I wrote a few months ago at the Legislative & Education Conference that I was impressed with what VAR was doing, and that I was a converted cynic. I mean that more than ever, and I hope you’ll find opportunities to get involved with VAR as well. And maybe we’ll see you at the next BloggerCon, scheduled for the state conference scheduled for September 24-28!
This is a repost of something I did on NRVLiving.Typepad.com earlier this afternoon … I thought it appropriate for VARBuzz.com, as maybe it’s a reminder of what our role really IS in the transaction?
Mariana Wagner posted the following video on her site yesterday and it gave me a chuckle, ’cause it reminded me of when this played regularly on TV and - without fail - I’d laugh every time then, as well! (I love the arson comment) The timing of her post is fitting, as well, as I’ve been thinking about a situation I ran up against in the last couple of weeks that I’ve wanted to share. First, the video:
Why doesn’t the real estate industry have a positive reputation in the public? I had a customer tell me - half jokingly - on the phone the other day, “you guys are just a step above used car salesman”. I kid not, she was not referring to anyone on my Team but the comment was pointed, all the same. How did we grow into that reputation? Here’s one reason:
I’m working with some folks who are buying a home for their college student son to live in while he’s here at VT. It’s a common practice here in the New River Valley, probably 20 percent of my business every year. We’ve been working through the winter to prepare them for buying their first investment property, and as we’ve headed into the spring the market’s heated up and they’ve gotten more serious. Last Tuesday, we finally wrote an offer. It was a townhouse in a neighborhood they really liked, and the house needed work - it’s actually the second set of clients I’ve had that have tried to buy this house. It’s been on and off the market for over a year as the owner has tried - unsuccessfully - to sell it, and the tenants he has in place have not helped. They’ve trashed it, to the point it needs $15,000 worth of repairs and cleaning once they’ve moved out. The last time I had clients who wrote an offer, we built in the cost of the repairs to our offer and made an offer nine percent off of list price. The owner countered within 24 hours at full list price, and the offer died there.
This time, we made an identical offer, now at 10 percent off of list price. I live in this neighborhood - I know these homes, and I know the value of this one as it is right now. We submitted the offer last Wednesday via email, and a follow-up phone call was made to the listing agent. Voicemail… I left a message. That night, nearly eight hours later, I called the listing agent to see if he had reviewed the offer, and he informed me he was out of town and would look at it when he got back that night. Okay - the next day came and went, no word from him. Friday morning, still no word, and despite repeated phone calls I heard nothing through the weekend. NOTHING, not even a confirmation that he had seen the offer. Sunday night, he finally picks up his phone and says that they are waiting to see if another offer comes in, and they don’t want to counter.
Now I’m upset. First, I’m upset that I didn’t advise my clients to put a time limit on the offer to ensure a swift response. Even more than that, I’m upset that neither the agent nor his client have taken the opportunity to provide a professional courtesy to my clients, informing them of their intentions. If they want to sit on the offer, fine - just tell us this. When I asked why they hadn’t even acknowledged receipt of the offer, the agent responded, “Okay, if you want a counter then we’re countering at full price.” He made that statement without consulting his client. Is he in a position to make that determination? Likely not, but it could be argued that a full price counter is in his client’s best interests.
The resolution of all of this? My clients pulled their offer and immediately - within minutes - and made an offer on a similar, more expensive home. The other home? Still on the market, and will continue to be there for a while, I’m sure.
So why do we as real estate agents feel it’s appropriate to neglect an offer, fail to deliver it in a timely fashion and then make decisions without consulting our client? What sense of power have we created in our minds that allows us to own our client’s decisions? When did the control shift out of the hands of the buyers and the sellers, and in to the hands of agents? It hasn’t, and it never did. We took it. We’ve tried for so long to control the transaction, to pull the strings in the background. My clients were at the mercy of another agent’s actions, and decided they would take control. I’m glad they did, and I suspect you have plenty of clients who would do the same. My reminder in all of this? I work FOR my clients, they’re not working for me. My role should be one of consultation, of putting the pieces in place for them to make informed, quantitative decisions. That’s the changing face of real estate, not a puppeteer pulling the strings.
I look forward to helping these clients close on this new home …
In all likelihood, most of us have used sites like Craigslist before, whether we were looking for a place for a customer or a sweet Members Only jacket - wait, is it just me that wants a Members Only jacket? My bad. The one in this picture sure looks nice, especially with the blue hoodie underneath.
A staff member in my office this morning sent out an email warning of a housing scam she had uncovered while searching for a place for her and her family to rent. She had uncovered a single-family house for rent here in Blacksburg, at a great monthly rate, but she also knew the house was for sale in our local MLS for $300,000+. When she contacted the email address listed on the posting, the person responded by asking questions that violated all sorts of Fair Housing rules, including asking her age and her religion, among others. The emailer claimed to be the owner of the house, and that they would be requiring two months rent with the application.
So what, right? Just a scam? Sure, just a scam, but the reason I bring it up here on VARbuzz is because the posting had MLS pictures of the house right there in the ad - both interior and exterior photos were used. The exact street address was used. And it’s likely that this staff member wasn’t the first person to contact about such a low rent for such a great house.
The point - be careful. The TRUE owners of this home were not aware their home was getting unwanted attention based on this scam ad. They had no idea someone was advertising their home and location for sale, or who might have been driving by. It’s no indictment against their listing agent, who immediately notified them so that they could have the ad removed from Craigslist. Instead, it’s a reminder to constantly be aware that the distribution of listing information is a benefit to all of us, but we also need to monitor our listings as well. You never know who’s watching.
I’m admitting in front of the world that when I first joined VAR five years ago, I was a cynic when it came to Association membership. Groups I had been involved were riddled with problems; poor membership involvement, unclear directions, take your pick. Membership in a trade association was, in my eyes, a waste of time and money.
Notice I said WAS. This week, I’m at VAR’s Legislative & Education conference in Richmond and I’m admitting I’ve been converted. Today alone, I’ve met with state Delegates and spoken at length about issues important to the real estate industry, had very honest and candid discussions with peers from around the state, and sat in on committee meetings that have inspired and educated. I’ve got to tell you, I’m more and more impressed with this Association every day. Things like VARBuzz.com and Ten Things To Know About VA’s Real Estate Market are helpful to us as agents, but they’re a small part of what’s happening here in Richmond. Now that I’ve seen firsthand the vision VAR has for our Association, and the remarkable abilities of those here at the conference, I’m certain of it - VAR is setting the standard for real estate associations across the country.
Don’t believe me? The National Association of REALTORS is here this week to watch and learn what your Association is doing, and they’ve certainly been taking a lot of notes.
Are you involved? Beyond paying , are you getting involved at the local and state level associations? If you’re not, you’re missing out. I know I was.
As real estate agents, the MLS is our constant go-to source for information. Number of bedrooms? Go to the MLS. Square footage? Check MLS. Types of floors? It’s right there on MLS. The MLS is one of the most utilized tools in our real estate toolbox., and also one of the most abused. Just last week, I was at a listing appointment where the owner asked me whether withdrawing her home from MLS and then reentering it would reset the Days On Market Counter (thankfully, it does not). We’ve all seen the “2000 square foot charmer” that looks more like a 1300 square foot dump with a leaky roof. It happens all the time - incomplete listing information, manipulation of Days On Market, even homes entered into the wrong areas to garner more traffic.
For years, agents have had “private” use of the MLS, and were the gatekeepers for buyers wishing to get more information regarding a particular home. If a buyer wanted information on a home, they called their agent who searched the MLS for more information. Agents held the key, literally and figuratively, and the information provided went to the consumer THROUGH the agent. This position has changed, with the rise of real estate websites offering the promise of free – or slightly free – information on neighborhoods and even particular homes. The MLS is no longer the go-to resource for real estate information, it’s now just one of many consumer marketplaces for home buyers and sellers.
Why then, if the information we enter into MLS is made available to consumers throughout the Web, aren’t we making sure we’re using accurate data? Complete and accurate data in the MLS means that our listings are going to be “hits” with more buyers and agents than if we just enter the bare minimum. Having a listing without room dimensions might just push the perfect buyer on to another property, just as failing to include descriptive text might eliminate those agents and their buyers using search terms to find your listing. Sure, some of the fields can be tedious and redundant, but the more information we can provide on our seller clients’ listings, the more likely that buyer will see it. Michael Wurzer, president of FBS Data Systems, has written extensively on his blog about it and it’ll be interesting to see if he addresses it further at February’s Legislative & Education Conference. Don’t forget you can register online and save money, by the way! MLS accuracy has been covered for years, in every market, and it’s something we all still struggle with.
The MLS is a tool for agents and consumers alike, and just as with any tool it needs maintenance and care. We all get busy and distracted, but don’t overlook taking the time to make sure your listings are complete and thorough. We’ll ALL benefit if we each take the time to make sure our tools are sharp and ready for action.
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