Are Realtors, Sales People?

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1690 Fort Campbell Blvd.
Clarksville, TN 37042
Office: 931-552-1900
Cell: 931.206.2156

This is a question that is interesting to me. Some Real Estate licensees see themselves as sales people but according to TAR, Tennessee Association of Realtors, the law sees that differently. To clear up any misconceptions you might have, I am writing information that has been provided by TREEF*, to explain that Realtors are NOT sales people.

What are we?

We are Representatives, according to the law. The legal and fiduciary nature of Realtor/Client relationship is too often forgotten.

The man or woman who sells you a car, a piece of jewelry, a new suit of clothes, or a vacation in the Bahamas usually has no legal relationship to you. That man or woman is a salesperson, hopefully a good one, but still a salesperson. The real estate professional, however, who becomes a consumer’s agent assumes a legally-defined role and a position of trust, in service to his/her “king,” the client. It’s not a relationship to be treated lightly, or terminated easily. The client is King and the agent is the King’s messenger; the messenger is to act at the direction of (and in the best interests of) the client. *

The license permits someone to represent another party in the purchase or sale of real estate, to safeguard their interests, to treat them honestly, to serve them with professionalism.*

This relationship – between a real estate client and the licensed professional representing the client – is what agency is all about. To become someone’s agent imposes several duties on the real estate professional, above and beyond expectations of fairness and basic competence. A consumer can and should have higher expectations of a licensed professional when that professional becomes the consumer’s agent. Among other things, the consumer may give instructions to his or her agent, expecting them (as long as those instructions are legal) to be carried out faithfully.*

I have always felt that I was on the defense for my position to prove I am not a “sales person”. I take my profession seriously and know that I am bound to the law of Tennessee and the Code of Ethics. A car salesman/woman is completely different than a Realtor. I give them as the example because we are often compared to them. Yes, I ”sell” homes but I am representing those owners in the sale of their home. In doing so I am also offering my services, which include marketing. The houses that I sell to the buyer aren’t always the houses I have listed. In the event they are, I default to facilitator status.

Facilitator status may advise either or both parties in a transaction but cannot be considered a representative or advocate to either party.*

In the event it isn’t a home I have listed, I am representing the buyer in the home they choose from the list I provide or from what they have found. The end result of the transaction to many is I have sold a home. What I see as my end result is that I have represented my client in the purchase of their home.

Each home is represented by an Office. You will know what office by the sign in the yard. From that office there is usually a designated agent that has listed the home. That agent is representing the owner of the home. They aren’t representing you. If you think calling the agent that has it listed will get you a better deal, remember that they aren’t looking out for your best interest but their client, the seller. That is why it is important to have your own agent representing you in the transaction. In Team Agnew’s case, we do not charge our buyers a fee to work with us. In the end we are paid for representing the buyer by our company.

Here is the break down:

Our company is paid by the listing agents company, who is paid by the seller for representing them. In the agreement between the seller and the company, that lists their home, they agree to pay a commission, what is negotiated, and out of that commission the listing company will pay the selling company. The selling company pays the buyers agent the reduced amount, which is their commission split. The buyers agent can only receive payment through their company, not directly from the seller or listing company.

The first step in purchasing a home isn’t finding the home or being qualified but finding the agent that will represent you.

In every legal transaction you might have done, what is the first thing you do/did? Find a good lawyer. When you find that lawyer, whether it is through the recommendation of a friend, co-worker or the yellow pages, you then find out the fee to have them represent you. Then you hire them. As is the case with the Realtor. Once you find that agent, we recommend interviewing many and you can get references from previous clients, they will give you the steps involved in purchasing a home. The second step is being qualified to see what price range you want to be in. Once you have that range, you give it to your agent who will work for you in providing the homes that meet your criteria.

For a lot of people, they might be a little skittish with leaving the future of where they will be laying their head at night, in the hands of someone they don’t know. “Are they providing all the homes or the ones they want me to see?” You might ask yourself. I now I did when we bought our first house. A Realtors legal duty is to provide everything you ask for. If they don’t and they only provide homes they have listed, that is unethical. If you want to know that as of today, July 15, 2009, there are 1909 homes for sale in Montgomery County and out of those homes, the price ranges are from $18,000 to $1,400,000. BUT not ALL 1909 homes will fit your criteria. Do you want a new home with 1800 square feet or more and under $150,000? Then out of that 1909 there is only 1 listed! Do you want it to be in a certain school zone? Let’s say Rossview High School? Then there are none. You would do hours and hours of searching to find that information out, where it only took me less than 1 minute!

So, say you want to look at that 1 home that fits your criteria. How do you get in? Any agent that has a sentrilock key can get you in. There are steps to viewing property. We have to call the listing office to schedule the showing. Even if it is vacant, we still need to call. Some agents don’t when the listing gives the instructions of “show anytime”. But, even though it says that, there might be information that the agent has been given from the seller as an incentive that might benefit you. Also, the listing might have pended the night before, which I have had happened to me too many times, and the agent hasn’t had time to mark the listing online as “pending”. So it is always best to call and schedule.

Once you find the home you want, then the Agent represents you in negotiating your wishes. Once you have a contract, your agent takes care of timelines and makes sure that the contract stays valid and most importantly you close on your home.

There are so many reasons why it is best to interview an Agent and having them represent you. There is also so much more to the duties of an agent that I couldn’t put them all here or you would have a book.

If you would like to interview Team Agnew to represent you in the purchase of your future home or the selling of your home, please give us a call at 931.206.2156 and mention this article or you can email us. We would be happy to schedule a time to meet with you and discuss how we can make your experience a pleasant one.

Many blessings to you and yours.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 at 5:42 am and is filed under Buyer Express, Seller Express. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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