The month of September was a very long one. I learned that writing a blog takes a certain amount of energy that is obviously just about what I had left over to give at the
end of a day, until I answered the phone the day after my last blog. These buyers were able to suck the joy out of every bit of the home-buying experience. I found myself regularly reconsidering my career choice: for anyone who knows how much I love what I do that statement will convey more than anything else I can put into words.
I tried to fire them a couple times, but they seemed to "get it" so I took them back, as such, only to see the same issues quickly reemerge. I made the decision to enter the month of October without them as clients and felt a sense of relief, not to mention vindication, when their repeated self-sabotage of a deal resulted in its death.
Buyers can be a difficult lot, but no more than any other group, in my opinion. As a rule, I refuse to use the old adage "Buyers are liars," because I hate to enter into any
relationship with preconceived notions. However, there are buyers, and sellers for that matter, who enter into the same transaction with their own preconceived notion that REALTORS cannot be trusted. When we first meet I actually include a handout with some of my reviews from people just like them who like me, trust me, and have been clients for years and referred friends and family. Imagine setting up a date on match.com, and when you arrive at the restaurant you receive a portfolio including letters from previous dates who attest to what a great guy he is; you might just enjoy the meal a bit more if you can feel less suspicious before the appetizer even arrives.
We all have talents and skills and we need to recognize our own limitations: we can't all be ballerinas. You are a "numbers guy" and your wife is a "former paralegal" and together you can enter into the transaction with those talents knowing neither lot makes you a REALTOR. You can analyze the contract, you can compare financing programs available, but at some point you need to turn to your agent and let them do what you chose them to do. If you hired someone because you liked their numbers, thus "negotiating style", but then spend a week picking things apart so that nothing about what is being presented comes close to their "style," are you expecting the same results? That is like choosing the fully loaded model you test drove on the lot, ordering the stripped down bare-bones version, and when it arrives complaining that you aren't getting the same ride.
In business, as in your personal life, it is never a good idea to enter into a relationship with the intent to change the other person. Moreover, in business, where you hire the resume, why would you want to?
There are many who will tell you they trust a REALTOR just about as much as they trust a used car salesman. That certainly makes a point, however, it is not based in reality. Since 1913 REALTORS have been held to a Code of Ethics; ours was the fourth profession in the country to establish such a code behind doctors, lawyers, and engineers. Used car salesman to date have no such code. In fact, the Code of Ethics sets our profession apart from any other sales position.
As with any profession you will always find a bad apple, you will certainly find someone who does not adhere strictly to the code, and you might just happen upon an agent who is ignorant of the code's required action in a given situation. However, you should rest assured there are penalties assessed on a daily basis when complaints are filed and investigated.
The Preamble of the Code references such things as "grave social responsibility and a patriotic duty:" that is a pretty lofty set of ideals for a professional equated with those who kick tires. We do hold ourselves to a high standard and take the tasks with which we are charged most seriously. "Fiduciary duty" is a term which rolls easily off our tongues, and immediately causes one to sit up and take notice. "Is this in the best interest of my client?" must be our principal thought from initiation of a listing, through closing and beyond.
Beyond the Preamble there are seventeen articles of the Code, each dealing with a specific aspect of our profession. These run the gamut from misrepresentation of facts, to the unauthorized practice of law, to truthful advertising. The volume of information discussed therein might be looked upon as overwhelming and an easily violated. However, the purest direction to follow, with which one will never be wrong, both personally and professionally, is noted near the end of the Preamble:
"In the interpretation of this obligation, REALTORS can take no safer guide than that which has been handed down through the centuries, embodied in the Golden Rules, "Whatsoever ye would that others should do to you, do ye even so to them."
