Why cant we solve the real estate agent 6% ripoff?

[alkemyst]

Tax free is a really bad way of describing that income. Whether there is withholding or not it's not tax free. I'd do a model on your projected income as 20% maybe low.

 

[MrSquished]

Tax free is a really bad way of describing that income. Whether there is withholding or not it's not tax free. I'd do a model on your projected income as 20% maybe low.

It is coming to me free of taxation at the time I receive it but yes, you are correct, it is taxable, I just have to pay it myself during tax time. So tax free is a bad description, but that's the intent.

I figure on putting away a minimum of 20% for taxes this year as I will not make all that much. If I continue to build my connections and network and work hard, so deals come faster and more often and listings, I'll be putting away more.

 

[BikeJunkie]

More fun realtor stories...

My buddy (and neighbor - he lives 6 doors down) is also selling his house. It's been one comical faux pas after another, but the best was this past Sunday when his agent held an open house. He was helping me move out of my house (on which I received 100% ask after 9 days on the market), so we were able to watch his open house start to finish.

First, his agent was 15 minutes late "because of the rain." LOL. We were MOVING in this alleged rain. If we got 0.1" all day long, I'd be shocked. His wife had to stay behind because a family showed up to the open house before the agent arrived.

Anyway, when it ended we went to go talk to her to see how it went. She told us he would have had a buyer were it not for the fact that we were in Delaware City Schools.

Her: "This one couple said the house was absolutely perfect and that they'd make an offer if only you were in Olentangy Schools"

Him: "We ARE in Olentangy Schools! It even says so on the fliers YOU printed for the open house!!"

Her: "*giggle* omg you're so right! I totally forgot lol!"

Him: "Call them and get them back out here!"

Her: "omg I so would, but I didn't get their contact info... oh well, there are more fish in the sea... cya later!"

She left and I told him he should have fired her ass on the spot. He's touchy about it because he knows he's eating crow right now. This thread went down right after I sold my house and right as he was putting his on the market. I showed it to him and tried to convince him to FSBO, and now he's getting screwed silly by this lady on both the sale of his home and the purchase of his new one (she completely botched the Request to Remedy and left the seller far too wide of a loophole to escape the contract). My father in law is an attorney and was also helping me move. He looked at my friend's purchase contract and said it was a mess.

Live and learn, I guess.

 

[Phoenix86]

Looking to rent a house, called about 20 different realtors since Thursday evening. Every single one didn't answer the call (just under half were made during business hours, rest on nights/weekend), left about 20 different messages. 2 called back, 6 of the properties that I didn't get a call on are still available (lazy assholes). The rest didn't bother to call back because the property was sold. Thanks for making me look, keep a list, wait, and look again just to see if you're a lazy asshole, or not.

The realtor that's supposedly helping me sent a list of properties, 2 out of ~30 were not an option (no animals), thanks! Have sent about 8 messages to them over the last 24 hours. Got an e-mail reply about the sale on the house I'm living in now. OK, thanks for the update, but what about those questions I have about a new place to stay?

Clearly these people are earning their money.

:|

 

[MrSquished]

More fun realtor stories...

My buddy (and neighbor - he lives 6 doors down) is also selling his house. It's been one comical faux pas after another, but the best was this past Sunday when his agent held an open house. He was helping me move out of my house (on which I received 100% ask after 9 days on the market), so we were able to watch his open house start to finish.

First, his agent was 15 minutes late "because of the rain." LOL. We were MOVING in this alleged rain. If we got 0.1" all day long, I'd be shocked. His wife had to stay behind because a family showed up to the open house before the agent arrived.

Anyway, when it ended we went to go talk to her to see how it went. She told us he would have had a buyer were it not for the fact that we were in Delaware City Schools.

Her: "This one couple said the house was absolutely perfect and that they'd make an offer if only you were in Olentangy Schools"

Him: "We ARE in Olentangy Schools! It even says so on the fliers YOU printed for the open house!!"

Her: "*giggle* omg you're so right! I totally forgot lol!"

Him: "Call them and get them back out here!"

Her: "omg I so would, but I didn't get their contact info... oh well, there are more fish in the sea... cya later!"

She left and I told him he should have fired her ass on the spot. He's touchy about it because he knows he's eating crow right now. This thread went down right after I sold my house and right as he was putting his on the market. I showed it to him and tried to convince him to FSBO, and now he's getting screwed silly by this lady on both the sale of his home and the purchase of his new one (she completely botched the Request to Remedy and left the seller far too wide of a loophole to escape the contract). My father in law is an attorney and was also helping me move. He looked at my friend's purchase contract and said it was a mess.

Live and learn, I guess.

as has been stated, like in any business there are bad employees. you can have your friend call the manager at that agent's office and file a complaint and request to work with a different agent. she sounds like a bimbo. i always get contact info (although many people put fake phone numbers on the sign in sheet at an open house)

he probably signed a 6 month contract for that broker's firm to list his house and if the loophole is not big enough he should call the manager as stated above.

both contracts i drew up for my 1.3 million dollar offer and the smaller one were received by both the sellers and listing agents just fine, as well as both attorneys. almost out of Attorney review on both.

anyway the contract to put in an offer basically gets ripped up in NJ once accpetedbecause they are required to go through Attorney Review due to corruption in the RE business in the 80's. the RE Attorney's basically start from scratch.

 

[MrSquished]

text tonight from one of my buyers, we are in Attorney Review and I've been busting my balls for them:

"Dude, you're earning every penny of the commission."

this is for the big one. some people see and appreciate hard work. these are very successful young professionals in their 30's. combined income close to 1 million per year.

i know you don't like RE agents BikeJunkie, but guess what, there are some smart successful people that do see what we do for them if we are good. i feel you that some are no good and FSBO is for some. you just need to stop thinking in purely black & white terms.

 

[BikeJunkie]

An update on my friend's situation:

So he and his wife held their own open house due to the utter uselessness and incompetency of their REALTOR®. They snagged a buyer yesterday (go figure!!!) and then turned the deal over to their REALTOR® for negotiations (as per their agreement with her). To make a long story short, my friend must be in contract on his house by the end of today, or he loses the house they're buying (I will explain why if anyone needs to know). If this happens, they will pull their listing. So in other words, time is a factor.

So this was explained to my friend's buyers - who are veterans and will be using their VA benefits (this is important) - and they've been negotiating since late yesterday, knowing that any potential deal dies this evening if it's not a wrap.

But here's the hang-up, and reason #2594 why you need an attorney rather than a REALTOR®... this is where shit gets good:

Friend: "Yeah BikeJunkie, we're so close to a deal but they want $3000 cash at closing so they can pay their lease termination fees."

BikeJunkie: "They want $3000 in actual CASH, or they want you to pay $3000 in closing costs?"

Friend: "Cash"

BikeJunkie: "And neither REALTOR® told anyone that this was absolutely, 100% NOT ALLOWED, and in the process wasted the final hours you have to pull this thing together?"

Friend: "WHAT?!"

BikeJunkie: "Can't do cash back at closing... you need to go tell your REALTOR® that she's been working an illegitimate deal"

Friend: "GOD#$%!%DAMMIT@#$!%"

BikeJunkie: "Remember when I told you to use an attorney instead of a REALTOR®?"

Neither agent were aware that you can't do cash back on a VA loan. So not only were they not competent enough to adequately advise their respective clients, they wasted precious time on a fool's errand.

So yeah... yay REALTOR®s!!!!

 

[alkemyst]

An attorney and realtor are usually both needed.

Not all attorneys are good either.

 

[MrSquished]

An update on my friend's situation:

So he and his wife held their own open house due to the utter uselessness and incompetency of their REALTOR®. They snagged a buyer yesterday (go figure!!!) and then turned the deal over to their REALTOR® for negotiations (as per their agreement with her). To make a long story short, my friend must be in contract on his house by the end of today, or he loses the house they're buying (I will explain why if anyone needs to know). If this happens, they will pull their listing. So in other words, time is a factor.

So this was explained to my friend's buyers - who are veterans and will be using their VA benefits (this is important) - and they've been negotiating since late yesterday, knowing that any potential deal dies this evening if it's not a wrap.

But here's the hang-up, and reason #2594 why you need an attorney rather than a REALTOR®... this is where shit gets good:

Friend: "Yeah BikeJunkie, we're so close to a deal but they want $3000 cash at closing so they can pay their lease termination fees."

BikeJunkie: "They want $3000 in actual CASH, or they want you to pay $3000 in closing costs?"

Friend: "Cash"

BikeJunkie: "And neither REALTOR® told anyone that this was absolutely, 100% NOT ALLOWED, and in the process wasted the final hours you have to pull this thing together?"

Friend: "WHAT?!"

BikeJunkie: "Can't do cash back at closing... you need to go tell your REALTOR® that she's been working an illegitimate deal"

Friend: "GOD#$%!%DAMMIT@#$!%"

BikeJunkie: "Remember when I told you to use an attorney instead of a REALTOR®?"

Neither agent were aware that you can't do cash back on a VA loan. So not only were they not competent enough to adequately advise their respective clients, they wasted precious time on a fool's errand.

So yeah... yay REALTOR®s!!!!

i am impressed you manage to take individual cases of incompetence (which i have already stated there are good and bad in this industry) and apply it willy nilly across the board. do you do this for everything or just for realtors?

i will be happy with a text i received from my buyers of a 1.3 million dollar property 'wow you are earning every penny of that commission'

both of my first deals made it out of attorney review. one home inspection tomorrow the other tentative for Friday. i kept on top of AR and pointed out various things in the buyer's rider that they needed to really pay attention to.

alkemyst seems to get it. in all occupations there are the competent and incompetent

Not all attorneys are good either.

enjoy your strictly black and white view of the world mr junkie.

 

[BikeJunkie]

i am impressed you manage to take individual cases of incompetence (which i have already stated there are good and bad in this industry) and apply it willy nilly across the board.

I am impressed that you can't comprehend why/how I value my numerous individual experiences with REALTOR®!!!s over the rantings of a foaming-at-the-mouth REALTOR®!!! (who's biased and has an agenda) from the interwebs. In all seriousness, let that sink in for a moment. Give it some thought. In the past month alone, I've encountered THREE shitty REALTOR®!!!s and not one single competent one.

In all three cases, the REALTOR®!!!'s incompetency cost someone $$$, time, and necessitated someone else's intervention to un-fuck the deal. And this was just the past 30 days.

I'll take what I've learned firsthand in the past two decades over a single stranger's single year of experience (for which they compensate by regularly lashing out in tongues). Seriously, at what point am I allowed to value my own experiences over the outbursts of some internet troll? This is a rhetorical question.

enjoy your strictly black and white view of the world mr junkie.

I am :thumbsup: My "black and white" view has saved me thousands upon thousands of dollars, while the lack thereof has cost many people I know thousands upon thousands of dollars and wasted hundreds of hours of their time.

 

[NetWareHead]

i am impressed you manage to take individual cases of incompetence (which i have already stated there are good and bad in this industry) and apply it willy nilly across the board. do you do this for everything or just for realtors?

This. BikeJunkie, we get it. You have had some shitty "REALTOR®" experiences. You think they are worthless. Your opinion has been thoroughly explained and the point thoroughly thrashed to death. IMO, its inaccurate to say the least to paint the entire occupation with such broad brushstrokes.

alkemyst seems to get it. in all occupations there are the competent and incompetent

And this. I've dealt with shitty realtors who I dropped in a heartbeat. I have been dropped as well as a customer by one realtor who thought he was wasting his time with me. His problem was that he kept on showing me sub-par houses that I had no interest in. After a few showings (and him ignoring my negative feedback on properties he thought I would be interested in) he decided to cut his losses and we both moved on. I got another realtor who better understood me and she helped close a deal 3 months later, my first home purchase.

The realtors I choose bend over backwards to help me. I'm an out of state landlord and the one realtor who helped me rent my property even offered to open the door for a painter who I had scheduled to come and do some work. (I was supposed to have a friend open the place for me, he had an emergency at last second. Before I canceled the painter's appointment, I phoned the realtor to let her know the paint work would be delayed and therefore would delay the date we could put the property on the rental market. Instead she offered to open the place up for the painter and return after he was done to lock up. Totally saved it!) Her advice and goals were always in line with my goals. My GF is a realtor and she agreed that everything she did was kosher and in my best interests. She did almost 50 showings and in less than 3 weeks had the place rented to a top notch tenant. She didn't balk when I disqualified other applicants. She wasn't just after her comission.I think she is truly professional and works hard for her clients.

I may eventually learn enough to do the contract stuff myself but I don't think I have the time to do 50 showings in less than a month. I dont think my place would have received the exposure it did, were it not for her.

i will be happy with a text i received from my buyers of a 1.3 million dollar property 'wow you are earning every penny of that commission'

And this. She gets my future business, she gets my recommendation to anyone I know needing her services and she got a nice gift from me to further show my appreciation. (if anyone reading this needs a great realtor in Northern NJ, PM me)

 

[BikeJunkie]

My GF is a realtor

I see... Okie dokie!

 

[NetWareHead]

I see... Okie dokie!

There is no bias here. She knows shitty realtors too. You can sometimes tell from even the listings when a realtor puts time into it and other realtors who hastily put up a listing with sideways pictures, or sometimes even no pictures, inaccurate addresses. Describe the property as having oil when its actually gas heat, wrong details, wrong number of rooms listed etc... Everything I said in my previous post still holds true regardless of my GF's occupation. This is $$, time, convenience and good services rendered I am talking about.

 

[alkemyst]

What I find hilarious is a house for most of us will be the most expensive thing that we ever buy and sacrifice the largest portion of our income too. People are saying those that negotiate this process are worthless and everyone can just do it themselves are foolhardy at best and trolling at worst.

Many people can't even navigate a 1040A (some a 1040EZ).

 

[MrSquished]

What I find hilarious is a house for most of us will be the most expensive thing that we ever buy and sacrifice the largest portion of our income too. People are saying those that negotiate this process are worthless and everyone can just do it themselves are foolhardy at best and trolling at worst.

Many people can't even navigate a 1040A (some a 1040EZ).

seriously. or if they can and can do it very well, they simply don't want to put in the time. they are already working hard. People with budgets of 600K or 800K or 1.3 million that I am and have worked with - they are very successful people, and that comes at the expense of working a lot. Even the folks I have looked for homes down near 300K are commuting to Manhattan every day leaving at 7 and getting home at 7.

the husband of my buyers on the big property is an Orthopedic surgeon. He works nutty hours and a lot of them. So does his wife, who is a territory manager for a medical device company - she works weekends as well as weekdays. She even said to me the other day that even though I am doing so much of the work for them, she still has had to take too much time off of work to see the properties, deal with some of the paperwork during AR, coming for the home inspection today (which went very well, thankfully, it was my biggest concern about trashing the deal)

Met a new buyer today, approved for up to 850K. He simply doesn't have the time he is willing to sacrifice so his GF is my main communication line.

Did a photo shoot for a colleague today listing this cute lil' ole lady's condo for close to 600K, there is no way she could handle the process. She was nervous enough she said even though she is with one of our hard-working agents and she said as much that he has been fantastic and without him she'd be lost.

I am dealing with a bit of a screwy realtor that is the listing agent on a property we are in AR on. First she gave us the wrong email address for the seller's lawyer said he never checked anymore so for 5 days we heard nothing. The lawyer must have had some hand in that screwup. Then yesterday we sent them the signed contract from the buyers with everything agreed upon - to the lawyer and cc'd the agent. This afternoon I get an email from the listing agent 'they are waiting for us to respond'. I checked with my side, did they send back the contract wanting more changes? Nope. So neither the lawyer or agent caught that email. That's an attorney I'd never use either. Re-sent the email today, now 'she is on it' - Granted she has been extremely responsive to me 90% of the time - but you don't make those kind of mistakes the other 10 % of it. Bad business. You don't send wrong email addies and you certainly don't miss emails with a signed contract that would get you out of review. Oye.

I started my day at 7:30 this morning, just got home near 10. All RE work minus one shoot. As I was leaving the office around 9:15, an agent was coming in to draw up an offer on a property she just showed. I had seen her in and out of the office since 10am. She worked all day. You think all Realtors don't work hard? Nuts.
Anyway. Junkie is just stuck in his alternate universe. Whatever.