Realty Rag

My photo
Innovator of Online Real Estate Ideas. What's Cool, What's New, What Works & What Doesn't. Real Estate Effeciencies & The Inefficient Traditional Dinosaur.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Response to "Why Your Worth It" Realtor Magazine

Response to "Why You're Worth It"
Article in Realtor Magazine
by Elyse Umlauf-Garneau
February 2007 Realtor Magazine

Is it NAR's job or charter to try to help the 90% of realtors on how to justify their commissions by promoting that they defend their companies inefficient and expensive ways of conducting business?

I thought it was individual realtors that make up NAR's membership, and not the real estate companies they work for. My dues should not pay for how agents should justify to sellers why they chose to work where they did.

If they need to justify their offices inefficiencies such as premium large offices, high paid personnel, and the costs of maintaining hordes of agents that average 3 transactions a year by charging consumers the fees they do, then they should develop their own plan internally for doing so. Not by using my membership fees in articles as this that encourage misleading consumers.

Professionals that help sellers price homes correctly and use efficient low cost marketing plans is what sells homes in a shorter period of time, and therefore always nets the Seller the most every time. This is in the Sellers best interest, and also the agents best interest, and what consumers are demanding. Not what this article points out by telling sellers that since their home will sit on the market longer, is one reason why I need to charge you more!

Obviously this article is for the 90% of realtors that have no clue in what they are worth and work for companies that set policy on what to charge which is not based on the proficiency of the agent what so ever.

I am appalled that my due's are being used to tell these realtors to mislead sellers with statements such as "History has taught us that in every profession, the people who charge less 'typically' give less service because they have less revenue to actually fund those services".

History in fact shows that those new to a profession, or those less educated get paid less, or those with less experience get less. Seeing this article is geared for the 90% of realtors that fit this description I don't see the correlation for justifying higher fees.

Also history has shown us just the opposite. Need I point out Southwest Airlines, Wal Mart, Home Depot and Lowes that have great service and lower costs. McDonalds is a huge success...how would this author explain this? What about expedia.com wiping out the entire travel agent business? Has anyone rented a car from Hertz lately? Avis certainly tries harder and gives better service and fees.

Further this approach is demeaning to the consumer, who "typically" are much smarter than this author would give them credit for. They are the same ones that use expedia or priceline to travel, and home depot for hardware and lumber. If an agent gave me the pitch this article teaches I would tell that agent they are working for the wrong company, if that is all they get paid at the end of the day, as it is the agent I am hiring.

How do realtors explain to sellers that 90% of realtors cannot explain agency proficiently, none the less open lock boxes on their own, and which are "typically" working for companies that expect the highest fees? That would be an article I would applaud.

How about: "History has taught us that in every profession, the people that charge less are typically the most efficient at what they do and therefore do a lot of business and actually have more revenue to give you superior service at a fair price." This is more the truth.

I know, how about an article that teaches the realtors that they are in business for themselves and consumers clearly are not wanting to pay for the "fat" any longer, and history shows that by doing nothing about it other than trying to explain why such as this article preaches, are all doomed like the way travel agent has gone.

How about an article that teaches realtors that to be a top producer, it is not the company behind them that makes it happen, and that "typically" the fat can be eliminated by working on their own or for a low fat company and by learning how to be highly proficient, educated, and efficient they can as a real estate professional charge fair fees they are truly worth and be a huge success.

Thank You
Jeffrey Bastress
978-337-9745 cell
jeffrey.bastress@startpoint.com

1 comment:

Jim Ricker said...

This magazine you talk about sounds alot like something that CBRB would come up with to help justify their "fees", plain and simple.

In my opinion, large offices are doomed. Smart, visionary agents understand that you can better serve the client by saving them money while streamlining the transaction through technology and communication.