Thoughts from the road

My first three months as PAR’s president are completed. I’ve visited many local associations and talked with their members and I wanted to share a few of things I’ve learned along the way:

• Pennsylvania is a beautiful state! If you have not left your hamlet, borough or city in some time, take a weekend and a three-hour drive to a destination in the state where you have never been (you can thank me later).
• Developing your “Realtor® story” is key to gaining the trust, respect and business of the consumer. We all have one so don’t forget to share it over and over again!
• Some of our members have to sell three or four times as many transactions, due to average sale price, to earn the same living as other members. Fair? Probably not, but if you are in a higher-priced market, give thanks, and don’t complain about how tough the transaction was.
• Members continue to tell me how upsetting it is when members and brokers continue to flaunt the licensing rules of the state. Keep policing your colleagues and if there’s an issue, file a complaint, if you feel it’s warranted. We understand that follow-up from the state may not be as thorough as we’d like. We’ve opened a conversation with the Real Estate Commission to work toward improving the process.
• Your local association executives work very hard to manage all of your local issues as effectively and efficiently as possible, please remember to thank them.
• Getting legislation and good regulatory guidelines for “Teams” is continually asked for, but is taking longer than expected. It will be done.
• Our members continue to want to learn more through education and seem to want to take every class thrown their way!

I appreciate the opportunity to serve you and look forward to seeing you on the road soon.