Who are they?
There is at least one Real Estate Bully in every market. You know who they are:
- the ones that take every listing no matter the price just to add to their inventory
- The ones that talk down and spread false rumors about their competition
- The ones that don’t care when a buyer is working with another agent and go out of their way to steal business
- The ones that don’t work for their clients’ best interest and will do anything to get a sale
What to do?
We are faced with bullies from the time we are children. Different parents have different approaches to dealing with bullies which can include:
- tattle-taling to the school superiors (in this case the local board)
- face to face intervention
- brute force
- walking away and keeping your distance
Rick and I have chosen the higher road and have kept our distance. We figure their time will come and we see how they are digging their own grave one small shovel full at a time. It is just amazing to me how much people love these bullies and think the world of them!
Our approach may change soon, but for now we sit back and watch the show.
The Victims
The worst part is that the victim ends up being the customer not other agents. Those customers that are lead to believe things that are not necessarily factual. They end up paying more for properties, selling for less and in many cases are not told key information that may affect the value of their properties.
We receive e-mails on a daily basis of people telling us horror stories about other agents and how they wish they would have known us earlier. We go out of our way to help them, and know we are planting seeds for future business.
The future
Sometimes I wish there was an easier way to eradicate these bullies who ultimately make our industry look worse – but it can’t be done until the consumer takes off the blindfold.
