06/16/2021
This right here explains what a realtor does for the money they earn! Before you ask for that discount read this. Not my words but very true!
Friends, before you go and ask for a discount on commission from a Realtor for helping you sell your home, please understand what you're truly asking for them to do ... and ask yourself this question: If your boss came to you and asked you to work overtime, but wasn't going to compensate you for doing so, would you still do it?
A few more things to consider:
There is no salary in their job. No guaranteed income for them until a home actually sells. If it doesn’t go through for any reason, all of hours and time spent helping you and your loved ones go without any compensation for the time spent. You see 3% on a $200k home as $6k. The agents sure don’t see this $6k. That commission is paid to them:
- Before taxes
- Before broker splits
- Before marketing
- Before board dues
- Before office bills
- Before professional photographs on your home
- Before professional staging on your home
- Before all the other costs of doing business
Out of what’s left of their commission after all these deductions they can then begin paying for everything else. But wait, that’s not all!
Realtors don’t get afforded a lot of the things most enjoy at a 9-5 job....They don’t receive:
- Employer healthcare
- Employee matched retirement accounts
- Paid vacations
- Weekends off
- Nights off
- Maternity leave
- Bereavement pay/leave
- Company car
They pay for all of this out of their own pockets. Every single penny.
(Yes, there are some realtors married to people working company jobs who receive some of these benefits. But the vast majority of real estate agents the support their families on what’s left after their benefits are taken out and spoken for.)
Yes, they chose to sell real estate. It’s a career which they love and it allows virtually uncapped growth and income potential. But they also have to be available at any time of the day...whether it’s showing homes at 7pm, writing offers at 11 pm or doing final walkthroughs at 6am. They are there, available to help their clients when they are needed.
So before you tell a Realtor that they make “too much money” and “aren’t really needed anymore” or ask them to “reduce their commission,” I encourage you to try the following (this list is by no means all-encompassing of all things you must do to be a great realtor):
1) Get your real estate license
2) Start lead generating on your own
3) Find clients who like you and trust you to help them with the BIGGEST purchase of their lives.
4) Make sure you know not only what goes in the blanks of the contracts, but also what the promulgated parts of them say.
5) Learn the in’s and out’s of a homes major system components and everything needed to look out for your buyer when showing them a home.
6) Learn the legal steps of what happens once you write a contract, and what business partners are a good fit to help you and your clients and who’s a scam.
7) Try and keep deals together when they’re about to go south with critical thinking skills all while staying within legal parameters.
8)Educate your new homeowner clients about what’s going to happen after they close and what to expect in the years to come.
9)Take time away from your friends, family and social life to complete all steps above while learning to deal with stress and anxiety the likes of which you’ve never seen before and none of your friends can relate to.
Then after all this....listen patiently as others tell you that you make WAY too much and they could do what you’ve done for much, much less and how easy your job is.
Exhausting, isn’t it? 😲🤯. Phew.
Appreciate Realtors and pay them the going rate for their services! They deserve it and serve a vital role in the real estate community!
