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I run a real estate company out of my home quite successfully. I've been in the industry for over 25 years and have been a broker for about 15 years. I don't meet people at my home - we meet at the property, at the clients home or some other location, I don't use assistants and do quite well. I've sold over $390 million in my career, or about $16 million per year.
The reason many people have a problem with agents is that they bring so little to the table. Yes, you can get an attorney to review the contract for a couple of hundred dollars. Yes, with the internet you can find homes you like. Where I see a broker's contribution being worth his/her fee is when they save their client dollars in excess of their fees. For example, I sold a new home recently where we were getting great traffic but no offers. I track feedback very closely and recognized a consistent theme to the comments made over about a two week period. The comments dealt with an issue that could be remedied at a reasonable cost. I got the architect to come over to make suggestions of how to best implement the changes and the builder spent about one month and $20,000 to complete the changes. We sold the house within two weeks for full price after the issues had been corrected. Now many agents would have simply told the builder they were getting negative feedback and that he should drop the price. On a $1.7 million house a $20k drop would be meaningless. He would have had to drop it a minimum of $100k to get anyone's attention and then he'd have still had the same problems. So I viewed the roughly $80k savings as plenty of justification for my $51k fee.
Also, I sell over 50% of my listings as direct sales. That's 70% higher than the market average. And when I do so, I don't charge the seller the full 6%, I only charge them the 3% I would have received in the event of a co-brokered sale.
You sound like the person I'm looking for for a very long time. Exactly the ideas that I have as a client.
There is a person (sorry forgot the name) who sells books about real estate and has a show on tv. He stated only 10% of the realtors works hard and makes still a lot of money and other 90% eats donuts and thinks the money will come to them and is blaming everything and every one. Sounds you are in the 10%. Wish you lived in Tampa.
I run a real estate company out of my home quite successfully. I've been in the industry for over 25 years and have been a broker for about 15 years. I don't meet people at my home - we meet at the property, at the clients home or some other location, I don't use assistants and do quite well. I've sold over $390 million in my career, or about $16 million per year.
The reason many people have a problem with agents is that they bring so little to the table. Yes, you can get an attorney to review the contract for a couple of hundred dollars. Yes, with the internet you can find homes you like. Where I see a broker's contribution being worth his/her fee is when they save their client dollars in excess of their fees. For example, I sold a new home recently where we were getting great traffic but no offers. I track feedback very closely and recognized a consistent theme to the comments made over about a two week period. The comments dealt with an issue that could be remedied at a reasonable cost. I got the architect to come over to make suggestions of how to best implement the changes and the builder spent about one month and $20,000 to complete the changes. We sold the house within two weeks for full price after the issues had been corrected. Now many agents would have simply told the builder they were getting negative feedback and that he should drop the price. On a $1.7 million house a $20k drop would be meaningless. He would have had to drop it a minimum of $100k to get anyone's attention and then he'd have still had the same problems. So I viewed the roughly $80k savings as plenty of justification for my $51k fee.
Also, I sell over 50% of my listings as direct sales. That's 70% higher than the market average. And when I do so, I don't charge the seller the full 6%, I only charge them the 3% I would have received in the event of a co-brokered sale.
Kudos to you. It sounds as if you're a great agent to hear you tell it and I'm sure you are. Does your arm ever get tired of patting yourself on the back? Most of your posts I see are just talking about how wonderful you are. The only reason I responded is because you chose my post to reply to so back at you. I never said all, I said many...
I can only say that a realtor on this forum said the same thing about me. (that I always talk like I'm so good, etc.....
Maybe it is hard to believe for some people that there are peole doing good things or to me I call it "normal way of working", as I expect most people should do.
To me it says more about people complaining about good things!!
I gave you a rep. point because I like what you wrote, not to pat myself on the back. Buckhead_Broker
I can only say that a realtor on this forum said the same thing about me. (that I always talk like I'm so good, etc.....
Maybe it is hard to believe for some people that there are peole doing good things or to me I call it "normal way of working", as I expect most people should do.
To me it says more about people complaining about good things!!
I gave you a rep. point because I like what you wrote, not to pat myself on the back. Buckhead_Broker
I know he's in all likelyhood a good Realtor. I think 99% of the Realtors that post here are exceptional. The difference is he's the only one that keeps spouting off about his numbers and he responded to a post of mine. I know some investors that do great things and some on here talk like they do great things. I don't know what they do or don't do but I can read post histories and tell who has a clue and who doesn't. Where do you fit in?
Kudos to you. It sounds as if you're a great agent to hear you tell it and I'm sure you are. Does your arm ever get tired of patting yourself on the back? Most of your posts I see are just talking about how wonderful you are. The only reason I responded is because you chose my post to reply to so back at you. I never said all, I said many...
Brandon,
There's an old saying, "If you can do it, it ain't braggin'." If my math is correct, you are about 28-30 years old. By the time I was your age, I had developed over $40 million in apartments and shopping centers and was a millionaire a couple of times over. Perhaps you should seek to learn from us old guys with experience instead of condemning us. A lot was accomplished in this world before you came along.
I fit in the group of people who earned their money by working and try things using their own money and made little profits and invested again in a smart way and made some more money. Some may say I'm stupid for not using a mortgage, but I sleep very well knowing that when the market went bad, I didn't have to worry to much since I have no monthly mortgage payments or will go in foreclosure. So if I look at the market and at investors in trouble, I think I did it the smart way. Could I have made more money if I did it in a diffeent way, yes, I guess so, but the risks would have been bigger and I might be in a different position today.
By the way I also owned a business and worked 60 hours a week and made more money in real estate so I sold the business and are doing real estate. I'm enjoying it.
If everyone was paid as a realtor is paid, on productivity alone, had no benefits and then paid to go to work (monthly fees for desk space, a telephone, use of the office machines), you all would get it. Until then, I believe this thread is becoming a "yawn".
There's an old saying, "If you can do it, it ain't braggin'." If my math is correct, you are about 28-30 years old. By the time I was your age, I had developed over $40 million in apartments and shopping centers and was a millionaire a couple of times over. Perhaps you should seek to learn from us old guys with experience instead of condemning us. A lot was accomplished in this world before you came along.
Never condemned you. As a matter of fact if you'll read the post I said you were exceptional. I have a lot of respect for your RE accomplishments and I'm sure very few in the country can match your production. But... You don't know what I have or haven't done so perhaps you shouldn't assume things about me based on my age. I was named one of top 10 ERA agents in the world for 2007 based on customer surveys and minimum transaction goals. I've learned quite a bit from the experienced agents and now I'm a Fundamentals Instructor for new agents and an Acceleration Facilitator for experienced agents. I just don't spout off numbers and anecdotal stories every single post.
You're not worth 6% unless you're selling a double-wide.
The highest I've paid is 4.5%, and I'd never do that again. I actually had one agent sit with me who said "I don't work for less than 6%". I said "Well you're not working at 6% either, at least not here. Thanks for coming and have a nice day".
3%, that's it. No more, no less. If the realtor wants more than that on a $200k plus house, tell them to hit the road.
Be realistic here. Housing prices have doubled in the last 6-8 years. That means if your percentage stayed the same, your salary would double.
Nice try, but no cigar. 2% was more than fair two or three years ago. Houses were selling in days, not weeks or months. 3% was about right for the second half of last year. MAYBE 3.5 to 4% going forward as the market crumbles, but definitely not 6.
If you don't want people to ask for rebates, then charge less.
Just my opinion of course.
Rarely does an agent get the entire 6% and splits it with another selling agent. You cannot get other agents to show your property at 2%, they will just not do it. Therefore, you wouldn't have to tell me you weren't listing, because I would decline you first. There are a lot of expenses in this business and with all of the time and money I put into a listing 6% is very fair.
Rarely does an agent get the entire 6% and splits it with another selling agent. You cannot get other agents to show your property at 2%, they will just not do it. Therefore, you wouldn't have to tell me you weren't listing, because I would decline you first. There are a lot of expenses in this business and with all of the time and money I put into a listing 6% is very fair.
So, just a question here: since you believe 6% is fair, what about the poster's contention that as prices have doubled in just a couple of years, so did your income? I understand it might not be "exactly" double, as other costs have changed, etc, but assuming home prices doubled, so did gross commission. I think the question might be are you being overpaid now (or at least during the white-hot market) at 6%, or were you being substantially underpaid a few years back?
BTW, I responded to your post, but many have posted similar sentiments. In this post, "you" is generic for agents/brokerages that charge 6%. Also, it was the same scenario re: splitting commissions between listing and selling and agent/broker, so that fact doesn't really come in to play as justification in response to his point. The only difference is the gross commission being split has doubled (in the scenario given).
I am not saying agents do or do not deserve the 6%, but I am interested in an answer as to which time period(s) is(are) truly "reasonable" compensation.
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