Yesterday, Jay Thompson and Matt Stigliano admonished those who have begun spreading the word that the tax credit passed (both excellent reads).

And they are correct to do so. Obviously, the tax credit has not yet passed. And sadly, the only thing the last few days have confirmed is the lack of knowledge the public has on the legislative process. As a history major and political science lover, this it truly disappointing. But there is a bigger issue here that’s being glossed over. We are not dealing with the source of the disinformation.

The editors (and their bosses, and their bosses’ bosses) of the on-line News outlets have shown reckless abandon in choosing headlines for these articles. The titles chosen are picked strictly to drive traffic and often the text within the articles completely contradict the headlines. Is it really Joe Shmoes fault that he sees the headline of an article that basically says the tax credit has passed and spreads the word? Now yes, Joe Shmoe SHOULD read the article (oh, I wish Joe Shmoe would the article). But we SHOULD be holding the editors to a higher standard, no?

Unfortunately, this is not the exception, but the rule on how News is reported today. The News is no longer the issue at hand. It’s the news around the News. The controversy that is created by the misinformation being circulated. That is what drives the industry today. And until we demand just the slightest bit of journalistic integrity, we will continue to be arguing about the argument.

Doug

I think it is safe to say that the last year has been filled with a lot of strife. No where was this more evident than in real estate. I say no more evident because if you’ve lost big in the stock market or  your 401(k), you can probably conceal that from your friends and family. But if you’re losing your house, they’re going to notice. There is a deep and powerful human element to this thing right now. And as a real estate professional, let me warn you; you better be comfortable making strong and emotional connections with your clients moving forward.

Rewind 5 years. Real Estate was flying off the shelves. People were making money everywhere. As a real estate professional, the connections you made with your clients were often fostered by money. The human side was limited to celebratory dinners and drinks, whether is was the buyer or seller. Literally, people were checking the Zillow Zestimate on their house weekly to see how much it went up. Put simply, real estate was a liquid investment first and somewhere you lived second; emotions need not apply

Fast-foward to today. There isn’t much celebrating going on. Or at least, the celebration is a zero sum game. Buyers getting a chance to own their first home; sellers losing their home. Either side of the coin though, you are dealing now with a strong human element. The layer of superficiality that seemed to encompass every transaction in the past is gone. In its place is something much more raw and sincere . Your clients will reach out to you like they have never before. And what they’re going to want most is an honest friend.

Real Estate in no longer a game that can be measured with a Zestimate. If you are cruel and heartless, let me save a few years of your life; get out of the industry right now. If you are generous and compassionate, you are needed now more than ever.

Q: There is a Used Car Salesman, a Realtor and a Lawyer. And you have a gun with two bullets… Which should you shoot?
A: You should shoot the realtor twice… Just to be sure.

Lets face it. Real Estate agents don’t have the best reputation. The truth is though, most of the agents who have been in the profession for an extended part of time are hard working, honest people. Unfortunately, a few bad seeds ruin it for the rest of us.

I have had the misfortune of working with a few of these bad seeds and they infuriated me to no end. It wasn’t upsetting so much that these people were taking away commission checks from some really great folks. It was upsetting that people bought into these phonies. And as a first hand witness, I can tell you, they caused more collateral damage than you could ever imagine.

But these bad seeds will soon be out of a job.

I speculate that one of the reasons that these phonies were able to get away with everything for so long was that everyone was making money. No one wants to rock the boat when they are making money.

I don’t have to tell you though, that things have changed over the last few months. Outside of the infomercial I saw last night at 1am, I haven’t heard of anyone making a fortune in the business lately. People are mad and have their phony meters turned to eleven (yes, it goes to eleven. Watch Spinal Tap)

However, more damning to their survival is that we entering an age of transparency. Social Media tools like twitter, facebook, flickr, etc. are slowly becoming necessities of the real estate profession (for those who disagree with this statement, obviously there are agents who will never use these tools. But the youngest generation is growing up communicating via social media. And they are our future customers). These tools, more than anything expose the inner self. And if you’re a phony, people will know.

So, good news RE agents; In the future, you’ll only have to avoid one bullet… Or just pull the lawyer in front of you

Doug

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I dearly appreciate your participation in the “pre-alpha” testing of Deed Street.

The time is quickly approaching when Deed Street will be unveiled to the public. I hope we’ll be able to do so by the middle of next week. However, I will sleep more peacefully knowing that everything on the website is working properly. That is why I encourage you to use the “^” symbol zealously. Retweet a Real Estate related article and just add ^^. Talk about the good cup of coffee you had last time you were in ^SEA. Give statistics on how many ^REO there are in your town. Complain about how you somehow got stuck “pre-alpha” testing some website, just remember to add the ^^ at the end of the sentence. The goal here is to give my web developer enough work to keep him up all night (funny how someone’s lack of sleep can translate into a good night sleep for another).

And again, let me know how you would make this site better. There is nothing that would make me happier than to have you leading the direction of where this website goes.

Doug Lazovick

First, I wanted to quickly thank all those who are contributing to the “pre-alpha” launch of Deed Street.

As we get ready for launch, you’ll begin to see some more content populate the site. In the next few days we will be adding text to the “About” page. Here, you’ll get a little background on me, my real estate exploits and the concept behind the website. There will also be a “Help” page providing a quick tutorial on Deed Street.

You will also soon see a “Rules” page which all users will need to abide by. I want this site to be a valuable RE resource. And the only way we can do that is by ensuring quality content in the streams.   Accordingly, we will be proactive in excommunicating spammers/trolls from the site.

Finally, don’t hesitate with the feedback (I can take it).

Doug Lazovick