You know sometimes I find myself really asking that question to myself. I mean seriously is an informed, educated consumer someone to be that afraid of? Are you worried that you may be exposed for not being as “professional” as the NAR leads people to believe?

I remember the scene in the movie in Clear And Present Danger when the President seems to have an unsavory friend who is mixed up with the Colombian drug cartel. When it seems that the President might have some splainin’ to do some in the meeting say uh-oh..whadda we gonna do now. Then jack Ryan steps up and in only the way Harrison Ford can say…no, don’t run and hide, embrace your relationship. Be human, say yes, say he was your friend..a “lifelong friend”…and leave them no place to go.

In doing this the President’s credibility was ENHANCED because he admits that people, even people close to him, have frailties and shortcomings. End of discussion. no where to go.

But when confronted with the harsh realities of how the American public generally feels about MOST realtors, do we see an embracing of their incompetent and sometimes fraudulent colleagues? Of course not! We see an all out call to arms and an immediate denouncement of the interloper who dares to say that the emperor has no clothes on. Often lead by one obstinate old fart agent who others have pronounced as the anointed one when in fact he is as naked as any of the others.

What am I referring to? Well a video was produced some time ago that tells the consumer what to watch out for when hiring a real estate agent. We all know there are bad apple agents out there and in the interest of equity there are many stellar agents as well.

But it seems that any attempt to inform the public of the incompetence of the sub-par performers is met with complete ignorance. I mean how many agents are out there absolutely wining it in regards to knowing how to get short sales done correctly instead of the rank and file members demanding that the NAR issue a mandate of proficiency.

The video in question was posted most recently on Agent Genius. It caused somewhat of an uproar and dozens of comments ensued lambasting the video producer for exposing the seedy underbelly of the real estate agent profession. One commenter went on to say that the producers video was a “piece of shit”. I guess he would know as some time ago he also said yours truly was a turd. This guy must have some unchecked anal fixation…but that’s another story altogether.

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Did you see what I saw? Anybody find that to be an OUTLANDISH portrayal of the agents they have met? While he did take some liberties with the whole payola scene, what else was incorrect in the portrayal of how a LOT of agents conduct business?

Other than the payola to the inspector , which does happen, but can not be used to cast a total blanket on this video, what else is erroneous or not truthful.

I have watched this video 5 times and I am trying to see where it is not information that is easy to be substantiated.

Tip 1. Do your own research on comps…yep, great advice. Don’t see anything wrong with that. Where would I get it..well I’d ask an agent and I would tell them to be very specific (OMG you wouldn’t believe the BS CMA’s I have seen) Tell them you want a list of all closed, pending, and actives. Closed can not be anymore than90-120 days old and must be similar in configuration and amenities and prefarably within the same subdivision. We need to make sure we’re comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges. The pending and actives are for the regression analysis we will need to perform. (you do know what that is don’t you Mr. Agent)

Tip 2. Make sure that your listing contract has a termination clause written in the contract allowing you to fire the agent at any time at your discretion however of course if they have introduced or procured you a buyer you will need to expect to compensate them..and by all means do make sure that ALL offers are conveyed directly to you.

Make sure that if you reduce the price that you do so based upon the above referenced regression analysis. And that said reduction does not extend the listing agreement.

Tip 3 Forget about open houses…agreed! Hey this one is a toss up..simply a matter of opinion but hey you can’t argue what the video says isn’t true. There are literally dozens of traning courses all over the Internet and by the NAR that encourage agents to hold open houses as a form of marketing THEMSELVES…so this tip is actually right.

Can’t see how anyone would have a problem with that one.

Tip 4. ABSOLUTELY CORRECT..while some here may not negotiate their commission…it is no longer sacrosanct and of course one is able to negotiate it. Just because you won’t do it doesn’t mean that MOST won’t as the video says…so this tip is accurate as well.

I addressed it earlier but yes there are some unethical agents out there so indeed you should have all offers submitted for your review.

I would never accuse an inspector of being on the take but we all know how inspectors get paid. They are not paid to red tag properties they are hired to get them bought or sold. Also…what’s wrong with an independent point of view?

And yes you most assuredly need to know building code ordinances and no way you should assume an agent knows them. If they say they do, have them sign a document where they state that they will be responsible for any violations. That will often smoke out the BS.

Now the big one that most agents have a problem with. Wherein the video says you should consider going about it yourself.

Hmm..is it wrong to consider it? Is it wrong to educate yourself…think twice before you answer that question. Here’s why.

Let’s say today John wants to sell his house on his own and he is inundated with agents telling him he is unprepared and does not have the knowledge to sell his home on his own. So he should hire a professional and spend 6% because the professional knows better.  So if John’s house is worth $200,000 it will cost him $12,000 to have the professional sell his house for him.

But wait John says, hey I’m a bright guy, I think I can do this…so he begins to educate himself and he reads 1 book. 1 Text book and he feels he can tackle this on his own. Are you as agents saying John is wrong?

Well what if that book he bought was the real estate licensee text book. The same book that everyone else reads. Then he takes a test based upon what he read in the book and now he is a licensed real estate agent.

Is he now capable of selling his house on his own? Now that he is armed with the same information that many of the agents who said he would fail as a FSBO. By the way, he spent $199.00 for the book and took his class and test online.

Now he’s saved a whopping amount of cash and he’s now licensed. Yes, he only read 1 book and last week he wasn’t licensed but now he’s got the Blue R on his lapel and all of a sudden he CAN sell his home on his own because suddenly he has new found knowledge that no other FSBO could ever obtain unless they got the Blue R button.

So…is that tip on the video all that wrong?

Lastly we get to the Internet part. Please, it is so right..actually it’s a lot wrong..it said half and we all know it’s MUCH higher than that now..85%+ I believe is the new number.

yet, most agents have the web presence of a cadaver and their websites take up space like abandoned billboards on the info superhighway.

Of course, not those on sites like Agent Genius, no they represent the upper echelon of web savvy realtors but if you have any doubt that most..90+% have little if any clue about utilizing the Internet to snare buyers you are kidding yourselves.

Heck there are even some there and on other high profile real estate spaces who have not or have no idea as to how to optimize their blog or website to capture business.

Before you throw pitchforks, you can’t possibly disagree since the above statement is founded directly from NAR data.

So I ask the detractors of the video…I understand that you may be uncomfortable with the content, and maybe it’s delivery and now unfortunately it’s widespread distribution…but all in all you can not possibly be honest with yourself in stating that all in all it does not provide some valuable information and insight as well as a caveat for Sellers to explore.

I for one welcome this kind of video. I am contacting the producer for distribution and editing rights. We’re going to put it on our Fort Lauderdale real estate site and ENCOURAGE the transparency that the video seeks to evoke and we are going to let any seller or buyer know to ask our staff ANY of these questions and we’ll be prepared to provide them with open and honest responses to ensure the comfort of the client who is trying to resolve a transaction in the most volatile of markets ever seen.

Makes me wonder how some can be so cocky as to summarily dismiss that which is uncomfortable. Especially on a public forum wherein anyone can read and it just seems to me that with so many having a tough go at it this year that they would embrace that which may endear themselves to a consumer who holds their profession in such low regard.

I don’t know, just seems like good business to me.