OZ’S VOICE: Do not arouse the wrath of the Great and Powerful Oz! I said — come back tomorrow!
I bought my first house in 1984 when I was 22 years old. It was in Speedway, IN.
I do not remember much about the detail of the transaction, but I do remember sifting through the classifieds of the newspaper, trying to get a feel for what I might be able to afford. I remember feeling lost. I didn’t know anyone in the real estate industry or where to begin, so I began calling around for someone to assist me. I had no clue what to look for. If someone had said, “come back tomorrow,” if I wanted the information, I would have had to come back tomorrow. How else was I going to get what I wanted?
When I look back, I’m amazed at how little control we as consumers had over what we were shown. I don’t remember giving it a second thought at the time. The real estate agent was like the Great and Powerful Oz. I was just happy to have a sitting.
DOROTHY: If you were really great and powerful, you’d keep your promises!
OZ’S VOICE: Do you presume to criticize the Great Oz?
[Toto pulls back the curtain to reveal the Wizard at the controls. The Wizard is unaware]
Jeff Turner aka respres
Jeff,
I believe we all have felt that way at one point and time in our life. I am sure you will agree. Today's consumer is much more advanced and has more choices. That makes our industry more competitive and often more aggressive.
Congrats on BloodhoudBlog!
{SVW} Hubba...
I left a comment on Blood Hound. I will now leave that comment here:
"Did you know we, Broker Bryant, and I have never been behind that curtain?"... SVW.
I mean please...What's the point?
APPLE: Want a bite? I can see right through this apple. No worms here :)
Lots of bad wizards out there, and so many who still presume to KNOW what the buyer (or seller) wants, and to tell them so.
The Internet is helping more buyers and sellers look behind the curtain...or find a new wizard.
Jeff
I remember every home I ever purchased prior to becomming a real estate practitioner. It's a wonder I survived. When I look back at how very ignorant I was, I wonder now how a buyer's agent can even survive.
Oh. I forgot. IT'S THE INTERNET.
Lenn
All, what I hope real estate agents take away from the entirety of the post on BloodhoundBlog is the sense that there is a higher form of power that comes from being someone who empowers by sharing information transparently, as opposed to someone who hides behind the perception of power.
TLW [SVW]... like I've said before, I don't see you hiding anywhere!
Jeff, I'll look forward to your thoughts once you've read it agin.
Lenn, thanks for stopping by!
Jeff...I left a comment but just need to tell you here that I respectfully disagree with you. Your post makes me realize just how local real estate is and apparently how different the practice is from area to area. Like you noted sharing of information...we've been doing it for years here...not hiding behind no fake curtain.
Great post and I'm sure most would agree with you :) but not me.
Monika, I'm sure glad not everyone agrees with me! I was worried no one was going to show up to this party.
Like all analogies there are potential flaws. This one is certainly no exception. Your bio says you've been a REALTOR® since 1984. That's certainly long enough to remember a time when the consumer had very few options on where to go to find information on real estate. In most cases, they had two - the newspaper and the MLS, which they did not have access to without you. Maybe this was never true in your area, but it certainly was Indianapolis, Indiana in 1984. You may not have been hiding behind a curtain, but the information you held certainly was. Much of the perceived value of a REALTORS® services through the years was developed, in part, by the scarcity of information available to the general public. When that information became public, public sentiment changed, just like Dorothy's feelings about the Wizard.
And certainly the people in East Hampstead, NH would probably say you were never behind a curtain. But again, I think you will agree the information was. But let's say we are in 1984 and I'm in California wanting to move to East Hampstead, NH. How do I find out about real estate in East Hampstead, NH? I'm at your mercy. YOU would probably not take advantage of me. YOU specifically may be fully transparent, but I have to make a massive leap of faith. And I'm totally dependent on you. Totally.
In my analogy, the most important thing behind that curtain was information.
Monika, I just read your comment on Bloodhound. I was going to edit my comment here, but I think I'll let it stand. Just for argument sake. You and I agree on a lot of things. This is only going to make our relationship more spicy. :)
Jeff: I think it is unfortunate in today's world we must draw back the curtain and let each person stand on their own. Let their ethics lay them bare. We as a profession must protect our reputations and let Oz stand alone. The less we policy our "own" the more the government will do it for us.
Good post.
Roberta "Dove" Lee
Century 21 Olde Tyme, Norco, CA
{SVW} Hubba...
Ahhh. Keeping it spicy. I like that :)
This is a controversial topic and I for one would like to see more people jump in here with their 'spicy' thoughts :)
To Whom It May Concern: Watch out. This guy is a GENIUS. Yes. I am smiling very wide about that one :)
TLW...ROAR!
Roberta, that is a very interesting take on this. Very.
TLW [SVW]... man you set the bar high! As for setting the bar high, this post clearly demonstrates what I mean by transparency! Well done, BB.
Good morning Jeff,
I wrote a book/comment on your post on bloodhound. I do see how that OZ like mentality could be but really as I stated in part on your Bloodhound post...
We didn’t have Buyer Agency until 1990… back then we were ALL sub-agents. So we only had one way to get buyer loyalty…we couldn’t hide behind a contract to enforce false loyalty…we had to be the best we could be and give quality service that the buyer needed….even if they didn’t know they needed it…or else they simply went elsewhere.
Sorry my comment was so long Jeff and I didn't want to repost it here. Or should I ?
TLW...I admire Jeff greatly and know that he is one smart dude!!! I know that you and BB were not selling real estate in 1984/85 but if you were I couldn't imagine you as an OZ like creature hiding behind a curtain...
{SVW} Hubba...
I'm just warning them. It's in their own best interest :)
Glad you like our extremely transparent Blog post. I knew you would :)
Monika...
Jeff is way beyond smart, he really is a genius. Trust me on that :) He has slammed dunked me more times than I can count. Sometimes I just say something stupid on one of his Blogs to just to get myself off the hook. LOL. That whole "dumb blonde blond" thing works for me at times. LOL....
"No curtains for me"...I am saying that like the soup guy from Seinfeld :)
TLW...ROAR!
Monika, i hear you. And as you reference YOURSELF, I can only agree with you. How could I argue, I have a complete lack of understanding of your small town market. (When I say "small town" I mean "a place I'd die to live in.") I can't get to your comment on BloodhoundBlog just yet, cause it is so long, but I wanted to respond here, because I still believe, like Mariana Wagner, that perception is reality. Your reality may be different than the generalized perception, but for the industry to deny the global perception would be death.
TLW [SVW]... aw shucks.
Jeff..I don't think I'm a novelty in my area and I bet in reality there are more agents like me than you'd think. Either that or I've just been lucky to know nice peolpe...
Sadly Perception is Reality....I could never deny that. And the reputation that real estate agents have is pretty bad But we're not all alike and I believe there are more good than bad. I hope so anyway. I just want you to understand it wasn't all bad back then. Hey I like our spicy relationship!
Ahhh. Spice and Shucks. SVW. TLW...ROAR!
Jeff - I left coments on your Bloodhound post, but thought I'd leave some here, too.
Like Monika, it apparently is quite surprising how local real estate really is. I've been selling real estate here in NH & southern Maine since 1981 and I've never done so behind a 'curtain'. I bring to the table my skill set and my level of service, and none of that includes a 'Wizard of Oz' mentality. I wouldn't want to be treated that way, and because of that, I don't, and won't, treat others that way.
I realize there are some who have and do work behind curtains, but certainly not all of us. Generalizations are just that, general statements that try to paint too many people with the same brush or that try to fit too many people into the same round hole. It doesn't work.......
Sorry to disagree with you.
Ann
Ann, I don't view this as disagreeing with me. You've simply made it personal to you and are looking at it from your personal and local perspective. I don't think you're looking at it from the consumer's perspective. It's not about how you treated people, it's about the process.
The realtor I used in Indianapolis those many years ago was a good person... honest, open, did a great job. No complaints. That's not the point. From my perspective, I could not get behind the curtain. No possible way. From the consumer perspective, YOU, the real estate agent, were still in control of the information, even if you freely, honestly and willingly shared it once I asked you for it. We were forced to ask for your permission. We had to have a sitting. That is not true today. I don't have to ask for your permission to look around, see homes listed for sale in your area. So, transparency today means something dramatically different than it did 20 years ago. The way WE, the consumer, feel has changed. YOU may feel you are just as open as you were 20 years ago and that you never hid behind a curtain, but that doesn't change the fact that the curtain was there and that I still needed to approach you to get behind it. I don't today.
I can look at homes in your area right this second and you'll never know I'm doing it. That was not true. 20 years ago, some real estate agent would have had to be involved for me to get any real information at all. I HAD to contact you just for information. I don't today. So, my decision to contact you is not based on information about the house, it's based on information about your, what you know, who you are, factors that are not home related. It's based on "something else." That something else is where transparency today lies.
Jeff
I am copying my comment that I left on Bloodhound for you here...hope thats okay.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Jeff
The internet has changed real estate...apparently in some areas faster than others.
I never had that "seat in the throne room all to myself" mentality and I never felt any fear of change. So did I personalize the remarks you made...yes I did because I worked during that era and remember it well.
I love the changes our industry has undergone and those that are coming our way will be exciting. Change is a good thing.
I'd much rather be selling real estate today than back in the old days and because I lived it I can appreciate the changes we've undertaken. That “something else” That you call transparency....nothing wrong with that at all. I welcome it.
Like Ann stated about generalizing it’s very hard to make a blanket statement that will fit everyone....not all the old timers were like OZ. Did you need us for the MLS info...yes absolutely that is the way it was. Mind you I said was, change happened and it was a good thing.
Jay, Ann and I actually were very involved in starting that change here in NH...we sat on many committees struggling to make it all happen. Opening up MLS...well before REALTOR.com came about. Transparency...I bring more to the table than just listing information always have.
Your talking to a few of us who championed the change your seeing today…it took a while to catch on but we fought for it way back when.
Can you understand why I take offense at being lumped in a Wizard of OZ like scenerio?
You got that right. I love a good debate. We can talk the issues and respect each others opinions. Very nice feeling Jeff.
Hubba...
Monika does love a good debate :)
Seems to work for her.
I've had several debates with her. We had fun. Of course I really agreed with her and I disagreed with her on purpose just to get her to get her to debate with me. LOL..
I enjoy doing that to the Members Of Active Rain.
Wink. Wink. HI Monika. Yup. I'm still here :)
TLW...ROAR!
TLW,
I jumped him over at the dog, I was wearing ruby slippers at the time :)
TLW,
I we the only too who are way too infatuated with this guy? I think my guy is ready to shave his head.
ARDELL!!! TLW [SVW]... nuff said.
{SVW} Hubba...
You don't really think "...nuff said" is going to make Ardell and I hush do you? Please :)
Keep that up and I'm going to hijack this post :)
You know...The ole "Welcome To Jeff Turner's Blog" :) No lines for me. LOL.
Ardell...
I don't know about you but his brain does it for me :)
The package ain't bad either :)
TLW...ROAR!
Come to think of it, when I purchased my first house it was like pulling teeth to get any info on a loan, days for a pre-approval...hmmmm