As I look back on my past years in real estate, I shake my head at some of the experiences I have had with buyers who really did not know how to work with a real estate professional.  Of course, we as Realtors see ourselves as important to the consumer as a doctor or lawyer or anyone else a person might need to make an appointment with to do business, but we often let ourselves be dictated by the consumer as to how the real estate experience will go and believe me this always leads to problems.  What am I talking about you might wonder?  Well, it is when the phone rings and a voice on the other end says “I would like to see the house on ABC Street at 4:00 pm today.”  As I try to explain to the voice on the phone that they need to come into the office first - Realtors call this CITO, I am often blocked with the response “No, I just want to see the house.”  In the early days of my career, I just wanted to get work, but after years of experience, I don’t POP Up and run out of the door anymore.  Why?  Well, let me explain the reasons why this type of real estate doesn’t work for the consumer or the Realtor.  First, as a professional, we are required to discuss what is called agency with everyone we meet upon first substantive contact.  That means when we meet them before we talk about anything real estate related we need to explain to them what it means to work with a Realtor and let them know they have a choice to be self-represented as a customer or agent represented as a client.  I have always meet this obligation even if it was going over agency while laying the paperwork on the hood of my car, but believe me, it is much easier sitting face to face in a conference room.  Why does this matter?  Well, several reasons come to mind which include professionalism.  As a consumer, don’t you want to work with a Realtor who is professional and who is doing everything they can to inform you and educate you in the buying process.  We tend to make better decisions when we can concentrate on what someone is saying.  Buying a home is the largest financial purchase you will make.  Don’t you want to do it the right way.  We don’t ask a doctor to come and do surgey in the driveway of his office.  Why should we expect a professional Realtor to move away from their method of practice?  One other reason is buyer pre-qualification with a lender.  Have you talked to a lender?  Do you know if you are ready to buy?  Do you know what your buying power is so we can work within your price range while looking for a home?  What type of loan will you be getting?  This helps with knowing how to make an offer on a home.  Nothing is more heart breaking to a buyer than to find a home and find out it is not in their price range or that they are not ready to buy yet.  I have found in my experience that a potential buyer who will come into the office and sit down and discuss their real estate needs are more serious about actually buying a home than the ones I ran out the door to go show a property to because they have taken the time to do their homework and to find out what they can afford.  Safety is also a big concern with Realtors and it should be with you also.  We all learn from crazy things we do, and I can tell you that I had a scarey experience about two years ago when I ran out the door to show one of my listings to a voice who called me over the phone.  After I got to the vacate house, I began thinking what was I doing going to a vacate house without getting the buyer to come into the office.  As I was just about to leave, a car drove up behind me and a man got out.  I was so scared I almost fainted.  I looked up to empower myself to show him I was not afraid; althrough, my knees were knocking and saw a man I recognized.  As we stared into each other’s eyes I realized it was my cousin whom I had not seem in 30 years.  Believe me, I was thanking God for this lesson and reunion at the same time.  I don’t do the POP Up thing anymore because it is just not safe.  No one wants to be put in danger.  The next time you want to take a look at a house remember that Realtors are professionals who deserve appointments with them as much as anyone else.  And lastly, for the buyers who say I will not commit to any Realtor except the one who finds me the house I want to buy.  Well, I could write a whole blog on this topic but to keep it short, I will say this.  The first time I meet with a potential buyer I encourage them to be a customer.  I don’t want them to feel commited to me unless they are ready to be commited to me.  After a day of looking at property, we all should know by the end of the day if we get along and have enjoyed working together or not.  I have been lucky in the aspect that I have always had the pleasure of upgrading the customers I have worked with to clients, but starting out as a customer gives the buyer and myself time to make sure we work well together.  As a client, I work for you and am commited to you and your best interest.  As a customer, I am not commited to you and you are not commited to me.  In my experience, customers want to be customers but they want the services of a client.  This can not happen and buying customers get upset when you have to keep reminding them that the law dictates how we handle customers and clients.  Signing a buyer’s agency is a good thing.  It means the Realtor is working for you.  Why would you not want someone to work for your best interest.  No Realtor is going to do the work for a customer in hopes of upgrading their relationship if they know the buyer is working with more than one Realtor.  It just doesn’t make sense.  What I have found from this is buyer customers become frustrated because they end up not making any headway in their new home search because a Realtors first priority is to thier clients.  So the next time you think about working with a Realtor, I hope you will remember that having a Realtor on your side is the best thing in the world when it comes to buying a home.  I have had the pleasure of becoming wonderful friends with all of my past and present clients.  God has sent some great people my way.  Understanding how to work with a Realtor can really be a huge benefit to you.  If you need more information on this topic, please contact me or any member of the real estate profession in your state or the National Assocation of Realtors.