I was a little tentative about taking the Accredited Buyer's Representative (ABR) classes. I have my CRS the granddaddy of designations and felt the ABR may be a CRS light.
There were three things that changed my mind and helped me make the decision to go for my ABR and take the classes:
- The predatory practices of several agents in the area.
- Professionalism; is it professional to work with a client without clearly spelling out your relationship in writing?
- The need to demonstrate to the public that I take my business serious.
I have resisted using buyer's agency contracts in my business for several reasons. The number one reason was I like the ability to stop working with a client who I decide I do not want to work with. Many of you out there understand why I feel that way. Although most of my clients are wonderful, there are some for various reasons that it is not going to work out with.
The class I took was attended by about 60 or so local agents from the Honolulu area of which I knew several. Included in the group is new agent Lielane Peralta, from my office. Lielane is one of my a former clients. She has her first listing, co-listed with me. I was happy to see her making the commitment to take on professional development as party of her business plan.
The instructor was Curtis V. Hall from Arizona. Curtis is known in the industry as a revolutionary in the subject of buyer's agency. Curtis did a great job of presenting the material and taking away any doubt I had for using buyer's agency agreements. The three day class covered working with buyer's, issues of professionalism and was intertwined with the REALTOR® Code of Ethics.
Here are a few of positive reasons for going to a Buyer's Agency Agreement:
- It formalizes your relationship with the buyer.
- It is a much more professional way of doing business.
- You treat your buyers the same way you already treat your sellers, with a signed contract.
- It makes it much harder for other agents to poach your clients, with predatory practices.
Yesterday I got a call in the office from a potential client who was unhappy with her current agent and wanted to seek other representation. I let her know that I could only work with her if she did not have a relationship with another agent. Here response was she had nothing in writing. I asked her to let the other agent know that she was not going to be working with them anyway. I would have appreciated the same call. But what she said sounded almost like our instructor sent her to me. It did strengthen my resolve to change my business practices when working with buyers.
A big Mahalo (thank you in Hawaiian) to Curtis V. Hall a great instructor. Hopefully a future Active Rainer.
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Randy L. Prothero, REALTOR®, ABR, AHWD, CRS, e-PRO, GRI, SFR
Century 21 Liberty Homes
Randy Prothero is well established as an expert in working with military / VA clients and first time home buyers. His home seller's (listing) campaign is one of the most aggressive marketing programs in the area.
Based out of Mililani, Hawaii. Randy services the island of Oahu (Honolulu County) and the Leeward Regional Chairman of the Honolulu Board of Realtors. To improve overall professionalism in his area Randy also offers classes for real estate agents.
www.HawaiiRandy.com * Oahu (Honolulu County) Property Search * Hawaii Military Relocations
I recieved my ABR designation earlier this year and learned much from that class. My Elective class was "Short Sales and Foreclosures". In my market which is South Florida we have a tremendous amount of Mortgages going into default thanks mainly to those 1% Negative Mortgages.
I learned how to structure these deals and coordinate with the banks and I had my first closing of a "Short Sale" last month. That alone has paid for the class not to mention all the great stuff I learned. I am working on my CRS and that is going to take a little bit of time. Good Luck with your new skills!
Good to know.....I have considered taking the ABR course myself, but was told that it was no big deal. It's good to hear a positive review. Now I will reconsider getting the designation.
Kathy - I am sure the new skills from this class will more than pay for it. You will get so much from the CRS classes. I have the designation and still continue to take the classes.
Neal - I am sure you will like it.
Tiffany - I had heard the same thing. I am glad I took it. If you get one good idea that is put in place all classes become worth it.
Joan - Good tip, thank you.
Miriam - I agree completely.
Kaye - Let us know how your class goes, when you take it.
Randy's a smarty pants! j/k. Congratulations!
Randy
it seems that you had fun and you learn a lot :) keep the good study my friend.
Ray Saenz
We liked ABR too. The best we've ever seen is at the Group Inc. in Ft. Collins, CO. Think of it as a think tank where many of the CRS instructors come to brainstorm and share ideas. Our favorite CRS class had to do with Buyers too. Thanks for sharing this with all of us. We think we all should be CRS and ABR certified.
Thanks
Hey Randy, great to hear that. Those are some of the very reasons I am going for my ABR as well.
Didn't take much arm twisting to convince me to use buyer agency contracts, and this post confirms my thoughts on that!
Mahalo!
Randy - this is a good summary for someone to read who is thinking about the ABR but perhaps has not yet decided. I agree with everything you said - got my ABR during my first year in real estate and have never regretted it. Congratulations on your success.
Jeff
Lisa H - Thank you
George S - I have started the e-Pro. I will then rest.
Ray - Thank you
Sally - I just started the e-Pro. I probably won't do much for a week or two on it. I have gotten real busy lately.
Irina - I recommend it to everyone. Even if you decide not to use buyer's agency agreements it is still a good course.
Gary - I liked all but one of the CRS classes I have taken. I plan to continue to take them and attend Sell-a-bration each year.
John - I resisted using them, but now realize the error of my ways.
Jeff - Thank you, I am really glad I finally took it. Well done course, it will help me make more money and be a better professional.
Congratulations Randy.
I think so often agents forget that the designation classes also count as continuing educataion hours. You can update your hours and get the accreditation. It's a win-win.
Glad you took it and ejoyed it. My wife Monika has just recently passed the instructors portion and is now qualified to teach it.
In a down market I have seen agents wait to take continuing educational classes and forego extra training and educational opportunities.
Chris - I always collect a stack of CE credits. I make a point of attending a few classes a year.
Jay - A down market is the time to increase marketing and training. Congratulations to Monika, one of my goals is to teach.
Randy,
Nice post! If it's a buyers market maybe we all should be focusing on handling Buyers "Professionally". Congrats on joining the Ranks!
I have had my ABR for several years and continue to see its worth year in and year out as a means to distinguish myself from the many other agents out there who don't have the accreditation (I tell prospective buyers about its significance and let them make up their own minds.)
I have been on the fence about the signed contract for some time, like you, because I wanted the right to cut my buyers loose if they are not a fit, but on at least one occasion, it was the guarantee of a commission vs. none at all in the instance of a buyer who was willing to strike a deal with the listing agent by cutting me out of the deal. The contract insured that this did not happen.
Randy,
Great job! Thanks for sharing, you are a great source of inspiration! :)
Paul & Michelle - Thank you
Brian - Curtis was really good.
Steve - It is always good to take professional development classes. This one was pretty good. It started a little slow because of the ethics material (only exciting for lawyers) very necessary though and then picked up as it went.
Jeff- I didn't look until you asked. $110/ year
Thesa - I pay annual dues for CRS, both local and National, not to mention three Realtor organizations. It is the cost of doing business.
Irene - I like the idea of having our relationship formalized to prevent that and to let the clients know exactly where we stand.
Gary - I took me a long time to come around also.
Vicki - Thank you for the feed back on e-Pro. Once I get a little break in the action, I will focus on completely it.
Suzanne - Thank you for those kind words
Maggie - I won't officially have it for a couple of weeks. Possibly by then I can finish the e-Pro.
C J - Thank you for the vote of confidence. The number of ABRs on Oahu was less than 300 out of over 6200 Realtors and the number with both CRS and ABR must be tiny. Like a few others said, it is a way of distinguishing yourself from the field.
Randy,
Congratulations on the new designation!!! My decision to get the ABR designation was twofold: One was to learn more about consumer protection, and two was to give my buyers the knowledge that I was looking out for their best interests. Keep on learning!!
David - I really enjoyed Curtis's class. He really made me look at buyer's agency differently.
Harold - Both good reasons to take the classes.
Randy, Congratulations....... I have used the Buyers Contract/Agreement many times. I was the first one in my old Brokerage to use it, and the Broker didn't know what it was.....we had to go buy forms from the Board......but I figured right off the bat that if I was going to give the client that much work, I wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page.
Yes, and the e-Pro is also well worth it. In my area there are only 2, myself and one other. Maybe I should at least use it on my cards, and signature :)
Hi Randy- I took the class back in April and enjoyed it also.
I just got notification today that I officially have the ABR. I got busy after they sent me the first letter and just recently got all the documentation in to them to get the designation.
Randy - I just finished the same course with Curtis as an instructor. The ABR course is definitely worth taking - having Curtis Hall as an instructor added value to it also. What I've been finding out is that a lot of the learning isn't in the curriculum!
Kent - You are so right, the interacting other motivated agents and the stories from the instructors are worth their weight in gold.