I am thankful for those who appreciate me.
I am thankful I have a way to make a difference.
I am thankful sometimes I make a living by working.
I am thankful I can persist.
I am thankful I always have choices.
A week or so ago, someone shared someone else's opinion with me, that they thought that realtors make too much money. I laughed out loud. I can understand how it may seem like realtors just show people some properties, fill out a few papers and collect a check. I'd like to clear up a few misconceptions. Let's just start with that check. Nothing but the money.
A realtor's commission can be anywhere from 1 or 2% up to 10% of the sales price. The circumstances vary greatly and no one sets the commission but the agent themselves. My typical fee is 6%. To make the numbers easy, let's say it's a $100,000 home. Woohoo! I get $6000! Right? Wrong!!!
Usually, there is another agent involved. So, it gets split in half, right off the top. Then I pay a franchise fee, a broker fee, and Errors and Omissions insurance for each transaction. At this point, I am very close to $2000. Well, hey, that's still a lot of money for driving people around and doing paperwork. I paid for my own gas. I pay for a website every month. I pay for membership in our local Multiple Listing Service. I am required to belong to local, state, and national boards. And there is advertising, printing costs, a business phone, a computer, printer (these have to be replaced periodically), professional clothes, lock boxes, signs, office supplies, and so forth.
If I have regular sales coming in month after month after month, I can actually make a little bit of money. Twice in my 7 years, I have gone nearly a year with no sales, AND I WAS WORKING. Which means, I was taking clients out, I had all my expenses, I had listings. But they weren't selling, or after several months of work, a client is disqualified in some part of the loan process. Or, a seller would not agree to a requested repair after inspection. Or, a defect is found in the final walk through and the buyer cancels. Or, an appraiser values the home lower than expected and no one can come to an agreement. Or, the title company discovers a defect that can't be corrected. Or some party in the transaction is just a plain pain in the butt and wrecks the whole thing.
I have 2 associates in my office who just shared a ONE PER CENT COMMISSION.
Do I have the occasional deal where I either get both sides of the transaction (I represent the buyer and the seller) and get the whole enchilada? Yes! Do I have the OCCASIONAL deal where everything goes like clock work and I fall on my knees at the end in gratitude and seriously praise my Provider? Yes! But that is really the exception to what has become the rule in real estate since 2008.
I remember when I first started, I was working 20-30 hours a week sitting at a subdivision. After 4 months, I was averaging .25 cents an hour. Yeah, that stopped.
Let's talk about all the moving parts. Me the realtor. My broker. Our office. The seller. The buyer. The other office. The other broker. The other agent. The title company. The lender. The appraiser. The inspector. And those are just the bare bones. Throw in an occasional nosey, controlling relative, a long line of other inspectors and repair people, and it's a recipe for disaster.
And what about those great hours I keep? I can work whenever I want. Yes. And no. I try as much as I can to organize my schedule around my family, my children, and our events. But it's not unusual to get a call at 7 am or 9 pm. This still really confuses me. Do people not understand business hours? Because you need to actually earn an income, sometimes you take the calls. Then there's the times you are going out of town (nearly every time) and someone wants to make an offer or list a house or see property. Now you have to bend yourself into a pretzel and get your agent friends to cover you and hope that they'll still be your client when it's all over. Not because your fellow agents aren't amazing which they are, but you do what is best for your client, not you.
Including waving good bye to them when you spent all that time and they went and bought a FSBO.
Including doing more than extra work when your client has a tragedy.
Including maintaining your ethics and integrity when others don't care about theirs.
Including being respectful of uninformed opinions when you've been hired as the professional.
Including, waking up another day, and being hopeful after a client you've spent months with simply won't return your phone calls.
Including being gracious when others slander you or step beyond their professional bounds.
Including using thousands and thousands of minutes every month on your phone and 90% of them aren't conversations with the people you love most.
No, I just can't agree that realtors make too much money. The stuff I CAN'T say would really make you wonder why I'm still in. Suffice it to say it's the stuff that people threaten. The liability and risk I face every day just trying to help others make the biggest decisions of their lives as consumers.
What keeps me going? Sometimes I do make money. And it funds several months for one of my missionaries. Or it takes us on a vacation. Or it pays a hospital or other bill. Or it helps us achieve a goal. Or it gets us to the end of the month.
But the real pay and maybe why I just can't stop, (esp since every time I try business shows up), is helping people make the most important purchase or sale of their lives. Most people are truly grateful. Most people are truly appreciative. Every once in awhile someone recognizes that you have put everything you have in your heart and soul into a transaction to save it. Sometimes nobody actually knows how much you put your heart and soul into it. There are quiet moments where you have the opportunity to share what I call sacred space. Yes, it can happen in real estate. Because buying and selling of homes doesn't happen in a vacuum. It happens while people live. During births, during deaths, during job changes, during divorces, during stresses. Sometimes people share their hearts. And it's more than just a transaction. It's the lives of people you serve. That's what I like the most. No, I probably will not get paid more. The average person will never appreciate the lengths I've gone to. They'll just see a percentage, and think I'm swimming in the cash. In the end, that's ok.
I'll be in real estate as long as I need to be in real estate. When I don't need to anymore, I won't. Until then, I'll enjoy what I can.
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