Hilarious....seen on Craig's List
Apparently, there were several messages over the weekend ranting about real estate "professionals".
RE: Realtor Rant (continued)
Reply to: pers-537757828@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-01-13, 10:15AM PST
Yes, there are greedy creep Realtors and there are also honest upstanding Realtors. I won't try to get into the ratio between the two groups. I will comment on the cost of the service, because I think that's what wrinkles people's gonads the most.
The standard cost for full-service Realty services is 6%. That's $18K on a $300K house. Its also $30K on a $500K house. Think about that - Thirty Thousand Dollars. What's the last thing you spent that much on? If I were to spend that amount on any other product, I'd probably have to finance it, 'cause I sure don't have that much money in my pocket.
This is how most listing discussions seem to go.
Me: "How much to list my house for sale with your Full-service broker?"
Realtor: "The standard charge is 6%, but we have to split that between the buyer's and seller's agents! We only get 3%."
Me: "Yes, that's the agreement, but I'm still paying thirty-effing thousand dollars here."
Realtor: "And don't forget we have to split that further - the Broker gets 1.5% and we get 1.5%."
Me: "Yes, that's the agreement, but I'm still paying THIRTY-EFFING THOUSAND DOLLARS HERE."
Realtor: "Well, everything is negotiable."
Me: "Alright, lets negotiate. How much are you willing to come down?"
Realtor: "Well, the Broker's 1.5% really isn't negotiable - and my 1.5% isn't really that much. Let's just not bother."
Me: "That's not much of a negotiation. How about if I give you a flat fee of $5000?"
Realtor: "Oh that won't work at all. Perhaps you should try the discount Broker down the street? Of course if you do, you'll be blacklisted by all agents working for full-service Brokers."
Me: "Wow, that sounds like extortion, collusion and price-fixing. Are you sure about this?"
Realtor: "I didn't make the rules; it's always been this way. You gotta pay to play. Sorry it has to be this way. And don't forget that it's not all profit."
Me: "What do you mean?"
Realtor: "Well, the $7500 I make on the sale of your $500K house is my gross revenue. Out of that I have to pay for my expenses, like office supplies, advertising, that Mexican I have to hire to plant the For Sale sign trees, and of course my $70K Lexus, because all successful Realtors have hugely expensive luxury cars. Just take a look in any Real Estate office parking lot."
Me: "You're right, you're right! Here's my a$$, and here's the lube. Just keep smiling so I think you're on my side and maybe I won't notice."
* Location: Waaaay out here
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
PostingID: 537757828
RE: Realtor Rant (continued)
Reply to: pers-537757828@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-01-13, 10:15AM PST
Yes, there are greedy creep Realtors and there are also honest upstanding Realtors. I won't try to get into the ratio between the two groups. I will comment on the cost of the service, because I think that's what wrinkles people's gonads the most.
The standard cost for full-service Realty services is 6%. That's $18K on a $300K house. Its also $30K on a $500K house. Think about that - Thirty Thousand Dollars. What's the last thing you spent that much on? If I were to spend that amount on any other product, I'd probably have to finance it, 'cause I sure don't have that much money in my pocket.
This is how most listing discussions seem to go.
Me: "How much to list my house for sale with your Full-service broker?"
Realtor: "The standard charge is 6%, but we have to split that between the buyer's and seller's agents! We only get 3%."
Me: "Yes, that's the agreement, but I'm still paying thirty-effing thousand dollars here."
Realtor: "And don't forget we have to split that further - the Broker gets 1.5% and we get 1.5%."
Me: "Yes, that's the agreement, but I'm still paying THIRTY-EFFING THOUSAND DOLLARS HERE."
Realtor: "Well, everything is negotiable."
Me: "Alright, lets negotiate. How much are you willing to come down?"
Realtor: "Well, the Broker's 1.5% really isn't negotiable - and my 1.5% isn't really that much. Let's just not bother."
Me: "That's not much of a negotiation. How about if I give you a flat fee of $5000?"
Realtor: "Oh that won't work at all. Perhaps you should try the discount Broker down the street? Of course if you do, you'll be blacklisted by all agents working for full-service Brokers."
Me: "Wow, that sounds like extortion, collusion and price-fixing. Are you sure about this?"
Realtor: "I didn't make the rules; it's always been this way. You gotta pay to play. Sorry it has to be this way. And don't forget that it's not all profit."
Me: "What do you mean?"
Realtor: "Well, the $7500 I make on the sale of your $500K house is my gross revenue. Out of that I have to pay for my expenses, like office supplies, advertising, that Mexican I have to hire to plant the For Sale sign trees, and of course my $70K Lexus, because all successful Realtors have hugely expensive luxury cars. Just take a look in any Real Estate office parking lot."
Me: "You're right, you're right! Here's my a$$, and here's the lube. Just keep smiling so I think you're on my side and maybe I won't notice."
* Location: Waaaay out here
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
PostingID: 537757828
Comments
What I don't get is this:
How's that happen? Should I care? How does one buy a house without an agent? Online resources? Learning some of the legalese and other paperwork, etc? Is this actually a legitimate service these people actually do provide (for an obviously absurd rate)?
Not buying this year, or next, but was curious how this all works.