I showed them 20+ homes (negotiating, escrow, contract, room)

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by asitshouldbe

Every realtor does not pay to have the homes online. There are many sights not associated with one particular realtor or company. So don't try to fool people with all your "fee's".

Sorry, but I'm not quite sure what you're saying. Yes, there is a fee to belong to the MLS in your area. Usually, the broker belongs (paying their fee), and then the agent pays an individual fee, as well. We pay to belong to our local Board, and each MLS we belong to has a membership fee as well. As for the other online venues, some are free, some are not; I make use of all of them I can, as a listing agent. For the ones that are not free, if the agent doesn't pay and enter the information, you, as a buyer searching on the internet, won't have it.

There are costs associated with required continuing education (trust me, those courses are not offered for free, because the people who teach them have to make a living, as well). There are costs associated with renewing one's license annually or every other year, and you can't renew your license until you've fulfilled the continuing education requirements. In our state, the law recently changed to require that we be fingerprinted, and the agents got to bear the cost of that (each agent paying $45 or so to have their fingerprints taken, and no license unless you do so).

Are you really arguing that there are not expenses associated with running a real estate business that you didn't mention in your per hour analysis above, or what point are you trying to make with this comment?

[middle-aged mom]

When you call in a plumber to estimate a job, his/her price includes the pro-rata cost of:

Advertizing
Someone to answer the phone and take a message
Time to assess/estimate jobs that never bear fruit.
Cost of deadbeat jobs where people did not pay for the work performed....wrote bad checks....uncollected debt
Truck/insurance/fuel/maintenance
The building where supplies are stored
Office suppies
Errors/ommission insurance
Union dues
Health insurance
Workman's comp insurance, if a crew is necessary
Time/materials

Business overhead is a part of the cost of every product/service we consume.

Some of us accept this and others DIY. Outcomes are variable.

[asitshouldbe]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Sorry, but I'm not quite sure what you're saying. Yes, there is a fee to belong to the MLS in your area. Usually, the broker belongs (paying their fee), and then the agent pays an individual fee, as well. We pay to belong to our local Board, and each MLS we belong to has a membership fee as well. As for the other online venues, some are free, some are not; I make use of all of them I can, as a listing agent. For the ones that are not free, if the agent doesn't pay and enter the information, you, as a buyer searching on the internet, won't have it.

There are costs associated with required continuing education (trust me, those courses are not offered for free, because the people who teach them have to make a living, as well). There are costs associated with renewing one's license annually or every other year, and you can't renew your license until you've fulfilled the continuing education requirements. In our state, the law recently changed to require that we be fingerprinted, and the agents got to bear the cost of that (each agent paying $45 or so to have their fingerprints taken, and no license unless you do so).

Are you really arguing that there are not expenses associated with running a real estate business that you didn't mention in your per hour analysis above, or what point are you trying to make with this comment?

Every home that is on the MLS is free to view. We have searched several sites and they all have the same homes.

[asitshouldbe]

Originally Posted by middle-aged mom

When you call in a plumber to estimate a job, his/her price includes the pro-rata cost of:

Advertizing
Someone to answer the phone and take a message
Time to assess/estimate jobs that never bear fruit.
Cost of deadbeat jobs where people did not pay for the work performed....wrote bad checks....uncollected debt
Truck/insurance/fuel/maintenance
The building where supplies are stored
Office suppies
Errors/ommission insurance
Union dues
Health insurance
Workman's comp insurance, if a crew is necessary
Time/materials

Business overhead is a part of the cost of every product/service we consume.

Some of us accept this and others DIY. Outcomes are variable.

Not disputing that, only saying that a realtor should take the client to as many homes as need be to find the home they want.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by asitshouldbe

Every home that is on the MLS is free to view. We have searched several sites and they all have the same homes.

Yes, they have the same homes, because those listings come from the MLS. However, the cost is to the agents who PUT those homes on those sites. They pay for membership in the MLS which allowed them the privilege of listng those homes. They pay on their own websites for IDX which allows them to display those homes on their MLS on their own website. Realtor.com populates from the MLS - agents put their listings on the MLS (which they have paid to be a member of), and Realtor.com puts only those listings that have been put on the MLS on its site. If a home is featured on Realtor.com, it's because an agent or a broker has paid a pretty penny for that to happen.

It's free TO YOU. It's not free to the agents; it's part of their business expense. They do, however, in paying for that, get a little bit of extra information on those homes that you do not have access to, because you're looking at them for free.

In any case, finding a home and letting someone in to it is a tiny part of a real estate agent's job. The real work begins once the home is found. And, as said, if it's done well, the client will never know about it, because the entire point is to make it easy for the client while the agent takes care of the hassles and problems that almost inevitably arise. (You never have a clue, I've discovered, how many things large and small can go wrong in a real estate deal until you've done quite a few of them and watched other agents go through quite a few of them. I purchased a home without an agent on either side, and we lucked out. I'd never, ever, EVER do that again, now that I have a clue.)

For someone who is experienced at buying and selling real estate (has bought and sold several homes in the same state under the same laws and who can keep up with the constant changes in real estate laws), an agent may not be necessary. For someone who will only buy or sell maybe four or five homes in a lifetime, or someone coming into a new community or state, it's a very good idea to have assistance.

[Austin-Willy]

Originally Posted by kevinm

Real Estate is not supposed to be a minimum wage job.

No kidding! Real estate is a no "wage" job. It's a commission. Sometimes you get a lot for not much work and sometimes you get not much for a lot of work.

[Austin-Willy]

I think the folks who say that the couple don't know what they want are out on a limb. As far as you (or the OP, for that matter) know, they want different things, but they're both willing to comprise and accept what the other one wants if it's a really good deal.

They have put in several offers, and just because they were not accepted (and perhpas well below list, even), that doesn't mean they are not serious. If they feel like there is no risk in trying to get their price because the prices that are being asked will be here tomorrow, who are you to judge.

If you feel like you could make more money by spending your time with someone else, giddyup.

[marmac]

(responding to the OP)---One would think the husband and wife would work out their differences BEFORE even contacting a realtor

Some people have a hobby of being a sports fan, some go to movies, and some like to look at houses.

[marmac]

Yup, I see some of the same people at farm auctions

If something goes unbelievable cheap, they'll bid on it and buy it.

(at least at a farm auction they are just using up their time and not wasting others' time)

[caligurltotx]

OP can you give us an example of a low ball offer? Are you talking the asking price is 200,000 and they want to offer 130,000 or what?

Before you write an offer try having the comps in front of you to show them similar houses. Also let them know that sellers are not stupid. If I am selling my house and I know my neighbor's home sold for such and such amount 2 wks ago, I am not going to take a low ball offer!
I say if they are making offers then one of them is willing to compromise for the other since they don't even want the same thing.

Like someone said it's not the amount of homes being showed, but the fact that this couple is not living in reality. Every buyer wants to get a deal of course! A few months ago a friend of mine wrote 17 offers for one client before they finally got a hit! She is very good at what she does, it was just that kind of market where banks were getting multiple offers on short sales, and foreclosures. This was a young couple going VA and they couldn't compete with cash offers or 40% down offers.