New Realtors might have a hard time comprehending doing business without a cell phone, email, Internet-based MLS, Bluetooth lockboxes, electronic signatures, QR codes and other high tech goodies. But there was a time when even a fax machine was futuristic fodder for a science fiction story and the idea of carrying a telephone in your pocket would have provoked laughter. Back then, many deals hung on a handshake until the ink dried on the half-piece of paper that contained the contract.
Although no one from the early days of the Chattanooga Association of Realtors, formed in 1912, is around anymore, there are a handful of men and women who can recall the distant days of the ‘50s and ‘60s. Among these honored few are Elgin Smith, the 86-year-old patriarch of Chattanooga real estate.
Smith needs no introduction, although his jaw-dropping 50-plus years as a real estate professional is always worth mentioning. The winner of more awards than the walls of his office at Prudential Realty Center can hold, including Realtor of the Year at both the local and state levels in 1968, Smith has served as the president of the CAR twice, as president of the state association twice and as a member of the Professional Standards Committee of the National Association of Realtors for more than 22 years. Throughout the years, Smith has also held leadership positions in his community and church, including president of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, director of the Better Business Bureau and deacon of Brainerd Baptist Church.
With the Greater Chattanooga Association celebrating its 100th anniversary this month, Smith was happy to talk about the good old days of real estate, and how these days are pretty good, too.
Let’s talk about an electrifying topic – paperwork. You have in your hand what appears to be a half of a sheet of paper. What is it?
This is the contract for the first house my wife and I bought in 1951. When we bought it, the contract was half of a page. When I went into real estate seven years later, it had grown to a full page. Now one I’m getting signed tomorrow is 15 pages, and it’s just a simple lot. That’s the minimum. Sometimes, it’s more than that. It depends on the property and the accessory pages that need to go with it. It’s not unusual for a contract to exceed 20 pages.
Evidently, there are a few more laws on the books today.
Yes. Protection, protection, protection. Disclosure, disclosure, disclosure. We didn’t have all of that when I started selling. But I think things are better today. They’re safer for the buyer. Lawsuits became a problem in the mid-’60s because there were no protections in the contract, so they added a few things, and every time they added something, that would bring up something else, so they would amend the things they changed. The contracts kept getting bigger and bigger.
What else have you got here? It looks like a card.
When I first went into real estate, this is what the cards looked like. This card is for the first house I sold. That was on Sept. 15, 1958.
What does this look like now?
It would be just as many pages as the contract.
You sold your first house for $14,250?
My broker was shocked I sold a house that expensive. He hadn’t sold one that big before. That was a good price. Things have changed in that respect, too.
Let’s talk about technology, which was non-existent when you started out.
We didn’t have computers, cell phones, or lock boxes. And the first time I was president of the state association, we didn’t have a fax machine, either. The second time I was president, fax machines had just come out, and the state association bought a portable fax machine for me. I brought it here. I had never seen one, and the people at the local association had never seen one. I used it to communicate with the state association. In no time, everybody had one.
So change has been a constant factor in the real estate profession.
At no point in time have things ever stayed the same. But we have always managed to adjust because change has always made things better.
What about the pace of being a Realtor? It’s a busy job. Was that true back then or was it less hectic?
It was just as busy. The technology we have today is wonderful, but it does add to the job because you have to spend time keeping up with it.
When you went into real estate, how many women Realtors were there in Chattanooga?
One or two. When I started hiring women, one of them became my top agent. She was with me about 20 years, and she was always my top agent. Women have a perspective of homes men don’t have. In most purchases, women have a big say about whether or not she and her husband are going to buy the house. If the wife doesn’t like a house, the husband isn’t going to buy it. And women Realtors can talk with wives about their problems and relate to women better than men.
Talk about the infamous book.
There was a big, thick book with all of the listings. When I started, we would take the book and make out our cards. I had a leather binder into which I put my listings. It was the size of the cards, and I would punch holes in the cards and then put them in the binder. Now, everything is on the computer, which is much better.
Talk about how the association has changed over the years.
We would meet at The Patten Hotel. Eventually, we had enough agents and money to build our own building. Now we have a place big enough to hold classes. Back when I started, if you wanted to train, you had to go to another state. I got most of my training in Texas.
Has the public always seen Realtors in a positive light?
We’ve always had a good reputation, partly because we have a Standards of Practice. That wasn’t true when I became a Realtor. We had a Code of Ethics, but no Standards of Practice. When I was on the Professional Standards Committee of the National
Association of Realtors, we developed a worldwide Standards of Practice for Realtors. I was chairman of the committee the year we got it approved. That committee continues to update the Standard of Practice to make sure it addresses how modern Realtors should conduct themselves. For example, you can lose your license if you discriminate against anyone in any way.
What made you want to go into real estate?
When I got married, my father-in-law started a business remodeling kitchens. I eventually got tired of remodeling and decided I wanted to sell the whole house. So I bought a book, which I still have, and I studied it all the way through and applied for my license. I passed the test the first time I took it.
Did you have to go to school?
No. I studied the book and took the test. You have to go to school now. Later on, I went to night school at the University of Chattanooga and studied real estate law. That helped.
The last few years have been rough for Realtors. You’ve probably seen plenty of ups and downs. Do you have any advice for agents who are experiencing their first rough spot?
Just hang in there. Things will turn around.
We’ve talked a lot about changes. Has anything stayed the same?
The way you present yourself to your clients has always been important. Over the years, I encouraged my agents to do what they told people they would do. People say, “I’ll get this to you by Sunday,” but then they don’t follow through. Don’t promise someone something you can’t deliver. Do things when you say you will. I still write down what I say and put in my pocket so I remember. Nothing will do you more harm than saying you’ll do something and then you don’t. People lose confidence in you.
Are you glad you decided to become a Realtor?
Yes. It’s been wonderful.