Wayne Perras - Real Estate Associate Broker

What is on my mind?... the Facebook business page is asking me... More than I can express here. My main concern is it is the superficiality of the real estate business... I feel I have a depth of knowledge-- after 34 years in this profession that is no longer appreciated, expected, or sought by 99% of the populace... This is now a business of gimmickry and quick hustles with no (or little) substance.
It has always been A game of big egos and and who can sell the most homes and who makes the most money... I am used to that and no longer feel the need to compete in that regard. I don't need signs of myself as big as billboards and I don't need a TV show where I can pose as a Frank Sinatra acolyte. I admit I once had my face on shopping carts at a grocery store, two decades ago... And I was too embarrassed to shop in that store anymore lol.

I just want to make a modest living at this point and feel I've given people a memorable Real estate experience whether they are buying or selling through me. I take seriously the concept that an Agent is in service to his or her client... And I have served people literally hundreds of times... Often with no guarantee or payoff.... Just solid information given.
Instead of just clamoring to win multiple offer situations I have often advised my clients to back off and not overpay for a product that is I perhaps flawed in some way that is being overlooked... And will not necessarily retain its value once the market changes.
In other words I largely did not take part in the frenzy of the market in the last couple of years.

Certainly for sellers it has been a time when they can capitalize on that temporal frenzy and make great money on their property.
My commission was almost always a relative pittance compared to what they walked away with in terms of equity.

That was not always the case early in my career where people people were lucky to break even after the commission if they had to sell at a certain point in the market... I always felt compassion and would frequently discount my commission accordingly.

Conversely from the buyer side I felt I was giving people a great amount of information... Telling them things other realtors just wouldn't know or or wouldn't wouldn't take the time to find out.... I often feel I can tell them at least 90% of what a structural instector would tell them... By virtue of having attended a couple thousand of those events over the course of my career. ... I am way past the point of just flinging the front door open and saying " there you go what do you think and how much do you want to offer all in the same breath... I am there to tell you the history of the house... the nature of construction during the decade in which it was built... and if it's recent vintage I could likely find out or recall who built it and what their reputation was and how their products held upover time.
If and when there are any problems thst arose during inspections or appraisal...I have
a broad knowledge of who or what company or strategy would be best to remedy the situation and at what price. I'm not just googling it or looking on Yelp ...much less Angie's list. I can name plenty of times where I've saved people thousands of dollars dollars on both sides of the transaction to get things done correctly without ridiculously inflated prices... Service not just after the initial contract but during the entire sale's process.
But most of the agents who are simply meeting people via zillow or other lead generation devices... They can brag how many houses they've sold in the last 6 months but you still don't know if they Know anything and performed well on those sales. The buying public should know that there is no apprenticeship or mentoring programs in this business and a lot of brand new agents are ending up with high end buyers... There is no pedigree, No bar exam, No medical license involved... Just a few breathless reviews on social media is all it takes.
I am weary of that part of the business...
Yet here I am spouting off about it on FB lol.

I once told a class when I was with another company... Half the people were very young and brand new and the other half had worked other occupations before getting their real estate sales license. ... I didn't last long as a teacher because I would I would give an HBO monologue as to the quirks and angles of the business... Not following the sanitized course outline I was given which was totally in favor of the company that had written it...as opposed to in favor of the consumer who would be Supposedly The benefiting from it. She asked me why on Earth would somebody Her age want to work with somebody My age on a real estate transaction...
In other words she was treating it as a social occcasion and acting like let's be friends on Insta or FB..!..we'll have some fun!"...
before she ever knew anything about the processof buying or selling a home...

I turned my back and thought about it and then sort of blasted her by saying...

"How about this...Because I can tell you 50 more things about that Freaking house you're looking at than you ever could!"

She was taken aback to say the least and I don't think she's in the business anymore...
But some of the guys who were almost my age in the course were laughing their asses off.

Experience counts. Perception and listening skills are Paramount. Selling real estate is not about overcoming objections which I've heard spouted by people who promote scripts for dealing with buyers.... In other words..."tell them anything to make a sale/take a listing/ get what is good for You and the Company/do not give them time to mull other options or deliberate!"
I tell people the truth plus as much as I can find out, or already know. I research the hell out of every neighborhood I'm working in... Whether it's in Saratoga where I already know it like the back of my hand or anywhere else I might go that is covered by the MLS statistics. (FYI...I have sold property in 10 Counties of upstate NY.)
Square footage prices and all the amenities are taken into account, before an offer is even written... In the same manner as sellers are represented by providing comps...
The buyer's need reassurance from something other than zillow as to what a property's value really is.
When I think of how many houses I sold in the 1990s as nd early 2900s at ridiculously Low priced homes compared to today... I realized that more than half of those families stayed in the same home because it was perfect for them... on the 1st try... and they are now sitting on enormous equity. Is finding a bargain or a good price or a quality product is still possible but not if people are in a frenzy mode and overpay just to win the bid.

To this day it costs nothing to use a really good buyer agent... But that is the same price you will pay for a really inexperienced or less informed agent. Conversely in a hot market a really new agent might get lucky and sell a few lisrings just by timing on the high tide and the low inventory of the current world... But when the market changes which it certainly will there there will be other forces to reckon with.... And my experience will help you find a way to succeed in any market... Because I've seen all kinds.

Call me if you want blunt honesty instead of present day puffery... And when I am not on a soap Box like this I will make you laugh and enjoy the process as well as learn while you proceed.

518-316-6420 cell...
Wayne Perras, Associate Broker
RE/MAX Essential
Ballston Spa, NY
Licensed in New York State since 1987
Brokers License since 1996
RE/MAX Hall of Fame since 2002
Life long resident of the capital region
Resident in Saratoga County since 1977