Nothing Beats Competence

A week ago I received a call from the agent, who wanted to show a house in Port Orange, FL. The house is overpriced because the Seller is trying to avoid a short sale, but is a little bit underwater. It was rented, and it was not a big pain in the neck for the Seller. And then the Seller instead of signing a lease for another year, offered the tenant to buy it for the amount of the loan. And this was a serious mistake.

In few days an agent called and asked for references. Yep, the tenant is scared to be in a home, where the landlord is thinking abbout selling. The Seller can't keep paying unless he gets rent, and with the tenant gone, he either needs another tenant right away, wich is difficult, or sell it before going into delinquency, as maintaining a good credit is of paramount importance to the Seller.

We spoke about doing a short sale, and reducing the price. And here came that call. I asked the agent about the Buyers, and she explained that they were coming to look for a house before and that they liked the area, and particularly liked this subdivision, and have seen other homes, but wanted to see this one. Well, this is one of the nicest homes there, and with the option of going down on the price, it looked promising.

Showing was on a very short notice, tenant was moving out, but no problem, we met with the agent and her clients. She told us that she was very new to real estate, used to work in banking. She was about the same age as the Buyers, and had a great relationship with them.

A couple of days later I called her to ask about the showing. She said the Buyers needed something bigger, fancier and more expensive...

And I immediately felt sorry for her clients. The agent had no clue about her clients. She did not understand them, she did not read them... And she had little or no clue of the area and the market. I gave her a couple of suggestions, but judging from her responses, I felt bad.

She picked that house because it was... the most expensive house in the development, but she did not understand that it was overpriced. All this stuff about them liking this particular development was BS. It was obviously the wrong place to look at, as this house was one of the nicest, and if they were looking for higher end homes, there was nothing better.

It was a stupid moment, as I could immediately say what were the best deals in the buyers price range, and I did not need MLS for that, I just knew what was in the market, and knew that there were 2 terrific deals that just came on the market... but the agent did not know it.

I do not agree with Gabe Sanders that real estate is relationship-based business. It is no more relationship-based that buying a car. It is not about the relationship, but about buying real estate. If it truly was a relationship-based, then this agent was the best they could get.

But the Buyers would have done so many times better if they worked with someone, who has the feel of that segment of the market. It is not that the right homes were like a needle in the haystack, it is about knowing which haystack to go to in the first place.

Can new agents beat experienced agents? Yes, in all those cases where «experience» only means years doing the same. They can beat lazy agents, indifferent agents, unethical agents...

The difference between a new/good agent and experienced good agent is that the latter knows where the right haystacks are.

Great agents not only know where the haystacks are, but know where the needles in these haystacks are.

No ambition, desire, aspiration, hunger, cuteness, likability, personality, etc. beats that.

Because nothing beats professionalism, nothing beats competence.

Great musicians did not become great musicians just because they had talent. they became great musicians because in addition to their great talent, they mastered their skills through years of rigorous and unforgiving training and excercising.

Great athletes did not become great athletes just because of their talent and attitude. It took them years in developing their talent and years of hausting training. Attitude, talent, it is all very important, but it it is not enough by itself.

Great agents are not those with the best attitude. Great agents are those with the best attitude, people skills, and all that. That's all a must. But they also have extensive knowledge of the business, keen interest in what they are doing, real passion, understanding of the market, and years of developing these skills into the art.

Great agents do not come to real estate. they come to real estate and make themselves great agents, and it takes time and a lot of sweat. And no cutting corners.

A new agent can look like a shining star against someone who does little of nothing. But it does not mean that s/he is a great agent just because someone is bad. great agent is not the one, who is better than others in the office. Great agent is one who is the best there can be.

Nothing Beats Competence...

* Image courtesy of D.C.Attyvia Flickr.com under Creative Commons license