Do Realtors Make Too Much $$?

Recently, I was asked why realtors charge so much when homes are selling so fast now. I believe that we (realtors) spend too much effort making our job look easy.

Consider that we receive no salary or guaranteed income until the home sells. If
the sale falls through for any reason, all the time spent helping a client goes without compensation. You see 3% on a $400k home as $12k. Realtors don’t see it the same way. Our commission is paid:
• Before taxes
• Before broker splits
• Before marketing
• Before board dues
• Before office bills
• Before professional staging and photographs
• Before signage
• Before all the other costs of doing business

That’s not all. We aren’t afforded many things you enjoy at a 9-5 job. We don’t receive:
• Employer healthcare or matched
retirement accounts
• Paid vacations
• Weekends or nights off
• Maternity leave
• Bereavement pay/leave
• Company car

This all comes out of our pocket. A vast majority of real estate agents support their
families on what’s left after their benefits are taken out.

Yes, I choose to sell real estate. I love my career! It allows virtually uncapped growth and income potential. Yet, I need to be available any time of the day, whether it’s showing homes at 7pm, writing offers at 11pm, or doing final walkthroughs at 6am.

If you think realtors make too much money and aren’t needed, imagine if you had to do the following:

Get your real estate license, start generating leads, and find clients who trust you to
help them with the BIGGEST purchase of their lives.

Learn how to fill out contracts, and the legality regarding a written contract.

Compare multiple offers. Decide which one is strongest and most likely to close.
Negotiate inspections and demonstrate you are comparable to an appraiser so that s/he can see the value of a home.

When a deal is about to crash, keep it together with critical thinking skills, while staying within legal parameters. Educate your clients about what happens after they close.

Make dozens of phone calls, juggle appointments and follow ups. There’s a barrage of paperwork. Coordinate a smooth flow of information between multiple parties.
Finally, close on the home.

Now, facilitate the change of possession & utilities. Just because keys are transferred, you still aren’t finished. The difference between a good realtor and an excellent realtor is the care you give after the transaction is closed. In real estate, we don’t just help people buy/sell homes…we build relationships.

Then listen as others tell you the money you’ve been paid is WAY too much and
they could do what you’ve done for much, much less.

Exhausting, isn’t it?

More information is available at
www.learningtobuyahome.com.

Tracie DeMars 360-903-3504
traciedemars@aol.com

www.traciedemars.com