The Un-REALTORS

a man asked the host to please not introduce him to me because he knew I was a Realtor and I would try to sell him a house.

Ines: He is not worthy of any house you might show him. Maybe Brad Inman will represent him for free.

I agree that there is a lot of room for how people view a REALTOR.

I remember I had two guys on my blog just pummeling me for all the ills of the market and it was starting to get to me. Then I remembered it was two guys. As long as I allowed them to get to me more of them were showing up, I just deleted them and I haven’t any issues since.

I am never embarrassed to be called a REALTOR.

Ines;
I appreciate the feeling, but the person wasn’t talking about the trade association, he was talking about the real estate prfoessional in general. And sadly, the public view of all of us is often colored by the actions of the people –
But the fact is, other than the National Association of REALTORS – there are NO advocates for our profession – and certainly none that are organized to the same degree –

we’re at it again The Un-REALTORS: Get out of your feed reader and comment on this post- we PRO.. https://tinyurl.com/d34s84

Ines,great post.
Not ONLY are we REALTORs, but we are SALESMEN lol- love it! …. and the best of us are really good salesmen! … and we are going to out smart – out think – and outlast all of our competitors….especially the limited service people who won’t charge 6% because of … moral dilemmas – right…We are GREAT! Hold your head high girlfriend! BTW- the BEST of us have the MOST integrity, and you must be one of them, to let it get to you.

Awesome post! I know many folks that hate Realtors (just look at one of the last comments made on a post on AG by “I hate Realtors”). But you just have to brush it off and keep on doing your thing knowing that you are NOT like those that have given us all a bad name. (And try not get too pissed off at NAR’s ad campaigns)

The thing that allows me to sleep at night is knowing that I am better than those cheaters, liars and incompetent agents that screw over their clients. My clients get the service, respect and honesty they deserve and that I *owe* them.

And funny how you mention that you don’t hand out business cards at parties – I don’t even carry them on me when I’m out socially/off the clock. I’ve seen many agents jump into a conversation with random strangers because they heard the words “real estate” or “market” – rude and pathetic.

One thing I hate, is to be introduced at a party as a Realtor. I always go out of my way to make sure that anyone who does it, knows that it doesn’t work for me. I know that my friends are just trying to help but it really alienates me from anyone I am introduced to. I never have cards.

That is the beauty and wonder of cultivating internet leads rather than SOI. The last thing I want to do is call my friends and ask for business.

I think the idea that the word realtor should be in all caps is another trait of the industry that makes the public mistrust us. How would you feel if someone tried to tell you it had to be DOCTOR or DENTIST, every time you wrote the word. Pretty arrogant and self righteous, if you ask me.

Ines -you use the word “Unrealtors”. I used to call myself a “secret agent”- not showing my cards onto every person I met:) My cards don’t even have my Oscars worthy face:)

LOL I never put my face on my cards and you have to search my blog to find it, that aside I want to a party on a boat where I was introduced as a realtor and spent three hours polity answering real estate questions while my friends had a great time. I was trapped, no place to go. Went to a holiday party a couple of months ago and had the same experience. I ended up handing out business cards because people asked for them. On both occasions I would have been much happier enjoying myself instead of talking shop.

Hi Ines

I too have described myself as an “Un Realtor” for several years but choose to emphasize a down to earth no hype style than slang REALTORS per se.

After 17 years of making a living-doing it my way I confess that I love the business. I rely on word of mouth and referrals chosing to do very little advertising.

To me it is like Golf, I love the game but am not wild about the culture.

Onward

Wow! This post had stayed alive for 90 days!

allow me to please inject a little bit of insight into this conversation. Just because an individual (let’s just say “a realtor” decides to refer to themselves as an “Unrealtor” does not necessarily always mean that their referring to their character as such solely because they have a disgust for REALTORS…quite the opposite is the case, at least in my experience. I will give you three examples. 1)An “unrealtor” can be meant to describe some one who might see themselves as “not just a realtor”-perhaps they have extensive knowledge and certifications in fields related to construction, inspections, architecture or the like and prefer that their client base know that when they come to them, they are not just getting the advice of a realtor, but as a person with a far more diverse background and therefore a more thorough understanding of the subject matter.
2) An unrealtor may also be a individual who doesn’t operate like the quintessential realtor (which you describe above)-not because they feel that it carries negative connotations (not all people hate realtors, btw) but because they have an unorthodox method for reaching, obtaining and communicating with the public in an “UNreal” way….or rather a way which most people are unaccustomed.
3) Finally there are always those people who get caught up on words. It could the case (and at most times is) that someone who brands themselves as an “unrealtor” just happens to be clever enough to separate himself or herself from their competition with a simple play on words-thus putting the public on notice of the fact that “This Realtor” actually has a sense of humor or would like the world to know that they are not your average joe-they are a character which can be communicated with in a light-hearted fashion. This doesn’t make them any less serious when it comes to business-nor does it indicate that they are embarrassed of anything. They just like being who they are. 9 times out of 10, customers appreciate dealing with someone who has enough confidence in themselves to step outside the box that historically the world of non-realtors seems to have boxed them into.
If you are a cheat, a liar and/or a douchebag, it doesn’t matter what your profession is, people will most likely avoid you. Peoples intentions for doing what they do cannot be (and should not be ) generalized as the subjectivity in peoples motives are ALWAYS unique and only a person with complete lack of creativity would ever attempt to objectify such a thing (as another persons motives).
In my opinion, an Unrealtor is a person who has found a way to think outside the box, from within the box.