This is how I felt |
Her: must be nice to not work
Me: I'm sorry, what do you mean?
Her: Well, you don't work anymore, right?
Me: You know I do real estate full time, right?
Her: Well Yes, but you don't really work.
Me: Ohhhh, you must mean that I only work 7 days/week, answer my phones 7 days/week most after hours, schedule and host open houses, write and negotiate contracts for my clients, show homes to my buyers, give financial advice regarding buying and selling, work with lenders and attorneys, walk clients through the mortgage process, do final walk-throughs, problem solve all the time, do social media, write a blog, review the market on a daily basis, work with professional photographers, be on call 24/7, schedule home inspections and other necessary inspections, go to conferences to make sure I am the best I can be, take continuing education classes, work with new agents, market and advertise my business and I'm sure a few hundred other things.
Her: Have a good day
Me: You too
This got me thinking - I understand the public is relatively uneducated in the world of real estate which is why I do what I do - to ensure you get a good deal and close on your home. Is that what people think of real estate agents? Do you think we don't do anything and then get overpaid. Guess What - The real world is not HGTV or Bravo channel. I had a conversation with a young man one time who wanted me to drop my commission. I asked him if he walked into work one day and his boss said to him, "Good morning - we think you make too much money and we're going to drop your salary just because" how would that make him feel. He ended up going with another agent to list that property (someone who was willing to get less which probably meant less service) and lo and behold that property did not sell. We don't walk into your places of employment and tell you you get paid too much and that I can do it better. If people can sell houses better than agents why do over 90% of For Sale By Owners list with an agent? We are not perfect and most of us in this business to help you.
Do you realize at the end of the day we get paid a LOT less than you think. Just because you may see a large number on the closing documents does not mean we get paid that. I do not charge you for any advertising or marketing fees, open house supplies, Facebook ads, copies and brochures, signs, etc. That all comes out of the commission and I also then have to pay my brokerage a substantial percentage of my commission. By the end I may be making 1.5% commission on the sale price. Do the math - on a $200,000 I will probably walk away with $3k. That amount comes after 30-60 days of me working on your behalf. The average agent does less than 3 deals/year in the US. I'm grateful I am way above average!
Palmetto dream homes does a lot for you |
Contact us today to see how we Do Real Estate Differently.
We represent buyer's and sellers in and around SC. We also love what we do so let us help you buy or sell.
-Jason Gregg, Realtor
843.696.8627