BiggerPockets

I have a different thread about whether or not Realtors are worth their commission anymore and TWICE during the discourse agents compared themselves to doctors. I have also seen this posted on various other threads over the last several months.

Is this some sort of training that agents get during licensing or some such?

Because generally speaking, Doctors haven't had a keen sense of investment. (grabs umbrella)

Yes, many marketing gurus teach professionals that they should run their businesses like doctors... work by appt only, create scarcity, educate yourself, hold various designations, all in the hope of being perceived as a sought after expert. Its good advice but most agents will not do what it actually takes to become so sought after. They'll do a one or more of the items but not all. Anyway, most states require only 40 - 65 hrs of education to become licenses and most people are very aware of that fact. So the attempt to present themselves along the same lines as a doctor can easily misfire. The best advice for agents is to become extremely proficient at one area... it may be working with investors (many agents say they are experts at it yet they don't own a single property), waterfront properties, 1st time home homebuyers.. etc. If your an agent, specialize!!!!

Bryan,
When the Realtor side of me comes up, I had to resort to comparing myself to a doctor, because no one believed me when I tried to compare to George Clooney!
Bill

Both do not know what they are doing - a doctor "practices medicine", while the realtor tries to "practice" in the field of real estate. After a lot of stumbling around they both get results - often with no effort on their part. I think it would be embarassing to compare with doctors. With all of the Trillions in research there has been NO major illnesses or diseases cured since the polio vaccine in the 1950's. There should be an accounting as to where all the money has went. I also read that the only reason that polio was cured was that a child of one of the doctors was ill so had to cure their own child. Lots of money goes to realtors to and for what? Anyone can do their job and they are no longer needed to control the middle ground!

These days agents have lot of designations though few of them mean much. Often it only takes a short class to get a designation. A real estate license only requires 90 hours of courses which certainly doesn't compare to what is required for a doctor.

I think one can get a good basic education buy getting a real estate license.

I think the real value that some real estate agents can provide is the years of experience working on many types of transactions or working the same type of transactions many times. An investor friendly real estate agent that has honed there skills in this area could be of value.

Could be ego, could be self confidence. BTW, am I the only one that smells red herring?

Speaking as an agent and an investor, I know that agents get taught many ways to "justify" their commission and in addition they are regulated by the state to adhere to certain standards. However, I see a lot of agents develop a "holier than thou" attitude when it comes to making deals happen and serving clients. Agents are taught that they have a fiduciary duty much like an attorney to act in the best interest of the client they represent. So in the agent's case, getting the sellers highest possible price at most favorable terms, or getting buyers into the homes at lowest possible price etc. is of top priority, sometimes to the detriment of everything else.

There are many good agents are out there, but unfortunately they are overshadowed by other agents who don't know what they're doing, don't care, or too experienced to learn anything new. Many regular agents who have been in the business are having trouble adjusting to the changing times. They do themselves a disservice when they can't see the truth about themselves and their industry.

I personally think the doctor analogy is ridiculous and laughable. I never spent 10 years in school, go through 2-4 years of internship, rack up 6-figure student loans and pay millions in malpractice insurance to become a real estate agent. Why would I pretend I'm of similar stature of someone who did. Ego is a big part but most had been taught to think this way by their brokers. If you go to ActiveRain and read these agent blogs you will see they have plenty of similar attitude. We are salespeople, for crying out loud.

I just had another agent kill a deal because she balked at my seller's request to meet the buyers, calling him unethical and ignorant. My seller is a successful investor and he probably makes more money than she ever did in 7 years as an agent. But hey, she's supposed to be superior because of her real estate license.

Can an agent be "worth" their commission? All real estate commission (at least in NJ) is negotiable. Consumer choice and the free market should dictate what an agent is worth, and let the agents prove their worth by performance, not an entitlement mentality.

Fantastic response Lily!

Lily, why did your investor seller want to meet the buyers? I would find that disturbing, also.
Jake, divorce attorneys? Really?