Original Title: A Realtor is Not Your Verbal Punching Bag
When I took my classes to get my real estate license, the instructor told us that listing a home is the best way to go. You just walk in, say hello, do some paperwork, do some marketing, and when a contract comes in you present it, negotiate, and you’re done. That instructor is a well-respected broker in this area, but I couldn’t disagree with him more.
I have never had problems with my buyers. Never ever. In fact, I closed a house this morning with someone who was very thoughtful, courteous, and kind. This afternoon, however, was a different story. My knees are still shaking from the verbal abuse that was yelled from my seller. While he accused me of all kinds of heinous things, I was proud that I was able to defend myself against every accusation.
When he left, I went immediately to my broker and told him what happened. I’m sure I was a lighter shade of pale as I told him about the seller. He reassured me that my actions were correct, but warned that we may end up in court.
Did I ever tell you about the seller who threw a pen at me? He was angry (just as this seller was) about paying a commission. Let me clear the air right here for sellers…
When you sell your house through a Realtor, you will generally pay a commission.
The commission is not paid by the buyer unless it’s negotiated at the time of the offer. Typically, though, the commission is almost always negotiated during the listing appointment and paid by the seller. It’s clearly written in the contract. And YES, your agent did explain that to you.
When you bought the house, you might not have paid a commission. That’s because the seller paid the commission. And if afer we close I find that my sign is damaged or destroyed, I’ll ask you to reimburse me for replacement costs. (Nods to Kathy H.)
Ay yi yi yi yi yi.
This rant is now over, too.
Technorati Tags: buyer commission, house selling commission, seller commissionAdd to:
Good for you Kathy for standing up for yourself. I always tell my buyer's agents to count their blessings being in the position that they are in.
When working with a buyer, the agent is often the hero since the buying process is usually a happy experience, the buyers don't have to pay for our services and have little stress involved other than writing a check for the next 30 years.
However the job of a listing agent (much to the contrary of that crazy broker you mentioned who said its a cake walk) is often a no win situation.
We often get the job of going in and telling a seller hard truths such as the fact that their home is not worth what they think it is worth, that it isn't as nice as they think (dated), that they need to spend money to make it marketable (take off the 20 year old wall paper and replace the orange shag carpet) and pay me a sizable amount out of the proceeds that you will barely have left over when you close escrow.
As you can gather, the job of a listing agent is a thankless one. But where would they be without us?
Posted by: Kathy Helbig | July 30th, 2008 4:12 pm |
I've spoken with him a couple of times today - with my heart racing. He has calmed down and seems somewhat human again. We close tomorrow. Pray for me, my friends.
Posted by: Kathy T. | July 30th, 2008 5:04 pm |