1,076,551
I don't like that things are becoming more and more fast paced and less personal. There is no patience involved in the industry anymore and that's somewhat upsetting.
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Vivian Lyons
Douglasville, GA
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Chris Mamone
Tacoma, WA
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Diana Dahlberg
Pleasant Prairie, WI
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Jason & Amber Gardner
Sherwood, OR
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Sandra Paulow
Pinetop Lakeside, AZ
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Ron Aguilar
Saint George, UT
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Sherry Owen
Prunedale, CA
443,220
Absolutely!!! I miss the fact that business used to be done by phone and in person. Marketing and sales were more personal and you didn't have to be an IT guru to sell real estate.
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Shanna Hall
Kirkwood, MO
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Diana Dahlberg
Pleasant Prairie, WI
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Ranee Bray
Cedar Park, TX
7,836,139
When I first went into the business we used one page contracts. There was no such thing as buyer agents and there were no home inspections. And, the transactions were easier and the buyers and sellers were usually very happy with the results.
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Vivian Lyons
Douglasville, GA
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Amanda Christiansen
Fort Wayne, IN
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Hank Dugie
League City, TX
1,525,616
I miss the actual conversations that we had on the phone rather than everything being electronic, email and texts.
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Diana Dahlberg
Pleasant Prairie, WI
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Ranee Bray
Cedar Park, TX
1,432,649
Not so much in terms of business. The internet probably helped kill my last business, but I need it in this one. I do not like how we are changing socially and the need to be constantly connected.
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Gene Riemenschneider
Brentwood, CA
51,536
I work in a resort area and my recent listing involved a seller who lives two hours away and does not have a computer or a fax machine. I called his landline and drove all the contracts back and forth. He hadn't bought or sold real estate since 1978 so the process overwhelmed him. I loved spending time with my seller and his wife but it took time away from me doing anything else. I gained a new appreciation for this business post-technology!
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Shanna Hall
Kirkwood, MO
105,987
I dont like the fact that email and text are preferred methods of communication. No one answers the phone anymore when you call. Things are becoming less personal and more efficent, yet everyone relies on relationships and referrals. This can be very frustrating at times.
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Annette Thor
Westport, CT
2,782
I miss how personal everything was when I first started. I think we spend just as much time now selling and listing as before. However, everything is done much quicker with the internet, zipforms and digital signatures and with more accuracy. The time spent in our cars showing people homes has greatly decreased since buyers can look online and eliminate many possibilities before we begin going to see homes. We have to change and grow with the times or we become stagnant.
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Diana Dahlberg
Pleasant Prairie, WI
263,898
I miss the personal interaction we had with our clients. Before email & text messages, we actually had to pick up the phone and talk to people and it gave us an opportunity to get to know people on a more personal level. Technology is a wonderful tool and I can't imagine going back to the books to look for listing information or those weekly MLS meetings to update the book. It has made our jobs easier and in a sense more complicated at the same time.
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Diana Dahlberg
Pleasant Prairie, WI
1,525,616
Roy Kelly's answer made me remember a contract that I saw from a client in Virginia who had bought some lots in Florida in the late 70's. Those contracts were short with very little legalese.
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Hank Dugie
League City, TX
6,393,494
279,878
630,251
4,800,082
4,319,419
3,071,489
140,615
Yes - - the face to face interaction. Actually knowing the other Realtor who we work with. Now, all too often I really don't know the co-op agent and never meet them until we arrive at the closing table.
1,209,215
I can't even imagine the world that Roy Kelley lived in. 1 page contracts? No home inspections? No buyer's agents? WOW!!
1,239,901
1,767,614
I'm not an agent any more, but if I was... I think I would miss being able to go home at night and not having clients expect me to be at their beck and call 24 hours a day.
There's something a bit "off" about saying you're a professional - yet being willing to give up ALL of your personal time to say "How high" when someone says "Jump."
5,906
I miss my time with my clients in my car, talking and connecting while going to view properties, now adays, my clients want to meet me at the property they are interested in viewing because they saw it online, no personal contact and once done with viewing the property, we all go our seperate ways.. They may even buy the property they want through another agent, without any consideration for the time I spent with them. Sad.
396,756
I can't say that I do since I still implement a lot of "old fashion" ideas like thank you notes hand written, meeting a friend or past client for coffee to talk about life, and to visit my elders and learn from them.
672,772
Dear Hank,
Today, there are a lot of protections for clients, which were not there a long time ago. However, it seems we had a more collegial attitude & would all work hard to find a win-win situation for all. You still find that in the more professional agents. I could not imagine being without modern communication methods & all the transparencies for clients. I am glad, they can verify all kinds of things on their own, so they are more informed consumers, who can make better decisions for themselves.
679,404
I love the new technology, but miss the personal face-to-face connection of sitting down and getting to really know the clients "before" we work together. When I first got in the business people were just starting to utilize technology and wanted to pick our brains ... and I love that part of imparting wisdom to our clients ... now the internet has become our own competitor.
47,271
Love the business now but more 20 years ago - when buyers had to depend on us for everything - listings, addresses, etc.
I am an internet junkie but the time it takes me a day on the computer is absurd.
Much easier then!!!! I think of our granddaughter. She will be two and will never have known just a phone without FaceTime.
OKAY - that part I love.
Diane and Bob
Westchester County, NY
236,403
Can I say I miss the personal contact. The face to face transactions. I'm tired of seeing heads buried in the phone all the time. And yes, my mom says I'm guilty of that, too.
659,119
1,712,676
I can't think of what I miss from when I started in 1989. My reach has been extended, my net profit is higher, and I have more time than ever before becasue of technology and change. These are the good old days.
280,599
I don't really miss much about it. The thought of non-electronic lock boxes, pagers and fax machines with funny paper makes me happy for the here and now.
1,452,819
There seemed to be more trust back in the day but unfortunately it was ill founded trust. There were too many agents who took advantage of their clients who were kept in the dark with regard to market price, availability of homes, undisclosed quality issues, etc. I could go on and on but looking at today's required paperwork simply confirms how shady many agents were back in the day.
We have it made in the shade today!
341,062
I don't mind the pace, but I sure miss the one page contracts! I also miss the face to face nature that the business used to have. I still hate the fact that we can do a transaction this complicated without actually laying eyes on a naother person...Actually, that may be a good thing sometimes!
5,104,931
As someone who was around 20+ years ago in this business, I remember those days. I miss the somewhat more measured pace of doing business.
2,443,250
I wasn't a real estate agent that long ago but don't think I would like to look through a book to find listings or have to drive across town to present an offer to another agent...
62,704
Roy Kelley one page contracts would be wonderful! I do feel however that our role a lot of times is to navigate our clients through the mucky paperwork waters that real estate has become. I'm assuming with only one agent and it being the listing agent, the primary role was to market the home and really focus on finding a buyer?
3,988,007
There is not much I miss. I started in 1980 and it was so much harder to get the job done. We didn't even have cell phones or pagers then.
5,772,575
The only thing I miss is that there was a lot more trust, and less regulation of every darn item. It seems to me that whenever things go awry, new laws are passed that are then challenged, etc. Common sense is not common anymore. I see signs on baby changing stations that say don't leave baby unattended, and the new iron I bought had caution; do not iron while wearing your clothes. These are legal necessities..We assume gilt rather than the way it is supposed to be.A