Brokerage firms or real estate agencies as they are more commonly known are doing a great job in holding up the reputation of the industry and the profession of a specialist real estate consultant or providing a professional real estate service for that matter. However, there are instances where these brokerage firms need to be united and have to come together to ensure that the overall reputation and good name of these firms as well as the industry as a whole do not get tarnished.
We, at Mister T have had a number of instances where we have had to deal with problematic situations and individuals especially with new entrants and sometimes existing personnel in the market who operate against the ethos of a professional agent. We hope to share some light on some of the instances to keep all aware of these types of activities and to be very mindful of who they hire and what kind of background these individuals comes from.
Instance 01
Agent in the firm trying to defraud the company.
Real Estate agents get the opportunity to meet clients (buyers and sellers alike), a real estate agent who was once with the company figured out a way to literally convey a false story to the agency with reference to another agent being involved in a property deal where there was no actual agent, it was the honesty and integrity of the seller that brought out the culprit in this instance and thankfully, the agent was not successful in executing the plan. Beware of agents who don’t follow the process and procedures set in your firm.
Instance 02
An Agent in the company abusing the company given privileges. Being a real estate agent requires a great deal of time and one cannot achieve success in this trade by being half involved or doing it on a part time level, you have to sacrifice something to achieve great heights. A real estate agent who is also no longer in the company used office time to work out in a gym which is close by to the office and interestingly some of the office staff knew about this and quite surprisingly didn’t see anything wrong with it. The agent had also used transport at the expense of the company for other personal matters and even manipulated others to do the same. These type of agents put on a good face to the management but operate craftily in the absence of their superiors.
Instance 03
Friends of real estate agents.
Never hire a friend of a real estate agent or the agents who are friends. These guys get together and play around with the company and their systems and processes. It appears as though they get a kick out of it but the reality is that such people are not going to make it big in life unless they change their ways, especially the attitude towards their line of work and workplace. Respecting the opportunity given to grow in your workplace is very important.
Instance 04
Lying about property availability
An agent was caught lying about the availability of the property and had separate dealings with the property owner while keeping the company in the dark. Real estate is a beautiful practice but it is so only if done with the right mindset and attitude. Losing yourself and losing your humility and the person you are once you successfully carry out a few transactions doesn’t mean that you forget your morals and double cross and cheat any and everyone just so you can make more money.
Apart from the above, there are a number of instances where company employees try all kinds of tricks just to steal some time and do what they want and then get away with it. To all agencies out there who are hiring, please do be mindful of the caliber of agents and other applicants who indicate in any way to you that they have worked in another agency or have done real estate in any way, it is always a good practice to call the previous workplace and obtain a formal recommendation of the agent just to ensure that you are not hiring the wrong person or people. Always remember that if the candidate is speaking negatively about another person, previous employer or company to you, he or she will do the same to you when they switch to their next workplace.
Here is wishing all the real estate agencies / brokerage firms all the very best and at the same time appreciating the efforts put in to ensure professionalism is upheld at all times.