Salary doesn't equal quality
Letter to the Editor
By Inman News, Friday, February 6, 2009.Re: 'End of the independent contractor' (Feb. 6)
Dear Editor:
Although I am in agreement that our profession has a long way to go toward improving the quality of real estate agents, I do not believe that mandating salaries is the answer.
The quality of a salaried agent would only be as high as the quality of the owner of the company. That is no different than the current system. The quality of an agent working on commissions is only as good as they want to be and as their current office expects, tolerates or allows.
Although a salary-based office has some advantages, so too does a commission-based office. The best way to improve the quality of people working in our industry is to require a higher standard of entry into the business with better, college-level pre-licensing education courses and a much higher standard of the number and quality of mandatory continuing-education courses.
There are many industries and companies where employees are all salary-based, and in all of those industries there are some incompetent, unprofessional and dishonest organizations and individuals.
In my opinion, paying salaries changes none of that -- not to mention that mandating this form of compensation could be considered restraint of trade.
Michael DelRose
RE/MAX First Realty
Watertown, Mass.
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Submitted by Joseph Bridges on February 6, 2009 - 10:12am.
Agreed that salaries wouldn't change the quality I believe that only education and standards of our industry can do that.
Every agent who does real estate reflects on our industry and the more that take it seriously the better off we all are.
I had an agent tell me just yesterday "I am glad that my husband has a real job". I told for me this is a "real" job. People can't look at this as a hobby or they will treat it as such.
My family and my brothers depend on real estate to feed our families so it is "very real". A salary doesn't make it any more real.
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Submitted by Bill Fooks on February 7, 2009 - 4:33am.
Bill Fooks
TFT realty Marketing Service
Warwick, RI http://www.fooksteam.com
If a salary makes the person a good agent;why are government workers such a pain in the but to deal with. Not all of them, but a good portion of them think I am bothering them when ever we try to get something done. I wonder if they would be better on some type of commission to make them appreciate the person who is really paying them.
I wonder, if the person has really thought the process through.
Submitted by Ken Lampton on February 7, 2009 - 8:37am.
Kudos to Michael Delrose for putting "on paper" what was in my head. Glad to see he is associated with RE/MAX.
One political issue: It seems to me the rural brokerages would lobby for easy licensing standards even if the big metro brokers tried to persuade the state legislatures to tighten up. Agricultural communities don't produce the high unit sales volume to support "top producing" agents. Agents in these communities are presumably more likely to be "part timers."
I've been told the state of Texas passed very strict licensing standards thirty years ago, which caused a significant decrease in the attendance at licensing shcools. And I've been told the rural brokers prevailed on the state to ease up when they realized they were going to have a hard time finding agents to work for them.
Can anyone speak with authority on this subject?
Submitted by Bill Pelot on February 9, 2009 - 8:03am.
Bill Pelot
Solid Source Realty, Inc.
10900 Crabapple Road
Roswell, GA 30075
I am in total agreement with Michael. If salary equals quality, why is Wall Street in such a mess? Why has G.E.'s shareholder value decreased by 64% under the failureship of Jeff Immelt, who, by the way has just been appointed to Obama's Economic Leadership Council. I'm feeling better about my tax dollars already.
Submitted by Bill Pelot on February 9, 2009 - 8:04am.
Bill Pelot
Solid Source Realty, Inc.
10900 Crabapple Road
Roswell, GA 30075