Today the public is demanding more from the Real Estate
agent. Our once dominant position as the keepers of the Real Estate vault is
slowly being eroded. If the competition bureau has its way, soon even our
intellectual property will be free to the general public.
Yet as the urgency for us to offer more expertise increases,
I see the same old habits from our industry:
We still insist to value our worth by how many units we sold
and what awards we received. Really, is the public benefiting by knowing that
such and such TEAM and such and such Individual agent sold X amount of homes
and won a golden thingamajig? This is not to say that there is no merit in
being active in the market and selling a fair quantity of homes, however
quantity must be mitigated by quality.
I am guilty of it myself. I am proud of my achievements.
However – I advertise it on my personal website and on my limited in home
marketing materials. I would never want to be part of a mass advertising whose
sole purpose is ---- I’m not sure what is the purpose of telling everyone who is number one???
This is not the Oscars or the Grammy’s. Those are subjective awards. Our awards
are based on volume of sales. A big Real Estate Team can post great numbers by
simply having a bigger advertising budget, or a savvier marketing firm. Does
the public know that relevant advertising space is being eaten up by ‘TEAMS’
and most successful individual agents cannot afford to take out a ¼ or ½ page
in the real estate section of the ‘Beaver’ at thousands of dollars per week.
Out in the field however, I am seeing less and less
professionalism, less and less respect for the buying public. The idea that in our actions and activities we collectively represent our industry seems to have fallen off the radar.
What I mean by this is that although our fiduciary duties rest
with our clients and how we are supposed to treat the clients of the cooperating firm is vague,
common sense would dictate that our value as a profession is based on what both
parties to the transaction take away from the process. Therefore although legal duty rests with our clients, professional common sense has no boundary.
What am I seeing that
has got me so riled up?
At a time when information is more available to us than
ever, I find myself consistently fishing for information for my buyer clients. I am frustrated that information that should be at my finger tips - provided for by a listing agent, is in most circumstances not provided.
Readily available information is simply disregarded; ‘they
are not my buyers so why should I care about discovering what the square
footage of the house is, or finding a land survey and floor plan, or ensuring taxes are correct, or having
the name of the rental company and monthly cost for rental items, or
approximate utility costs… heck these are not important are they?
I am not speaking about 93 year old homes in Toronto, I am talking about 2-10 year old subdivision homes in the suburbs. Do I REALLY have to bare the
responsibility of paying $400 for
my client to have a survey on a 2 year old home so they can put up a fence when it is most likely to be found in their legal documents from their own purchase? Or resting with their lawyer where it can be dug out for a small fee?
Do I Really I have to GIVE more money to the government to
buy an MPAC statement that is received yearly by the homeowner? REALLY?
Is it too difficult to look your listing client eye to eye
and let them know that perhaps the 30 year old newlyweds with a baby on the way
are about to spend one half of a MILLION dollars on a home and they deserve to
have these documents readily available for them? That perhaps they will feel
better and more apt to purchase your dwelling when these facts are provided.
Yes it is a pain in the ass to get these documents: Sometimes homeowners don't care, and do not keep records. If they don't have them then we can't provide them correct?
Well let's see:
You may have to buy the MPAC statement for $5.95 from .... MPAC. You may have to spend $15.95 to get the
land survey or plan of subdivision from GeoWarehouse. Heck, you may have to buy the complete
package with every detail for $39.95.
Is it not OUR job as a listing agent to attempt to have all these documents? If you don’t think it is, please explain to
the public why you don’t do it? We deserve 5% to list a property but we can’t
spend $40 and a few hours of phone calls to furnish a potential buyer with as much information as possible?
Is it the buyer agent’s responsibility to chase these
documents – after the fact? What big item product would you as a consumer purchase if you didn't have the facts? Would you purchase a car without knowing what the warranty or gas mileage is? Would you not think the salesperson is out to lunch if they could not provide pertinent information about the vehicle? (new or used)
In every home I list – for as long as I can remember, I have
stressed to the homeowner this following logic:
‘The more complete your documentation is, the more at ease
the buyer will feel. The more complete the listing is the more your pride in
this home will show through. If you Stage your home, or short of staging –
clean and de-clutter (at the very least).
It shows the buyer you RESPECT them and want their business and they
will have more confidence in your home and perhaps pay you more to buy it.
Agents – when I go into a home and I see feature sheets,
surveys, square feet, MPAC statements, and if possible floor plans, and
sometimes even a pre-home inspection…this tells me that you respect my client and I. It is at that moment I feel pride in knowing we are
working together to show that we are a professionals in worthy industry.
And if something is missing, then when I ask I expect the
answer to be “I tried all means to procure these documents and I apologize that
they are not available”. Not ‘ simply “don’t have it.” Why is this important? Because if you already spent hours looking for documents and they don't exist - then I wont attempt to spend fruitless hours following in your footsteps!
Also don't be offending if I ask if you looked for the documents via Teranet or Geowarehouse - you may not believe this, (whisper) but some agents don't know these options exist - so I must ask.
Those of you who strive for excellence know who you are and
understand fully where I am coming from.
One day soon, I hope that a means to cutting through the
smoke and mirrors of ‘market presence and sales awards’ as a barometer of
Realtor performance is invented – there is certainly a necessity for it.
Those agents in Toronto who go as far as to have floor plan
created and pre-home inspections performed – above and beyond all the other
documentation, kudos!
Those of you whose listings I have viewed and who have
attempted to present the most honest and complete listing possible – Thank You
– it makes my job easier and I await your feedback request, you deserve my
time.
To the agent who visited my last listing and was so kind as
to remark on what he saw, thank you for noticing. We need more of us on to be
on the same page.
We may not agree on negotiations, we may occasionally be
frustrated with one and other, misunderstandings happen and in our high-pressure
environment communication may breakdown. However, there is no reason or excuse
for not respecting each other before we ever engage in negotiations.
We collectively need to demand more from one an other,
respect each other, and recognize that buyers and sellers see themselves
using collective Real Estate Services and therefore all points of
contact should be presented in a professional manner. This should start with ensuring thoroughness in the documentation presented to the buyer agent at your listing.
DS
