60 Minutes Segment On Realtors Misinforms Public

We hear it all the time. "Doctors make too much money." "Lawyers make too much money." "(Fill in the blank) make too much money." I've never been one to really care how much the professionals I hire to work for me make. I want the best and I am willing to pay for it and it is usually well worth it in the long run. Moreover, until you step in their shoes and see what they really need to do to provide you with the service you need when you go to them, you really are in no position to criticize.

The Sixty Minutes' segment, "Chipping Away to Realtor's Six Percent" is another example of the above. Of course, it begins with the implication that realtors earn too much by indicating what the typical charge would be for selling a half a million dollar home. Forget the fact that most of the country is experiencing a challenging housing market where homes in that price range are difficult to sell. The segment features a young couple who decide to sell their home through a discount brokerage and "succeed" in doing so. According to one of the sellers, he "saved" $26,000. Did he really?

I am, perhaps, in the best position to give insight into what goes on behind the doors of the discount shop having worked as an attorney and associate broker at one for almost three years before resigning and becoming a full service RE/MAX agent in Birmingham, Michigan servicing. The 2006 National Association of Realtors (NAR) Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers indicates that 50% of sellers employing the services of limited service realtors were dissatisfied as opposed to a 95% satisfaction rate of sellers employing full service realtors. I am not a bit surprised. It is absolutely true that you get what you pay for in this world. Most people want or eventually want the very best service. It's no wonder that first class seats on airplanes are always full. There is a reason that good full service realtors generally charge what they do. If the cost of the service is discounted, something must be sacrificed. The discount shop that I left could not pay for and, therefore, was not staffed with the best realtors or support staff. It could not afford to provide proper sales training to its realtors and it could not afford to provide maximum exposure for its sellers' properties. On many weekends, when buyers were looking for homes to buy, the company did not have anyone answering the phones. As a result, homes were on the market longer, sold for far less than they should have or did not sell at all. Not surprisingly, the company closed its doors within a year of my leaving.

The Sixty Minutes segment indicated that the discount realtor "helped them come up with an asking price." What we don't know is whether of not the realtor actually even saw the house. I doubt that she ever did. This is essential for the seller to achieve the most money. A good realtor will make suggestions to a seller in terms of repairs, maintenance, staging etc. that will yield more money for the seller. By seeing the home in person, a realtor is in a much better position to assist with pricing. We really don't know what the discount realtor did to assist the sellers to price their home. We also don't know what market exposure was provided to the "happy" sellers. I provide maximum market exposure to my sellers through a written "30 Day Marketing Plan" through which I sell 75% of the homes that I list. It can be viewed at www.realtorLeeMorof.com. I have yet to see a discount shop that can match it let alone produce similar results or service to their clients. We also don't know how long the home had to sit on the market before it sold. Sixty Minutes painted a rosy picture of the "successful sellers" by quoting one of them saying "Now we can walk down the aisle. Actually, pay for people to eat at the wedding." That might be her perception but I doubt it represents reality. They probably would have netted more money in a shorter amount of time with fewer complications had the employed the services of a top agent like me.