The (NAR) doth protest too much, methinks.
Did you see this? (not too many people have, apparently).
10 Things Your Real Estate Broker Won’t Say
Many of the “10 Things” are arguably true. Some are laughably easy to dispute. Calling the article “dumb” is silly.
1 – “Your house is really just a networking party for me.“ True. In my market, this is an absolutely true statement.
3 – “My fees are negotiable.” Duh.
7 – “I won’t let termites – or pesky inspectors – kill a deal” – this is just an asinine statement, barely worthy of a response. I never have been, nor have I heard of, any Realtors being in “cahoots” with anybody. The best part about this entire paragraph is this, “For information on where to find your own home inspector, see item No. 4 in “10 Things Your Home Builder Won’t Tell You,” on page 94.”
At least they are transparent about their attempt to sell a book – ridiculous claims are sure to sell a few books.
In short, it’s a good article insofar as it gives reasonable insight into what consumers – and our clients and potential clients – think of Realtors.
But it’s the defense put forth by the NAR that got me.
While some home sellers do choose to market and sell their homes on their own, unrepresented sellers have no access to fundamental marketing services, such as a Multiple Listing Service.
First, I appreciate his using “unrepresented sellers” – it’s a true descriptor of what FSBOS are. Unrepresented. Second, (however) – the above would have been much more powerful if there was at least one more “fundamental marketing service” other than the MLS. Seriously.
But here’s the rub –
Realtors® are trained professional real estate practitioners, and only Realtors® are members of NAR and subscribe to the association’s strict code of ethics.
No, no we’re not “trained professionals.” When I finished my 60 hours of real estate “education” I was no more prepared to practice real estate than I was to fly a plane off an aircraft carrier.
Making the argument that Realtors are all trained professionals devalues the Realtor brand. It’s well-documented that becoming a Realtor is a frighteningly easy task.
Some. Some Realtors® are trained professionals – and this training comes from years of experience, not from a classroom. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, “trained” means “60 hours” of non-relevant “training.” Members of the NAR subscribe to their respective MLS’; the Code of Ethics is a means to an end – that end being the MLS.
How many of you have actually read all 17 Standards of Practice?
