You Think Realtors Just Open Doors? That’s Our Fault.

Welcome to this episode of Brokers Uncensored. I am here once again with Becky Dewey, managing broker of RE/MAX Alliance Group. Steve Zaras, another fantastic managing broker I'm Shad Boucher, and we are here to talk about all things real estate in as much of an uncensored way as we can. So today I really wanted to just kind of talk about how the public really doesn't understand what we do, and to the point that it can cause people to leave bad reviews, give a complaint, just because they really don't understand what it is that an agent does for them and what the process is. So that being said, who wants to go first? I'll go first. Go for it, Becky.

I think the perception is we open a door and collect a check. I mean, that's just, that's just the knee-jerk reaction, I think, of every consumer. The agent opens the door, they collect a check. The weeks or possible months in between those two You know, events.

Yeah.

There is a lot of things that happen. And, you know, in one sense, obviously, I think it's smart for an agent not to pull their customer into a lot of the minutia because it doesn't necessarily, you know, it could ruffle the feathers of the situation and, and make it unsettled. So I think the agents do a good job of taking care of the issues, clearing them up, and not involving their customer, or solving the problem before they even bring it to their customer's attention. Which is a good thing. In some, in some aspects, I think we kind of shoot ourselves in the foot by doing that because they don't understand the 3 days of phone calls and negotiations and battling back and forth between parties to get to that resolution.

And that's what I was going to ask you. Do we shoot ourselves in the foot by not telling them all the dragons we slay on their behalf?

And I think some of it's not, you know, some of it they don't need to know. I mean, this selling or buying a home is, can be a stressful enough type of situation. So, I think we've kind of been, you know, programmed and trained to just go handle it and just reach a resolution. You know, they don't need to know all the fine details. But again, it just kind of doesn't help us sometimes either because I think, again, we opened the door, we collected a check.

Well, it's that meme. Have you ever seen the meme with the duck sitting on the pond and the duck is sitting there on the pond, but if you look under the water, it's furiously paddling?

Yes.

Yeah.

And I think that's what it is. The public just sees the duck on the pond, right? They don't see the furious paddling at the, at the other side, right? So I, yeah, I think that's, that's a good point.

Yes. If I could piggyback off of what Becky has said, uh, for 2 points. First, uh, you know, the, the big check, it's not necessarily a big check because a lot of people have their hands on that check.

Yeah.

And, uh, it doesn't go to the agent, it goes to the broker. Then you got to pay your taxes and a lot of other things. I don't want this to be a financial segment, but there's a lot that comes out of that check.

Well, you're right. And buying the customer lunch and all the gas driving around to and from and all the expenses. Yeah, exactly.

Yes. And then I'll tell people, look, you hire me for the things that I'm going to do behind the scenes that you'll never know about. However, I do take that to the next level and I will communicate to them that, hey, I'm working on an issue. Don't worry about it. We're going to be able to take care of it. It's just going to take a couple extra steps, but I want to let you know. And they'll say, well, what is it? And I'll tell them. This week I got to work on a UCC filing that was filed, what, about 10 years ago on a couple. Then they were foreclosed on and this company was included in the foreclosure.

Interesting.

Then they died a few years after that. Then the original UCC was refiled. So there's a lien on the property. from a lien that was included in the foreclosure, and the people died, and no signatures, nothing. So that took several phone calls and several days, and it is being resolved. But just— that's just one example. I had to go on county records, and I pull up the property records.

Yeah.

The customer, you know, the only bump in the road I ran into is I couldn't access the death certificates, but I could see that they were recorded. But these are things that we do. That's just one example. And, and for a seasoned realtor, you know, you go through this and you know how to handle these situations. And the public, you know, it's a blessing for them to have you, in my opinion.

Well, it's a blessing to have you in some cases. In some cases it's not. Right. You know, interestingly enough, the deal that I dealt with yesterday at this hearing, It came out during the hearing that the other agent had a text chain with our agent and a text chain with the buyer, and there was things that the buyer had no idea about. And when that buyer got to see the text chain between the two agents, all of a sudden there was no complaint. So again, you know, it's it's it's amazing. You have to really be careful about who you hire. And you know, and all of those things. And and you know, this is not it's not just opening a door like Becky said and getting a check. It's you know clearing up UCC filings. It's you know wrongfully recorded deeds. It's you know I've I've I've fought the county before because a house was on the county at 2,400 square feet, and I walked the outside perimeter and said hmm. This is bigger than 2,400 square feet. And the math didn't math and they got it wrong by like 222 square feet, this house. Now, that was good and bad because the seller got, you know, a break on their taxes for 15 years, but it was just wrong. And, you know, we fight that kind of stuff all the time.

Mm-hmm.

And I, you know, I think we don't do a good enough job of telling people what we do and educating them.

No. Yeah. And Shad, another issue I both— I know you both will agree is these non-permitted home improvements that we have to deal with.

Oh, God, yes. Yeah. Oh, we need an extra bedroom. Let's just wall in the garage.

Yeah.

You know, and well, and this is an interesting thing. And most people, most people know this, but they don't know this. When you look at a house, the livable area is deemed square foot Yes. Not square foot air conditioned, square foot heated. So if you make a new room and there's an air conditioner in there, it's great. But if it's not a heat pump, doesn't provide heat, that's not livable area. And a lot of people don't understand that it's square foot heated, especially here in Florida, right? You know, AC is not an option, but, but it is. It is in the eyes of the appraiser. It absolutely is. So, you know, it's just one of these things that I think most people just don't know. But you're exactly right, Steve. I mean, we live, we live in the land of DIY.

Yes. Yes.

We live in that. I mean, I think that's why so many communities got HOAs and CDDs back in the day was all the DIY that was going on in places. Yeah. And it did, you know, several years ago that played a big part in our insurance problem. was these companies were having to insure properties that weren't built right. You know, they were built by Uncle Tony and Uncle Steve.

Right.

So, you know, it is what it is. But I mean, I think it's— I think it's just when you look at it, I think the perception of what the public thinks we do and what they really know that we do is just not— it's not on point at all.

Well, I will say this much. I've purchased several houses over the years without a realtor, mainly because I've been in the business so long and I know what to do.

Right.

And the amount of work is unbelievable when you do a transaction by yourself. And the average person does not know what they need to do to bring it to the closing table successfully. There's too many moving parts and there's too many, well, what if this happened? What if that happened? And if something reveals itself, you have to deal with it. And it's just too much for them. So, we do earn our paycheck and we do bring value to the table.

And how many times have you been in a situation going, I'm learning about something that I have no interest in. I know too much about something I could care less about because you needed to figure out and, you know, to strategize to get a deal closed, you know?

Well, I think we all had to, we all had to quickly, you know, educate ourselves a couple of years ago when Milton hit. You know, I had heard of, I had heard of the FEMA 50/50 rule, really had never Force majeure is a term that I hope I never have to hear again. Yeah, that's, that's a good one. Force majeure, the FEMA 50/50 rule, all of that stuff, you know. And so we're constantly in learning mode. We're constant, constantly—

Yeah, every deal is a learning experience. There's no 2 deals that are ever the same. No. Um, sometimes you just— it makes the next one a little bit easier because you dealt with something on this one that you're like, oh yeah, it kind of relates to that. Yeah, I mean, it's It's hard.

Yeah, and I think, again, I think it's just the fact that the public just has no idea of, of what we do and, and, and how we do it.

And again, well, the good agents make it look easy.

Yes, you know, that is very true. That's very true. The good agents make it look smooth. They're just, oh, there was nothing that went on, there was no problems. Oh yeah, there was lots of problems.

And I would say good and seasoned agents because We've been through a lot.

Yeah.

Yeah, we, we have. And I think, well, I mean, if you look at it, there's, there's not a lot of agents. I mean, I—

now, I will say there's some seasoned agents that probably it's time for them to retire because they can't keep up with the changes that we're facing these days.

Very true. It's very true. But I think, I think you guys will start to agree with me. I'm, I'm at that age now that, you know, a couple of things. Number one, I hear the decade where I consider myself to be a teenager now on the TV as, you know, Songs from the oldies, you know, freaking sucks. That sucks. But when you're in the room with agents, you know, and one of these speakers says, you know, who's been in the business three years? Who's been in this five years? Who's been? And he gets to that ridiculous number, right? Who's been in the business more than twenty years? And I kind of, you know, and I'm the only hand that goes up. And I think that there's there's too few of us in that in that bucket. Unfortunately. Um, but yeah, the, the public is just, you know, so we need to do— and, and I'm, and I'm not putting this on the consumer to go educate themselves on what we do. Um, don't, don't take that the wrong way. We need to do a better job of educating the public on what we do.

Well, it's— and it gets back to the communication, you know. Not that I think you should withhold anything from your customer. I just think you need to I'm, I'm a proactive type. I'm like, I like to have a resolution before it even becomes a problem. Like, I'm usually trying to be 2 steps ahead. But if I'm calling somebody with a problem, I like to have a plan of how it's going to be resolved before we even, you know.

Or I fix it.

Yeah.

Then I call them and say, hey, by the way, this happened today. It's all fixed. You're good.

Yeah.

But just wanted to let you know this happened.

Right.

Yes.

And Yeah, correct. And I think that that really, you know, that solves a lot for people. Not to mention the fact it's just good business.

Yeah.

Yes.

It's just good business.

You know, I will say probably if I— and I get very few complaints on any of my agents, but when it comes down to it, it's mostly because I haven't heard from them. They haven't called me. And I tell my agents, they're like— I'm like, why didn't you call? You haven't called them. They don't know what's going on. Well, I don't have anything to tell them. Then call them and tell them, I don't have any, I don't have any updates. You know, not hearing from you is the land of the unknown and they think you're not doing anything.

Well, and here, and to your point, Becky, let me kind of piggyback off of that. We all do this when we don't hear. Our brain doesn't go to rainbows and sunshine. No, our brain goes dark. It's the apocalypse.

Well, and sometimes our gut, being in this business long enough, that's kind of if we don't hear something or there's something We know something's happening behind the scenes that could potentially not be a good thing. So, right.

But our customers look at it as, I mean, it's the apocalypse. This isn't going to happen. You know, what's going on? I already ordered all the food for Thanksgiving and now we can't have it at the house because we're not getting the house.

Right.

No one said you're not getting the house.

Right.

But that's kind of where they go. So, yeah. And I think, I think communication is a big thing. I think You know, upfront explaining to them what the process is, is, and then not being afraid to say, by the way, between here and here, this is going to probably happen. I am fully equipped to handle this. So you're fine. But I just want to make you aware that there's going to be a lot that goes on between here and here. You know, at some point there's going to be a dispute that's going to be difficult to resolve, but I'm going to get it resolved. At some point there's going to be—

Setting the expectations, not just going in there and getting the listing signed, setting the expectations of, you know, what they can expect from you. What, you know, I mean, you spend enough time telling them, you know, what your marketing plan and all that's going to look like. Behind the scenes, what is the process? Maybe this might be the first home they sold. Maybe this is the first home they've bought. Give them upfront the expectations of what they can expect from you.

Right.

And again, this transaction is going to be different than the last one that they may have done, and things are going to arise. So just Setting the expectations and communicating with them, I think, is key, which can avoid a lot of these issues that arise that result in a potential ethics hearing.

Well, and plus, you know, consumers get this in their brain. Well, I sold, I sold a house in Ohio.

Yeah.

You know, okay, that's great. Ohio ain't Florida. Like, we got things, you know, sinkholes and stuff. You know, we have Florida stuff. You know, like Florida always has to be different in every way, shape, or form. Yeah. So selling your house in Ohio. Yeah. Not the same thing.

And I wouldn't recommend— I can't offer you suggestions about selling your home in Ohio because I don't know that market. I don't know how everything works there. So I wouldn't even try to give you advice on that.

And it's very important that a consumer chooses the correct agent. You know, I mean, I get a lot of phone calls from my agents and they're usually one of two, mostly one of two categories. The first category would be, Compliance issue, contract issues, which addenda need to be attached to the contract. And then the other issue would be problems with the agent on the other side of the transaction. And that seems to be more common today than it was in the past.

Yeah.

And there's a lot of issues out there. So it's important for a consumer to choose the correct agent, the correct company, uh, look at the track record, the productivity, And the reviews, it's very important.

It is. It's, you know, I would love to say that we're all cut off the same cloth, but we're not.

Nope.

No, I mean, we're not. I mean, again, you know, I go back to me raising my hand. The amount of agents that have been doing this 20 years are few and far between. Yeah, they're, they're just not. I think last— the last thing I read in Florida was the average agent's been licensed since 2019.

I've got one in my office, 40 years. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah, we have, we have a few, we have a few agents in the company that are at that point. I mean, that's, you know, to stay in this business that long, that's, that says something, you know, especially when most— yeah, says you might be crazy, but you might be a glutton for punishment. You know, you might be a lot of things, but yeah, it's, it's not, it's not an easy business to get into and it's not, you know, not an easy business to stay into.

I think it's easier than it should be, honestly, though.

Yeah, and, and we can have that discussion at another time.

It's not easy to be successful in it. It's a lot of hard work, but I think it's easier than it necessarily should be to get into it, which is why—

I agree.

Okay, so you're about to get me on a soapbox. I think—

Okay, bring it on.

I think licensing in the state of Florida should stay the same. Okay. I think it's NAR that needs to put up the velvet rope. I think that, I think that the, the ease of getting a license in Florida is about where it should be. And I think that it's a great— so, all right, back in the day, you came out of high school and you didn't want to go to college. You could go and get a job at a factory. You could get a trade job. You could get some of these things where you could feed your family, own a home, and provide. You didn't have to go to college. Now, such an emphasis has been put on college that there's people out there that just can't afford to go do that. I think real estate and getting a real estate license is a great equalizer.

Mm-hmm.

Because you can go out and provide for your family and have a 6-figure income. And I mean, you're limiting, you know, you're not limited in your earning potential, right? So to get your license, I'm good with where it's at. It's NAR that needs to be the gold standard. And I think you should be able to be a licensee. Sure. I think it should be much tougher to be a realtor.

Good point.

Just like there are accountants Right. And then there are CPAs, there are engineers, and then there are board-certified engineers. Like, there's levels of things, you know, there are physicians and there's board-certified physicians.

There's a plumber and a master plumber.

Correct. And I think that NAR should be the standard. It should be something that you achieve, not that you go down and pay your membership dues and sit for an 8-hour ethics course. That's where I think the world has, you know, the fact that the word Realtor has become synonymous with anyone with a license, that's a problem.

Yeah.

That's a problem. And that's a big thing that I think needs to be solved. I mean, I'm all for raising the real estate dues to $3,000 a year because if you're out there doing business, that's not a— that's not A ton of money. I think when you come off the line and you've got a license, I think you should have to have a sponsor. I think you should have to have a sponsor and a mentor that is responsible for you, just like an appraiser.

See, it's— see, I have to respectfully disagree. I don't think—

Why would you? Hang on a second. Why would you start being respectful now?

Well, we're recording. That's why.

Whatever. Say it like it is, man.

He's on pain meds for his teeth. He's feeling a little—

I was going to say, yeah, get rowdy. I mean, come on.

All right. I don't think we should raise the dues to that amount. I think instead we should have minimum expectations. How many realtors do nothing? How many— the average realtor is doing what, 3 deals a year?

Yeah.

You know, this is a profession that is really not being used as a profession for some folks. Some people get licensed just to get their own deal done. They do 1 or 2 deals a year. And are they really effective, educated? Are they able to handle all of the changes that keep coming? Are they working for the right company? I can go on and on and on with that list, as the two of you can as well. But if there were minimum expectations, I mean, any job, you're going to have an annual review or you're going to have to do so much productivity.

Yeah.

So why don't we have that in this industry? And I think the reason why is because the state and the associations are making a ton of money off of licensees.

Yeah, I don't disagree. Well, and to your point, I completely agree with you there. I was just putting high dues in conjunction with productivity standards.

Yes.

I think you should have to, you know, you should have a designated county according to the board and, you know, whatever that county is where you do most of your business. And if the average agent in that county does 6 deals a year, you need to hit 6 deals a year. Okay. Or you go on probation for 12 months and if you don't hit it a second year, You're out. Like, you're not doing this full-time.

Like, and that would do a great service to the consumer because now they know they've got somebody who's producing. They have a real live agent that gets it and that's serious.

Well, and here's the thing, Steve. The reason that I talk about raising the dues is the only way NAR is going to do that is if the revenue doesn't change. And if they kick people out based on performance, And based on taking the code of ethics every year and all that stuff, which they should, then they're going to lose revenue and they won't. That's why they won't do it. So you'd have to replace the revenue in some way, shape, or form.

I'm sensing that we have a topic for a future podcast.

Oh, 100%. 100%. 100%.

We could talk all day.

We could.

We could talk all day. Exactly.

Well, you guys could talk all day.

No, no. Hey, whatever. But no, but I think, but I think ultimately that all affects the consumer and their perception of us. And, you know, like I said, I sat in this, I sat in this hearing for an hour and a half yesterday, and I heard this gentleman, and, and his concerns were valid to him, right? They just weren't valid in the context of what actually went on, right?

Right.

And, you know, and I feel bad for him that he felt so strongly about this that he had to lose an hour and a half of his day to come up and deal with this whole thing, which just wasn't, you know, a thing.

Right.

So, yeah.

Well, and it goes back to those things too. And, you know, with anything, if somebody has a bad experience, you know, if they have a good experience, they tell one person. If it's a bad experience, they tell 10, you know? And, you know, let's be honest, a lot of realtors, you know, the realtor industry does not have necessarily the perfect reputation Because of agents out there willy-nilly doing this. And I mean, this is, this is a huge investment in somebody. This may be the biggest investment they ever make in their life, you know. I mean, majority of people on the line, you're messing with a lot of people's lives, you know. Well, a lot of people, a lot of people that, you know, I mean, it rolls downhill. There's so many people involved in a transaction of getting a home sold that you're affecting all of those people.

And it's their most There's their largest purchase that the average person makes.

Well, and, and where a lot of people start generational wealth.

Yes.

It's where generational wealth starts, you know. So yeah, you shouldn't be doing this. No, you know, as a part-time thing.

I mean, a lot of people's lives are on the line.

Yep. 100%. 100%. All right. Well, So anyway, I think we've kind of rambled enough and we found out what we're going to have our next, uh, our next podcast about. So if you want to see us go solid on, you know, why agents should be more structured, then tune into the next episode. You know, like and subscribe.

That one's gonna get down and dirty.

You know, you know, you know, I think, I think, you know—

I feel a cough coming on.

You feel a cough coming on? Yeah, we'll have to have— look guys, it'll be, it'll be interesting episode to be our first one with a disclaimer.

Yes, there you go.

These, these are our opinions for whatever they are.

For entertainment only.

We should probably have Joe write us a disclaimer.

Joe, write us a disclaimer. Yeah, it's really bad when we've done this podcast enough that we start thinking that we need to have the in-house attorney start writing us a disclaimer.

But, um, we probably should have already had him do that.

Yeah, yeah, maybe, maybe that was a little bit of a case of ready, fire, aim.

Well, we're all still working here, so if Peter watched them, I think we're okay. So we haven't got fired yet, so we've kept it in the lines.

Yes. Okay, that'll work. We've kept, we've kept the train on the tracks. That's awesome.

So, or he's making a list.

Or he's making a list. It's a good point. All right, guys, well, I appreciate you joining me today. I think this is a great topic. And, and for any of you that are watching right now, like and subscribe if this is your content. If you're an agent, if you're a consumer, if you want to see 3 people that have done this a collective 75 years and come out and literally tell you what's going on in the real estate industry without you having to guess, then subscribe, like the podcast, leave us a comment, suggest stuff to us. We'd love to have content to give to you guys and appreciate it, guys. And I will see you next time.