[photopress:paintcanc.gif,thumb,alignright]Before I take the full rap for painting the industry red with a broad brush, let’s look at this line from an interview in Inman News today. “To bring buyers and sellers together requires lying, cheating and manipulating.”
Defending bad behavior does not invoke change. Let’s hear from some agents regarding how they were trained:
1) How and why they should not consider the amount of their eventual commission, when selecting homes for their buyer clients.
2) How they should advise seller clients, and assist them in getting the property in proper showing condition, before taking photos and entering them in the mls.
3) What classes are available to assist agents in taking better photos and in photo editing, now that this skill has become such an important role in selling a home for top dollar.
4) How they are taught never to use a listing to promote themselves, and to get new clients, from a seller’s most valuable asset.
5) How they are taught that doing an Open House is not solely or primarily a means to obtain new clients.
6) How to recognize when their buyer client is a victim of predatory lending, and being pushed to spend more on a home than they can reasonably afford.
7) How NOT to push in house listings on the buyer clients of other agent’s in the office.
8) How to stop in their tracks when a buyer or seller client looks uncomfortable, as in sweating profusely or shaking with tremors, and determine the root of their concerns, before proceeding.
9) How to get up from the table without getting something signed by the client, if the matter at hand does not have immediacy issues to the client’s advantage, and give the client time to consider the information presented to them until they are satisfied that their answer is a well thought out and informed decision.
10) How to determine why a house has been lingering on market, without taking verbatim the listing agent’s representation of same to properly advise your client, if they like the property enough to make an offer.
11) How to deal with inspectors who don’t write what they say, and point out problems verbally, that they do not write in the inspection report and summary.
12) How to forewarn sellers, especially of older homes, that there will likely be a few things to negotiate at time of inspection, and put a misc. buffer amount to cover repairs, in the estimate of seller’s net proceeds before they sign the listing contract.
13) How to stay involved with the process during escrow, and be proactive in the escrow process and not just hand over the file and walk on to the next sale.
There’s a Baker’s Dozen of issues, that could literally fill volumes. Where did you as an experienced agent learn these things and where do new agents get this training today?