Too often we hear of the horror stories surrounding this business. How this Realtor did this and how that Realtor did that and at the end of the day everyone suffers.

In a recent survey done by my Real Estate Board entitled “Understanding Expectations”, in which both members of the public and Realtors were interviewed, it showed that Realtors have a WORSE impression of themselves and their industry than the general public does.

We think worse of our fellow Realtors and this profession than anyone else!! I find that to be very disappointing and although there are many reasons for this attitude, I believe one of the biggest factors is the low level of importance we place on our positions; which ultimately stems from the lower than average standards we place on getting into this business.

The BC real estate licensing exam consists of 100 multiple choice questions and is considered by many to be nothing but a waste of time. In fact during our last Real Estate boom there were Realtors and Lawyers holding and advertising courses to the public along the lines of “Get your Real Estate license in less than 4 weeks guaranteed” as they would teach them nothing but how to pass the exam.

Even if someone did legitimately study the course and pass they would still know absolutely nothing about how to be a Realtor. They would be fully licensed and would have no clue about how to write an offer, how to negotiate an offer, terms and conditions usually found in an offer, procedures, how to request strata documentation, the type of disclosure required in a transaction, how to time manage, how to run a business, etc etc.

Combine that with the fact that there is virtually no further mandatory exam style courses that are required of a licensed Realtor and you have a recipe for walking lawsuits and undervalued self-deprecating Realtors who can’t justify their existence.

The Reality is, for the amount of money we make in this business, compared to any other business of equal paycheck with an equally high level of focus on ethics and self-governance (lawyers, doctors, etc) we have the lowest standards for entrance into this profession and leave our new Realtors more vulnerable than any of those other professions; that’s just not right.

I know I come a little harsher and stronger than most of my other posts on here but it is only because I truly believe that a lot of our problems in this industry stem from the aforementioned.

I have been doing this business for 8 years and I love this industry. The service we provide as an industry to our community and the general public is, in my opinion, invaluable and it is about time we raise the standards of this industry to match that.

This is in no means a rant but rather an opinion and I would love to hear what you think with regards to all this. I think it is a healthy discussion and one that should be had regularly amongst ourselves so that we can constantly strive to improve.

Some good points.

I do agree that the licensing program is disappointing in helping you with the daily tasks of a successful REALTOR.

I think that the impression problem among REALTORs you mention above has a lot to do with the fact that almost every other REALTOR is the competition.