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In case any others misunderstood my intent….

29 September 2006 by Archives 12 views View Comments

I received an email from a displeased reader who
also happens to be in the discount brokerage business regarding an article I
wrote that was published on Broker Agents News and this blog titled, “Are
you worth your commission.”

In case any others misunderstood
my intent, I thought I’d take this time to elaborate a bit more.

Discount brokers
serve a great space in our industry, and there should be as in any other
business, a model to serve everyone’s needs. My comment is “getting what
you pay for” was directed to any company that offers real estate services
and the consumer is not aware of what they are getting, are unhappy as a result
of their expectations not being met, be it discount or otherwise.“? This is extremely glaring in the number of consumer

grievances and
complaints filed every day with state and local associations, for which I sit
on several boards. As occurs in many business service models, real hard costs
drive services and our studies indicate that in almost every instance of a
palette of real estate services that most agents are NOT aware of what their
actual costs for services are, and in many cases are not running efficient
businesses, and the agent or company can’t or doesn’t provide what the customer
expects, and ultimately their customers don’t get what they are expecting or
paying for….regardless of the service model of the company. In the case of
companies that offer some or partial services the consumer needs to know what
they are getting in ANY service, real estate or other, exactly what the
agreement for services encompasses, and we’d have a lot less lawsuits and
grievances filed which incidentally are on the rise from those associations
that I consult with. In any case, those diligent souls who provide good
services and get paid commensurate with those services will prevail.“? I apologize for any lack of clarity or
confusion I may have caused, and couldn’t agree with you more! I am not
affiliated with any real estate company models, and have no need to criticize
any particular service or company, but will champion people like yourself who
offer good honest services for compensation. There are hundreds of small
services across our country today“? that
are offering real estate services that aren’t even realtors, which was the point
of my article. They adhere to no Code of Ethics and no training, but the consumer
doesn’t understand what questions to ask to “list” their property on
a website. As you know the FSBO programs are prolific at this time in many
areas, and the consumers are not getting what they expect.

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  • Your article titled, "Are you worth your commission" was clear and to the point.
    I have had numerous complaints from clients and consumers who used brokers and/or agents who agreed to charge less commission to get the listing. These very clients later called me very distressed because 'they were getting what they paid for' and very displeased as well as feeling deceived. No matter what our business is we really need to give a full disclosure to the client of what they can and cannot expect for the level of services they are paying for. That would clear it up for them and put the ball in their court. Here is an example: I did a listing presentation for a client who who had a luxury home. She enjoyed the presentation and my level of services to offer her in the real estate industry. I told her I would need to charge her 6% commission for the listing. She phoned me three days later to ask if I could charge her 4% rather than 6% and I said "no" and explained why. She then told me she would have to go with a different company who had agreed to charge her 4% to list and sell her home. I graciously told her to do what was right for her and no hard feelings at all. Three months later this same woman called me highly distressed because she had phoned her 4% realtor and asked if they were advertising her home and when were they planing to do an open house? She stated the agent replied, well we don't advertise except adding your listing on the MLS, realtor.com and a sign in your yard. Along with the agreement to a 4% listing they don't do open houses either. She was unaware of this and did not know to ask these important questions before she signed on to the 4% listing agreement. She then learned that it was indeed her responsibility for having choosen that route and I told her, 'you were getting what you were willing to pay for even though you were unaware of the lack of services involved. And the agent might have been forthright in what you could expect for the 4% listing agreement'. FSBO listings have become large in the real estate market. I have asked several of these people,"what made you choose FSBO rather than a real estate agent to help you achieve the sell of your home"? The answer is pretty much the same -- I don't want to get taken and I don't want to pay for services I know I won't get. Thousands of dollars in commission is on the line and I don't trust that my best interest is put forward in an agents mind.--
    To create the best interest and trust in a client realtor relationship, it is best to be honest and upfront with your services and fees even if you walk away with no listing, they will eventually learn that they can trust you in your profession.
    Lee
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