SANTO DOMINGO.- Veteran real estate agent Bienvenido Paulino, who has been on the real estate bandwagon for 38 years, believes that one of the problems affecting real estate in the country today is the abundance of "commission agents," real estate agents who are not concerned with good service, but rather with profits.
“When we stop thinking like commission agents and start thinking more about the service we have to offer our clients, the landscape will change. This is a calling. Because, listen, when you come to me so I can sell to you, to buy with your resources, your savings, you're putting them in my hands. That's sacred. I can't play around with that,” said the general manager of Plusval Dominicana and co-founder of Plusval Direct Sales.
The so-called "father of brokers" urged agents to stop thinking like commission agents and instead focus on providing advisory services. "Because after all, nowadays, when someone comes to us, we must be advisors rather than salespeople. Because that person is placing the security of their family's assets in my hands. And I have to know that I'm not going to act for a commission I'm going to receive; I have to offer the best advice," he explained in an interview with El Inmobiliario.
Paulino fully identifies with the struggle the real estate sector is waging to achieve regulation of real estate transactions in the Dominican Republic. “We definitely need something we've been fighting for, which is regulation; the law is important. And the law will be important because we'll have equal treatment for everyone.”.
He argued that he has been in the profession for almost four decades, but that doesn't mean he should be granted certification if he doesn't meet the legal requirements. “The fact that I'm 38 years old doesn't give me any rights if I'm not capable of having the necessary qualifications to practice. The fact that I'm 38 and own a company with 300 employees doesn't qualify me to be in the sector. I have to demonstrate my competence with facts and knowledge,” Paulino pointed out.
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Don Bienvo advocates for unity within the real estate sector and for identifying commonalities rather than divisions. "Let's not think about brands or colors, but rather about working together for the benefit of the sector, which is what we're trying to do now," he stated.
“Why don’t we sit down? We’re people who have been able to build companies of a certain caliber. And we can leverage that strength we have and unite to strengthen the sector and see what’s important, not what divides us,” he reiterated.
Bienvenido Paulino is committed to making the sector more transparent and reducing the number of unscrupulous individuals involved. "The problem is that there are many unscrupulous individuals in this sector," he explained.
Famous for saying no
The experienced real estate agent maintained that he is famous in his company for amicably stopping businessmen to whom he refuses to sell, because their projects do not meet the conditions.
“Listen, I’m famous here at my company. Why? And I do it in a very good way. The people I stop in my office to tell that I’m not going to sell to them, you won’t be surprised. And I simply tell them, look, no, if I sell to you, I’m hurting you,” he stated.
He continued: “Why? Because you don’t have the ability. And these days, advisors aren’t able to sit down with clients and analyze the pros and cons. Maybe instead of aspiring to a Camry, you could buy a Corolla. But because the commission on the Camry is higher, I’ll sell you the Camry,” he pointed out.
Paulino believes that real estate agents need to become aware and take into account that clients seek them out for advice, "not to be sold to.".
Welcome Paulino. Fidel Pérez/El Inmobiliario.
“Before selling to you, I have to ask you questions to determine if you have the capacity. How much money do you have to undertake this project? So my role isn't just to sell for the sake of selling. We need to teach the sector to be more advisors, rather than salespeople,” he emphasized.
He reiterated that he prefers to tell builders who don't meet the requirements to undertake a project that selling to them would only harm them. "I gain nothing by selling to them just to earn a commission. So, salespeople need to stop focusing on commissions and think more about service," Paulino concluded.
