A few months ago I had trouble with my Rogers Ignite.  So I did as anyone else would do – I called Rogers customer service.

After waiting on hold for 42 long minutes I finally connected to a customer service rep who asked me how she could be of service. 

“Well, my WIFI is working fine but my TV keeps freezing intermittently while I try to watch the soccer game….and this goes for all the other channels as well,” I claimed.

“That’s a technical issue Sir” she replied.  “I need to transfer you to our tech department…please hold”

So I waited another few minutes until I was connected to a tech specialist.

“How can I assist you, Sir?” I was asked.

“Well, my WIFI is working fine but my TV keeps freezing intermittently while I try to watch the soccer game….and this goes for all the other channels as well.”

After going through the old unplugging and re-plugging of the power cord charade it was suggested that a mobile cable technician needed come to my home to investigate further. 

“I’ll have to transfer you to our appointment booking department Sir…please hold”

Hold I did.  Bitterly I might add.

“Hello Sir…you’ve reached the booking department….may I ask what the purpose of the appointment is for?”

“Well,” I replied now clenching my fists and gritting my teeth.  “My WIFI is working fine but my TV keeps freezing intermittently while I try to watch the soccer game….and this goes for all the other channels as well.”

I truly felt like I was a better-looking version of Bill Murray starring in a remake of the film “Groundhog Day”

Now, in all fairness, Rogers is a large corporation with thousands of employees but this story still serves as a good analogy for one of the primary problems clients encounter when working with a real estate team hired to sell their largest and most important asset.

In short, the left-hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. 

There is immense potential for communication breakdowns when a seller hires a real estate team.  The larger the team the more often breakdowns and miscommunications will occur.  There are many moving parts in the home selling process and clear communication is absolutely essential.  A breakdown in communication can be disastrous to a real estate transaction and is actually one of the most common reasons a real estate deal falls apart.

Care to hear about another huge pitfall with real estate teams?  

Well, the vast majority of real estate teams are all about the Team Leader.

You know what I’m talking about.  The team is named after them (eg. The Tom Jones Team).  They take all the credit for their professed sales volume or number of homes sold.  Their picture is on every piece of marketing and signage. You may even see their name and picture advertised in your local newspaper every week or splattered across seemingly every website you visit. 

But don’t be fooled.  They aren’t doing all the work.  Or even a portion of the work.  In fact, some of these Team Leaders are not really in the real estate business.  They are in the lead generation business.

If you are lucky you may meet the Team Leader at your first meeting. Be forewarned. They are only there to have the contracts signed and to close the deal.

Unfortunately, once you have met the team leader you should then expect the rest of the team to step in and the Team Leader to step out.

And that Seller who thought they would be working closely with the Team Leader? 

They’re out of luck.

What’s worse is that the Realtor – or Realtors plural – replacing the team leader will almost certainly be new to the industry.  Understand that real estate teams are often incubators for new agents or for those who couldn’t hack it on their own. They have little experience, little know-how, and even less confidence.

Imagine hiring a team because you think they have 30 years of experience and it turns out you end up working with someone who entered the industry last month. That’s not cool.

It’s the old “bait & switch” scam simply modernized and applied to the real estate industry.

Add to that the other perils of dealing with a team such as the diffusion of responsibility, the enormous amount of time it takes for a simple decision to be made and the fact that the novice realtors assigned to you will have little vested interest in the price you get for your home since their own commission will be split with others so many ways that they may as well quit and work full time at Walmart.

I could go on until the cows come home.  I really could.  But instead, I will sum this up with something my mother used to say when I was a child.

 “Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth”.

Folks…always listen to your mother.