I think you have some good points.

Here is a typical sale with the agent being the “conductor” and all the parties involved in a sale:

1) Listing Agent(s) + office support staff
2) Selling Agent (s) + office support staff
3) Loan officer
4) Loan officer’s processing staff
5) Existing Lender (various staff from credit depts to customer service personnel to payoff depts etc.)
6) Funding Departments and various support staff
7) Different Municipalities and Utility Co’s customer service
Escrow departments and support staff
9) Title insurance back office support staff & runners.
10)Homeowner Assn’s
11)Sellers
12)Buyers
13)Other 3rd parties and vendors: Courier Ccmpanies, home inspection firms, contractors doing work orders, Federal Express and UPS (critical to escrow), Notary’s etc…
14) Recording Departments of various counties: King County, Snohomish County, Pierce County etc..
15) Attorneys

Actually, this is just an off the cuff running of all the people escrow deals with on a daily basis as well as the agents responsibility to manage. I’m probably missing a bunch. As you can see collaboration is paramount.

A Real Estate agent is like an army of one. They may join different alliances, but in the end they are the ones who have the relationship that puts and keeps a transaction together.

In any collaboration concerning Real Estate some one or every one is claiming to do all the work and the others are just hangers on.

In ten years or more of trying different alliances there has been disappointment. It’s much easier for me to own businesses where I can simply hire employees. Even in escrow, or title, some times with mortgage companies people can hire employees.

Real Estate requires the rain maker, front, and center, no matter what company you work for. In that way it is kind of like a profession. No one wants to talk to a subordinate.

In my opinion a Real Estate transaction should be done by group effort. I for one find paper work a challenge. The only company I have had a license at that actually checks the paper work is Skyline. All other brokers look at it, but kind of pass it along. At Skyline it goes through three people’s hand and they let you know where a problem may be.

Any company brokerage only wants hard working dedicated agents who cross the Is and dot the Ts. It’s kind of a joke really because a sales person has a talent. That talent should be nurtured.

Any way, Real Estate remains an army of one.

Click here: A long-term architect-builder relationship. – a knol by Jerry Gropp Architect AIA

Thanks for he comments. Confrontation is yucky. My guess is that there are many hints of things that are non-collaborative in nature prior leading to to a confrontation stage.