Flogging a Dead Horse??

I’m revisiting a topic I first touched upon in September of 06 (Inefficient) because it has dawned on me (yes…very slowly) that my agent brethren either don’t have the time to ponder such issues or they don’t fully appreciate how much easier their lives would be by embracing some much need change. I am talking, of course, about the need for our Board of Realtors and MLS to join the 1990’s and step up to a lockbox system for controlled access to properties listed for sale or rent.

The systems that are out there are well documented time savers to agents in that they preclude the need to pick-up and drop-off keys and they provide a “no-brainer” tracking mechanism that allows listing agents to rapidly and accurately track and follow-up on showings (thus making them look really good to their clients).

The most common (and, frankly, lazy) argument is that the “old-timers” don’t want it.  These are the same folks who said the internet and e-mail would never last.  Well, they don’t have to use it…duh.  Why should the rest of us waste our time because folks won’t embrace change?  Anyway, I didn’t realize that our Board was run as a democracy with every member having veto power over “change”.

With improvements in technology come improvements in the way we service our clients and they way we spend our time.  We’re not talking about tons of money, training, time etc. and Boards all across the country have proven that “security risks” are a non-issue.