Alphabet Soup, Revisited

Several months ago, I posted 8 Stupid Realtor Tricks in an effort to warn consumers about things that I’ve seen agents do that could confuse and take advantage of consumers and clients.  I’ve received some criticism about the post, specifically Item#2, Alphabet Soup and want to clarify my opinion about Realtors and designations.  For my fellow Realtors that I may have offended, my apologies.  It certainly takes quite a bit of effort to earn designations and if you’re interested in reading what it takes to earn those designations, you should visit www.NAR.org.

This particular component of the post was based on the fact that I’ve seen many Realtors with designations list them out with no further explanation, especially on their business cards. I’ve always felt that they should actually spell out the designation, ie Accredited Buyer Representative so that it makes some sense. My thoughts are that it’s confusing to consumers (to see a name followed by ABR, SRES, SIOR, CDPE, MBA, JD).  And yes, I’ve seen a card with all those designations on it.  Further, I think that a Realtor who has earned the designations doesn’t get the full benefit of a client understanding what those designations mean by just using the various initials for their designations. Obviously the advent of Internet and social media can help create a better understanding (on the part of the client) as to how using a agent with various designations will be beneficial to the client.

To be clear, I mean no offense to my fellow Realtors that hold these designations.  Many of these Realtors have worked hard to earn the designations and are GREAT agents, representing their clients well.  Many aren’t.

Ultimately my point is that consumers should be extremely cautious in choosing a Realtor. In my own experience, (as both Realtor and as a consumer) Realtors with designations are not necessarily good Realtors nor are they always wise choices as a representative.  Frankly, I’ve seen Realtors with those designations behave unethically and, in some cases, illegally.  I recommend that consumers should cautiously and thoughtfully choose a Realtor and spend more time looking at the character of the agent and their track record than the letters behind their name.  I’d recommend that about any professional, for that matter.