And how does it matter to a consumer? A good question to ask your prospective Realtor is – what’s your reputation with your peers?
Browsing Category Public Perception
Kevin Boer for NAR President
Fines for grammatical and spelling errors, for not uploading photos, using the words “cute, gorgeous … honey stop the car” …. I’ll vote for Kevin Boer in a heartbeat (of course, I don’t have a vote that I know of)
A Cautionary Tale – Yet another Due Diligence Question for Buyers, Sellers and Realtors
( ed. note : one of my more favorite questions of late is, “tell me about one of your dissatisfied clients, and why they were so dissatisfied”) We’ve never seen a lender hauled before a panel of their peers on ethics charges (as happens in the Realtor community) though there’s certainly been ample cause. … There are a lot of good lenders who can get deals closed in this lending environment and will tell you if it’s not going to work.
A simple question leads to an interesting conversation
One of my favorite snippets from the conversation is this – I would – but there is a very clear and important difference (between Realtors and attorneys) – they clearly disclose the entirely adversarial nature of their relationship. … The difference alone in the barriers to access from a career standpoint – beginning with three years of real academic training – go a long, long way to ensuring a much higher set of professional standards.
Choosing the Right Buyer’s Agent in Charlottesville
Last week’s article in the Daily Progress was good, but as I told the journalist at the time – there is so much more I wanted to go into that article, and newspapers are so limited by what they can offer in print. They deal in inches, and for better or worse, bloggers don’t have those limitations. With that preface, this is one of things that didn’t make it in the article due in part to space limitations – My advice to buyers in the Charlottesville area –
Choose the right representation. Choose the right buyer’s agent. Choose someone whom you trust and get along with and like – not just because you met them at an open house, or because they have a blog, or because they are your sister’s husband’s friend who is just getting started and needs a break. Choosing the wrong representation is not just not worth it.
A good (great) buyer’s agent is someone who will advocate 100% on your behalf – simple. Contrary to public opinion, a good buyer’s agent is focused on the client’s needs more than their own. If you feel that “your” Realtor is focused more on the “sale” than your best interests – tell him.
Going waaay back in the archives to 2005, citing a WSJ article –
“Finding a real estate agent is kind of like dating. You have a small window to make an impression and then you’re with that person for a long time.
Here is my business philosophy when I work with buyers – I want to sell their house when they move. Every buyer client represents a minimum of three transactions –
1) The house they are buying right now.
2) That house when they move (everybody moves, even if “this is the last house I am going to buy”)
3) At least one of their friends or family when my clients proselytize for me
I work with Buyer-Broker agreements with my buyers for a variety of reasons – first and foremost because we negotiate my fee upfront, and I am free from the perception that I am not showing unrepresented sellers’ (FSBO) houses or those houses that are offering lower commissions in the MLS than many Realtors are used to. And – it formalizes the contractual relationship that I have to my clients and that my clients have to me.
You can find a sample (although a bit dated) Buyer-Broker Agreement here.
Updated – this is a current sample Buyer-Broker Agreement. Note that it takes two sections to warn/educate about Dual Agency.
My advice is this – do your due diligence. If you have questions about the process, what questions to ask (or if you have an experience you would like to share) please contact me anytime.
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And the coup de grace with regards to what blogs have over print – here are a bunch of very relevant links to help you get started in your research:
Here are some questions to ask when hiring a Realtor, courtesy of Redfin.
Do you like/do Dual Agency? One of my favorite posts I have written about Dual Agency is this – Dual Agency – Who Benefits? —- The Realtor.
Great Questions for a Seller to Ask
Questions to ask your (potential) agent in Charlottesville
Surprised that Yun’s candor wasn’t noticed
From yesterday’s USA Today (fingered by a client): Lawrence Yun : Consumers need to find out what is going on at the local level and not necessarily take national headline numbers as a point of reference. Sellers tend to be more stubborn in facing the reality of the market, so people who really need to sell need to come down on prices, given the high inventory and seller competition. …
Do Realtors have a Board of Ethics?
The Code sets forth a REALTOR’S® obligations to their clients and customers, to the members of the public and to one another.Local associations of REALTORS® are responsible for enforcing the REALTORS® Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics imposes duties above and in addition to those imposed by law or regulation which apply only to real estate professionals who choose to become REALTORS®.The Realtor Code of Ethics is here, and it’s nine pages long. Start at the Virginia Association of Realtors site. I’d link to our local association’s site, but it’s an abomination – and it has the 2007 Code of Ethics rather than 2008’s version.I have never sat on an Ethics Grievance Committee, but as a member of the local Realtor Board of Directors, I have seen the results of several hearings. I generally think that we’re too easy on ourselves.Maybe as part of the National Association of Realtors’ Ethics campaign, we should also highlight enforcement measures.