the time, we loved it because it filled the failing bricks and mortar operations giving us a false sense of financial security. Transactions were closing at a record pace, people were flipping real estate like buttermilk pancakes and million dollar producers were a dime a dozen.
Little did we know that our national vision, hiring models and our business models were taking on huge amounts of water and like the unsinkable Titanic we were so self deluded that thousands of industry participants now find themselves in the cold, choppy waters clinging to lifejackets that may not save them.
I'm note even certain we can still define the phrase "full service." Therefore, you are correct, the consumer ("public") is seeking alternatives and only seeks us out, many times, as a necessary last step in the process of investing in or divesting of real property.
Nice perception and dead on!
Donald Teel - Founder
e-Partner
www.ePartnerUSA.com
REALonomics
www.realonomics.net
877-380-1000
Submitted by Larry Whited Sr. on February 19, 2009 - 9:33am.
Well said!
Larry A. Whited, Sr., CRB, CRS, GRI
President & Founder
www.WebMLS.net & www.maxUnet.com
P.O. Box 757
West Chester Ohio 45071
Cell - (513) 543-2727 Fax - (513) 297-7497
Submitted by Mark Brian on February 26, 2009 - 1:57pm.
I hate that your attempts to contact the REALTORS thru Realtor.com seem to have gone unanswered. Are you sure the message made it to the people you were trying to contact? But assuming the agents did receive the question lets consider:
Somebody brought up an interesting point. Tire kickers was the phrase used. We are all tire kickers at some point and I see nothing wrong with asking questions. If I am a serious buyer, then I would send the message again OR even try calling the agent.
I do not see the need for someone to have to sign a Buyer Broker Agreement just to get a simple answer. It seems attitudes such as this are why many dislike our profession. If my job is to sell my clients property, that means answering questions. Weird questions, uninformed questions, deep thoughtful questions, honestly interested but unsure questions. All questions answered in a timely manner, assuming I get the questions from Realtor.com, which I have no faith in but that is another story.
If the questions that Boyd have go unanswered, then he will never buy the property he inquired about. By not making it easier for Boyd to purchase it by answering a question, the agent failed his duties. The question that Boyd had may have been the straw that broke the camel's back, as it were, regarding whether or not he would make an offer. But the seller will not see an offer from Boyd since the agent never took the time to answer.
The downturn in the market will hopefully drive out of the business the people that got into it for what they saw as easy money, leaving only professionals that care about the people that hired them. Not people that only care about the almighty dollar but people that care about doing the right thing, helping others achieve whatever their goals are regarding real estate.
Mark Brian
VIEW SOUTH CAROLINA REAL ESTATE
Submitted by Greg Salera on February 26, 2009 - 4:27pm.
What large group of people are going to discount brokerages because they are not getting the service expected from a full service agency? In my market it's the discounters that have all closed up shop during the downturn, including Assist2Sell and FSBO.com. We never had a HelpUSell. Please back up your statement as to who the public is flocking to. I see them flocking to full service brokerages who are experts in their local market and who will do more to get homes sold during the downturn. Many of the people I meet never consider the thought of going it without a full service agent. Most have heard horror stories of going it alone.
Realtor.com offers contact info for featured agent listings. The agent pays a premium to have their contact info posted onto the listing. If those agents who are paying to be a featured agent aren't taking the time to return your call it's their loss in many ways. Returning a phone call is a reasonable expection of consumers and they should be able to ask questions without being represented. Please don't speak for all Realtors when you claim they do not return calls. Most of us do.
Greg Salera
Partners Real Estate
9300-A Old Keene Mill Rd
Burke, VA 22015
www.virginiarealtyservices.com
Submitted by Deede Wockenfuss on March 1, 2009 - 4:55pm.
Greg Salera says,
"In my market it's the discounters that have all closed up shop during the downturn, including Assist2Sell and FSBO.com. We never had a HelpUSell. Please back up your statement as to who the public is flocking to."
Greg, you are right. Many of us top producing agents attempted to open and operate a 'discount company' model in the 'go-go' times. I can honestly state that at my discount company, we provided as much 'full service' and more than most of the 'trads'. However, those models are 'volume' based. Without the volume to support the discount prices, the discount franchiser closes up shop and reopens as a 'niche' model offering whatever type of commission structure works best for the client.
Please don't 'discount the discounters' who are no longer operating via that model. Those guys are 'smart cookies'. They're not 'gone', they've just moved to greener pastures.
Deede Wockenfuss
CybrSold Concepts
A Frugal Virtual Real Estate Company
480-248-9500
http://www.CybrSold.Com