Duh

by Jeff Brown

Real Estate Investments Broker

Author website

Early yesterday evening I was truly fortunate to be in a room with a buncha smart, highly successful, incredibly skilled people. There were bazillion$ sitting there, discussing what they do for a living, the real estate industry in general, marketing, and the normal stuff. I’m not gonna talk much about the whole syndication of listings comedy of horrors (my description), except as it relates to the difference between perception and reality.

How is it guys like me can sell a home in a matter of hours, 16% over the median price in the region? No syndication, at least none for which I paid. If some happened as a result of the listing hitting the local MLS, I can’t control that. In any case, it didn’t sell the home.

My efforts did. My experience did. My expertise did. And so does yours.

Let me make it even more irritating. Earlier this year a new client in another state had a small rental home, ripe for a tax deferred exchange. First step? Get it sold. He wanted to initially sell it himself, so I coached him. He did everything I asked of him, and did it well. Took about 30 days. Got his price. It closed. Completed his exchange. All he was interested in was results. I told him he didn’t need anything but his local MLS. Guess he must’ve been an M.I.T. grad, right? Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Back to the group in the room.

There were no newbies in the room, at least none I could identify by sight. 🙂 One was a fellow Bloodhound contributor. All agreed that what I didn’t realize is how the sellers themselves insist, before listing, that the broker agree to waste much of their marketing cash on worthless syndication, Zillow, Trulia, and the Usual Suspects. One even said many sellers insist she pay for freakin’ newspaper ads, money she knows might as well be thrown into a roaring fire. I was originally licensed in the Pliocene epoch of real estate, when Truman was still alive, McDonald’s hamburgers were 15¢, and offers to purchase were one page, 8X11, fill in the blanks, no disclosures whatsoever. The last dinosaur still walked the earth when newspaper ads first became impotent.

I know I beat this drum often, but till proven otherwise, I’ll continue to bang it. What sold homes my first day licensed, is what’s sellin’ homes today. I keep throwin’ this gauntlet out, and keep gettin’ crickets in return. Sure, I get loud voices, and emotional claptrap, but nothing much of value. Price homes right, pretty ’em up, get outa the way. Buyers are smart. They like price, but they like quality too, at least the majority do. Considering the incredible reach inherent in the typical MLS, that’s always been enough.

I’m willing to be swayed by facts, not perception. Look, as I said last night, I not only understand and sympathize, I empathize with agents who’re buttin’ their heads against the brick wall of ignorant perception. Sellers are too often truly convinced if they’re serious about selling their home, they need to be seen by even the lonely peasant 13 time zones away, as he eats dinner on his mud floor. The script says, “If I don’t agree to do all the things we all know aren’t worth a hill of beans, the next guy in the door will.”

Is it time for brokers and agents to rise up and opt out?

What would happen if the vast majority of Realtors simply told their local boards/MLS that their data was theirs, and permission isn’t granted to whore it out to everyone’s financial gain but theirs? It’s only for THAT MLS. Would the earth spin off its axis?

Would somebody please explain why agents look at their local, state, and NAR boards as if they’re the federal government?

For God’s sake people, you’re the ones who’ve put your name on the dotted line on that listing contract. It’s yours. You lay the Golden Eggs. Do you understand that? The industry is like a buncha prostitutes who keep makin’ excuses for their pimp as he periodically beats up those who won’t shut up and don’t do what they’re told.

Again — don’t misconstrue my words. I’m one of you, and on your side. All the various boards have, slowly but surely, made those who should be their masters, into their bitches. I’m convinced all the local/state boards plus NAR, can’t be changed from the inside. That ship sailed epochs ago, when I still had hair. It needs to be abandoned, and redesigned completely from scratch.

That design begins with the fact that we’re the ones who lay the Golden Eggs.

Of course, that assumes those who lead the charge this time will actually have an IQ sportin’ three digits before hittin’ that pesky decimal point. We can dream, right?

Don’t look to guys like me to lead the charge. I’m less than apathetic at this point. I saw Dad fight ’em first hand — and win — as his ‘friends’ stood by and watched, not one gettin’ his back. And two of them were past presidents. He told me back then that change from within wasn’t very likely. I know what gets results so I do it — in spite of the bastards. But if you’re readin’ this and realizing that indeed, you are laying the Golden Eggs, maybe you’ll talk to other prime layers.

Those who have the gold make the rules.

Here’s an idea — you can call it the Duh Movement. As in, “Duh, those are our Golden Eggs.”

Duh indeed.