When it comes to real estate, "cheap" can be much more painful (and costly!) than those ill-fitting running shoes
It's no secret, we live in the world of "big box" alternatives. More and more, the businesses we've relied on for products and services are being replaced by the super marts with larger inventories and smaller prices. This is the age of the "deal". So when we're embarking upon a real estate transaction, the notion of shopping for real estate services that let us keep more of our hard earned dollars is certainly tantalizing! But, as Mom used to tell me, all that glitters is not gold!
Last summer, my daughter had a very interesting experience, and the more I thought about it, the more I recognized how strong the analogy was between her decisions (and their subsequent consequences) and those made every single day by prospective buyers and sellers of real estate. Let me explain. Shannon is a very independent, self sufficient young lady. She has a job that she loves, writing and editing for her local online newspaper. Last year, as one of her work assignments, she trained for and participated in a local marathon race. Right from the start, she knew she had to replace her running shoes...they were old, and worn, and simply not up to the task ahead. Now, I will say that was not an easy decision for her. She's frugal. She watches her budget. And she doesn't replace things just willy nilly. So when she said she needed new running shoes, I knew for a fact she NEEDED new running shoes
Well, she's also young, adaptable, and very resilient, and, as you can
tell, has a wicked sense of humor! Shoes in general were not a big
issue to her. For the most part, as long as they stayed on her feet
and were reasonably comfortable, she was a happy camper. So, she set
about to finding a replacement for her shoes. After a bit of shopping,
she found a pair that fit nicely, plus came at a great price. All in
all, she was pretty proud of herself.
Training began and, fulfilling her role for her job, she began writing and recording the various phases of her experience. There were workout sessions to build stamina; there was nutrition counseling to make sure the participants knew the best ways to nourish and hydrate themselves for the challenge ahead; and, yes, there were practice running events.
At first, everything seemed just fine. She was getting great workouts, and on those shorter runs she was doing just fine. But as time went on, she noticed her feet, and even her legs, weren't feeling so great. But she'd made a commitment and she was bound and determined to fulfill it. Even with sore feet, she still got to write, and blog, and video...and all the while she got plenty of support and encouragement from people she knew and people she didn't.
The day of the big event arrived, and despite some hurdles, she was pretty excited and feeling "relatively" prepared. The race began, and it wasn't long before Shan discovered that her body was rebelling! Running turned to walking; walking turned to limping; limping was reduced to hobbling and grabbing any chance to sit down along the route. Now, she never expected to finish the race in the top ten. However, the plan WAS to finish. That didn't happen. Her feet simply wouldn't tolerate it.
And, to add insult to injury, in the days following the race, even more problems cropped up. Some of the muscles she had used in an effort to "adapt" to her foot pain had been strained by the over-activity. Eventually though, after a visit to the doctor and some time off her feet altogether, she fortunately healed just fine.
Those running shoes came with a very enticing price tag. However, their COST was considerably more. Even though Shannon had made every effort to be a reasonably well informed consumer when she started looking for shoes, the one thing she hadn't counted on was the fact that there were some things she simply didn't know (like how an otherwise great pair of shoes might impact her particular feet)! And though no permanent damage was done, thankfully, the experience did bring with it a couple of great lessons. One of them is one of my personal favorites ... that "sometimes the journey IS the destination." The other, which I'm sure will prove invaluable over time, is that Price and COST are two very different animals.
Unfortunately, the painful lesson that Shannon learned is shared by thousands of others every year, though at a significantly higher cost! Think about the buyer who loses the home they wanted and their good faith deposit because they chose the "deal" that gave them most of the "commission" back at closing; or the seller who is locked into two mortgages because the great discount they got on commission also translated into an even greater discount in services. Even when a buyer or seller does a fair amount of due diligence in an effort to be an informed consumer (they interview several agents or visit several websites which all appear to offer pretty much the same thing, except of course, price) why wouldn't any reasonable person want to pick the cheapest?
The challenge, of course, is in finding out whether they ARE in fact offering exactly the same thing, except for price (and you can be pretty sure the answer is they are not...as they say, "there ain't no free lunch")! From the onset, that's been the beauty of Real Estate Consulting as provided by ACRE® agents across North America. They provide the consumer with, not only a wide range of options in the services they offer, as well as alternatives as to how they can be paid for, but they also provide a transparent way to understand exactly what it is they are (and more importantly what they are not) getting when making the choices that best suit their needs.
And consumers want those choices! But when it comes to evaluating real estate services, it's more important than ever that the focus be on the "value" rather than on "cheap". More and more the lesson seems to be that quality service, at a fair and transparent price, doesn't leave you wincing in pain.
Well, she's also young, adaptable, and very resilient, and, as you can
tell, has a wicked sense of humor! Shoes in general were not a big
issue to her. For the most part, as long as they stayed on her feet
and were reasonably comfortable, she was a happy camper. So, she set
about to finding a replacement for her shoes. After a bit of shopping,
she found a pair that fit nicely, plus came at a great price. All in
all, she was pretty proud of herself.Training began and, fulfilling her role for her job, she began writing and recording the various phases of her experience. There were workout sessions to build stamina; there was nutrition counseling to make sure the participants knew the best ways to nourish and hydrate themselves for the challenge ahead; and, yes, there were practice running events.
At first, everything seemed just fine. She was getting great workouts, and on those shorter runs she was doing just fine. But as time went on, she noticed her feet, and even her legs, weren't feeling so great. But she'd made a commitment and she was bound and determined to fulfill it. Even with sore feet, she still got to write, and blog, and video...and all the while she got plenty of support and encouragement from people she knew and people she didn't.
The day of the big event arrived, and despite some hurdles, she was pretty excited and feeling "relatively" prepared. The race began, and it wasn't long before Shan discovered that her body was rebelling! Running turned to walking; walking turned to limping; limping was reduced to hobbling and grabbing any chance to sit down along the route. Now, she never expected to finish the race in the top ten. However, the plan WAS to finish. That didn't happen. Her feet simply wouldn't tolerate it.
And, to add insult to injury, in the days following the race, even more problems cropped up. Some of the muscles she had used in an effort to "adapt" to her foot pain had been strained by the over-activity. Eventually though, after a visit to the doctor and some time off her feet altogether, she fortunately healed just fine.
Those running shoes came with a very enticing price tag. However, their COST was considerably more. Even though Shannon had made every effort to be a reasonably well informed consumer when she started looking for shoes, the one thing she hadn't counted on was the fact that there were some things she simply didn't know (like how an otherwise great pair of shoes might impact her particular feet)! And though no permanent damage was done, thankfully, the experience did bring with it a couple of great lessons. One of them is one of my personal favorites ... that "sometimes the journey IS the destination." The other, which I'm sure will prove invaluable over time, is that Price and COST are two very different animals.
Unfortunately, the painful lesson that Shannon learned is shared by thousands of others every year, though at a significantly higher cost! Think about the buyer who loses the home they wanted and their good faith deposit because they chose the "deal" that gave them most of the "commission" back at closing; or the seller who is locked into two mortgages because the great discount they got on commission also translated into an even greater discount in services. Even when a buyer or seller does a fair amount of due diligence in an effort to be an informed consumer (they interview several agents or visit several websites which all appear to offer pretty much the same thing, except of course, price) why wouldn't any reasonable person want to pick the cheapest?
The challenge, of course, is in finding out whether they ARE in fact offering exactly the same thing, except for price (and you can be pretty sure the answer is they are not...as they say, "there ain't no free lunch")! From the onset, that's been the beauty of Real Estate Consulting as provided by ACRE® agents across North America. They provide the consumer with, not only a wide range of options in the services they offer, as well as alternatives as to how they can be paid for, but they also provide a transparent way to understand exactly what it is they are (and more importantly what they are not) getting when making the choices that best suit their needs.
And consumers want those choices! But when it comes to evaluating real estate services, it's more important than ever that the focus be on the "value" rather than on "cheap". More and more the lesson seems to be that quality service, at a fair and transparent price, doesn't leave you wincing in pain.
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It's true, sometimes it pays to spend a little more to ensure the quality of your product - or that the product is right for you (the shoes I bought at a discount were quality shoes, just not a good fit for my feet).
Luckily I'm also a believer in second chances and will be trying that annual race again...with the RIGHT footwear. It'll cost more to get gait tested and properly fitted - but I'd much prefer spend that money on the shoes than on the urgent care bill.