Okay, I had to bring this up. This has been an issue too many times for me to just leave it alone. There is one company in particular that I have come across doing this on a lot of listings, but more and more I'm finding other so called real estate professionals doing this as well.
I split my commission down the middle, in half, sometimes even offering a $1000-$2500 sale bonus out of MY half of the commission to help get my listings sold. I do not charge the highest amount of commission to my clients, nor do I charge the lowest. I present it as middle of the road, and that has been what I've found it to be. More and more there have been so called buyer's agents either rejecting the commission with a form or even worse, emailing agents asking them to up the commission before they'll send the property to their clients to show. Are you for real??? Who do you work for, your buyers or yourselves? It is your job to show your buyers any homes that meet their criteria or someone else gladly will. So you're losing 1/2% of commission or even 1/4%? BIG DEAL!!! Your job is the same on a home that sells for $700K compared to a home that sells for just $90K is it not? But the commission is a HUGE difference in these cases, should the $700K seller tell you "sorry, but I'm only going to pay you commission on $90K because I see you take low end listings too and are content making less."? NO WAY! Your rate is your rate, okay I get that! But if some other agents get a different rate, why should they give up their portion to make up the loss that you feel you are taking? I can answer that for you: THEY SHOULDN'T! If you want to get paid 3% for representing a buyer, I suggest you get a buyer contract and make them pay the difference if a home is being sold offering a lessor percent such as 2.5% or even 2%, not ask the list agent to give up their commission or threaten to not even show the listing. How petty and how can you claim you're doing your job for your buyer's behaving this way?
I'm sorry to offend you guys that feel you are so professional that you HAVE to get paid you're going rate. That is all well and good, but if you want to get technical about it, technically you should have a contract with your buyers and make sure they understand your fee and if a listing is offering less that they choose, they will be responsible for the difference. Plain and simple. If you threaten agents to not show their listings based on the commission they are offering, it will come back to bite you and you will not be very successful. That agent just may come across one of your listings some day and not be so eager to show and help you sell it, remembering how you acted like such a greedy person rather than the professional you claim to be.
Kathleen Cooper Best Option *** RE/MAX Professional Associates *** LICENSED IN MA!
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