I have worked in number of businesses where discounters, direct sellers, and other work around – short cut business models were were going to take over the market and in every instance, companies that focus on: mastering their craft, building strong customer relationships, manage expenses usually come out better off when the “weeing out” caused by a recession or market shift is done.

To just complain without taking some action is counter-productive.

Personally, I am glad we have NAR lobbyists to monitor what’s going on in Congress. If it wasn’t for the NAR, we probably would have lost the tax deduction for home ownership years ago.

If we didn’t have a professional trade association to belong to, we would not be “professionals”. Professionals have a certain and specific course of education, a set of rules or code of ethics and belong to an organization specifically for their members. That is the definition of “professional”. Just because you don’t agree with certain policies doesn’t make them “bad”. If you were not a member of the NAR, you would not be a “real estate professionals” or REALTOR.

There is no other organization for real estate professionals. So rather than starting a new one, why not try to work from within to make the changes you think are necessary.

Agents should strive to be competent real estate advisors instead of simply competent real estate prospectors. Agents should respect the intelligence of their clients, rather than attempt to insult that intelligence with aggressive closing techniques. I always preach that agents should appreciate the significant commissions paid by their clients, rather than complain that they, themselves, are not appreciated.

At a recent company sponsored training class using MAR and NAR statistics, I heard about a public opinion poll that had rated real estate agents only one spot ahead of used car salesmen in trustworthiness and likeability. At first I wanted to deny the results. “Show me proof of this poll!” I very quickly realized, however, that the existence of this poll was irrelevant. If such an idea could remain alive and circulate freely through the general public without being quashed, it’s clearly not so far-fetched.
I vowed to do whatever I could to separate myself from “them.” I created a slogan that let people know they could trust me to serve them. And I created a mission statement that captured the essence of my business philosophy. “Re-defining the residential real estate experience through integrity, market knowledge, and professionalism.”
Most importantly, I sought to understand precisely which behaviors led to the public’s perception of my chosen path. In any service industry, the best way to learn how to improve one’s performance and one’s image is by understanding where we fall short. I use the term “we” to include all professionals working in a given field, because customers tend to lump various types of professionals together in terms of their characteristics (think “postal employee”), without regard for the natural tendencies that differ from person to person.
Very early on in the relationship I like to have a discussion with my clients about what sorts of experiences they’ve had with Realtors in the past, if any. Have you worked with a Realtor before? To buy or sell? Tell me about your agent. Were you pleased you used them? Why aren’t you using them for this purchase/sale?
I’ve interviewed hundreds of people on this topic and few common complaints surface again and again.
Home buyers most often report that their agent “didn’t listen” to them with regard to property characteristics. “We told him we wanted a house with a large kitchen, but he kept showing us houses with small, galley-style kitchens!” Or “We said our home MUST be in a certain community, but he continued to send us property listings for homes in other areas! He didn’t listen to us!” Many of these buyers ended up ditching their agents to take their searches into their own hands.
Hands-down, the most common complaint among home sellers is, “My agent took my listing and I never heard from her again, except to suggest price reductions! I have no idea what she was doing to sell my house!”
Both buyers and sellers commonly report that their agent didn’t negotiate as strongly as they thought they should have, or that a ‘mistake’ in the contract paperwork caused a negative financial impact (e.g. “He didn’t tell us that our flat-panel big screen TV was considered a fixture and had to convey with the house!”).
Unfortunately, the sales cycle is an emotionally-charged time for all parties, so any problem, either real or perceived, is magnified. Realtors are paid handsomely for their expertise and nobody likes to feel like they’ve overpaid and been underserved.
Back to my original question, why do people hate real estate agents? I believe it boils down to a few key reasons, all centered around consistency and quality:
• Low barriers to entry and perception of ‘easy money’ have flooded the market with agents, resulting in erratic service at best.
• There are no standardized systems for running a real estate business – agents are independent contractors who are responsible for developing their own business and service models. This results in inconsistent (often incompetent!) service because it’s beyond their expertise to build them.
• There are no systematic mechanisms in place to regulate real estate agent performance – we’re free to practice at any level of competence as long as we retain our licenses, which involves 12 hours of continuing education training every 4 years and not running afoul of the law. Only public complaints filed with the Department of Real Estate or legal troubles separate the professionals from the rest. Otherwise, we all look the same.
I welcome any questions, comments or cheap shots to david.pinelli@gmail.com

Why do you have such a stick up your ass about any real estate business model that fits outside of yours?