Agents: All About Ultracrepidarians
Reading time: 3 minutes
What a word, huh?!?
I can’t quite pronounce it, but here’s its derivation: “The cobbler should stick to the last.” In other words, an expert on shoe repair is not a brain surgeon. Or in other other words, an ultracrepidarian is a person who criticizes, judges, or gives advice outside the area of his or her expertise.
If you’re a Realtor, you’re well acquainted with the omnipresence of ultracrepidarians and ultracrepidarianism. Because almost everybody you encounter thinks they’re an expert about residential REAL ESTATE. Apparently, the ability to scroll through Zillow is the only prerequisite for offering sage advice on market trends, selling strategies, pricing recommendations, marketing tools, staging, negotiations and what color to paint the front door of the house you’re selling.
You will encounter ultracrepidarianism again and again and again:
Somebody’s aunt or uncle in Rochester says condos are a really bad investment.
Somebody’s ex-girlfriend in Seattle says $650/month is a crazy-nuts-high amount of money for HOA dues.
Somebody’s neighbor’s dogsitter says the only acceptable neighborhood in San Francisco is Noe Valley.
Etc.
You’re going to hear all of this and more until you’re exhausted by it. You’re going to have to learn to be extremely patient and tactful. You’re going to have to remain silent while the ultracrepidarian du jour undermines you and disses you in front of your clients, colleagues and family. This is going to happen to you more than it happens to tailors, tinkers and soldiers because many folks assume that real estate agents are inherently dumb.
But you’re not dumb. You’re extraordinarily smart and savvy. So you will not reciprocally diss the ultracrepidarian.
You will NOT say “Your stupid landlord who lives in Sacramento has no friggin’ clue about the value of a TIC in Cow Hollow. And, besides, why are you even listening to them now when you’ve clearly stated you don’t trust them?”
You will NOT say “Yes, your nosy neighbor’s house appraised for $1,200,000 when they refinanced three years ago but that has pretty much no bearing whatsoever on the value of your home today so why are you even sharing this info with me?”
You’ll not say these things because you’re a professional and you know your job is to listen and to remain cordial while the ultracrepidarian unloads or while your client relates to you what the ultracrepidarian advised them. Be mindful that ultracrepidarianism is just part of human nature. Everybody wants to be helpful, even if they haven’t a clue what they’re talking about! At least now you have a word for it.
Photo credit: Pete Alexopoulos
Author and RealEstateTherapy curator Cynthia Cummins has been devoted to homeowners and homebuyers for three decades and counting. Visit KindredSFhomes.com for more information on San Francisco real estate.
