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I think we need a meme about letting zombie threads lie/lay/leave them alone?
A year and a half later and I read every post. It was fun. I don't mind an occasional wakeup call about how much the public despises us and how outraged they are over what we make for selling their houses.
The problem with RE agents are the ones who receive the full 3% of costs for selling more expensive homes. Why should a RE agent who sells less expensive homes receive LESS commission for doing the work? Also, why should an agent in a Seller’s market receive top dollar for doing such little work?
The irony is there are a ton of average and below average agents in market right now and we have to navigate the mess they create to close. I've found my job as a listing agent to be harder and more stressful right now that ever before, and I've been licensed since 2005. Extreme markets stress everyone.
That being said, I understand the public perception, because I wasn't on the inside, I'd be looking in from the outside thinking the same thing. Market corrections drive out the shoddy agents and I usually get good agents to work with, making my job easier and less stressful.
The problem with RE agents are the ones who receive the full 3% of costs for selling more expensive homes. Why should a RE agent who sells less expensive homes receive LESS commission for doing the work? Also, why should an agent in a Seller’s market receive top dollar for doing such little work?
Why should the basketball coach at Eastern Podunk University get paid less than the basketball coach at an ACC school? Same schedule, same work.
There are plenty of alternatives than the customary arrangement. Fee-for-service, agents that basically will get you on the MLS and you can take it from there, FSBO's.
The irony is there are a ton of average and below average agents in market right now and we have to navigate the mess they create to close. I've found my job as a listing agent to be harder and more stressful right now that ever before, and I've been licensed since 2005. Extreme markets stress everyone.
That being said, I understand the public perception, because I wasn't on the inside, I'd be looking in from the outside thinking the same thing. Market corrections drive out the shoddy agents and I usually get good agents to work with, making my job easier and less stressful.
Untrained/bad agents make the agent on the other side of the transaction earn their pay. I recently had a new agent present an offer on a home I had listed. She put in the loan amount for the fha/va appraisal requirement (says the home must appraise for "x" in order for buyer to continue with deal. Should be sale price, unless buyer has funds and is willing to pay difference between appraised value and sale price, plus still put down 3.5% of the appraised value, and closing costs. She also checked off that the sale was NOT conditional on obtaining financing approval. (She thought because buyer had a prequal letter, it was approved).
I discussed with my seller, that i believe she made a mistake, the ramifications (house could be tied up under contract then deal fall thru because buyer doesnt have money, or loan is denied in underwriting when docs are needed. Seller gave me permission to correct appraisal provision to sales price, and check the contingent on receiving financing approval box and give them a financing contingency period.
When i talked to buyers agent, she thought the 3.5% is all that would be needed to put down even if home didn't appraise, and that the prequal meant preapproved. I protected her buyer's earnest money more than she did. She also had changed the commission owed to her to 3% in spite of mls stating 2.5. (Total comm was 5% split equally between us. ).
Commissions are negotiable between agents, but it needs to be discussed/agreed upon not just put on contract. She certainly didn't earn her commission, and definitely not a higher one than in mls.
In this case, commission paid was not commission earned.
Untrained/bad agents make the agent on the other side of the transaction earn their pay. I recently had a new agent present an offer on a home I had listed. She put in the loan amount for the fha/va appraisal requirement (says the home must appraise for "x" in order for buyer to continue with deal. Should be sale price, unless buyer has funds and is willing to pay difference between appraised value and sale price, plus still put down 3.5% of the appraised value, and closing costs. She also checked off that the sale was NOT conditional on obtaining financing approval. (She thought because buyer had a prequal letter, it was approved).
I discussed with my seller, that i believe she made a mistake, the ramifications (house could be tied up under contract then deal fall thru because buyer doesnt have money, or loan is denied in underwriting when docs are needed. Seller gave me permission to correct appraisal provision to sales price, and check the contingent on receiving financing approval box and give them a financing contingency period.
When i talked to buyers agent, she thought the 3.5% is all that would be needed to put down even if home didn't appraise, and that the prequal meant preapproved. I protected her buyer's earnest money more than she did. She also had changed the commission owed to her to 3% in spite of mls stating 2.5. (Total comm was 5% split equally between us. ).
Commissions are negotiable between agents, but it needs to be discussed/agreed upon not just put on contract. She certainly didn't earn her commission, and definitely not a higher one than in mls.
In this case, commission paid was not commission earned.
Good job. Glad the seller was helpful. But, we embrace liability when we step across the table, even out of necessity. Most commonly FSBOs need some direction and I tell my clients, "If you want to get this done, I'm going to have to step across the table, without breaching your expectations of confidentiality" And I have helped other agents who are untrained and unsupervised, as they are legion. The push to build teams has made it worse.
In my current market, this Offer would just be a loser out of the gate. Someone competent would have done as good or better and she would have received a "Sorry, maybe next time."
Interesting on the commission. We don't make commission a condition of the Contract, as the Contract is between the principals. Commission is settled prior to the Offer being made.
Good job. Glad the seller was helpful. But, we embrace liability when we step across the table, even out of necessity. Most commonly FSBOs need some direction and I tell my clients, "If you want to get this done, I'm going to have to step across the table, without breaching your expectations of confidentiality" And I have helped other agents who are untrained and unsupervised, as they are legion. The push to build teams has made it worse.
In my current market, this Offer would just be a loser out of the gate. Someone competent would have done as good or better and she would have received a "Sorry, maybe next time."
Interesting on the commission. We don't make commission a condition of the Contract, as the Contract is between the principals. Commission is settled prior to the Offer being made.
Contracts here cannot be contingent on receiving a certain condition. But agents can negotiate their comm. However if told "no", it would subject the buyers agent to violations if they didnt write the offer, because it would appear that they were making the offer contingent on a certain commission.
So there is really no benefit for a buyers agent to try to get a higher comm than in mls. If they try to negotiate before showing, are told no, then don't show, that could be perceived as violating ethics rules. If its before writing offer and then they don't write offer after being told no, same thing. Nothing good comes from asking.
Contracts here cannot be contingent on receiving a certain condition. But agents can negotiate their comm. However if told "no", it would subject the buyers agent to violations if they didnt write the offer, because it would appear that they were making the offer contingent on a certain commission.
So there is really no benefit for a buyers agent to try to get a higher comm than in mls. If they try to negotiate before showing, are told no, then don't show, that could be perceived as violating ethics rules. If its before writing offer and then they don't write offer after being told no, same thing. Nothing good comes from asking.
That all makes sense.
Now....
If I have negotiated a (very common here) 2.4% buyers agency compensation amount with my client, stated in the buyers agency agreement, with the client in position to make up any shortfall out of pocket...
And, we see a house with a 2.0% co-broke in MLS...
And, my client says, "I don't want to make up the difference. See if you can get the 2.4% before we write an offer,"
Would my client be leading me down a shady path? I say, "No," but some may think, "Yes."
A year and a half later and I read every post. It was fun. I don't mind an occasional wakeup call about how much the public despises us and how outraged they are over what we make for selling their houses.
Sorry, but many agents bring that attitude on themselves. The fact is, there are a ton of subpar people selling real estate, it’s the nature of your business. For too many agents, it’s all about what money they can get out of the deal and the client is put last. Most of us who have sold or bought a house can share stories of bad service and agents who pocketed a hefty fee for doing very little.
The fact that you depend on commission to get by, is motive enough to put your monthly bills over the clients needs, it’s understandable, but not the way to do business. Maybe future earnings should come from a set fee, that way there is no reason to put your mortgage and car payment ahead of your client. I understand how easy it would be to stretch the truth, or omit it entirely, if your bills are due and you really need this house to sell.
Yes, there are ethical, hardworking agents out there, but a commission only sales job, doesn’t favor agents always doing the right thing for their clients.
The fact that you depend on commission to get by, is motive enough to put your monthly bills over the clients needs, it’s understandable, but not the way to do business. Maybe future earnings should come from a set fee, that way there is no reason to put your mortgage and car payment ahead of your client. I understand how easy it would be to stretch the truth, or omit it entirely, if your bills are due and you really need this house to sell.
Yes, there are ethical, hardworking agents out there, but a commission only sales job, doesn’t favor agents always doing the right thing for their clients.
Not so sure on this. In blaming bad work by agents on commission there is an assumption made that I don't think is accurate: That agents want sales to close MORE than our clients do. I don't think that's necessarily so. We're not out there trying to buy houses our clients don't want, or selling houses people don't want to sell. By the time we are far enough along in the process for us to be making plans with the proceeds, the client is as invested in the process as we are... And if there's a real problem that crops up in a transaction that will take hard work to solve... I'm not sure you'd be better served by an agent who ISN'T depending on success.
Good agents might try just as hard no matter what. The bad ones... well, would they work late if they got paid the same salary either way?
I've never felt like I'm in sales, I've always been in customer service - AND/BUT we're only paid if we're successful. And that keeps everyone working hard right up to the end. The worse agents I've ever worked with are those who didn't act like they really needed it to close at all.
My two cents. It's interesting, because switching to a commission structure after being in a salaried office job sounded really scary. Still is. But after having done it now several years, I don't think hourly or salary wages would be better.
A year and a half later and I read every post. It was fun. I don't mind an occasional wakeup call about how much the public despises us and how outraged they are over what we make for selling their houses.
OK but the post that woke it up... I'm not sure why!
Calling LynnKrause1! You woke up this thread... Did you want to talk about it?
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