I hear a lot of chatter from successful REALTORS\u00ae about \u201craising the bar\u201d for being a REALTOR\u00ae.\u00a0 In other words, do a better job of distinguishing between REALTORS\u00ae and licensees.\u00a0 This came up during a strategic planning break-out group today and we all thought it sounded like a good plan, but had no idea how to get it done.\u00a0 So where do you go to figure out how to make the term REALTOR\u00ae actually mean something more than a common licensee?\u00a0 A bar, of course.\u00a0 Surely a few beers would generate enough creative thinking to solve this conundrum.<\/p>\n
\u201cSam Adams, please.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n
The first order of business is to figure out how we got here \u2013 by \u201chere\u201d I am speaking figuratively and not how we arrived at the Dog House Bar and Grille.\u00a0 Why is there no difference between a REALTOR\u00ae and a licensee?\u00a0 I blame license law.\u00a0 That\u2019s right, license law.\u00a0 It seems to me that over the years, state license law has \u201cimproved\u201d to a point that there is very little difference in the REALTOR\u00ae Code of Ethics and state license law.\u00a0 The ironic thing is that the REALTOR\u00ae organization has worked hard to strengthen license law over the years.\u00a0 That\u2019s a classic example of a raising tide lifting all boats.<\/p>\n
Take disclosure, for instance.\u00a0 I can only think of one thing that the REALTOR\u00ae Code requires to be disclosed that the license law doesn\u2019t \u2013 REALTORS\u00ae are required to tell their seller clients about verbal offers where license law only requires disclosure of written offers.\u00a0 Well there\u2019s a strong marketing point!\u00a0 Other than that, I can think of nothing significant that REALTORS\u00ae are required to do that a licensee is not also required to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother Sam Adams, please.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, what is the solution?\u00a0 Do we think up a whole bunch of things that REALTORS\u00ae have to do or disclose that a common licensee does not?\u00a0 Maybe we could require REALTORS\u00ae to disclose that the neighbor will throw potatoes<\/a> at you if you purchase this home?\u00a0 Or maybe we require REALTORS\u00ae to disclose all the future development plans within a mile of Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I hear a lot of chatter from successful REALTORS\u00ae about \u201craising the bar\u201d for being a REALTOR\u00ae.\u00a0 In other words, do a better job of distinguishing between REALTORS\u00ae and licensees.\u00a0 This came up during a strategic planning break-out group today and we all thought it sounded like a good plan, but had no idea how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,29,5,30],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2979","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-disintermediation","7":"category-group-therapy","8":"category-real-estate","9":"category-supplanting-the-nar","11":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":73,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/73\/lets-go-get-sued-some-more\/","url_meta":{"origin":2979,"position":0},"title":"Let’s go get sued some more…","author":"Greg Swann","date":"July 6, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"At 360 Digest, an exceptionally fine real estate weblog, Marlow Harris weighs in with this idea about an incipient on-line real estate start-up:Blue Roof, like Redfin and Zip Realty, misrepresents their status as \"Realtor\" and claims to be a member of the National Association of Realtors and adhere to its\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2790,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2790\/rate-your-realtor%c2%ae-why-are-agents-scared-anyway\/","url_meta":{"origin":2979,"position":1},"title":"Rate Your REALTOR\u00ae – Why Are Agents Scared Anyway?","author":"Dave Phillips","date":"March 17, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve had little luck selling the idea that REALTORS\u00ae should embrace an Internet rating system.\u00a0 Local associations, individual REALTORS\u00ae, other association executives, NAR, and even other bloggers have rejected the idea of allowing clients to rate their agent.\u00a0 Twice last week I pitched it to influential leaders in the industry,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dirty Laundry"","block_context":{"text":"Dirty Laundry","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/dirty-laundry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":80,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/80\/the-peaks-and-valleys-of-my-first-year-as-a-full-time-realtor\/","url_meta":{"origin":2979,"position":2},"title":"The peaks and valleys of my first year as a full-time Realtor…","author":"Cathleen Collins","date":"July 11, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Want to know when the real estate market will get back to normal? I have a crystal ball. Well, a really good spreadsheet analysis, anyway... I've been a real estate licensee for three years, but I've been a full-time Realtor for only a little over a year. This means that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Real Estate"","block_context":{"text":"Real Estate","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/real-estate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1236,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1236\/predatory-coaching-for-realtors-and-loan-originators\/","url_meta":{"origin":2979,"position":3},"title":"Predatory Coaching For Realtors and Loan Originators","author":"Brian Brady","date":"March 29, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Are you a victim of predatory coaching? There are many advice gurus available to Realtors and loan originators. I watch our industry grow and am amazed at the cottage industries that have hatched from that growth. It reminds me that the only people really making money in multi-level marketing sell\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Real Estate"","block_context":{"text":"Real Estate","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/real-estate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1799,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1799\/does-the-real-estate-industry-need-realtors\/","url_meta":{"origin":2979,"position":4},"title":"Does the Real Estate Industry Need Realtors?","author":"Cooksquared","date":"August 14, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Inspired by the glut of controversial posts appearing here lately, I thought I would add one more to the fire. In my recent browsing I stumbled upon a blog that asked a simple question, \"Do we need Realtors?\" That's all. That was the whole post. While the questioned seemed relatively\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1401,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1401\/realtors-can-pre-qualify-buyers-if-a-lender-isnt-handy\/","url_meta":{"origin":2979,"position":5},"title":"Realtors Can Pre-Qualify Buyers If A Lender Isn’t Handy","author":"Brian Brady","date":"May 9, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"It's Sunday afternoon and the Phillies game approaches the top of the ninth inning. You, the professional Realtor, look at your watch and notice it's 3:40PM. You'll be locking up the door, uprooting the signs and heading home after a long afternoon at a particularly slow open house. You can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Podcast"","block_context":{"text":"Podcast","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/podcast\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2979\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}