Welcome to my Soap Box

When people are in deep legal trouble do they price shop attorneys or want the best of the best to represent them? Moreover, do you want someone who wins more cases than loses them? Of course you do. If a loved one has cancer are you going to send them to a cancer specialist or a dermatologist? Or maybe go with the doctor just out of medical school to give him a chance to "get his feet wet". If you won the lottery would you hand your money over to the kid who just got his MBA or the experienced financial planner with a proven track record?

These are pretty rhetorical questions and may seem ridiculous in comparison to selling homes but it's not. Selling and buying a home involves what is most people's largest financial asset and comes along with plenty of legally binding contracts. So why would a buyer or seller not want to work with the most highly qualified agent? Some might say, "If you are a licensed Realtor shouldn't you all be qualified to represent your clients equally?" Are all attorneys and doctors equally qualified just because they made it through medical or law school? No. This same logic applies to almost all professional fields including real estate. But yet I keep running into people who use a "friend" or an "aunt" to help them with their home purchase while all the time telling me I am much more professional and successful. My friend and colleague Lydia Player says it quite nicely,

"The only problem is, most folks hire someone they know or someone who is recommended to them - regardless of ability."

I couldn't have said it any better myself. Is there a solution? I don't know. When emotion gets mixed up with what should be a business decision, I've learned that all bets are off.