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Do Real Estate Agents Have a Bad Reputation?
Do all real estate agents have a bad reputation?
An agent commented yesterday that she felt embarrassed to be part of a profession in which so many real estate agents have a bad reputation because she does not deserve that moniker. Hey, some agents deserve the bad reputation label because they have earned it. Other agents are thoughtful, skilled, compassionate and excel at their job. It’s why some listing agents get paid 6% commission or more, for example, and others only 5% or less. Because good listing agents are worth what they are paid.
It’s rare I run across people who believe that Sacramento Realtors are miserable scum, so I’m not that affected by it. Plus, I look so good by comparison without doing anything except being. But I do know some people harbor a wrong belief about agents. Hey, a guy told me only yesterday that all agents promise great stuff but they can’t deliver. Excuse me? I back my guarantees with solid performance, and I can prove it. But in this case I’m not sure I have the time to educate.
All agents are not the same. We don’t wear the same hat, we don’t do the same job, and we don’t have the same life experiences. You can’t choose a listing agent based on picking the cheapest commission because you’ll be sorely disappointed. You need to pick the best. The best earn that paycheck by outproducing and netting the seller more money than the seller would get with a cheap agent. It’s that simple.
So how do you tell who is the best when so many real estate agents have a bad reputation? Especially when it comes to buyer’s agents who all get paid pretty much the same regardless of the amount of work they do or their skill level. Listing agents are often paid more by sellers for their work than the amount buyer’s agents earn. But that is not to say that buyer’s agents are less qualified because they are not. It’s just the way the system works.
The best way to find out whether real estate agents have a bad reputation is to Google them. The really horrible agents will have terrible reviews published about them online. You can read about a client’s personal experience working with an agent on these websites, and you can tell the agents who perform and the agents who give lip service.
Plus, trust your gut. If your agent is confident, can produce a published track record, and has been in the business long enough to gain a following and referrals, your agent probably is one of the better ones. Check out the Bureau of Real Estate website to see how long the agent has been licensed. Look for meat, not fluff. Do all real estate agents have a bad reputation? Absolutely not, but there are enough to give the public a distaste for some of us.
Further, sometimes, a person believes what a person wants to believe and no amount of facts and statistics will change that mindset. Like those who don’t believe in science, think global warming is hoax, and will gladly pollute the earth in exchange for a dollar.
Are You Getting Screwed in Real Estate?
When the Sacramento housing market tightens, getting screwed in real estate is more likely to happen.
Getting screwed in real estate is an interesting topic. You can look at Sacramento real estate like it’s one big f-ing orgy, and you wouldn’t be too far off base. Of course, that attitude won’t get you anywhere. You can wallow in that mud hole, rub that wet sticky mud all over naked body parts, and it still won’t resolve anything. The only thing a particular experience of getting screwed in real estate does for you is provide a new set of warning signs that it’s coming. It’s like a giant asteroid that could suddenly smack the earth. If you see that sucker coming, you can start running all you want — but when you’re under its shadow, it’s gonna squash you anyway.
This is why my 40-some years in the real estate business tends to pay off for my clients. It doesn’t mean I will never shoulder an experience of getting screwed in real estate, but those situations are super few and far between. My radar is constantly up. Searching. Analyzing. But it’s by habit and not a focused project. I don’t spend a lot of time on it. Yet, the stuff I’ve recently sent flying like a boomerang would make your head spin.
I can tell you that many people don’t start out with a plan to exploit. Because that would mean they are the devil incarnate, like Ted Cruz in the flesh, and most people are not. Nor would they even recognize that trait if it was embedded. People really don’t dig that deep within themselves. We’re too busy ushering kids to soccer, heads buried in our cellphones, ordering pizza delivery. On top of this, people tend to rationalize what they do to an extent that they make it OK to step on somebody else’s head by accident and grind those eyeballs into the concrete sidewalk.
It just comes with the territory of selling real estate in Sacramento. The more real estate an agent sells, the more likely she is come across these crooked situations and avoid them. I average around 100 sales a year.
Three Ways to Prevent Getting Screwed in Real Estate
I can’t see anyway to completely prevent getting screwed in real estate, but I can often lessen the chances of it happening. 1) The most obvious way is to be ethical and to operate with integrity. This way you tend to attract individuals like yourself. 2) The second is to pay attention to red flags, things that seem out of place. Probe. Inquire. Push a little for answers. 3) The third is to hire an experienced Sacramento Realtor who has been around the block so many times she can count the number of cracks that broke your mother’s back.
Call Elizabeth Weintraub for your Sacramento real estate needs. My laryngitis is just about over. It’s OK to sound like Stockard Channing, I’ve decided. I’ll get the job done right, and I try to ensure every client is a happier person along the way. Call 916.233.6759.
