CONSUMERS CONFUSED ABOUT REALTOR'S ROLE

Two questions come to mind regarding the public’s perception about our role. First, do they understand the entire scope of what we do and how we get paid? And second, if not, why not, and how do we educate them?

Let’s start at the beginning. There is no doubt that some consumers are confused about how Realtors work. Why wouldn’t they be? In the current service model, which has been in existence for over 100 years, buyers have been able to utilize Realtors’ services with virtually no conversation about compensation, since seller s traditionally pay the commission.

What other highly skilled professional service does the public get “for free?” In many cases, buyers have been afraid to ask and, for some reason, agents have been afraid to bring it up. Agents’ failure to discuss compensation with buyers has actually helped to create the perception among some consumers that real estate agents must be getting paid a salary by their brokerage firms!

While buyer agency and agency disclosure laws have now been with us for 17 years, many real estate agents still seem reluctant to broach the subject with buyers. We are very comfortable talking frankly with sellers about representation and compensation, but old habits apparently die hard when it comes to having the same conversation with buyers. This lack of clarity has created some undesirable consequences, typified by scenarios such as agents providing free taxi service for waffling buyers who look at hundreds of properties before they choose to buy.

Unclear expectations can lead to indecisive buyers and a fuzzy decision making process.

As professionals, we must do a far better job setting forth the parameters of the agent-client relationship right from the beginning. It is our responsibility to set clear expectations about service levels, communication frequency and format, time commitments, compensation and, yes, client loyalty. By doing so, everyone’s experience will be better.