REALLY, WHAT IS A REALTOR?

Events over the past few weeks have led me to some navel gazing and asking just what IS the role of a Realtor. Actually I also get asked that question often. Some people still believe they can do a better job of selling their home themselves. And to those that do, I say you go for it. A few years before the pandemic hit there was a general feeling that getting into Real Estate would be a cakewalk. Limited hours. Huge payday. Really not much to do to grab that dough. That was and still is to an extent the public perception. I say try it for a few weeks and see how that works for you. No safety net. No union to fall back on. You are an independent contractor making a living on your own. Many years ago my father-in-law and a couple of his buddies thought it would be great to get into the biz. At the time the entry course was at Durham College and was only a few weeks of night classes. Then you were green-lighted to go and trade. So quite a few “older” folks got into the business. Many as a second, third, or in some cases a fourth career shift. So quite obviously the bar wasn’t set too high. In the 50 years since then, things have changed drastically. Even from when I started over twenty years ago. These days Humber College runs a full-time Real Estate program to educate and produce business-ready realtors. Some do, some don’t. But at least they are trying. There are quite a few truisms to the business that you never learn about until you are knee deep in it and in some cases it’s too late. You are literally on your own. Many brokerages advertise that they have THE BEST training (tee hee) and support systems. But that too is a crock of you know what. The reality is that 80% of realtors only last 2 years and then they are out of the business. Unless, of course, they are part-timers. And by that I mean people with full time jobs that just want to dabble in the biz to make a few extra dollars. You’ll see who those ones are soon enough. Many brokerages depend on those to inflate their agent numbers. So they can advertise they have X number of agents. Aren’t we great? Except for the most part they are just like the other guys and no, they aren’t that great. It has been quoted for many years that 5% of the agents control 95% of the business and that is probably true. Maybe even a little less than the real numbers. There is a reason for that. The ones that rock are full-time. They eat, drink, breathe and live the business. It’s in their blood. And you can tell that the minute you start asking questions. It’s really comforting to many to have someone to turn to that knows what they are doing AND has your back at all times. They are the ones dominating the business even these days and with good reason. Look one up. You’ll be glad you did.

Feel free to check out this story and more on my blog site at: https://slackie14.wixsite.com/buy-sell-and-more