Above from left, Leo Pareja, Kendall Bonner and Holly Mabery
“You need to proactively explain where the value you deliver is, because if someone thinks all you do is unlock a door, it’s going to be a much, much harder conversation to have going forward.”
So said eXp CEO Leo Pareja during the company’s recent virtual information presentation, billed as a two-month post-settlement update on the latest advice for thriving in a new environment. It was one of a great many thoughts and suggestions as the industry braces for changes as the buyer-agent landscape changes forever.
Pareja, together with Holly Mabery, VP of brokerage ops west, and Kendall Bonner, VP of industry relations, discussed a variety of relevant topics. They emphasized the importance of keeping agents updated and prepared for the changes, as well as the need for agents to negotiate their own fees for their services and the importance of having agreements signed with the buyer prior to showing properties. They also talked about the enforcement of these new rules by the MLS and the potential consequences for not having a definitive buyer agreement. Strategies were offered for dealing with different types of buyers and sellers, and the importance of transparency and education in the new real estate landscape.
Salient points made included the following:
- “Treat your buyers like you treat your sellers, which translates to having a buyer presentation as good as your listing presentation.”
- “Knowing your contracts gives you more powerful tools.”
- “You’ve got to be able to articulate your value.”
- “Make good choices in who you want to represent.”
- “Make good choices in what makes the most sense.”
- “Sit and talk to clients about what buying a house looks like in totality.”
- “Set clients up for success, and walk them through the process.”
- “When you talk about affordability, it’s not just the price of the house, it’s their insurance. Is it in a flood zone? It’s their utilities. Can they afford them? It’s maintenance.”
- “Prepare buyers for potentially negative news in advance. First-time homebuyers could back out of buying a property because the home inspection came back and said the roof’s only got eight years left on it.”
The trio opined on subjects they’ve become well-versed in. Bonner talked about open houses.
“It is important to understand that you do not need a buyer brokerage agreement for holding an open house when you are working on behalf of the seller,” she said. “This is good news. If you have an unrepresented customer either call you, or who wants to preview the home; or an open house buyer wants to make an offer on the home, then of course you need to get something in writing if you expect to get paid by that buyer or on the buyer’s behalf for brokerage services that you are performing on their behalf.”
Pareja urged agents to upgrade their social media presentation.
“When you have happy past customers on the phone, ask them to go to your social media preference, meaning Google reviews, Zillow reviews, wherever you guide people toward, and ask them to review your buyer-representation skills,” he said. “Have them say they were in a multiple-contract situation and (Bonner) expertly negotiated not by increasing price, but maybe negotiating a rent-back so it didn’t come out of my pocket. Just being able to articulate what most of us take for granted. We do this professionally and sometimes forget the level of service that we’re delivering to consumers.”
Mabery detailed the coming changes from a legal, compliance perspective and what they mean.
“We saw preliminary approval by the judge and then the NAR practice changes,” she said. “We’re going to start to see these roll out through the months of June, July and August. This is where it gets really interesting, and we’re going to see more headlines on MSNBC and CNN. Everybody’s going to pick up on this around August 17, and this is when plaintiff’s counsel will be issuing the class action notifying sellers of their ability to collect money. Usually these are when the postcards go out, in a class-action lawsuit of, ‘Hey, please submit if you were sold a house during this timeframe.’ This is part of the process.”
To watch the full webinar, go here.
