Entry by Judi Bryan

Color me blushing!

Alright, we've all heard it before...never ASS U ME anything! I'm sharing this with the group because I felt there was a valuable lesson here...both for myself, as well as for any of the rest of you who may be reluctant about the response you'll get from your office. Now, I certainly understand that in the "traditional" split type offices, the rules of engagement are quite a bit different. But for the rest of us...who are supposed to be able to operate more independently, here's my story....

When I began with RE/MAX about 7-8 years ago, my broker assured me that I could run my business pretty much any way I chose...as long as I ran a legal, ethical practice. Great! I don't know any other way to work, so no problem. Then, for some reason a few years back, I noticed that whenever various "alternatives" to the traditional way of doing business would crop up at office meetings, my Broker would go into a bit of a tyraid, talking about the destruction of our industry, yada, yada, yada. I never quite understood it, and, at the time, it really didn't matter what he said because I was working exclusively the "traditional" way...full service, commission at closing.

Well, along comes Mollie, etc. I REALLY BELIEVE this is a GREAT THING for our industry! I don't see it as a way of destroying it, but a way of BUILDING it, growing it, improving it! But, I had a problem. My broker! How would he react and would he put a road block on my efforts! I'd sent him several emails...about riders, procedures, giving him info and ACRE links. But no response. The more I thought about it, the more frustrated I was becoming. I really did not want to change companies...been there, done that, don't want to do it again.

Well, today, I had to go into my office to drop off some paperwork and my broker was in his office. So, I casually meandered back there and simply asked "do we have any forms to modify listing agreements that would address consulting services rather than tranditional commissions for full service?"....TO WHIT HE RESPONDED...."No, not really...just in the part of the listing where you include a list of disclosures, create a "Rider A", for example, listing what you and the seller/owner are agreeing to and how much the fee will be, and whether it's an up front fee, at close, etc."

Now, given that I had been mulling this over in my head for weeks....no, heck, MONTHS....and the more I thought about it, the more ANXIOUS I became...YOU COULD HAVE BOWLED ME OVER WITH A FEATHER!!! I was shocked! So much so that I felt it IMPERATIVE that I share this experience with all of you in case you are suffering the same anxiety over with MIGHT happen that I was. Just because we FEAR IT, does NOT make it so!!!!

Now that I've discovered how my worst fears are in my head, I guess it's time to VISIT SOME FSBOS with that great spreadsheet that Merv created.

Judi
Hailing from the Northwest 'burbs of Chicagoland

This page contains a single entry by Judi Bryan published on July 19, 2007 9:50 PM.

Consult and refer was the previous entry in this blog.

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