Comments on: Woohoo!! Merv’s got it DOWN!! http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/ Seattle's Leading Resource for Real Estate Information Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:47:42 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: The XBroker » Blog Archive » Marketing Your Competitions Weakness http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-51243 The XBroker » Blog Archive » Marketing Your Competitions Weakness Wed, 20 Dec 2006 17:07:06 +0000 http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-51243 [...] Ardell, always there to keep Greg in check, gives her $.02 on The Rain City Guide [...] [...] Ardell, always there to keep Greg in check, gives her $.02 on The Rain City Guide [...]

]]> By: the Property Monger » Marketing Your Competitions Weakness http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-50553 the Property Monger » Marketing Your Competitions Weakness Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:01:10 +0000 http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-50553 [...] •         Ardell, always there to keep Greg in check, gives her $.02 on The Rain City Guide [...] [...] •         Ardell, always there to keep Greg in check, gives her $.02 on The Rain City Guide [...]

]]> By: the Property Monger » Marketing Your Competitions Weakness http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-50552 the Property Monger » Marketing Your Competitions Weakness Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:55:36 +0000 http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-50552 [...] In honor of my fist Yankee Blog Swap, and considering The Property Mongers audience, I felt like a post addressing the real estate sales community would be in order.  There’s nothing like a little debate to spur blog traffic!  No worries Jon, you can always point the fanatic to me as the source of such socialist banter   I just hope I didn’t overextend the nature of the YBS by writing about a ‘serious’ topic.€ Keep the title of this post in the back of your mind whenever you feel some emotional response to the words you read… Prelude: I’ve read, and expanded on (mostly mortgage related ) a critical assessment originated by Mark Nadel, a 15 year FTC attorney, regarding alternative commission models for real estate agents.  It’s a very well thought piece, 75 pages long, with the research you’d expect from, well, a 15 year FTC attorney.€ Since I was enrolled in The Swap just yesterday, some quick research has turned up: §         Kevin at 3Oceans tackles the economics of implementing some of the changes for the Realtor. §         The guys at Sellsius gave their futuristic outlook. §         Greg Swann chimed in with his usual condescending tone §         Ardell, always there to keep Greg in check, gives her $.02 on The Rain City Guide §         Steven Levitt, The Freak himself, even had time to weigh in, since Mark dutifully cited his accomplished work.€ So…I’ll keep to addressing some of the madness that causes these alternative methods to the current and antiquated 6% split model to be hypothesized.  I prefer to dig up the psychological and otherwise less apparent underpinnings of such calls for blood in the streets.€ Encompassing all facets to appropriately address this topic would result in a 14 page thesis, so I’m going to break it up into a few parts, published weekly.  Part 1 appears here on the Property Monger via the Yankeeblogswap.com and will continue on my X blog for a few weeks hereafter.  Jon has my permission to post them here as well J€ Anywhoo, on with part 1, the Why…. Part 1:€   [...] [...] In honor of my fist Yankee Blog Swap, and considering The Property Mongers audience, I felt like a post addressing the real estate sales community would be in order.  There’s nothing like a little debate to spur blog traffic!  No worries Jon, you can always point the fanatic to me as the source of such socialist banter   I just hope I didn’t overextend the nature of the YBS by writing about a ‘serious’ topic.€ Keep the title of this post in the back of your mind whenever you feel some emotional response to the words you read… Prelude: I’ve read, and expanded on (mostly mortgage related ) a critical assessment originated by Mark Nadel, a 15 year FTC attorney, regarding alternative commission models for real estate agents.  It’s a very well thought piece, 75 pages long, with the research you’d expect from, well, a 15 year FTC attorney.€ Since I was enrolled in The Swap just yesterday, some quick research has turned up: §         Kevin at 3Oceans tackles the economics of implementing some of the changes for the Realtor. §         The guys at Sellsius gave their futuristic outlook. §         Greg Swann chimed in with his usual condescending tone §         Ardell, always there to keep Greg in check, gives her $.02 on The Rain City Guide §         Steven Levitt, The Freak himself, even had time to weigh in, since Mark dutifully cited his accomplished work.€ So…I’ll keep to addressing some of the madness that causes these alternative methods to the current and antiquated 6% split model to be hypothesized.  I prefer to dig up the psychological and otherwise less apparent underpinnings of such calls for blood in the streets.€ Encompassing all facets to appropriately address this topic would result in a 14 page thesis, so I’m going to break it up into a few parts, published weekly.  Part 1 appears here on the Property Monger via the Yankeeblogswap.com and will continue on my X blog for a few weeks hereafter.  Jon has my permission to post them here as well J€ Anywhoo, on with part 1, the Why…. Part 1:€   [...]

]]> By: the Property Monger » Marketing Your Competitions Weakness http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-50540 the Property Monger » Marketing Your Competitions Weakness Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:24:25 +0000 http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-50540 [...] §         Ardell, always there to keep Greg in check, gives her $.02 on The Rain City Guide [...] [...] §         Ardell, always there to keep Greg in check, gives her $.02 on The Rain City Guide [...]

]]> By: Phil Hoover http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-25645 Phil Hoover Thu, 26 Oct 2006 17:06:43 +0000 http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-25645 It is apparent that the real estate profession is operating with a flawed business model, as described in my most recent post: http://www.boiseblog.com/journal/2006/10/26/real-estates-broken-business-model.html We need to work toward developing a better way to deliver our services to consumers. Phil It is apparent that the real estate profession is operating with a flawed business model, as described in my most recent post:
http://www.boiseblog.com/journal/2006/10/26/real-estates-broken-business-model.html
We need to work toward developing a better way to deliver our services to consumers.
Phil

]]> By: ARDELL http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-23127 ARDELL Fri, 20 Oct 2006 15:18:04 +0000 http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-23127 The licensee DOES rep the buyer according to the pamphlet given to the consumer.Therein lies the rub. What they want is what they are told them they would get. The licensee representing the buyer. Life is not a list of "duties" that you give people becaue they ASK for it. They want to know the agent's opinion, as in, "if I buy this house today and call you back to sell it...what hindrances to sale are you seeing that I am missing?" What is my monthly payment going to be if I buy it? Given the program the lender is suggesting, will my payment stay the same for as long as I own it? Given my annual income, does this payment seem to fit? Does this rate look right given my credit score? Is there a prepayment penalty if I sell within a year or two? When you come back to sell it, what can I do in this house that will increase the value, so I can do those first? Generally speaking, people want you to be the real estate expert. They want good advices. They want you to have a negotiation strategy. They want you to treat them like a family member and give them your best advices. Better yet, they want you to tell them what you would do if you were buying it. Would you buy it? Would you wait for a better option to come on market? If you did buy it, how much are you willing to pay for it? They don't want an agent to stop "working" when they find the house they want to buy. They want the agent to START working when they find the house they want to buy. A non fiduciary is done when the buyer decides to buy. A fiduciary STARTS when the buyer decides to buy. The licensee DOES rep the buyer according to the pamphlet given to the consumer.Therein lies the rub. What they want is what they are told them they would get. The licensee representing the buyer. Life is not a list of “duties” that you give people becaue they ASK for it.

They want to know the agent’s opinion, as in, “if I buy this house today and call you back to sell it…what hindrances to sale are you seeing that I am missing?” What is my monthly payment going to be if I buy it? Given the program the lender is suggesting, will my payment stay the same for as long as I own it? Given my annual income, does this payment seem to fit? Does this rate look right given my credit score? Is there a prepayment penalty if I sell within a year or two? When you come back to sell it, what can I do in this house that will increase the value, so I can do those first?

Generally speaking, people want you to be the real estate expert. They want good advices. They want you to have a negotiation strategy. They want you to treat them like a family member and give them your best advices. Better yet, they want you to tell them what you would do if you were buying it. Would you buy it? Would you wait for a better option to come on market? If you did buy it, how much are you willing to pay for it?

They don’t want an agent to stop “working” when they find the house they want to buy. They want the agent to START working when they find the house they want to buy. A non fiduciary is done when the buyer decides to buy. A fiduciary STARTS when the buyer decides to buy.

]]> By: Russ Cofano http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-23121 Russ Cofano Fri, 20 Oct 2006 14:48:03 +0000 http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-23121 Designated agency does not mean the licensee reps the buyer. It means that the broker is a dual agent and they assign one salesperson to work for the seller and one to work for the buyer. As to your question, my head is really beginning to hurt. You CANNOT have common law fiduciary duties apply and have this thing called "Designated Agency". It DOES NOT work. You are stuck on this fiduciary thing. For sake of brevity here, you need to go back and re-read all of the duties of a licensee and a seller's/buyer's agent under the WA law. Then, tell me what additional duties or obligations the public is craving from real estate professionals. You have the pamphlet so shouldn't be hard. The key question here is what is the public asking for, NOT what will sustain a certain level of fees. -Russ Designated agency does not mean the licensee reps the buyer. It means that the broker is a dual agent and they assign one salesperson to work for the seller and one to work for the buyer.

As to your question, my head is really beginning to hurt. You CANNOT have common law fiduciary duties apply and have this thing called “Designated Agency”. It DOES NOT work. You are stuck on this fiduciary thing. For sake of brevity here, you need to go back and re-read all of the duties of a licensee and a seller’s/buyer’s agent under the WA law. Then, tell me what additional duties or obligations the public is craving from real estate professionals. You have the pamphlet so shouldn’t be hard. The key question here is what is the public asking for, NOT what will sustain a certain level of fees.

-Russ

]]> By: Real Central VA - Tracking the Charlottesville and Central VA real estate market and more » What if - the MLS went away? http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-23100 Real Central VA - Tracking the Charlottesville and Central VA real estate market and more » What if - the MLS went away? Fri, 20 Oct 2006 10:16:29 +0000 http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-23100 [...] Understanding market value in full context Starting a conversation on real estate commissions Whoo-hooo! [...] [...] Understanding market value in full context Starting a conversation on real estate commissions Whoo-hooo! [...]

]]> By: ARDELL http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-23064 ARDELL Fri, 20 Oct 2006 05:41:15 +0000 http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-23064 OK. I think we agree now that Designated Agency means the licensee represents the buyer. So the only question left is, does it matter whether or not the licensee reperesents him in a "fiduciary capacity". Yes. The consumer clearly wants someone to look out for their interests, over and above the agent's need to sell them something. They don't need to understand the word "fiduciary" to understand that they want someone focusing on representing THEM and not "closing a deal" for themselves. Let me ask you this Russ. Weren't the high fees being charged based on fiduciary level representation? If you water it down, shouldn't consumers pay less for a watered down version? When fiduciary level of care got stripped out, were the fees reduced accordingly? Are we at "Transaction Broker" care level? OK. I think we agree now that Designated Agency means the licensee represents the buyer. So the only question left is, does it matter whether or not the licensee reperesents him in a “fiduciary capacity”.

Yes. The consumer clearly wants someone to look out for their interests, over and above the agent’s need to sell them something. They don’t need to understand the word “fiduciary” to understand that they want someone focusing on representing THEM and not “closing a deal” for themselves.

Let me ask you this Russ. Weren’t the high fees being charged based on fiduciary level representation? If you water it down, shouldn’t consumers pay less for a watered down version? When fiduciary level of care got stripped out, were the fees reduced accordingly? Are we at “Transaction Broker” care level?

]]> By: Russ Cofano http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-23061 Russ Cofano Fri, 20 Oct 2006 04:57:42 +0000 http://raincityguide.com/2006/10/17/woohoo-mervs-got-it-down/#comment-23061 Ardell Quite frankly, your last posts confuses me so much I'm not sure what the point of the discussion was. Brokers and licensed salespersons DO represent consumers. They just DON'T have fiduciary duties. I'm really unsure what is so complicated with that concept. Russ Ardell

Quite frankly, your last posts confuses me so much I’m not sure what the point of the discussion was.

Brokers and licensed salespersons DO represent consumers. They just DON’T have fiduciary duties. I’m really unsure what is so complicated with that concept.

Russ

]]>