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Is the Sacramento Real Estate Profession Countercultural?
The Sacramento real estate profession is made up of people from all walks of life.
Most of the agents I know in Sacramento practice our real estate profession honestly, ethically and with integrity. Still, it astounds me when a few bad apples — and why do apples get the rap, what have apples ever done; why isn’t the phrase a few bad grapes, or maybe the California Association of Winegrape Growers cracks a bigger whip — set such terrible examples from which judgments and stereotypes form.
This came up a few days ago because an agent said he was less concerned about his buyer’s disloyalty and more concerned about my honesty because I let him know his buyer was trying to go around him by contacting me directly. He called my alert of his client’s inappropriate contact and solicitation “refreshing.” I call it doing business the way I expect to be treated. It’s that simple. This agent, though, obviously has had a different experience with other agents.
Sure, there are those in the real estate profession who live in their own world. You might wonder how they make it in a demanding business that requires communication when they do not communicate. For example, I texted a few agents with listings in a condo complex last week to ask if they knew the percentage of owner occupancy. Crickets. I begged another buyer’s agent to send an addendum, required to meet a tight deadline, repeatedly calling, texting, leaving voicemails. Crickets. I routinely contact all buyer’s agents after showings to request feedback and, much of the time, you guessed it: crickets.
It doesn’t make these agents dishonest or unethical. It makes them ineffective, maybe lazy confused or lacking business. Some “forget” to send signed purchase offers to this Sacramento Realtor because they are busy with their children’s preschool or caught up in some other routine that interferes with their practice of the real estate profession. They haven’t yet learned to make their business a number one priority.
I read this morning about how the author and philosopher, Cornel West, while lecturing this week at Sac State, said that exhibiting honesty and integrity makes a person in business countercultural. It seems odd to me. I believe that working honestly, ethically and with integrity means you attract others of the same mindset. Like I said, many of the agents I know in the real estate profession possess those qualities, and they don’t think twice. But maybe it’s me who lives in her own world.
Telling Sacramento Sellers What They Don’t Want to Hear
You can’t really be an effective Sacramento real estate agent if you’re not willing to tell sellers what they don’t want to hear. That means you have to figure out how to share bad news in such a way that people don’t immediately take off their shoes and start beating on your head. There is a way to frame bad news. Not necessarily like the cat on a roof story.
I don’t know how one can expect a seller, for example, to make a decision without all of the information necessary to weigh the facts and come up with a response. I suspect that some real estate agents are too worried that they will hurt another’s feelings or worse, that maybe the seller won’t list with them if the seller gets upset by the news. But you can’t tiptoe around on little cat feet. That’s not helpful for anybody.
Not everybody appreciates a person who is straight forward and direct. There is a way to be straight forward by tempering the news a little bit because if you just blurt it out, in our present society, people will accuse you of being rude. Oh, my god, my ears. What did you say? I’m ugly and people don’t like me? Of course if you don’t care what they think — and sometimes, let’s face it, we don’t — then it doesn’t matter.
A guy called me this morning to talk about his listing. He was unhappy because his agent doesn’t communicate with him and makes him feel like he is not a priority. He gave me several examples, so I have to kinda agree with him, even though I realize there is always another side to every story. He said he knew his listing was priced too high but he needed that amount in order to pay off his loans.
What?
Why didn’t anybody say anything to this poor guy? Why are they letting him rot in MLS, hopeful yet frustrated? This makes no sense to me whatsoever. He talked to several agents. Even if they explained the truth and he didn’t listen, it still doesn’t explain why his home is in MLS the way that it is.
Top Producer Sacramento Real Estate Agents and Objectivity
I have often said that if a client works with a top producer Sacramento real estate agent, the client never has to worry about her agent’s objectivity because objectivity is first and foremost. It’s very easy to keep a clients’ interests at the forefront of every transaction when an agent’s income is not affected by whether it closes. I can see some agents reading this blog now and exploding. They might think it sounds like I’m saying agents who don’t do a lot of business will compromise their ethics, and that’s not what I’m implying.
At least not consciously. I don’t believe a real estate agent looks at a pending escrow and contemplates what will happen to the agent if it doesn’t close. Agents are not necessarily counting on every transaction to close in order to pay their mortgage payment or maybe they are, I don’t know. I just know there is no conflict when finances are not a concern. When you’re busy all the time, the money just appears like magic. There is no wondering if you’re doing the right thing when advising a client because you know in your heart that you’re putting the client’s needs first. There is no internal struggle.
Besides, you’re too damn busy to think about yourself. All you have time for is your client’s wishes and desires.
I can recall an instance in the mid 1970s when I was interrupted and asked how long it would take me to finish an appointment with a client. I had been behind closed doors talking with an elderly client for several hours. My answer was it would take as long as it takes. I’m still the same way today, 40 years later. I give my clients all the time they need to make a decision, and I don’t push or shove them into anything they’re not ready to do. I lose some clients this way because I don’t always follow up with them; I figure when they’re ready they’ll call me back — some do, but some get sidetracked.
If sellers want to sell their home, fine, I’ll sell it. If they don’t want to sell, fine, I won’t. If the buyer makes a demand that the seller doesn’t agree with, the seller can cancel and I’ll endorse that decision — if that’s what the seller really wants. Because if the seller doesn’t care if it closes, I surely do not. If the seller wants to close, I’ll do whatever it takes. It’s very easy to be objective. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that clear objectivity might be a reason why some people struggle a little bit with trusting a real estate agent and sometimes squint at agents out of the corner of their eye.
Sure, I get paid but it’s not my focus. I hope nobody ever looks at me with one eye closed.
