Imagine walking into McDonalds, asking for a hamburger and having the cashier tell you that you can’t buy a hamburger by itself. You have to buy the meal deal with the fries, apple pie and 64 gallon soft drink. AND, the price of the meal deal is a percentage of the value of the car you drove up in. Wouldn’t make sense would it? But that’s exactly what happens when you sign a listing agreement with a traditional Realtor. You pay a fee to the Realtor based on the selling price of your home. The more expensive your home, the higher your cost to sell it, traditionally. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s obviously a place for this since this is how it’s always been done and is currently being done.  But what if you had choices?

So lets go down the street to a different restaurant. We’ll call it Harry’s Hamburgers. You walk into Harry’s where you’re greeted by a hostess. The restaurant isn’t very busy, but you decide to take a seat and have a look at the menu. The hostess hands you the menu, briefly goes over the highlights and tells you that the restaurant has a policy of limiting the number of customers they prepare food for at any one time in order to keep the quality standards at their highest and to give you the best possible customer service. She also explains that the chef, Harry, will be happy to fix anything you want on the menu, in any combination, exactly the way you want it prepared and that because you have a menu of choices, your cost for this meal will be significantly less than the other place up the street. Unlike the other restaurant up the street, the prices are always the same. You choose and pay only for the items you want. After looking over the menu, you place your order. A few minutes later, Harry appears. He introduces himself, tells you that he’s spent the last decade learning everything he can about hamburgers, and that he will personally be preparing your food. He just wants to make sure he understands exactly what you want and how you want it prepared.

Sound a little better? That’s how it should be right? Which brings me to my point. When you work with a Real Estate Consultant, an Accredited Real Estate Consultant, that’s exactly what happens. You receive and complete a needs analysis to determine exactly what your unique needs are. Then you review your analysis with a consultant to go over a menu of choices that includes all of the tasks which can be performed along with the associated fees that you can choose from based on your needs, goals and budget. The consultant provides guidance, expertise and advice, even if it isn’t in his or her best interest. The consultant isn’t concerned about receiving a commission and “getting the listing” because they aren’t paid a commission or a percentage of anything. They are only paid for actual work performed. And whether you home is an $80,000 starter or a $1 million dollar villa, you receive the same high level of service at the exact same cost.

 Only 1% of licensed agents in the country are currently ACRE’s or Accredited Consultants in Real Estate. To find an ACRE in your area, you can visit their website at www.MyREConsultants.com. Or, I do happen to know about one in this area. The first actually, in the State of Missouri.

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