IT

    AIN’T

              OVER

                                            TILL

                                  THE BLOG LADY SINGS!

I would like to send a gentle reminder to those in the real estate business to make time to recognize and express appreciation for those people that work tirelessly behind the scenes– the staff who are working to provide great service to our mutual clients and reduce problem transactions.
I’m talking about allied real estate professional back-office-worker-bees who are frequently overwhelmed, overworked, commonly under appreciated and who stay very late after hours to make things happen while providing great customer service.

Please recognize: title officers/units and support staff, loan processors, funders, and especially escrow LPO’s and support staff. These folks and many others really make it easier for the agents and their clients wherever they work all across the country. They deserve your acknowledgement and thanks!
Happy Holidays!

[photopress:sl.jpg,thumb,alignright]The Seller’s Agent aka the Listing Agent, can’t be “the girlfriend” calling the “easy servicer” the “slut”.  Not anymore, anyway.  So the agent responses to my previous article are incorrect and Redfin CAN, yes CAN “write it up”, if the agent who showed the property was THE listing AGENT.  Not the listing company (here in WA), but the one and only listing agent.  That’s why they need to ask the buyer what the NAME of the agent was who showed them the house. If it was anyone except THE listing agent, and they write it up, then…yes…slut.

Used to be the Listing Agent could be, as Jonathan Dalton put it, the “beginning (of) the chain of procuring cause”, but not any longer.  That is a Traditional Agent concept that can no longer be true, and is a leftover from the time when all agents represented the seller.  Some leftovers are good, like yesterday’s meatballs.  But THIS leftover is green and stinkin’.  Why?  Because the buyer has the right to separate and equal representation.  Whether it’s Redfin or me or any agent that writes it up after the listing agent shows it to the buyer, is irrelevant.  NO BUYER can be EXPECTED to use the Seller’s Agent, ever.  So ANY time a listing agent shows the property to a buyer, they do so with the understanding that the buyer does NOT ever have to agree to Dual Agency.  Kind of “show at your own risk”.  If you show a buyer your listing, you ALWAYS do it as the Seller’s Agent and NEVER as the Buyer’s Agent and you can’t force the buyer to be dually represented OR unrepresented.  So tough luck on the Seller’s Agent.  In States where EVERY agent in the Company would be a Dual Agent of a company listing…then tough luck on all of you (as in CA).

So score one for Redfin here.  Traditional agents just have to suck up that their rules are WRONG on this one.  The listing agent should never have to be warned that the buyer who sees his listing may not use him to “write it up”, as the buyer must always have the option to hire an agent to represent him, that is not the seller’s agent, even after they see the house.

The tricky part aka the slut part, is when a buyer runs around town with an agent to find just the right house and THEN goes to Redfin.  That is the part where Redfin must, by policy, either refuse to write it OR listen to the buyer’s story and decide based on other factors.  If the buyer is just trying to save money, then no.  The buyer can’t “use” the first agent to narrow down his search and find “the” house, and then run to Redfin just to save money.  That is where “see no evil; hear no evil; turn a blind eye to the facts…doesn’t cut it.  Technical correction, the buyer can do whatever he damn well pleases, as there are no “rules” for consumers who are not in contract.  The rule is there for Redfin, not the buyer.  Redfin is the one who can end up not getting paid, or just be “the slut” if they do happen to get paid.  The buyer is not subject to MLS “rules”, only members are subject to these rules.

We really do need role plays and have workshops as training courses.  So, here’s a question.  Would ARDELL be “a slut” under the right circumstances and “get in bed” with another agent’s buyer client.  YES, under the right circumstances.  Say the buyer didn’t trust their agent.  Caught him lying.  Caught him being in cahoots with the seller’s agent to “get the price up” or hid some facts.  Say the buyer came to me and said, we still want to buy the house that we saw with “our” agent, but we just cannot work with him.  Yes, then ARDELL or Redfin or Lar or any agent could step in with the understanding that they might not get paid.  But the consumer needs them to step in and take that chance.

That is why Redfin needs to ask the buyer HOW they saw the house and WHO they saw it with and WHY they aren’t buying it with the agent who showed them the house.  If it is the Listing Agent (by name), that is OK, contrary to Traditional Agent popular belief.  If it is anyone else, then the chain of events was pretty much completed by the time they made it over to Redfin, and Redfin needs to get the story and refuse to write it if the reason the buyer is there is just to save money.

Truth is, if Redfin does not do this, and they give the buyer 2/3rds of the commission, then Redfin would be liable to pay the REAL agent who was the procuring cause, the money they paid to the buyer. While this looks clear as mud, it is true transparency.  If you want transparency…we got it…but don’t expect it to be simple stuff.  Real estate is not simple stuff.  Transparency in all things real estate, may give you a monstrous headache.

Alternative business models who think like “real people” are GREAT!  But they have to also understand real estate, and the obligations to other MLS participants.  Listing agents need to get on the stick with changes in agency, and stop relying on outdated common practice issues.

The only time the listing agent can represent both sides of their listing sold, is when both the seller and the buyer give their informed and written consent to do so.  Most states require that that “decision” of the consumer be ratified at time of contract.  So if they agreed in advance to Dual Agency by seeing the house with the listing agent or signing a Buyer Agency Agreement, they still have the right to change their mind when it is time to write the contract.  I like to call this “the Mary Beth Whitehead” provision of agency law.

Procuring Cause guidelines need to change to reflect this and should never award a “buyer agent fee” to a seller’s agent, if and when the buyer chooses his own representation.

In fact Procuring Cause needs to change to allow a buyer to switch agents whenever they feel uncomfortable in the process, for any reason, by splitting the fee proportionately.  A consumer can fire their lawyer halfway through a case; so a buyer should be able to fire an agent halfway into “the deal”.  A consumer can fire their doctor the day of the operation and hire a better surgeon.  Likewise, a buyer should be able to fire their agent at any time they feel an “upgrade” is needed.  Procuring Cause is a great thing.  But PC needs to be updated to reflect the buyers right to pick and switch and do whatever they feel they need to do.  Current practice of PC is TOTALLY Agent-Centric.  Time for a change.  Not time to “eradicate” it.  Just time for it to reflect the buyer’s right to make their own informed choices.

[photopress:decision_1.gif,thumb,alignright]I just realized that the very BEST line in Glenn Kelman’s post of yesterday, was somehow edited out.  (By Glenn I think, or html error code)

Glenn said, “You say ‘discounter’ the way high-school boys say ‘SLUT’.” (you being the industry, and not ARDELL singlely.)  I would correct Glenn on that, to the way high-school GIRLS say ‘SLUT’.  More specifically, the way THE girlfriend of the boy that just got serviced by the slut, would say it.  (boys on the other hand may say it in gleeful anticipation)

The question of the day is, does Redfin apply adequate checks and balances, as a member of the MLS, to insure that the consumer did not get to Redfin, “on another member’s back”? i.e…abuse of privelege.

“Traditional” MLS members understand this duty, that goes with privelege.  They understand that membership is not just about paying your quarterly dues “for data access”, the same way that some understand that getting a driver’s license comes with duties and responsibilities to other drivers on the road.

Do “online brokerages” understand their obligations to other members in this regard?  Do they understand that the MLS is NOT merely and simply a “data source”?  “Ignorance may be bliss”, but ignorant MEMBERS may, in fact, be “sluts” as in, “I didn’t know he had a girlfriend when I…”.  Did you even ASK first, is the question of the day?  Did you know you were SUPPOSED to ask first?, is the second question of the day.

Are you (Redfin) “a slut”?  It depends on HOW the consumer gets to their decision to buy THIS house online, via Redfin.

Let’s use your example of Amazon.com for a minute.  Say someone goes to Borders and spends three hours in their store looking through books, dirtying Border’s inventory with their sticky fingers while drinking a Mocha and spilling some in the books.  After perusing the inventory available there, live and in person, they write down all the books they want to buy.  Then they go home and order it online from Amazon.com.  Some would say “so what”?!  I say that’s different than my wanting anything written on Frank Sinatra, going to Amazon.com and searching on that site and buying on that site.  Using the site to decide what to purchase, and then purchasing FROM that SAME site, is online shopping.  Going into a competitor’s store to decide what to buy before ordering on line, is ethically and morally an abuse of the competitor’s resources.  Applied to real estate, this is called “procuring cause – the chain of events that led the consumer to the decision to purchase THIS house today.”

There is an ethical issue regarding “Being IN the MLS”.  “IN the MLS” comes with a list of responsibilities and duties that come with the privelege of being a member.  One is that you do not use and abuse other members.  This key point is one that I think ONLINE services most abuse, are ignorant of, and ignore entirely to the dismay of “we old school members”.

If someone calls me and says they want to buy X house, I do not pull out contracts to fill out, as we (perhaps erroneously) believe Redfin would do.  The definition of their business model, suggests they would in fact “be a slut” in this regard.  I hope that is not the case.

Here is what the industry expects of Redfin, and what other members would do, and understand they should do, if someone simply wants a member to “write up” a house they have not themselves shown.  I would need to know HOW they KNOW they want to buy THAT house?  It is an unwritten rule in this business (and to some extent, a written rule) to not “climb into bed” with a buyer who was led to their purchase decision, by another agent member of the MLS.  Any agent worth their weight in INTEGRITY POINTS, would NEVER write an offer on a property that THEY had never seen and the buyer HAD SEEN, without first getting the full and complete story.

How did you see it?  Did the agent showing it to you understand that you would not be buying it through them, at the time they showed it to you?  Did the agent show it to you more than once?  Did you call the agent or email the agent with many questions leading you to your decision to purchase this house?

In other words, I would be expected to ask if they “have a girlfriend” before “servicing their immediate needs”.

What was that agent’s name?  You don’t ask the consumer if that agent was THE listing agent, as they might not understand the subtle difference between A  listing agent and “THE” listing agent.  The agent writing needs to check that by name of agent.  Does Redfin DO that?  Do they even know they need to DO that?  We think not.  We do not think this is part of Redfin’s Agent Training for each and every new agent hired.  Maybe we are wrong.  Maybe Redfin is not ” a slut”.  But their business model suggests to us that they will service other agent’s clients, without regard to the “rules of play”.

I, for one, think they don’t “get” this part of being a Member of the MLS.  I would love to either be corrected in that regard, or be someone who promotes a Redfin change in policy in that regard.  Either way…all are better served as a a result. 

If you don’t want to be called a slut, then don’t be one, AND make it clear on your website that you REFUSE to BE one.  Make it clear that you will not be turning a blind eye to whom the buyer may have used to reach their decision to purchase.

How much you charge is irrelevant to the “slut” issue, everyone knows that a prostitute is about money…a slut isn’t.

[photopress:glenn_1_2.jpg,thumb,alignright](This Article is Posted By Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin) 

Just kidding! But I did want to start by acknowledging that Redfin hasn’t always been the darling of Rain City Guide, so we’re especially grateful that you would allow us to post here as part of the Yankee Real Estate Blog Swap. We’re real estate agents like you, and we’re online entrepreneurs too, so we have plenty to talk about (Meanwhile, Rain City Guide’s Ardell has seized controls of the Redfin blog, and begun broadcasting her pirate signal to Redfin’s dazed subscribers). 

Here’s our top-eleven list of what you should know about Redfin:

 1.       What surprised me most since joining Redfin: that Zillow didn’t do what we’re doing, real estate e-commerce. What a relief! It’s less profitable and more difficult than ads, but it’s more satisfying for us, and more fun.

 2.       What the second-biggest surprise was: that I would like the real estate part of the job, not just the web part. It’s nice to look up from your computer and see someone buying her first house. Moments like that have been schlockified by the real estate industry unto death, but they’re still nice. That half our office is filled with real estate agents makes the place more lively than if it were just the typical software nerd cave, which is what I’m used to.  

3.       The best part of my day: reading your blogs, when really I have plenty of other stuff I should be doing too. You’re funny and insightful. Calling me a jackass just convinces me you’re telling the truth.

 4.       What I like best about the real estate industry: it’s filled with whackos, misfits and entrepreneurs. Our kind of people. 

5.       What I dislike about the real estate industry: all the bull-shitake. It hurts our industry more than we realize. 

6.       The only thing you do that drives us crazy: calling Redfin a discounter. We’re not a discount brokerage, any more than Amazon.com is Half-Price Books. Online service can be different and even better in some ways than traditional service, not just less than “full service.” It seems like one of those intentional digs, like Republicans saying “the Democrat party” or Democrats calling the vice-president “Dick.” 

7.       What’s scariest about the inner workings of Redfin: losing money, even if it’s less than we planned. Our real estate operation throws off profits, but not enough to pay our engineers. This is why the holiday party was hosted at my house again this year…  

8.       What perception is most inaccurate: that Redfin is arrogant. Actually, we have a self-esteem problem. Every time we meet someone who compliments our site, we end up tearfully promising to make it better. Last week, I started wearing this messed-up rubber night-guard because I fret so much in my sleep about how we could improve Redfin.com… 

9.       What shows that we listen: you guilt-tripped us into free home tours, even though it hasn’t helped sales, even though I still feel that when you sign up to sell a house, you should be clear about whether you’re willing to show it. But why argue? Ardell convinced us to do it. It may not seem like we’re listening, but we always are.

10.     How I feel about being in the papers: excited yes, but also sort of appalled. I hate to hear my voice on the answering machine. Before testifying to Congress, I thought I was going to puke. I often get depressed after being interviewed by journalists about Redfin-related controversy, for the same reason that nobody likes a pro athlete’s airing a grudge on TV, rather than working it out privately. It’s just that we can’t seem to work it out any other way, with brokers, with the MLS, with the real estate commissioners and law-makers. And we can’t allow our customers to be intimidated either. 

11.     What is most important for people to know about Redfin: even though we’ve made plenty of mistakes, we make the world stop for our customers. No matter what you think of Redfin, a company with that as its core value can’t be all bad for real estate…

OK, that’s it, back to work! Thank you very much for allowing me to post here, and to everyone who contributes to this amazing blog.

Be sure to vist all the Yankee Blog Swappers:  Transparent Real Estate’s Pat Kitano vs. Zillow Blog’s Drew Meyers  RSS Pieces’ Mary McKnight vs. Future of Real Estate Marketing’s Joel Burslem   St. Paul Real Estate Blog’s Teresa Boardman vs. Phoenix Real Estate Guy’s Jay Thompson  3 Ocean Real Estate’s Kevin Boer vs. SLC Real Estate’s Nigel Swaby Issaquah Undressed’s Larry Cragun vs. Maury Properties’ Andrew Maury Chicago Home Weblog’s Geno Petro vs. NY Houses 4 Sales’ Christine Forgione Phoenix Arizona Real Estate Blog’s Jonathan Dalton vs. Real Estate Snippets’ Bonnie EricksonThe boys of Sellsius vs. Real Estate Tomato’s Jim Cronin  ML Podcast’s Michael Price vs. FamousAgents.com’s Elise Wright  My Tech Opinion’s Reggie Nicolay vs. Ubertor’s Steve JaggerRedfin’s Glenn Kelman vs. Rain City Guide’s Ardell DellaLoggiaCondoDomain’s Anthony Longo vs. miOaklandCounty’s Maureen Francis The San Diego Home Blog’s Kris Berg vs. Urban Dig’s Noah Rosenblatt The Property Monger’s Jon Ernest vs. XBroker’s Jeff Corbett Realty Blogging’s Richard Nacht vs. The Mortgage Reports’ Dan Green Christian Real Estate Network’s Justin Smith vs. Wanna Network’s Tony Senna  Sacramento Voice’s Gena Riede vs. Max Sell’s Brad Nix     For an overview of the event and all its participants, please visit www.YankeeBlogSwap.com.       

[photopress:meme.jpg,thumb,alignright]When the Power Came Back on, I found that I had been Memed – as in Tag You’re It, by the Blogosphere during my brief hiatus from the Cyberworld. 

Basically it is a challenge to “come clean” about five things people may not know about you.  Given I’ve been blabbering the bloody Blogosphere with thousands and thousands of words this year, it’s hard to believe there ISN’T something I haven’t shared, but I gave it my best shot.  I purposely mis-spelled meme on my blog, so the podcast would say it right.  Now if I could just train “robot-girl” to say AR-DELL instead of Ardle. 

I’m supposed to Meme five other people.  I was going to Meme CJ and Derek, but they jumped the gun and memed themselves.  So I will point all roads back to here, breaking the chain, and ask that:

DUSTIN, GALEN, ROBBIE, RUSS and CRAIG write a post here on Rain City Guide, revealing five things we may not know about them.  I further ask that they NOT Meme 5 other people.  It would be nice if they could do that today or tomorrow, before the Yankee Blog Swap on Tuesday, so that we can stop this tiny tangent of “the meme craze” before the next Blogging-Event begins.