04/28/2023
Folks, before you go and ask for a discount on your commission from a Realtor®, please understand what you're truly asking 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?
Another day, another person who says realtors are overpaid and an unnecessary part of a transaction. I’m assuming that those who think this have either been watching too much Million Dollar Listing or think they know how to do it on their own. A few things to consider:
We don’t get to keep all the money we make on deals. You see 3% on a $200k home as $6k. We don’t. That commission is paid to us:
- Before taxes
- Before broker splits
- Before marketing
- Before board dues
- Before office bills
- Before all the other costs of doing business
Out of what’s left of our checks after all this, we can then begin paying for everything else. But wait, that’s not all!
We don’t get afforded a lot of the things you enjoy at a 9-5 job. We don’t receive:
- Employer healthcare
- Employee matched retirement accounts
- Paid vacations
- Weekends off
- Nights off
- Maternity leave
- Bereavement pay/leave
- Company car
We pay for all of this out of our own pockets. Yeah, there are some Realtors® married to people working company jobs who receive some of these benefits. But the vast majority support our families on what’s left after our benefits are spoken for.
We advocate for your property rights and RPAC contrbutions to ensure we are at the forefront of Homeowner tax exemptions, circuit breakers, sales tax on ALL services, flood insurance, working on lender programs so they can even qualify, working with the municipal government to bring development and jobs, need I mention in many states keeping many industries doors open when Covid hit. Advocate for bills to help protect you, your property taxes and other real estate, financing, lending rules and regulations. Bills have been passed that make a big positive difference to you. That’s who we “R” when you hear Realtor. (Say it with me now …REAL-TOR. Not realitter or real-uh-tor.)
Yes, we did choose to sell real estate. It’s a career which allows virtually uncapped growth and income potential. But we also have to be available at any time of the day when needed. Whether it’s showing homes at 7pm, writing offers at 11pm or doing final walkthroughs at 6am. We’re there when we’re needed.
So before you tell another one of us we make too much money and aren’t really needed anymore, I encourage you to do this. Get your real estate license, start lead generating, find clients who trust you. Make sure you know not only what goes in the blanks of the contracts, but also what the parts of them say. Learn what happens once you write a contract, and what vendor partners are a good fit and who is a scam. Try and keep deals together when they’re about to go south with critical thinking skills while staying within legal parameters. Educate the clients about what’s going to happen after they close and what to expect in the couple years to come. Then listen as others tell you the money you’ve been paid is too much and they could do what you’ve done.
Exhausting, isn’t it?
Sincerely,
Your Realtor®
(Colleagues take this and copy paste as yours! We appreciate you! Xoxo)
