Changes in the industry, NC

General Real Estate Investing
1

Hello friends and neighbors,

I’m a newbie to this forum as well as to the real estate industry. I’m currently working toward a provisional broker’s license and plan to earn a broker’s license before the first of next year ;). After completing this goal I will have put in nearly 240 hours. Within the next 3 years NC will become an all broker state with good reason I think.

I’ve read many of your topics and shared discussion with many seasoned agents and brokers relating to issues within the industry. Every month agents and brokers are being reported to the NC Real Estate Commission with issues relating to real estate law, agency practices, and discremination issues. NC has realized there is a huge difficiency within the system and is now taking action to clean-up the industry.

I’ve heard from many that once you leave the classroom and work in the field you may utilize 10% of what you’ve been taught. This was a disturbing thought to me :(. I feel that 85% of what I’m being taught as it relates to real estate law is the backbone or basis of protecting and assisting clients, 3rd parties, agents, and brokers, as well as keeping the industry clean and honest. I then realized that NC does indeed have a problem within the real estate industry.

My personal experiences and dealings with agents in the field left a lot to be desired, and this is why I decided to pursue a career in real estate because the general public deserves competent and knowledgable professionals to represent them and guide them through the various stages of the process.

As we newbies learn from other’s past mistakes, and through current changes in how we’re being educated through the commission, will open the door to rebuilding the industry to a respectable level. This transition is geared toward changing the general publics view of what we stand for, as it will weed out those who continously break the rules and don’t clearly understand how their actions impact the general public’s view, the firm’s business, and other co-workers within that firm.

I feel my success as a realtor will come, but it will be earned by giving the public a fresh experience in working with someone who is competent and does understand the importance of real estate law, rules and regulations. I have much to learn but I think I’m off to very good start ;D.

I welcome any comments and look forward to hearing back from you.

2

Sounds like you have the right mindset. I am a professional investor in NC and am also a licensed broker though I do not practice brokerage as a regular profession. I, as it seems you have, dedicated myself to becoming as knowledgeable as possible about the real estate industry and its practices. It is an ongoing process as the market, environment, and laws constantly change.

You are correct that problems exist in the real estate market in NC but this is not unique – I’ve travelled and interfaced with attorneys and real estate professionals in many states and this seems to be the case in nearly every state in the US.

There are various ways for people to enter the real estate arena. Many have entered in as investors with very limited training, financial or business intelligence. Much of the training beginning investors have received has been either by experienced ‘gurus’ who have something to sell or by less experienced ‘gurus on the rise’ who learned a particular way, worked it for a few years, and since they had success with it started teaching that way without having explored and studied other ways to conduct business, taking each method taught apart and weighing it, with professional assistance, against all of the available moral, business, ethical, and legal standards.

Most real estate agents either need to find a little niche and become experts in that niche, or if they want to be more general in their brokerage, then they need to make a large commitment to learning as much as they can about each aspect of brokerage they engage in. What has happened in the brokerage market is that agents have become so hungry due to competition that they try to step out of their field of experience into areas in which they have limited knowledge and as a result they end up hurting clients, not intentionally but through their own ignorance (for lack of a better word).

Perhaps no where is this more prominent than the agent who, with no training whatsoever in how to properly analyze a real estate investment represents a client who came to him (or her) for assistance in securing the investor’s first real estate investment and the agent led the client to believe that he was representing the client and giving the client solid, accurate advice, when in truthfulness the agent was clueless. But the agent THOUGHT he knew what he was doing and saw the commission as the goal, not a successful client. People tend to not want to admit their own shortcomings and this is very bad when the person is representing someone else in a fiduciary role. Let me share an example of this.

I bought an apartment building complex recently. I had been looking at an multi-unit building next door to our building and talking with the owner for over 2 yrs but the owner simply refused to come down to a price that worked, in this case around $120,000 as is. Someone bought the building and was over at the property one day so I walked over and introduced myself. Later we had lunch and she shared with me how her and her partner had worked with a particular agent who I have had dealings with in the past. I knew this agent to be an excellent listing agent for mint condition single family homes sold to owner occupants and also knew this agent to be 100% clueless about the value of investments (either that or she doesn’t care and only wants commissions which is a possibility too). Anyhow, this agent had advised this investor that the deal was solid and then she put the investor in touch with a mortgage broker. The investor ended up paying twice as much in closing costs as should have happened, ended up with terrible financing, and ended up upside down in the building to the tune of $50,000 when the rehab was done. AND the investor had to get a friend to help her and do much of the rehab work herself as they had no money on hand and their loan did not cover enough of the fixup. This investor works in a blue collar factory position and saved for many many yrs to get funding to do this deal and now has a huge hole to get out of, one that will likely take years. Not only was this the WRONG investment for this investor to begin with (the agent should have prequalified the investor but likely the agent had no clue how to go about doing so since prequal for an investor is more than just the ability to get a loan) but this was also a TERRIBLE deal EVEN IF it had been the right fit for the investor’s personal and financial situation.

If you really wanted to make a difference in the brokerage market in real estate one avenue you might consider becoming as knowledgeable as possible about real estate investing, the market, trends, how to run the numbers in investments, etc. and then advertise yourself as an investment saavy broker who can not only assist people in the typical home purchase but also in helping them find and identify solid investments so they can begin building their wealth portfolio. This type approach, if done properly, will take you years to truly become experienced enough to do a first rate job, but once you got there you’d likely build a repuation that could give you a solid stream of business for life. You’d also be qualified to analyze your own investments and if you chose to use real estate as a part of your wealth portfolio you’d be a step ahead of the crowd.

By the way, NC is CURRENTLY an all broker state. For a while they’re allowing brokers to start as provisional brokers, but you have to, as I understand it, go through the full broker training before you can get a license. This change was just implemented and I think it’s a good thing.

Good luck with your endeavors.

3

well, you get an A for mindset but an F for thinking.

here’s what i think

realtors provide a service that helps to make the average person, more lazy and less educated about real estate - one of the most important things in this life.

how do they do this?

you could be the most competent and awesome realtor in the world - but the bottom line is, THE BOTTOM LINE is that you really won’t guide any of your clients deeply through the process. they’ll just sign a million papers, get a mortgage so you can get your commission for basically BEING A MIDDLE MAN, meanwhile, you really don’t care if the people who are buying could have
A. negotiated DIRECTLY with the seller
B. found out as much information about the property and the seller needs in order to
C. negotiate effectively a win-win for both parties.

THE BOTTOM LINE IS, that as a realtor, you can say your feduciary rights are for this or for that, and of course, if you’re a competent and honest, hard working realtor, then you’re representing your party the best you can and getting them the best deal that YOU can…

but you’re not working for YOU - you working for someone else - so you’re going to care…but not that much. bottom line.

my problem with realtors is that they are just a middle man. they don’t do title search, they don’t give you the loan, they don’t really negotiate a deal, they don’t really know every little thing about the seller/buyer, that could aid the parties involved.

in my experience of working with about…20 realtors in my entire life - about 5 of them have showed me over 100 properties - they suck. to put it bluntly. i ask a question - they do not know the answer. they just get a key, open the door and try and talk like they know what they’re doing by pointing to something in the house in a weak attempt to “educate” you. it’s ridiculous.

you’re holier-than-thou approach my friend is commendable. i applaud your passion, but to me, i truly believe that realtors get in the way more than they actually help. i’d say that less than 3% actually help. and that 3% are investors who know what they are doing.

rule #1 in negotiating:
get as much information about the party(s) you will be negotiating with.

realtors don’t do this. in fact, if a seller is home, when you go to look at the house…that’s like a bad thing and most realtors will push you past the most important thing - meeting the seller. most realtors will give you a hard time if you want to actually present your offer in person or want to speak to the seller about their life circumstances, ie. why are you selling? what do you like about your house? how did you come with the asking price? what are you interests? where are you going? why are you going there? how long have you owned it? do you have a mortgage on the property? how much do you owe? …the list goes on and on.

try asking a realtor these questions…their answer will be:
“I don’t know, but I will find out for you.” hence - you won’t speak to the seller - i will. that’s bs.

4

I’ve always wondered about this question. When you ask, do you get a lot of “that’s none of your business” type responses? What are you trying to gain from that information?

5

I have personally never asked that question.

I always pull an Ownership and Encumberance on every property prior to making an offer that way it is a statement.

YOU HAVE 2 MORTGAGES ON THE PROPERTY AND THIS IS WHAT YOU OWE.

6

Hi Robb,

Do you know if you can pull an Ownership and Encumberance on properties in Texas?

It’s classified as a Non-Disclosure state…which sometimes makes it hard to find out what someone previously paid for a property.

But I’d like if O & E are accessible in this state…and if so, which (county)? office do you typically go thru to obtain.

Thanks,
-Mike

7

I get mine right from the title company…

I think in Texas it is called something different.

Also ask about price before you get one. I get them for free.

8

thanks Robb

-Mike

9

everytime i’ve asked that question, i’d say i’ve gotten a positive response 100% of the time because i don’t ask it the first time i meet the seller(s).

i have asked it in person and over the phone after about 3 or 4 times of speaking to them. calling them by their first name and building a real rapport with them. of course, reoconsultant is right - that’s why he’s a moderator on here and much more experienced than most on here.

but i think if you have good people skills, look someone in the eye when you talk to them, speak slowly, clearly and bright/upbeat - you will get an honest answer. and if it’s not honest - chances are, with your due-diligence, you’ll find out. obviously, no self-respecting investor sinks money into anything based on someone else’s word. that’s recipe for DISASTER, unless they know that person’s word to be rock solid (through past repetitive history of success).

10

TMCG is also right. If you can build that repport with them you can ask ANYTHING. And get a close to honest answer.

For instance. Back in my single days I even asked out a girl right in front of Mom and Dad and they both said yes before she did. TRUE STORY!

11

lol, too funny.

12

TMCG, your points are accurate.

Most brokers are just as you described and yes, they more often than not get in the way instead of help. I try to find deals and work directly with sellers but sometimes the deal is listed before I get to it and I have to go through a broker who is acting as the middleman. And yes, they often screw things up.

The unfortunate reality is that many investors, especially ones that are new to the scene, go find a broker and ask them to help them find investment property, and the investor mistakingly thinks the broker knows about investments, but as those of us who have been through brokerage training (or those who have worked with brokers) know, very little is taught in the brokerage classes that is applicable to investments. Also, many investors who decide to liquidate just get an agent to list the property for them so you’re again stuck dealing with a broker.

Another place they screw things up, at least in my world, is when I sell property. I usually sell directly to investors if I turn an apartment building, but brokers in the area also know I’ll pay them a commission under a For Sale By Owner agreement if they bring a buyer. The reality is that often the broker who brings me a buyer is also clueless about investments. Therefore, I make it clear to them up front that I will have direct communications with the buyer. The broker is welcome to be in all communications, and usually is, and if I talk directly to the buyer without the broker present, I make sure the broker is aware of what those communications consist of. The broker often balks at this and often the broker forces themselves to be go between, and in many cases this messes up the deal. I am in the middle of doing damage control on just such a deal where the broker was clueless and the seller, being an experienced investor himself, got ticked off, and wants to cut the broker out, thus creating all kinds of ill will.

One of the points in my earlier post was to point out that someone wanting to go into brokerage could learn about investments, become truly saavy, and thus perhaps capture some of the investor business that goes to brokers regardless. Many investors are going to go to brokers, because they think that’s the right thing to do, and we can’t stop that. If one develops a reputation as a broker who actually knows investments, and who goes just one step further to be of assistance in a deal rather than someone just looking to collect a check with the least effort possible, one would stand out and could thus establish a good clientele in a reasonable amount of time.

I use the term ‘broker’ here as not all brokers are Realtors.

Good post.

13

I want thank everyone who responded to my post, expecially RonDPate. I figured my post would get a few bashes from others in the field who see my concept as a hollier-than-thou attitude toward the industry. These type comments further establish the deterioration of what it means to be a good agent and/or broker representing the general public in each state.

My thoughts of conduct relating to the field have been formed through many conversations with agents and brokers over the years. It would seem that the target and ultimate focus relating to real estate is driven by thoughts of making millions of dollars and getting that commission check. I’ve never heard one agent or broker make a comment as to what it means to earn and hold a license, and what it stands for relating to supporting the general public with their real estate needs ???.

Learning and/or refreshing savvy investments skills as well as negotiating skills will be a defining turning point in the industry in the near future. However, I think it would be impossible for every provisional broker/broker entering the field to be all things to all people. It doesn’t make sense to toss newbies into the field without other programs in place to assist with their success :-X. I think the past system, before the new implimented changes, was setup for failure as statistics indicate that most agents fail within the first 1-2 years due to lack of knowledge, education, and general people skills :-. In NC, there’s more than 92,000 licensed agents out there still working off the concept that the goal is making money regardless of the commission rules and regulations :-[. I once heard someone say,

“It’s a short trip to the bottom of the ladder once you’ve hit the top of the ladder based on deception and dishonesty :'(”. [i][/i]Cause and Effect.

I hope with the new NC changes the commision will continue it’s course of action with restructuring the programs ;D. It appears that in most cases the buyers and sellers are not being represented appropriately to justify the commissions being paid as this fact is evident ::).

None of us can deny the fact of our own experiences with agents/brokers and how it affected each one of us when dealing with an incompetent individual. Every client rich or poor deserves the highest quality of representation. Once you take out the $$ equation what’s your motivation? Therein lies the difference in a good agent/broker versus a bad agent/broker.

I welcome your comments and thanks for reading :).

14

“I feel my success as a realtor will come, but it will be earned by giving the public a fresh experience in working with someone who is competent and does understand the importance of real estate law, rules and regulations. I have much to learn but I think I’m off to very good start.”

Your success as a REALTOR will come only as a product of MASSIVE lead generation and effective, systematic followup. In other words, prospecting for customers and clients and then providing good service. There are many many thousands of dedicated, honest, hardworking real estate agents in the State of North Carolina who have far more knowledge than you will have when you get licensed.

“As we newbies learn from other’s past mistakes, and through current changes in how we’re being educated through the commission, will open the door to rebuilding the industry to a respectable level.”

Good thing we have some noobs on the way to straighten everything out.

Low barrier to entry means a flood of new agents, most of whom wash out of the business within a year or so, only to be replaced by another crop of starry-eyed newbies. Thus the business is always overpopulated with inexperienced practitioners. Which license requires more hours of training in NC, real estate broker or cosmetologist? Cosmetologist, and it’s not even close. A manicurist must have more hours of prelicensing training than a real estate broker. 240 classroom hours is insignificant.

While it is not necessary to have a license in order to have an opinion of what is wrong with the real estate brokerage industry, it is naive of you to think that you have any concept of how to fix it.

15

steve,

good points. but i still can’t understand how people in the realtor business actually stay in the business, when, to me, they…suck (to put it bluntly).

are people (buyers and sellers) that dumb that they just keep using the same schlubs over and over?

do people (buyers and sellers) understand they are being represented by incompetent individuals? do they know that the average realtor can’t even answer a simple question like:
is there a mortgage on this home?
how long have the owners lived here?
etc.

i guess they (people) don’t know these things, or else most realtors would simply be OUT OF BUSINESS.

that’s the name of the game - capitalize on people’s ignorance and laziness.

i agree - most newbs believe they can change things, make them better, sell more, make more, be better at customer relations and MOST CANNOT. it’s like start-up businesses - less than what…25% are successful, while most truly fail miserably (go under). but if a person does their homework and really work hard hours, devoting all they can to “do it better” than the next guy or gal - then more power to them. if they “fail” - they can turn that “failure” into knowledge and really offer a better product and/or service.

best of luck surrealestate! you’ve got A LONG WAY TO GO before making your vision a reality. LONG WAY…

but go get’em!

16

Thanks Steve and TMCG for your input and taking time to submit your opinions.

In my opinion, I don’t think by casting several thousand new agents/brokers in the field is going to suddenly shape what has been built over many years. I do see major shifts in procedure, processes, and marketing associated with the industry.

For instance lets look at traditional marketing efforts. There’s an over abundance of RE books, magazines, newspaper ads, and websites that market a product. What do you see in most of these advertisements? I see a colorful picture of a face with a name attached to snapshots of several properties along with a company logo…that’s it. I think to myself while looking at the colorful pictures, what can you offer me that’s different from the folks next door to you? What sets you or your company apart from the pack? A Glamour shot photo of an individual, hundreds of individuals, tells me nothing about the company, and it certainly doesn’t compel me to do business with your firm. In my opinion it’s a waste of expensive advertising space.

One’s bad realtor experience might be similar to looking at the the operation of a drive through fast food business, get them in and get them out. You trust the burger joint to ensure you have all condements, napkins, and food order correct, right? Then you find in your bag that you didn’t receive what you ordered and probably got the the guy’s order that was in line behind you. The concept of offering above average services to the consumer falls short because the focus is the bottom line, usually leading to money. We all pay for other’s mistakes in any business. Unfortunately, these situations can stigmatize business and the real estate industry is no different.

My quest is not to “fix” the RE industry but more to listen, learn, and watch. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what’s working and what isn’t, regardless of education level.

As far as acknowledging and accepting new concepts within the field…it’s already happening. Yes, I truly understand that if I were to have ventured into to real estate several years ago I would have A LONG WAY TO GO, by following traditional and outdated concepts. I think consumers are more savvy than ever before when it comes to real estate investments. Survival in the field will require far more savvy than just earning a license, making cold calls, and using a Glamour shot as means of obtaining and earning one’s business. The most successful agents/brokers are not born as there are very defining indicators as to why they are successful. Stepping outside of a prepackaged box (fish bowl), is the first step in a better direction. The skills required to be successful are enormous and the list of expectations continue to grow.

RonDPate is on target with his post and appears to understand the concept of stepping outside of the box in order to be successful. He’s generously conveyed a path from classroom to real-life experience, mixing both negative and positive elements. Commendable and well done!

Thanks again for stopping by and I hope to hear back from you.

17

“I do see major shifts in procedure, processes, and marketing associated with the industry.”

Superficially, that is profound observation. Upon examination, it is pure fluff.

Give me specifics of some “shifts” you see in each of these areas. What is an example of a PROCEDURE which you see shifting? How about a PROCESS which is shifting?

I tried to figure out what bugs me about your posts and it finally hit me: It all reads like the writing of a hack consultant or futurist who knows how to write but has no specific knowledge of the industry. Let me demonstrate what I mean by taking a quote from your last post and changing just a few words:

“My quest is not to “fix” the long haul trucking industry but more to listen, learn, and watch. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what’s working and what isn’t, regardless of education level.”

“As far as acknowledging and accepting new concepts within the field…it’s already happening. Yes, I truly understand that if I were to have ventured into to trucking several years ago I would have A LONG WAY TO GO, by following traditional and outdated concepts. I think customers are more savvy than ever before when it comes to transportation. Survival in the field will require far more savvy than just having a fleet of vehicles, making phone calls, and having a website as means of obtaining and earning one’s business. The most successful transport managers are not born as there are very defining indicators as to why they are successful. Stepping outside of a prepackaged box (fish bowl), is the first step in a better direction. The skills required to be successful are enormous and the list of expectations continue to grow.”

Now substitute “semiconductor manufacturing” for “long haul trucking” and make the few other necessary changes to those two paragraphs. This template can be used in your future consulting business.

18

Hi Steve,

I’m glad you stopped by for another visit :). It appears you’ve summed up as well as indicated with great detail your dislike of my point-of-view. I also noticed instead of offering your own individual thoughts as it relates to the subject matter you prefer to narrow down and highlight my paragraphs of observation. I’ve encouraged and grabbed your attention and interest which means your open to other possibilities relating to the field ;D. Mission accomplished. Got some questions for you (notice, no highlighted Steve remarks needed).

I’m not sure what you mean by “hack consultant” 8)? You’ve assumed that I have no specific knowledge of the field, interesting? What exactly qualifies an individual, by your standards, to be an acceptable and successful player in the real estate field? Why do you think most agents/brokers fail after the first 1-2 years in the business? It wasn’t because they didn’t work hard enough, nor because they didn’t put 100% into their jobs. What do you think all these folks had in common? Bottom-line it’s a tough career and requires various skills over and beyond conventional and traditional means of generating, establishing, and keeping clients.

I think newbies should target a specific area within the field, find a nitch based on what they are good at, what they enjoy doing within the field. In the simplest terms, focus energies and work with either buyers or sellers specifically. I’ve heard many agents/brokers say they prefer working with one or the other, and I see shifting in this area as it relates to meeting consumer needs. Combine cold-calling with hitting the pavement and going door to door while sending out mailers. Take advantage of technology, and be creative when it comes to meeting clients’ needs when dealing with third parties and paper flow. Planning ahead is key to running any successful business.

I think streamlining the process of handling the majority of your paper flow from client to third parties is easy through the means of technology. Working with a database to organize and maintain your clients and third parties information ensure you’re on track with timelines, disclosures, and required procedures. I also think by offering discount commissions packaged with a choice of real estate services tailored to meet individual client needs makes sense. The general public would agree I think.

I’ve closed a few personal residential real estate deals of my own and I’ve been on both ends of the table as the consumer and as a processor, as well as worked with numerous third parties associated with the deals ;).

Superficial…na, don’t think so ;D. I think the general public is having trouble justfying the average 6% commission based on the type of services they are receiving, or not :-. Pick up the Wall Street Journal…Realtor commissions are under fire these days and traditional firms are feeling the pinch.

Looking forward to hearing back from you :slight_smile:

19

Wow! With the amount of BS flowing from this thread, we better all roll up our pant legs and find some boats, because it’s getting deep!

Seems to me that the problem here is that you guys are on opposite extremes of thinking, and neither are really close to reality.

TMCG, sounds like that you’ve had a bad experience or two with an agent. Sorry to hear that. However, you picture of agents is wrong. Yes, I’ll be the first to admit that there are more, let’s say, “not so good” agents out there than really good ones, but generally speaking, they do provide more of a service than you give credit. In fact, your major complaint seems to be that they wont’ give you information about the seller that you request. That’s actually one of the duties performed by agents, protect their clients interest (as well as serve as a ‘stand-in’ for direct negotiating). If you’re going to be in the REI business, it’s time to put personal feelings aside, because agents can be a very good source of business in more ways than one.

surrealstate,

I truly like your attitude. If you happen to be close to my area, shoot me a pm. I’ll hire you on the spot. I love that kind of drive in my agency.

That said, I think that you have a long, hard road down the path of the real world when it comes to being an agent.

Closing a few deals doesn’t really give you any insight to being a RE agent. Sad as it is to say, taking the course isn’t going to give you any real insight to being an RE agent. Here’s just an example of what I’m getting at:
You asked Why do you think most agents/brokers fail after the first 1-2 years in the business? It wasn’t because they didn’t work hard enough, nor because they didn’t put 100% into their jobs. What do you think all these folks had in common?

What did most of these folks have in common? It was this. They, in fact, did not work hard enough and they did not put 100% into their jobs. That is why most new agents leave the field within the first 2 years. Either through their own or sometimes because a suave recruiter at some big company convinced them of it, they believe that by merely getting a RE license, some business cards and hanging around the office, they are going to make a million selling RE. It doesn’t happen, they get discouraged and quit.

Here’s two more statements I’d like to comment:
Pick up the Wall Street Journal…Realtor commissions are under fire these days and traditional firms are feeling the pinch.
I also think by offering discount commissions packaged with a choice of real estate services tailored to meet individual client needs makes sense. The general public would agree I think.

RE commissions are under fire from the press, and that’s about it. Sure, in some areas agents are offering reduced commissions (slightly) but that’s generally because of slow markets and little else. Happens every time. In a hot market, you won’t see many discount commission listings, and even less selling.

As to offering discount commissions and the public agreeing, from actual data, I’d strongly disagree with that statement. Our company has offered a discounted commission since we opened, yet only about 1 out of 50 or so clients even ask about it. Of those that do, very few actually take it over full service, especially if they are given the true nature of what is discounted.

With that said, I think that you’ll make a fine agent once the rose color has worn off the glasses. Once you get past the slush of the newbie glut of agents and establish yourself, you are home free.

Raj

20

You started your first post stating that you are a newbie, expecting
to be licensed this year. Then you throw out broad, but vague, generalities about the real estate brokerage business. All this is done on a real estate board where most posters don’t know much about re brokerage, except for the fact that they often don’t need it.

I have started up, managed, merged, grown, and sold residential real estate brokerages since I got my brokers license in the late 80’s. The fact is that in the few areas where you have gone into any details about your innovative concepts, your “innovations” are old hat. For example, “Combine cold-calling with hitting the pavement and going door to door while sending out mailers.” Tom Hopkins was training that stuff in the early 80’s. It works, but it is nothing new.

You have some things going for you, thick skin for one. You will find that to be quite valuable. Youth is another. I am guessing that you are about 25 years old. If you were 35 or 40 you would know that it takes some experience to fully understand a new business. Seriously, how old are you? I’ll go first. I’m 47.

“I also think by offering discount commissions packaged with a choice of real estate services tailored to meet individual client needs makes sense.”

Once again, this stuff has been around for at least 15 years yet you want to treat it as an innovation.

“Superficial…na, don’t think so .”

Of course you don’t think so. You don’t know enough to realize how much you don’t know.

“Why do you think most agents/brokers fail after the first 1-2 years in the business? It wasn’t because they didn’t work hard enough, nor because they didn’t put 100% into their jobs.”

That’s exactly why they fail. And you, too, will fail unless you focus on the basics and learn how to do this business. Do yourself a favor and read “The Millionaire Real Estate Agent” by Tom Keller. Then read it again. Then investigate a coaching organization. I recommend Tom Ferry’s Success Strategies Institute.