“The real risk to the banks and investors is that the people in those homes might just decide to walk away. And that’s what we must do. Doesn’t have to be everybody, of course; but anyone who finds themselves seriously underwater with no hope of ever recouping their investment….just walk away Renee. Morality has nothing to do with it. You are a cog in the wheel of a machine that is killing this country and if you remain a cog you enable it. Remove your cog and the machine will not keep running. Remove millions of cogs and the machine gets replaced.”

In other words, the Kos is advocating mortgage debt anarchy; a revolution of sorts.  It then cites Realtors from across the U.S. who seemingly justify the action.  Why?  In the words of one agent, since the economic and housing recovery is projected to take perhaps as long as a decade, “Isn’t it better to just cut the losses up front”? 

According to a recent report by First American CoreLogic, nearly one in four are underwater or upside down with their home mortgage.  In other words, they owe more for the property than it is worth.  According to the N.Y. Times, the housing collapse left 10.7 million families owing more than their homes are worth.  Is that a problem?  Of course it is.  Will walking away from a mortgage solve that problem?  Not hardly.  Have the Administration’s loan modification measures worked as fast or as well as hoped?  No, they haven’t.  Nonetheless, the programs were enacted for the affected homeowners to use.  I have yet to hear of a homeowner not being able to remain in their home as they attempt to modify their payments.

How about you?  If you know of a friend, relative, or client that has been forced out of their property despite the fact they’ve continued to make a payment, or partial payment, please let me know.

Is walking away from a mortgage debt justified?  While its track record isn’t perfect, the short sale is getting its act together.  Perhaps, for both the lender and the those upside down, it is a better alternative than burning the mortgage.

The initial semester begins just over a month from now, on August 20th.  To begin with, classes in algebra, accounting, management, and Spanish will be offered.  In addition, they’ll be courses in art history sociology and religion.  Plans are to accomodate more than 1,000 students in the first semester.   

While the new campus is simply the beginning of a larger plan to establish a free-standing GCC campus in North Stafford, expansion will have to wait until land is donated or secured for the larger facility.  For Stafford area residents and homeowners, the new campus is a welcome site.  Not only does it help with the region’s economic development, but, for those ready to step into community college life, it provides the option of little or no commute to and from school. 

Attendees can enjoy the luxury of the new location, and realize they’re in “on the ground floor”.  They’ll be able to take advantage of the small classroom sizes and helpful teacher/student ratios while they last.  Because, after all, this is Northern Virginia, and new  people and places don’t stay hidden for too long.

While reproducing the originality of Fredericksburg isn’t possible, recreating its atmosphere is.  

Bringing the old town atmosphere into the present is a popular trend that’s manifested itself in the development of new towns across America since the 1980s.  This New Urbanism, the urban planning and and real estate development movement which arose in the last couple of decades, has made its mark recently in New Town Williamsburg, and is the model for Spotsylvania’s current development, Courthouse Village.

Williamsburg’s pedestrian and consumer friendly new development has already attracted an abundance of businesses and property buyers.  Its unique combination of offices, shops, entertainment, and housing options offers other area alternatives than those of the historical section.  In Spotsylvania, developer Bill Vakos III, an executive with W.J. Vakos & Co, has begun development of something similar. 

Vakos’ plans call for a town square with concerts and other entertainment.  He wants a grocery store, gas station, numerous restaurants, a Civil War themed museum and a 38-room hotel within the 12 blocks of sidewalks.  With construction underway, plans are to complete the development during the next decade.  In line with the objectives of new urbanism, the goal is for residents, if they so desire, to live comfortably without an automobile, where most of the daily activities are located within walking distance and are connected by attractive streets and public spaces.

A community’s allure is often directly related to quality of life.  New developments like those in Williamsburg and Spotsylvania Village seek to meet the twin goals of building convenience for consumers while responsibly cultivating the areas resources.  For any community, or village, those seem like objectives worth waiting for.

Have you ever heard the popular phrase, “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” when discussing the differnces between men and women?  Of course, as many people know, that phrase comes from the title of the best selling book by John Gray, written in 1992.  While the title is often remembered, the subtitle, which is the essence of Gray’s book, is rarely, if ever cited.  That is, “A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in Your Relationships.”

The author’s focus is on the differences between behaviors and desires of men and women.  From there, the book centers on recognizing these differences and learning to communicate effectively to meet the needs of each party.  Understanding the expectations of one another, and communicating each others’ desires, are two keys to a successful relationship.

Yesterday, a fellow agent held me captive while recounting their latest adventure with a client of theirs, who had decided they wanted to “move on” and use another agent.  In this case, the clients had informed the agent that they believed the agent wasn’t meeting their needs.  So, now, it was time to find another agent, one that would do a “better” job of keeping them informed of “all of their options.”  According to the agent, the clients talked to the husband’s brother who provided them with valuable information their agent neglected to tell them.  From what my fellow agent said, the client’s brother provided a layman’s explanation of the need to make “back up” offers on properties they liked.  Specifically, back up offers on Short Sale properties they liked. 

Well, for those of us that have handled a few Short Sales – back up offers on short sales, while doable, probably aren’t the easiest road to success.  By the way, did I mention, the client’s brother has never had any training in Real Estate?  None, zero, zip!  Also, these clients wanted to be in a house as soon as possible.  So, as many of you know, ASAP and short sale are mutually exclusive.  In other words, you can’t get there from here.

After listening to the agent’s tale, I had to ask if they began their relationship with their buyer by doing a “needs assessment.”  Were expectations discussed before they began to look for homes?  If not, why not?  As happens in many real estate relationships, especially with buyers, the foundation that is necessary for a successful relationship is never established at the outset.  In the rush to run out and look at homes, the clients, and the agent, sacrifice the most important step that’s vital in establishing a successful relationship – business or otherwise.  And when things in the relationship begin to break down, it’s usually due to a lack of proper preparation. 

So, what should that initial needs assessment, or discussion of expectations consist of?

1.  Clear statement of clients and agents expectations.

2.  Ground Rules.  The What, Where, When and Why of the relationship.  This simply means a review, or preview of what the normal operational parameters are.  With expectations already discussed, this clarifies how you’ll look for homes, who will do what, when various parts of the transaction will take place, where things will take place, etc.  It’s simply a way of providing a clear picture to the client of the transaction from the outset to the settlement table.  No one likes surprises, an this should preclude that.

3.  A discussion of a Realtors responsibilities and our of Code of Ethics.  This isn’t an in-depth conversation, but simply a reminder to the client of the professional they’re relying on to make their transaction a smooth one.

Unmet client expectations are never helpful in business relationships.  To avoid them, it’s essential to clarify, from the beginning, in a manner understood by all, what’s to be expected from all parties involved.  While it may temporarily delay the buyer’s house hunting road trip, it’ll likely prevent misunderstandings or problems further down the line.  And in a Realtor’s business, where you aren’t compensated until closing, getting there is worth the reward.

“In every art beginners must start with models of those who have practiced the same art before them.”

Ruth Whitman

Mentoring programs designed to develop younger workers have long been a foundation of corporate training for Fortune 500 companies.  These programs establish a relationship between the mentor and ”student” or “protege/mentee” that encourages individual as well as corporate development.  The protoge relies on the mentor for, not only instuction on how to do the job, but also for professional guidance, and problem solving advice, through the establishment of a working relationship that benefits all participants; the mentor, the student, and the company.

According to Terri A. Scandura, a management professor and dean of the graduate school at the University of Miami, most Fortune 500 companies see mentoring as an important employee development tool, with 71% of them having mentoring programs.     

If mentoring is a valuable teaching or developmental tool, why isn’t the real estate industry using it?  While there may be isolated cases of individual brokerage firms using mentoring as a teaching tool, why doesn’t the industry encourage it more or adopt it as a necessary business practice?  Perhaps, as the second stage of mandatory training necessary before a real estate licensee is certified to operate on their own?

I recently participated in a leadership development program hosted by three of the area real estate Associations.  One of the tasks assigned was to examine the idea of a mentoring program for new agents, and to develop an outline of requirements for those licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Our group put together the following outline:   

MENTOR PROGRAM

VISION

To raise the standards of performance of Realtors by improving their education and career development through a mentor/internship program.   

MISSION

To provide a comprehensive mentorship training program whereby all Realtors are provided with the educational tools, hands on instruction, and career counseling necessary to execute the responsibilities of a real estate professional. 

PARTICIPANTS

Virginia Real Estate Board (VREB) – Establishes mentoring standards.

Virginia Association of Realtors – liaison between VREB and local Associations, overseeing standardization and coordination of Mentor Program.

Local Association – Advise and coordinate program with local Brokers, to include identifying mentors. 

Brokers – In coordination with the local Association, responsible for establishing company Mentor Program.  This includes:

1.       Procuring curriculum.  Ideally, a standardized curriculum, developed by the VREB, VAR and local Association will be used, and can be tailored by broker.  However, minimum standards/ requirements must be adhered to.

2.       Identifying mentors.  This includes not only identifying mentor candidates, but ensuring they’ve been properly trained.  Minimal standardized training requirements set by local Association in coordination with state agencies, resulting in Mentor Certification.

3.        Identifying Students.  While all new agents are required to complete program, those returning to an active role as a Realtor may also need the program.

4.       Establish procedures and verify student’s progress.

Mentor– Responsible for instructing, encouraging and monitoring Protégé/Student progress in accordance with program standards.

Student – Realtor enrolled in Mentor program.  Required to complete program in accordance with standard program criteria, and to the satisfaction of Broker.  

MENTOR REQUIREMENTS

Individuals selected as Mentors should meet minimum standards to include:

·         Minimum of 5 years Realtor experience

·         Broker shall be qualified through a “mentor certification program” at the local board level

·         Mentor will be qualified through a “mentor certification program” at the local board level

1. Selected and endorsed by broker as an appropriate mentor.   Clarification – Some agents are unwilling and others not qualified to mentor

·         Brokerage shall compensate mentor at a minimum of 25% per mentor assisted transaction

·         Mentors shall, at a minimum, provide agent with Mentorship Program Handbook that includes:

1.   NAR’s Professionalism in Real Estate Practice
2.  Contract documents
3. Overview of mentor program
4. Local Board’s Education Calendar
5.  Local Board’s suggested Tools of the Trade

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS

·         Mentorship program minimum duration of 6 months, or as long it takes to accomplish minimum of 6 closed transactions, to include 3 listings and 3 sales

1. To include listing presentation
2. CMA
3. Marketing plan per listing
4. Buyer counseling session

·         Competent understanding of Code of Ethics and Agency as well as having completed the post licensing continuing education requirements for each

·         Build Business Plan to include Plan of Action

·         Must demonstrate understanding of all contract documents

·         Must demonstrate understanding of their market and product

·         Must be acquainted with rental transaction

·         Marketing & Technology orientation – the necessity to succeed

·         Vendor Orientation – 30 min to 1 Hour per vendor

• Objective – understand role and responsibilities of industry partners, to include, but not limited to:

1.       Home Inspector

2.       Settlement Agent

3.       Lender

4.       Pest Inspector

5.       County clerk/representative

6.       Appraiser

PROGRAM EVALUATION

Identification of goals, standards of measurement and methods of feedback are necessary for the effectiveness of any developmental program.  The following must be established, examined and reviewed throughout the course of the program:

During the course of the program

·         Goals – established weekly, monthly, and transactional objectives. 

• While some goals can be achieved by simply finishing a document or transaction, others can only be achieved with the subjective approval of the mentor/broker.  It is important to discriminate between the two.

·         Standards of measure – established by state agencies in coordination with the local Association and Broker to measure success of student and/or mentor.

·          Feedback – establishment of a functional feedback mechanism for both student questions and inputs. 

Post Program Review

·         Establish feedback loop to evaluate program six months after program completion.

·         Inputs from student, mentor, and Broker

While our outline is is not a perfect blueprint for an effective mentoring program, it is a starting point.  Developing better competency and professionalism in the real estate industry is an ongoing process that all of us as individuals, and as a profession, should be encouraging.  By establishing stricter pre-licensing requirements and developing a mandatory mentoring program for agents, each of us will be better equipped to practice our profession. 

While these added requirements might improve our practice, how effectively are we using the current standards we, as agents, are obligated to follow?  Is the Realtor Code of Ethics, established in 1913, outdated?  If not, why it so poorly understood by agents, and rarely used to hold agents accountable for their actions?       

Current Requirements

As stipulated by the Virginia Real Estate Board (VREB), and set forth in the Virginia Code, § 54.1-2105, pre-licensing education requirements for those seeking a real estate license are:  

1. Every applicant for an initial license as a real estate salesperson shall have:

a. At a minimum, a high school diploma or its equivalent; and

b. Completed a course in the principles of real estate that carried an academic credit of at least four semester hours, but not less than 60 hours of classroom, correspondence, or other distance learning instruction, offered by an accredited university, college, community college, high school offering adult distributive education courses, or other school or educational institution offering an equivalent course.

In other words, to legally practice real estate in the Commonwealth of Virginia you need:

1. 60 hours of classroom instruction (you actually don’t have to be IN the classroom – online courses meet the requirement)
2. Passing a written examination.
3. Oh, I almost forgot, you also need a high school education, or its equivalent. 

So, having passed the state test, without having handled a contract, toured a home, negotiated a contract term or clause, or spoken to a client, a brand new licensee can “practice” real estate.  Is that adequate preparation to carry out a responsibility involving hundreds of thousands of dollars?  Is there another profession whose qualifications are as minimal?

Can you imagine a surgeon performing surgery without having gone through the steps a few times, not to mention hundreds of times, prior to going solo?  What about obtaining a driver’s license?  How many practices has the student driver had before they are operationally ready?  Before they are licensed?

One might argue that those are poor comparisons since a lack of adequate training or preparation in those professions might lead to death, whereas nothing that extreme might occur as a result of an error in a real estate transaction.  And, they have a point.  It may not result in a death, but incompetence and real estate “malpractice” could certainly costs tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

If you’re not satisfied with the comparison with a surgeon or a driver of a vehicle, what about teachers?  Are they licensed to teach without student teaching many, many times while being supervised.   What about an accountant?  An architect?  A bank teller?  In each case, minimal hands on “real life”, supervised training is required prior to the ”students” being given the OK or being certified to operate on their own.  Likewise, should this be required in our training?

In our profession of real estate, one may ask if this should be a pre-licensing criteria, or is it more suitably done after licensing, but as a first step of a mentoring program Realtors participate in once licensed and prior to operating on their own under the Broker of their choosing.  Hmmm…that’s something to consider.  For now, let’s begin by looking at improving pre-licensing training with a requirement of 60 college credit hours.

Learning is a never ending process.  While there are many constants in a real estate transaction, there are some variables that may change depending upon the client, brokerage firm, financing involved, and other related factors.  It’s important too remember that a standard curriculum can’t cover all the possible contingencies or circumstances a practitioner might face, however, it certainly should include many. 

Current pre-licensing coursework provides students with little practical instruction of how to do their job.  Its intent seems to be one of preparing students to pass a written test of concepts instead of preparing them to practice real estate.  But, in examining how Realtors are trained prior to being certified or licensed to practice, maybe we’re not asking the right questions.  Maybe we the should be asking, “What should pre-licensing instruction be designed to do?”  What outcome are we looking for?  Shouldn’t it be designed to prepare a candidate to do their job?  If not, why not?  For the sake of this series of articles, let’s assume that’s the objective.  We want to prepare Realtors to do their job properly, plain and simple.  In other words, to carry out their job related tasks in a “professional” manner.  

Proposed Requirements

1. A first step in better preparing our prospective real estate agents for their job begins with dramatically increasing their pre-licensing requirements.  This can be accomplished through augmentation of the depth and breath of the classroom curriculum.  While there is no substitution for experience, the increased use of case studies, and a more detailed examination of contracts and real estate practices, to include real estate finance among other topics, will provide candidates with a better base of practical problems and solutions to learn from.
2. To adequately prepare Realtor candidates, the pre-licensing curriculum should be expanded from the current 60 classroom hours to 60 college credit hours.  Not only would these college credit hours substantially increase students exposure to real estate material, but, doing so would also provide them with college level credit.  In accordance with state guidelines, the specific content of the real estate courses “shall be in real estate brokerage, real estate finance, real estate appraisal, real estate law, and such related subjects as are approved by the Board.”  Incorporated in this coursework should be 10 hours of “hands on” practice.  This practice includes interaction with clients, both buyers and sellers, writing contracts, negotiating terms, and experiencing the entirety of a real estate transaction from beginning to post closing follow up.  

While current pre-licensing training material provides students with a familiarity of real estate procedures (concepts can be identified if seen on a test), it does little to prepare these aspiring agents for practical problems they’ll face in a typical transaction.  Increasing classroom time, improving the course material, and providing “hands on” practical experience with real estate trasactions, are three steps that need to be taken in order to improve the pre-licensing requirements for those training to be real estate agents.  

Improving pre-licensing requirements for real estate agents is an initial step in attempting to improve our profession.  By providing new agents an improved foundation to build on, they’ll be better prepared for actual real estate practice and carrying out their job.  But, while they can now legally practice, how capable are they?  Probably capable enough to be dangerous, but not capable enough to be on their own.  And, that’s where the second step of the improvement process comes in, the use of a Mentoring program.

Previously, I focused on the #1 complaint voiced by Realtors about their profession of Real Estate, that being, other Realtors.  After discussing the most prevalent complaints voiced by them, the article concluded by asking, “How do we improve the way we do business”?   Since licensing requirements and/or standards vary by state, I’ll focus, specifically, on improving the standards of practice in Virginia. 

If agents aren’t performing up to the standards our profession requires, how do we ensure they do?  Is it a matter of better preparation?  Better oversight?  And, more importantly, how do we fundamentally change the way we do business?  If the current standards used to conduct business aren’t getting the job done, if it isn’t compelling the type of professional behavior we want from our practitioners, what changes are needed?  

Believe it or not, the National Association of Realtors(NAR) established professional standards for real estate practice nearly 100 years ago, outlined in their Realtor Code of Ethics.  But, the Code is not law.  For Realtors, the Code defines duties and obligations required in the public interest, which are beyond the capacity and power of the law to mandate, and supplements the law by requiring a higher sensitivity to the duties and obligations which it imposes.  The Code’s “bottom line” rests upon putting the client’s interest first in the transaction. 

While the Code of Ethics provides an excellent set of rules or guidelines, what are they worth if they aren’t followed, or Code violations not reported?  Or, in some cases, for various reasons, not punished? 

While few doubt the Code’s intent, many of my peers have voiced concerns over how well or closely those in our profession practice the Code.  And, remember, adhering to to the Code is not optional.   But, the Code is supposed to be a starting point.  And, if the Code is a simply a beginning, what other preparation or training is needed to develop the standards we need to more effectively professionalize our business.  Let me propose three steps:

1.  Dramatically increase required Pre-licensing course work, to 60 college semester credit hours of only real estate coursework.

2.  Mandatory, Standardized Mentoring Program for New Agents.

3.  More Effective Use of  Grievance and Professional Standards Processes.

Each of these recommendations will be examined in articles to follow.  While these proposals aren’t new, the need for each hasn’t disappeared.  Instead, according to anecdotal data, they’re needed now, more than ever.

• Park Ridge
• Hampton Oaks
• Augustine
• Amyclae
• Berkshire
• Austin Ridge
• Autumn Ridge
• Whitson’s Ridge

For those that like to stop in just to relax and still catch up on their news the old fashion way, hard copy instead of the web, there’s plenty of comfortable seating and with accompanying desk space, but also assorted seating throughout the building.  For those who prefer the comfort of online information, there are a number of computer stations and free Wi-Fi for those who carry their laptop with them. 

For a bit of cultural enrichment, the library’s ArtPoint program highlights the many local artists offering live entertainment, painting exhibits, story telling, and various other forms of media. 

So, for those new to the North Stafford community, or those who’ve witnessed the steady stream of more and more traffic lights moving into the neighborhood the past few years, stop by your local library, whether by day or night, and enjoy the wealth it has to offer.  As someone has said, “a library is an arsenal of liberty.”   For most of us, its only a few blocks away and certainly worth the journey.