Toby Boyce
By Toby Boyce
Sitting in the classroom taking licensure classes to become a licensed real estate agent in the state of Ohio, suddenly it becomes very obvious: They want to make sure you know people don’t like you.
“You are spoken in the same breath as used car salesmen,” a local real estate attorney is fond of stating. (Of course he often neglected to mention that the other half of the comparison is to his own profession.)
However, are we in the same class as used car salesmen? Nope. Not even close according to the U.S. Better Business Bureau’s recently released 2010 numbers . In fact, the number of complaints against real estate agents isn’t even in the top 50 industries. The most complaints in 2010 were registered against:
1. Television – Cable, CATV & Satellite: 30,408
2. Cellular Phones Services & Equipment: 24,876
3. Auto Dealers – New Cars: 23,906
4. Banks: 22,609
5. Collection Agencies: 14,966
6. Auto Dealers – Used Cars: 13,902
Real estate agents slipped in the 54th position on the list with 3,034 complaints. Which I believe was made even more impressive by the fact that more than 400,000 inquires were made for real estate agents of the Better Business Bureau in 2010.
So next time you look in the mirror, remember, “Dog gone it, people like you.”
Toby Boyce, MBA, is a real estate practitioner with Keller Williams Consultants Realty in Westerville, Ohio. Visit his Web site: www.delawareohrealestate.com.
Subhi J. Gharbieh
By Subhi J. Gharbieh
A week or so ago, I was approached by a long time friend who I have known since elementary school. We grew up in the same neighborhood, went to the same high school, and even graduated from the same university. I remember as kids, we would always talk about how successful we wanted to be when we grew up, and how we were going to help each other become successful.
He called and asked me a few real estate related questions. He said that a relative of his had a property in mind that he was ready to move on, and needed some consultation. I thanked him for the referral, and gave his relative a call. We met, discussed the whole buyers representation process, and everything went pretty well.
A day or so later, I received a call from this friend of mine, saying that his relative was going to approach this property representing himself, without a REALTOR®. I respectfully accepted that and didn’t think too much about it. Immediately following that, he calls me again, this time saying he would convince his relative to purchase the property with myself as his REALTOR®, only if I gave him 50 percent off my commission. (The subject property listed at a little over $2 million dollars.)
Just remembering the friendship that this person and I had as kids, this “offer” felt like a slap in the face (I’m 22, it wasn’t that long ago). I explained to him that it might seem like he is dropping a large amount of money in my lap, but the process to acquire a property of this value takes a lot of time, knowledge, negotiation, and liability. He wasn’t convinced. Long story short, I declined to represent the buyer. Continue reading »
Crystal Webster
By Crystal Webster
Do you ever feel like you’re back in high school and trying to get your college application all put together? At least for me, during the final push for college grades didn’t matter, classes were out the window, and books were only for propping open your door.
The extracurricular section of the application got 100 percent of my attention the last semester of high school (even though it was probably too late at that point to matter)…
Anyway, sometimes that’s how I feel – as though all the “extras” are more important than the grades and classes. Especially going into the “slow time” it seems like everyone wants to know: “What else do you do?”
I DO do lots of other things: volunteer my time, sit on boards, blog, administer a networking website, manage residential property, spend time with my friends and family, help old ladies across the street, nurse stray dogs back to health…but don’t you want to know about my grades? Don’t you want to see my stats and just how good I am at what I actually do?
Come on, it’s not like every time you go to your doctor you ask them about their “second job.” (in fact, I think I’d be a little scared if they had a second job).
Do you get this question often? Do you steer clear of answering it or how do you answer it? What do you WANT to be known for?
Crystal Webster is a REALTOR® in the Kansas City area. Visit her networking site at www.kcyoungprofessionals.com and her Web site and blog at www.theheritagehometeam.com.
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