A controversial experiment and a new buyer-friendly app announcement this week took the real estate tech conversation to new heights. Our top comments brought bold perspectives to the table from readers who jumped into those territories of muddled gray with experience and heart.
It’s never too late to chime in.
Lou Rodriguez, P.A. · Commented on The ‘original sin’ at the heart of the real estate industry | Inman
Incompetence may be the original sin but it is not alone. It is almost always accompanied by unprofessionalism! These two combined conspire to keep people who sell real estate consistently ranking among society’s least respected professions.
And is there any wonder why the public is treated in this way when Realtors treat each other in the same incompetent and unprofessional way? I would venture to say that over 90 percent of Realtors have never picked up and read, from front to back, the National Association of Realtors Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice because if they had, they would know that there are 3 main parts listed; 1. Duties to Clients and Customers 2. Duties to the Public and 3. Duties to Realtors.
And if you read part 3 and then transact your business in the way it is outlined in the code of ethics, you would comport yourself like a professional!
Lastly, If you are to be successful in this business, I would disagree with Mr. Rand whom I highly respect, about sales being a very small part of our profession.
If you are providing a service, you need to find people to provide that service to. You need to be able to sell the service you provide to potential clients and/or connectors who may refer business to you so in one way or the other, we are all in sales.
However, that’s the extent of my salesmanship personally because during the course of a listing or buying presentation, I am a professional consultant and through that consultation is where the clients eyes are opened to just exactly how valuable my representation to them is.
Bill Griffin · Commented on NAR taps Phil Dunphy for ‘Modern Family’ Realtor placement | Inman
Future-tainement. Its not enough to be good or even great at your craft…in advertising it is beneficial to entertain and capture attention. Go viral. It’s the not the future; it’s the now. Stop taking entertainment literally and you will start to understand why this is an effective way to advertise and gain followers…which can turn to clients…which of course =’s ….closings.
Do cows really paint billboards telling us to “ETE MOO-re Chikan”? I bet you know exactly what brand i am refering to. Info-tain and you will gain.
Michael Joseph Maher · Commented on How (and why) to set ‘big, hairy, audacious’ goals | Inman
Welcome to the Generosity Generation! Instead of Big Hairy Audacious Goal today’s agent focuses on being a Big Happy Appreciative Giver.
I absolutely hate when trainers — who have no accountability to the new goal — tell people to double the goal (why not say triple or quadruple using the logic?)! This instantly belittles the goal the agent set – if they said 100 and trainer says 200, how significant does 100 look and feel? The trainer just smiles and goes on training his way down the road while the baggage of his words carry on in the agent’s mind. Let’s stop the nonsense of pooh-poohing on others’ goals and start helping them reach their goals.
Blessings,
Michael
Sarah Mercer Chatel · Commented on How (and why) to set ‘big, hairy, audacious’ goals | Inman
My team and I set a BHAG for 2016: help 50 families wtih their Real Estate needs and give back $50,000 to Give Back Homes.
Each of the team is totally committed to the goal. At the beginning of the year we all sort of choked when we told people our goal. As we got more confident in our affirmation, the more we attracted new business and referrals. Now, in mid May, we are well on our way having 25 closed transactions and donated $17,000. And none of us are millenials!
Jerome Reuben Realtor · Commented on Broker vs. bot: And the winner is… | Inman
Good read! I would liked to have seen if actually touring the homes would have made a difference in the rankings. I think humans carry biases and history into selections that I’m sure would have no bearing with the algorithms used by the bot.
Think of how an agent is aware of the shortcomings of a particular builder (cheaper materials, smaller closets, corky layouts, etc…). I agree that a great realtor with a good bot is likely the future. The bot will return great search results quickly and then the realtor will lay his/her knowledge of the builder, neighborhood, school district, commute and other random care-a-bouts of potential buyers to find the best home for their client.
Creed Smith · Works at QValue.net
Jerome, think of this as the means to keep potential buyer’s interest at your site during those six months they are experimenting and playing and not quite sure what they want yet. It’s your site or Zillow’s they will be at.
John Rebchook · Works at Denver Real Estate Watch
Jerome Reuben. While I did not tour the homes, I looked at all of the interior photos of each home before making my selection. I tried to make my experience as similar to someone searching for a home on the Internet as possible.
Hank Miller Team/Harry Norman Realtors · Commented on The ‘original sin’ at the heart of the real estate industry | Inman
Incompetence and deceit….two biggest issues I’ve seen over almost 30 years of appraisal and sales. The deceit part is sometimes “passive,” misrepresenting the “office” or the “company” as doing XYZ in volume while the agent had zero to do with it. They hide behind the brand/office/team simply to portray themselves as roductive/experienced when they are not. “Fake it ’til you make it” is common advice from brokers to agents; just look at a listing package.
Incompetence and the insultingly low bar to entry are never going away because the foundation of this industry is built upon fees. So it’s nice to talk about but practically speaking, this is never, ever, going to change. And as far as ethics and codes of conduct; please…another “gee whiz look at us being ethical” but I’ve found agents are either straight shooters or devious sacks. An ethics class or realtor after their name implies nothing to me or the public.
The public holds a simply horrific image of this industry; we are not even close to being considered professionals in the eyes of Joe Q. Public and that’s our own fault. The minority of agents out here that work and actually treat this job with the professionalism it deserves are impugned and degraded by majority of hacks that never make it over a year or two.
Nancy Tallman · Commented on Just give me 5 stars: The real deal with agent reviews | Inman
I have made the same observation, that I am receiving surveys for everything — how was my flight, the trip to the dentist, my experience at the car mechanic … and it makes me angry that the sender presumes I have 10 minutes to answer all of their questions.
If they spent the same resources training employees to provide good service, they wouldn’t need the questionnaires. With regard to real estate agents, there are so many sites (Zillow, LinkedIn, Google+, Realtor.com to name a few) that it presents the additional problem of where should your clients post reviews. I certainly don’t have the answers, but I appreciate your insights.
Cathy Hetico Perry · Commented on New app guarantees maximum purchase prices for buyers — or pays the difference | Inman
I have a problem with the comment that buyers’ agents in the U.S. have no incentive to negotiate for a lower price – how about the incentive of doing the right thing for the client to whom we have a fiduciary obligation with a signed buyer’s agency agreement?
I spend a lot of time with my buyers analyzing comps and determining what to offer on a property based on condition, amenities, competition, length of time on market, matched up with what the buyer is specifically looking for and their urgency in finding a home. I’m not sure all of that can be factored into an algorithm.
Tim Hammond · Commented on New app guarantees maximum purchase prices for buyers — or pays the difference | Inman
Cathy you’re absolutely right in terms of the effort you put in to advising buyers – in fact you just described precisely what our algorithm actually does. All those factors you consider manually, and many more, all contribute to how we determine the buyerprice.
For example, we know that if a property in x neighbourhood has been on the market at x price for x period of time, and the absorption ratio is x, then it is likely to sell for x amount below the asking price and this is the figure we guarantee as the maximum purchase price we believe our buyer should pay today in the current market.
Our negotiators use this ‘maximum buyerprice’ as the starting point and aim to negotiate an even lower price using their buyerprice training and negotiating skills. Our mission is to save our buyers as much money as possible on the property they are interested in. Whilst your motivation to help the buyer is admirable, our model actually gives you a financial motivation as well – the less the buyer pays, the more you make. Win, Win. Have a great day.