Buying a house sucks!!!

[evantwheeler]

I have done deals both ways. I used Realtor on this deal as I have worked with Her for 18 years. Me and my Fiancee did all the leg work and just had her write the offer. Probably would of got the house easier with out her as the selling Realtor would of double ended the deal. But in the end got it for less than asking thanks to our realtor. With numerous offers over.


That said. Majority of realtors are worthless. But a good Realtor is worth it for majority of people.


I have dealt with a lot of Realtors. Let alone worked for even more. Most never again. Few I do work for are great Realtors. They will go to bat for there clients years later. I get referred from them often. And here the stories first hand what they have done.

There are professionals and there are hacks in every industry. Professionals are worth their fees, hacks are not. I can f things up myself at no cost, it really sucks when you pay someone to f things up for you! In my experience, most folks on this website are professionals and likely take offense (mildly) to the comments being tossed around by others here because the comments do not reflect the value they would bring to many transactions. The other aspect is that there are also clients & sellers who suck, and no amount of professionalism brought to the transaction by a realtor can help, other than just steering clear of it all together.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Who was it on here that was offering 1% commissions for RDP members? It was awhile back and I remember it created a shit storm with other realtors who were members also...

I remember that and remember who…

 

[Gonefishin5555]

My realtor double ended my current house and she ate some commission to allow me to transfer my moms property tax base into the house. It was a beautiful thing and the ultimate fuck you to the thieves in Sacramento. Saves me a good 8K plus a year and allows me to enjoy the beautiful weather we have here without paying up the ass. Reading this thread she was worthless.

 

[RiverDave]

Question - In AZ is the RE commission on vacant land typically 10% and paid entirely by the seller? Isn't that a larger commission % than the sell of a house? If so, why?

When we purchased our LHC home the adjacent lot was vacant and available. But, the owner/seller apparently did not want a RE agent involved. Unfortunately, our home buying agent had contacted the owner of the vacant lot and inquired about it. We had not instructed him to do that. The owner basically told him to F off. Over a year went by and I get a phone call, direct from the owner of the lot, asking if we were still interested. I said, maybe. He gave me his price, I countered lower and we met in the middle, without any RE agent involved. The paper work was all handled by a local Title Company. It was quick and pain free. If that 10% commission on the sale of bare land was accurate, I can certainly understand why the seller did not want a RE agent involved. We did have the lot surveyed and the property line dots clearly established. We split the cost of that survey with the seller. The title company told us we were fortunate the seller shared that survey cost. They said in AZ a survey is not required. If true, I found that strange.

Typically land sales would be 3% per side just like any other RE deal. ??

 

[RiverDave]

Who was it on here that was offering 1% commissions for RDP members? It was awhile back and I remember it created a shit storm with other realtors who were members also...

A long time ago Toby offered that.. I still stand by that if you are doing it that cheap you can’t do it properly..

But alas there are people that work on cars in their yard and there are shops that work on them as well. It’s all in who you want to use.

If you guys knew the expenses that we pay you’d be mind blown.

Office rents
Lead generation
Real photography
Full time video guy on staff
Office managers
Printers / ink / and all that bullshit..

While everyone printed cash during Covid, in a normal market you have to work your ass off get get ahead.

I keep reading this “well my realtor made 40k and…”.

Nobody is talking about the expenses generated to even get the client.. the expenses generated to get the deal.. etc.. and if the market is slow those things add up over time.

Like I said to the other guy.. how much should I get paid? How much should a machine shop get paid? A boat sales guy or dealership? Etc..

If you want to do it right it isn’t cheap.

 

[hallett21]

A long time ago Toby offered that.. I still stand by that if you are doing it that cheap you can’t do it properly..

But alas there are people that work on cars in their yard and there are shops that work on them as well. It’s all in who you want to use.

If you guys knew the expenses that we pay you’d be mind blown.

Office rents
Lead generation
Real photography
Full time video guy on staff
Office managers
Printers / ink / and all that bullshit..

While everyone printed cash during Covid, in a normal market you have to work your ass off get get ahead.

I keep reading this “well my realtor made 40k and…”.

Nobody is talking about the expenses generated to even get the client.. the expenses generated to get the deal.. etc.. and if the market is slow those things add up over time.

Like I said to the other guy.. how much should I get paid? How much should a machine shop get paid? A boat sales guy or dealership? Etc..

If you want to do it right it isn’t cheap.

You should make equal to or less than your client

 

[rivermobster]

never even heard of this?


something to note this is my first time buying a house too

Before I bought my first house, I took the class the realtors take to get their license.

Learned a lot...

They covered loans and everything else. It was the Best move I ever made.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

I am trying to buy a house in st George and this now is the second one we lost. This one we really wanted and went 5k over ask to lock it up asap. The sellers went with another offer (same as ours) we would have gone up more given the chance. Maybe it’s me? My agent? But eff me this is sooo stupid.

Are all real estate agents this crappy? I mean I don’t play the game. I submit an offer either take it or counter. It’s that simple. I don’t want to wait 48 hours (in this case) only to find out that we didn’t get it?

It’s hard to not get emotional over the purchase tooz

Anyway rant off

I feel your pain. Buying a house does suck.

Last year we tried buying in CA and had zero negotiating power. Our offers were $100-$150k OVER ask..and we still lost. Most were gone after a week on the market..with no open house. If there was an open house, you had to hope you could get an appointment on the one weekend they were showing privately. After that experience, we decided to bail on CA and build in TX. The tides seem to be turning, hang in there.

 

[Danger Dave]

"It sucks to lose out on a house, but long term it's probably a blessing not to be close to LargeOrangeFont." - BingerFang

 

[Bpracing1127]

"It sucks to lose out on a house, but long term it's probably a blessing not to be close to LargeOrangeFont." - BingerFang

he is actually one of my good friends so being close to him would have been nice. Im not sure how he feels about me lol

 

[hawgty55]

It's like any industry. I've seen some great ones, and some not so great ones. The problem is that the barrier to entry is too low. It takes longer to go to cosmetology school. That's a problem when you are dealing with most people's biggest investment.

A good agent is worth their weight in gold.

What defines a good agent i guess would be my next question. On all my deals i find the house i find the area i come up with the price im paying attention to me and me alone. “Good” agents have multiple other clients. If i could gain entry into the propertys and submit my own offer I wouldn’t use one. Now to me the lender and the escrow office is Who's important the agent to me is just a messenger.

 

[RiverDave]

What defines a good agent i guess would be my next question. On all my deals i find the house i find the area i come up with the price im paying attention to me and me alone. “Good” agents have multiple other clients. If i could gain entry into the propertys and submit my own offer I wouldn’t use one. Now to me the lender and the escrow office is Who's important the agent to me is just a messenger.

Then you need to find a better agent.. because they should be finding your houses and showing you houses that you don’t have access too etc..
They should be watching and fighting for your interests along the way and getting you the best possible deal the market will bare. (In either direction). They should have enough pull that when the opposing party tries to screw you, that they think better of it, and make those problems disappear 🫠 n some cases when you aren’t even aware of it happening..

If they are passionate about their job generally speaking they are on the mls and other platforms from 6-7am to 11-12 at night everyday..

This thread is quite literally no diffeeent than saying “mechanics suck.. I can buy my own tools and fix it for half the price.” In some cases people do that.. in some cases it’s better to have a good mechanic.

For the peanut gallery, I went out and got a real estate license.. want to know what I figured out? I am not a great real estate agent..

For those that say they are worthless etc.. everyone is entitled to their opinions, but I’d have to disagree. I have been on both sides of the fence.

I’d smoke anyone ya ever met when it comes to a lot of things in life.. I figured out if you hire the right people, on their worst day they are better at it than I’ll ever be.


Just an fyi TRDP has I believe 15-20 “pocket listings” right now that are not on the mls, that are being shown to various clients if it fits their needs.

There is one of many things the DIY’s just can’t do.. for the naysayers I’d invite anyone of them to go spend a day or two with Stacy. She was gone before I took the kids to school at 7:30 am.. she still isn’t home. We were pretty selective in who we hired, and I am very confident in each one of their abilities and skill sets.

 

[hawgty55]

Then you need to find a better agent.. because they should be finding your houses and showing you houses that you don’t have access too etc..
They should be watching and fighting for your interests along the way and getting you the best possible deal the market will bare. (In either direction). They should have enough pull that when the opposing party tries to screw you, that they think better of it, and make those problems disappear 🫠 n some cases when you aren’t even aware of it happening..

If they are passionate about their job generally speaking they are on the mls and other platforms from 6-7am to 11-12 at night everyday..

This thread is quite literally no diffeeent than saying “mechanics suck.. I can buy my own tools and fix it for half the price.” In some cases people do that.. in some cases it’s better to have a good mechanic.

For the peanut gallery, I went out and got a real estate license.. want to know what I figured out? I am not a great real estate agent..

For those that say they are worthless etc.. everyone is entitled to their opinions, but I’d have to disagree. I have been on both sides of the fence.

I’d smoke anyone ya ever met when it comes to a lot of things in life.. I figured out if you hire the right people, on their worst day they are better at it than I’ll ever be.


Just an fyi TRDP has I believe 15-20 “pocket listings” right now that are not on the mls, that are being shown to various clients if it fits their needs.

There is one of many things the DIY’s just can’t do.. for the naysayers I’d invite anyone of them to go spend a day or two with Stacy. She was gone before I took the kids to school at 7:30 am.. she still isn’t home. We were pretty selective in who we hired, and I am very confident in each one of their abilities and skill sets.

Very good info. I actually have multiple agents from where im from they are some of if not the most productive agents in the area. Never had one have a pocket listing and believe me they always like to point outbthat there always working. But as most of us that grew up and working in the trenches and at all hours of the day have a hard time believing it’s tough to answer a phone or email from a lounge chair on the beach. And knowing multiple agents sometimes ones have there place better than others on different deals. Family and friends are tough to deal with in any dealings let alone a house transaction.

 

[PlumLoco]

We have had very good luck with Help U Sell. We post the signs and do the open house and a licensed Realtor makes sure the paperwork is right. We ignored a lot of his advice about remodeling first, instead just repainted all of the white inside so it looked real clean. The buyer was the second person through the door at the open house. She came back a second time with a close friend who was a realtor. That lady tried all kinds of shit to get involved with the deal. Told her to pound sand as the buyer came alone initially and we had no interest in paying her friend anything. In the end we won, and escrow closed in 30 days and I think the total fees paid to the Help-U-Sell realtor were around $2K.

 

[Caydens Cat]

A long time ago Toby offered that.. I still stand by that if you are doing it that cheap you can’t do it properly..

But alas there are people that work on cars in their yard and there are shops that work on them as well. It’s all in who you want to use.

If you guys knew the expenses that we pay you’d be mind blown.

Office rents
Lead generation
Real photography
Full time video guy on staff
Office managers
Printers / ink / and all that bullshit..

While everyone printed cash during Covid, in a normal market you have to work your ass off get get ahead.

I keep reading this “well my realtor made 40k and…”.

Nobody is talking about the expenses generated to even get the client.. the expenses generated to get the deal.. etc.. and if the market is slow those things add up over time.

Like I said to the other guy.. how much should I get paid? How much should a machine shop get paid? A boat sales guy or dealership? Etc..

If you want to do it right it isn’t cheap.

Not sure if that question was for me? From my first post I clearly stated “during this time”. You admit, the market sold itself and the industry printed money - especially RE.

In your example, how much you get paid is up to you and what the market will bear. You’re not going to make a product or service that costs $100 to MFG knowing the market will pay $75.

For traditional residential real estate there is basically a fixed cost of 5-6% to make a transaction (sellers cost).

Good job / bad job = 6%. But you don’t know until you’re knee deep in escrow.

Lots of effort with pics, video, virtual tour or taking pics from your phone & posting on Zillow = 6%.

100k house or 1M house = 6%

IMO, It’s an obsolete model from 40+ years ago. Think about it, pre 90’s… no email, digital photos, virtual tours, cell phones, INTERNET, etc. MLS access for members only - essentially the only conduit for finding a home to buy or sell.

Times have changed with alternative methods now available to buyers. I would have expected the real estate model would also change (%). It hasn’t. I can sit at home and screen houses in my underwear and decide to proceed or not. No longer is it solely up to having an agent drive me around on Saturday to take me to house(s) to view for the first time (that can only be known due to having an MLS membership). My decision today could largely be made before an agent is involved or I leave my house.

I personally benefit from this model - so it’s not out of bitterness I feel this way. In my own experience we have used RE agents for transactions. Granted, never at full commission.

It has been great to see Stacey/RDP Reality grow. I wish you guys the very best.

 

[RiverDave]

Not sure if that question was for me? From my first post I clearly stated “during this time”. You admit, the market sold itself and the industry printed money - especially RE.

In your example, how much you get paid is up to you and what the market will bear. You’re not going to make a product or service that costs $100 to MFG knowing the market will pay $75.

For traditional residential real estate there is basically a fixed cost of 5-6% to make a transaction (sellers cost).

Good job / bad job = 6%. But you don’t know until you’re knee deep in escrow.

Lots of effort with pics, video, virtual tour or taking pics from your phone & posting on Zillow = 6%.

100k house or 1M house = 6%

IMO, It’s an obsolete model from 40+ years ago. Think about it, pre 90’s… no email, digital photos, virtual tours, cell phones, INTERNET, etc. MLS access for members only - essentially the only conduit for finding a home to buy or sell.

Times have changed with alternative methods now available to buyers. I would have expected the real estate model would also change (%). It hasn’t. I can sit at home and screen houses in my underwear and decide to proceed or not. No longer is it solely up to having an agent drive me around on Saturday to take me to house(s) to view for the first time (that can only be known due to having an MLS membership). My decision today could largely be made before an agent is involved or I leave my house.

I personally benefit from this model - so it’s not out of bitterness I feel this way. In my own experience we have used RE agents for transactions. Granted, never at full commission.

It has been great to see Stacey/RDP Reality grow. I wish you guys the very best.

During Covid houses sold themselves.. so did trucks, boats, utvs, airplanes, helicopters, yachts, pretty much anything manufactured under the sun?? And I’m talking all industries.

95% of the people I know made more money in the last two years (regardless of industry) then they have for the previous 5-10 leading up to it.. how come you guys aren’t talking about that? Did you make more money during those times? Did you somehow magically change your biz model? Or was there just more money in the economy?

That’s caused by the never ending printing of money that came from our government.. they pumped trillions into the economy and everyone spent it, And now we are stuck with the repercussions of that which is called inflation.


As for the rest of the post I don’t mean to disagree but for most double end deals it’s my understanding that generally 1% is knocked off.. for most higher end transactions (which used to be about the million and above mark) 1% was usually knocked off. Etc..

To gets into the ins and outs of it you’d have to talk to my wife or one of the team.. I’m not a RE agent..

I can tell you though even in our team I watch the top producers and they work their asses off..

I Just find it wildly fascinating That people on rdp (which are generally people with dispensable income) are actually trying to determine what other people should be worth or not worth.. when by their own standards 98% of America would say every single person on here isn’t worth what they are paid. . Otherwise everyone would have boats and toys etc..

I personally believe that if you own your own business or are 1099 you are worth exactly what you know your worth, and what the market will bare to compensate for your time. It’s kind of the nature of capitalism.
I can bitch that a piece of plywood isn’t worth 95.00.. but the fact that I bought 12 of them kinda means that they are..

Or a prime example is most machine shops charge 125-150 an hr etc.. I was charging over ten times that for manual machining over 15 years ago, and people were happy to pay it.. ask yourself why? The answer to that is the point that I’m trying to make. I wasn’t your typical machine shop. I am sure though some would say “he isn’t worth that much” but all my customers at the time sure appreciated it, and honestly thought it was pretty cheap all things considering.

RD

 

[Bpracing1127]

Not sure if that question was for me? From my first post I clearly stated “during this time”. You admit, the market sold itself and the industry printed money - especially RE.

In your example, how much you get paid is up to you and what the market will bear. You’re not going to make a product or service that costs $100 to MFG knowing the market will pay $75.

For traditional residential real estate there is basically a fixed cost of 5-6% to make a transaction (sellers cost).

Good job / bad job = 6%. But you don’t know until you’re knee deep in escrow.

Lots of effort with pics, video, virtual tour or taking pics from your phone & posting on Zillow = 6%.

100k house or 1M house = 6%

IMO, It’s an obsolete model from 40+ years ago. Think about it, pre 90’s… no email, digital photos, virtual tours, cell phones, INTERNET, etc. MLS access for members only - essentially the only conduit for finding a home to buy or sell.

Times have changed with alternative methods now available to buyers. I would have expected the real estate model would also change (%). It hasn’t. I can sit at home and screen houses in my underwear and decide to proceed or not. No longer is it solely up to having an agent drive me around on Saturday to take me to house(s) to view for the first time (that can only be known due to having an MLS membership). My decision today could largely be made before an agent is involved or I leave my house.

I personally benefit from this model - so it’s not out of bitterness I feel this way. In my own experience we have used RE agents for transactions. Granted, never at full commission.

It has been great to see Stacey/RDP Reality grow. I wish you guys the very best.

Yep for me I have found every single house we have found. Agent is only there to let me in.



Now more to the story. I had my friend who is an agent in KY call the listing agent for the house we bid on. Basically expressing interest and the listing agent said it went under contract last night but welcome more offers. Still the whole thing is weird to me

 

[hallett21]

Yep for me I have found every single house we have found. Agent is only there to let me in.



Now more to the story. I had my friend who is an agent in KY call the listing agent for the house we bid on. Basically expressing interest and the listing agent said it went under contract last night but welcome more offers. Still the whole thing is weird to me

Get a new agent. Preferably one who does 20+ deals a year in the areas you want to live

 

[RiverDave]

Yep for me I have found every single house we have found. Agent is only there to let me in.



Now more to the story. I had my friend who is an agent in KY call the listing agent for the house we bid on. Basically expressing interest and the listing agent said it went under contract last night but welcome more offers. Still the whole thing is weird to me

Then I would tell you to find a better agent. They should be presenting you with options outside of what you can find on Zillow and working with other agents in the area etc..

I will freely say everybody and their brother has a real estate license now, so there is a lot of shitty ones out there which I’m guessing is where some of this sentiment is coming from.

RD

 

[RiverDave]

Get a new agent. Preferably one who does 20+ deals a year in the areas you want to live

Bingo

 

[NicPaus]

They will always welcome more offers. Always good to have back ups in case it falls out.

I would shit can your agent. If you are finding all the houses. More likely to get one by using the listing agent. Especially if houses are new and nothing to disclose.

 

[OCMerrill]

So I'm sitting here wondering how you two fine upstanding men know this?





Asking for a friend of course.

Go ride at the Coral Pinks except on your return back go through the Cane Beds.

Let me know how that goes.

 

[Your ad here]

During Covid houses sold themselves.. so did trucks, boats, utvs, airplanes, helicopters, yachts, pretty much anything manufactured under the sun?? And I’m talking all industries.

95% of the people I know made more money in the last two years (regardless of industry) then they have for the previous 5-10 leading up to it.. how come you guys aren’t talking about that? Did you make more money during those times? Did you somehow magically change your biz model? Or was there just more money in the economy?

That’s caused by the never ending printing of money that came from our government.. they pumped trillions into the economy and everyone spent it, And now we are stuck with the repercussions of that which is called inflation.


As for the rest of the post I don’t mean to disagree but for most double end deals it’s my understanding that generally 1% is knocked off.. for most higher end transactions (which used to be about the million and above mark) 1% was usually knocked off. Etc..

To gets into the ins and outs of it you’d have to talk to my wife or one of the team.. I’m not a RE agent..

I can tell you though even in our team I watch the top producers and they work their asses off..

I Just find it wildly fascinating That people on rdp (which are generally people with dispensable income) are actually trying to determine what other people should be worth or not worth.. when by their own standards 98% of America would say every single person on here isn’t worth what they are paid. . Otherwise everyone would have boats and toys etc..

I personally believe that if you own your own business or are 1099 you are worth exactly what you know your worth, and what the market will bare to compensate for your time. It’s kind of the nature of capitalism.
I can bitch that a piece of plywood isn’t worth 95.00.. but the fact that I bought 12 of them kinda means that they are..

Or a prime example is most machine shops charge 125-150 an hr etc.. I was charging over ten times that for manual machining over 15 years ago, and people were happy to pay it.. ask yourself why? The answer to that is the point that I’m trying to make. I wasn’t your typical machine shop. I am sure though some would say “he isn’t worth that much” but all my customers at the time sure appreciated it, and honestly thought it was pretty cheap all things considering.

RD

$1250 to $1500 an hour for machine work? What type of product was being machined that would cover that cost?

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

$1250 to $1500 an hour for machine work? What type of product was being machined that would cover that cost?

Going to take a stab and say government work…where a toilet seat “costs” $700.

 

[hallett21]

$1250 to $1500 an hour for machine work? What type of product was being machined that would cover that cost?

Military?

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

During Covid houses sold themselves.. so did trucks, boats, utvs, airplanes, helicopters, yachts, pretty much anything manufactured under the sun?? And I’m talking all industries.

95% of the people I know made more money in the last two years (regardless of industry) then they have for the previous 5-10 leading up to it.. how come you guys aren’t talking about that? Did you make more money during those times? Did you somehow magically change your biz model? Or was there just more money in the economy?

That’s caused by the never ending printing of money that came from our government.. they pumped trillions into the economy and everyone spent it, And now we are stuck with the repercussions of that which is called inflation.


As for the rest of the post I don’t mean to disagree but for most double end deals it’s my understanding that generally 1% is knocked off.. for most higher end transactions (which used to be about the million and above mark) 1% was usually knocked off. Etc..

To gets into the ins and outs of it you’d have to talk to my wife or one of the team.. I’m not a RE agent..

I can tell you though even in our team I watch the top producers and they work their asses off..

I Just find it wildly fascinating That people on rdp (which are generally people with dispensable income) are actually trying to determine what other people should be worth or not worth.. when by their own standards 98% of America would say every single person on here isn’t worth what they are paid. . Otherwise everyone would have boats and toys etc..

I personally believe that if you own your own business or are 1099 you are worth exactly what you know your worth, and what the market will bare to compensate for your time. It’s kind of the nature of capitalism.
I can bitch that a piece of plywood isn’t worth 95.00.. but the fact that I bought 12 of them kinda means that they are..

Or a prime example is most machine shops charge 125-150 an hr etc.. I was charging over ten times that for manual machining over 15 years ago, and people were happy to pay it.. ask yourself why? The answer to that is the point that I’m trying to make. I wasn’t your typical machine shop. I am sure though some would say “he isn’t worth that much” but all my customers at the time sure appreciated it, and honestly thought it was pretty cheap all things considering.

RD

Remember when I said everyone benefited from PPP if they took the money or not and people freaked out and had a fit .

 

[RiverDave]

$1250 to $1500 an hour for machine work? What type of product was being machined that would cover that cost?

Weapons for various governments ranging from the USA / Egypt / Singapore and others.

Sometimes I’d send them quotes and they would say “Dave you are way off.. you are like 1/3 the cost of everyone else”. So I’d say let me look at it again.. I’d tell Stacy to mark it up another 3 times and submit it.. They can’t take the cheapest quote.

 

[LuauLounge]

Back in the day of the X15, my uncle was a free lance machinist, watch maker and gun smith. He did a ton of Govt work. Guy got a contract to make thermocouples for the X15 project. He had to have my uncle working for him, as in, built him an 1800 house on the second floor, lower level was all open shop on an acre of land in the foothills, deeded to my uncle. Company lasted maybe 10 years, my uncle just continued on doing his side gigs.

You are right, you set the value of your work.

 

[JayBreww]

$1250 to $1500 an hour for machine work? What type of product was being machined that would cover that cost?

Boat stuff, you never saw the video?

 

[Joker]

Our kid bought her house with no realtor. The transaction was 100x easier.

 

[JM21]

Bingo

This helps for sure.

I’m going to save a bunch of breath on this thread and not try to defend why we make 2.5% to sell a house.

I am a top producer in Fallbrook and consistently top 10 in my brokerage out of 800+ agents year after year. I know what I’m worth, why I have multiple repeat clients, and have sold some of the most expensive homes in this zip code. I don’t need to defend.

Stacy and I could go on for days of why we are successful in this business but to most of you we open doors, write a contract, and get paid way to much. So far from the truth but to each their own.

 

[RiverDiva]

It’s bull shit. When they told me last night that there was another offer and they would decide today. I said bump it 5k and lock it in. He said wait and see what they come back with. Exactly what I didn’t want to happen

I didn’t read all the comments but a suggestion if you run into this again is an escalation clause. I will pay x amount over highest bonafide offer up to x amount. We had a solid run of these types of offers for the last 3 years. I imagine most agents have used this clause if they have done a few transactions in the last 2-3 years. If you ever need advice Ian just call me. I can always throw out ideas on how to win a deal. I like to win Sorry this happened to you. If you want me to go through my network to find you an agent that can fight for you, I’m happy to do that. Again call or text me anytime.
Stacy
Team RDP
928-706-4200

 

[lbhsbz]

On the subject of private party vs realtors…anyone who has tried to buy or sell anything on the private market knows the scams out there….I’d venture to say more scams than legitimate ads.

Without a managed platform (MLS) and licensed administrators (realtors, escrow people, etc)…I’d bet we’d see a whole lot of scams and a whole lot of people getting screwed out of real money.

 

[bocco]

While I'm not saying that a lot of real estate people don't work hard. I agree with the poster that said this is a broken system.

In a year or so I will be looking at selling 2 houses in Livermore. Both decent but average ranch style homes. At todays prices I would be looking at $100K in real estate fees. Thats if I get a 5% deal. That's just a lot of money.

I understand that the agents have to split it with a broker. Maybe that's the first part of the broken system. That still comes out to $25K per person.

So question to the real estate people. How much of that $25K gets spent on overhead and much do they keep (before taxes)?

 

[2FORCEFULL]

One of things I thought as well.they’re own religion is gonna come first vs someone not a part of the church.

I have a buddy that moved to bension az.... he put multible offers on property ythere with no luck...... he finally bought a lot in a mobile estate set up,... had to pour a slab and do the mobile set up.... no one would work for him because he wasn't a morman... and the inspectors did all possible to make sure nothing passed inspection....

had another buddy that moved to st george.. he was there about 2 years... his father in law was morman and help them get a home ... the daughter was jack morman and the dad thought that getter her back she would convert my buddy to morman.... the neighbors wouldn't let their kida play with his and they were shuned every where they went... his home was out in washington,... now that area is pretty much taken over by so cal... the builders just wanna sell so they let everyone in that area... but... it seems to be an older crowd... like in kids are raised and gone...

 

[COCA COLA COWBOY]

A long time ago Toby offered that.. I still stand by that if you are doing it that cheap you can’t do it properly..

But alas there are people that work on cars in their yard and there are shops that work on them as well. It’s all in who you want to use.

If you guys knew the expenses that we pay you’d be mind blown.

Office rents
Lead generation
Real photography
Full time video guy on staff
Office managers
Printers / ink / and all that bullshit..

While everyone printed cash during Covid, in a normal market you have to work your ass off get get ahead.

I keep reading this “well my realtor made 40k and…”.

Nobody is talking about the expenses generated to even get the client.. the expenses generated to get the deal.. etc.. and if the market is slow those things add up over time.

Like I said to the other guy.. how much should I get paid? How much should a machine shop get paid? A boat sales guy or dealership? Etc..

If you want to do it right it isn’t cheap.

We had a marketing campaign where the seller didn't pay any commissions at all, Zero "0" commissions. This was a radio marketing ad. When the market was hot, the buyers for those properties would pay commissions because they wanted properties and we would get a decent amount of the inventory. All our buyers sign a buyer representation agreement where compensation is agreed upon. I will say, the quality of those leads that came in were not the best. More time and headache would be needed to work with those clients, but we wanted to try new things.

At the end of the day, someone is paying commissions....it may even be equity from loss of marketing on their home.

 

[COCA COLA COWBOY]

While I'm not saying that a lot of real estate people don't work hard. I agree with the poster that said this is a broken system.

In a year or so I will be looking at selling 2 houses in Livermore. Both decent but average ranch style homes. At todays prices I would be looking at $100K in real estate fees. Thats if I get a 5% deal. That's just a lot of money.

I understand that the agents have to split it with a broker. Maybe that's the first part of the broken system. That still comes out to $25K per person.

So question to the real estate people. How much of that $25K gets spent on overhead and much do they keep (before taxes)?

Marketing is the expense for real estate. Here is what some agents are having to deal with...Believe it or not pending on the zip code, agents are spending $700-900 for one lead on Zillow in Southern California. Meaning that when someone goes on Zillow and puts their information on the right hand side to be contacted by a real estate professional, that information is being sold to agents for nearly $1000 in some cases. Much of those leads are fake, don't want to be contacted or already have an agent. Now that the market is changing, the ROI (Return on Investment) on those and all other leads are going down so that agent will most likely lose money and still have to fight to try and make his monthly back because he signed a contract.

The market will work itself out. Either agents in the future will be minimum wage employees that have no experience and all contracts will have no recourse for buyers or sellers. In this case, buyers and sellers will go online and a huge internet company will handle the transaction. Or, those companies will fold and we will go back to where we were 20 years ago. It will be interesting.

For those that say it can't happen...what happened to travel agents?

 

[2FORCEFULL]

Then you need to find a better agent.. because they should be finding your houses and showing you houses that you don’t have access too etc..
They should be watching and fighting for your interests along the way and getting you the best possible deal the market will bare. (In either direction). They should have enough pull that when the opposing party tries to screw you, that they think better of it, and make those problems disappear 🫠 n some cases when you aren’t even aware of it happening..

If they are passionate about their job generally speaking they are on the mls and other platforms from 6-7am to 11-12 at night everyday..

This thread is quite literally no diffeeent than saying “mechanics suck.. I can buy my own tools and fix it for half the price.” In some cases people do that.. in some cases it’s better to have a good mechanic.

For the peanut gallery, I went out and got a real estate license.. want to know what I figured out? I am not a great real estate agent..

For those that say they are worthless etc.. everyone is entitled to their opinions, but I’d have to disagree. I have been on both sides of the fence.

I’d smoke anyone ya ever met when it comes to a lot of things in life.. I figured out if you hire the right people, on their worst day they are better at it than I’ll ever be.


Just an fyi TRDP has I believe 15-20 “pocket listings” right now that are not on the mls, that are being shown to various clients if it fits their needs.

There is one of many things the DIY’s just can’t do.. for the naysayers I’d invite anyone of them to go spend a day or two with Stacy. She was gone before I took the kids to school at 7:30 am.. she still isn’t home. We were pretty selective in who we hired, and I am very confident in each one of their abilities and skill sets.

POCKET LISTINGS.....thats where i'm at right now.... my home was on the market for 6 mo... soon as it expired . my phome blows up every day... all say the same... why didn't your house sell??? I can get you a buyer, and I had a buyer for that type of property... I say, why didn't you bring the buyer to the title company???? how come I never got an offer.. pretty sure there was a few that wanted to do the wait and see , and get it cheeper when the prices drop.... we're in a weird market... not really a buyers or sellers market... so both sides are in the take it or leave it attitude.... it's hard for realtors to put a deal together right now when they are a cat thrown into a pit bull fight...

sellers know the prices are dropping, but still take the I not lowering the price.... I don't have to sell road.... and buyers are taking the keep low balling till some one caves in road... but,.. thats all gonna change.... builders are slowing down on the specs,... no one will build a home and sell it for less than it cost to build... maybe take a loss on the one they have built... but not do another.. this is gonna cause the housing shortage that is comming up quick.. cost to build will have to take a drastic drop compared to 6-10 mo. ago... suppy house will have to lower their price as inventory sets on the shelf .... lot prices will have to drop also.... so it's in a clouded market... is it a real buyers, or sellers market???? if theirs no inventory, it will be neither...

 

[2FORCEFULL]

I sold a house in havasu one time...it was on the market, and i owned the lot next to it.and i wanted to build on it... after thinking about it, I decided to pull the listing and put the house back up after the new house was built, it's the one that tom brown posted a pic of him pissing on the floor of my wifes new kitchen,,,, class act that guy....


anyway.... we pulled the listing... the next day while working on the yard 2 cars pulled up... this guy says he wanted to buy the house..... but didn't want to pay the RE fees... he makes an offer close to the listed price... and I told him I was gonna raise the price when it went back on the market, so he agreed to buy it for the old listed price... he was adamant that he was not gonna give realasnakes any of his money...he brought his RE with him.... his realtor wrote an offer... I took it to pioneer title.... I called my realtor and told her what I was doing,... she still got paid the same out of my proceeds... and his did a 1% deal... LOL, all I can say is.... Shit happens...


so what really happened was I got more for the house, and his re got less, and he paid the same...

 

[77charger]

I have a buddy that moved to bension az.... he put multible offers on property ythere with no luck...... he finally bought a lot in a mobile estate set up,... had to pour a slab and do the mobile set up.... no one would work for him because he wasn't a morman... and the inspectors did all possible to make sure nothing passed inspection....

had another buddy that moved to st george.. he was there about 2 years... his father in law was morman and help them get a home ... the daughter was jack morman and the dad thought that getter her back she would convert my buddy to morman.... the neighbors wouldn't let their kida play with his and they were shuned every where they went... his home was out in washington,... now that area is pretty much taken over by so cal... the builders just wanna sell so they let everyone in that area... but... it seems to be an older crowd... like in kids are raised and gone...

Kid that worked for us a while back we knew his parents. But they moved to st George in about 99-2000 he told me same kind of deal non Mormon so kids wouldn’t play or couldn’t hang out his dad tried to start an auto body shop no luck couldn’t find work I know times have change but the old crowd will not.

 

[Caydens Cat]

I personally believe that if you own your own business or are 1099 you are worth exactly what you know your worth, and what the market will bare to compensate for your time. It’s kind of the nature of capitalism.
I can bitch that a piece of plywood isn’t worth 95.00.. but the fact that I bought 12 of them kinda means that they are..

Or a prime example is most machine shops charge 125-150 an hr etc.. I was charging over ten times that for manual machining over 15 years ago, and people were happy to pay it.. ask yourself why? The answer to that is the point that I’m trying to make. I wasn’t your typical machine shop. I am sure though some would say “he isn’t worth that much” but all my customers at the time sure appreciated it, and honestly thought it was pretty cheap all things considering.

RD

My comment was not to question anyones “worth”.

Enjoy the rebuttal. Respectfully.

The difference if I captured your quote right - IMO there’s a fundamental difference between service and goods (eg. plywood). Definitely specialized service with tolerances command a premium (aerospace / DoD). And you dictated the price for the service.

I agree that one should know there self-worth (1099) or contribution to a goal -something I under estimated for far too long.

Back to the “standard” real estate transaction model. Your enterprise is doing well as the clients are pleased and it shows with the awesome videos and showings (and sales). BUT it’s still 3 or 6% commission for the sale. It’s a fixed model often independent of the price (more or less).

Mentioning capitalism, your efforts and excellent delivery deserves say 4%. But that is not the case, it’s still a fixed model. So you move more ”product” with great service and volume to grow.

That’s not capitalism, as YOU (enterprise) would define the profit. No?

 

[COCA COLA COWBOY]

My comment was not to question anyones “worth”.

Enjoy the rebuttal. Respectfully.

if I captured your quote right - IMO there’s a fundamental difference between service and goods (eg. plywood). Definitely specialized service with tolerances command a premium (aerospace / DoD). And you dictated the price for the service.

I agree that one should also know their self-worth (1099) or contribution to a goal -something I under estimated for far too long.

Back to the “standard” real estate transaction model. Your enterprise is doing well as the clients are pleased and it shows with the awesome videos and showings (and sales). BUT it’s still 3 or 6% commission for the sale. It’s a fixed model often independent of the price (more or less).

Mentioning capitalism, your efforts and excellent delivery deserves say 4%. But that is not the case, it’s still a fixed model. So you move more transactions with great service and volume to grow.

That’s not capitalism, as YOU (enterprise) would define the profit. No?

It's actually not a fixed model. It would be an anti trust issue if it was. There are participants that will sell your home for a fixed $500, 1%, 2%, 3%, but you would have to shop around for those options. The majority of brokerages do charge 5-6% due to overhead and opportunity costs.

The average agent in San Diego County sells 1.5 home a year. I am not part of that community, but this is an industry where the top 10% makes 90% of the money out there. With that said, to really make ends meet due to cost of living an agent really needs to sell 20 homes a year to have a decent life after expenses of fees, taxes, and other overhead. Some transactions take 40-60 hours of work. I have one right now that I have literally 300 hours into and I will be lucky to make $10/hour.

Many contractors and other industries cost $100-150/hour. Lawyers charge $250-500/hr. I would be more than happy to work for an hourly wage providing it makes sense for my family. However, if the home doesn't sell or the seller chooses not to sell or the buyer chooses not to buy, I would still want to be paid those hours/that wage. That doesn't happen in Real Estate. If we spend hundreds of hours and it doesn't happen, we are upside down.

The model as we know it was created out of supply and demand. I honestly think if it changes, it will not benefit the consumers....it's going to benefit large corporations. At first it may benefit the consumer, but history dictates that consumers always lose in the end. Remember when Uber was super cheap and the way to go. Well, now its more expensive than the cab companies.

 

[RiverDave]

While I'm not saying that a lot of real estate people don't work hard. I agree with the poster that said this is a broken system.

In a year or so I will be looking at selling 2 houses in Livermore. Both decent but average ranch style homes. At todays prices I would be looking at $100K in real estate fees. Thats if I get a 5% deal. That's just a lot of money.

I understand that the agents have to split it with a broker. Maybe that's the first part of the broken system. That still comes out to $25K per person.

So question to the real estate people. How much of that $25K gets spent on overhead and much do they keep (before taxes)?

It depends on the splits and who’s doing what etc.. I am honestly thinking about starting a thread describing what it is a realtor actually does..

 

[RiverDave]

$1250 to $1500 an hour for machine work? What type of product was being machined that would cover that cost?

I can tell ya stories where all I did was wait an hour, type up another email and made 10-15k in a span of 30 seconds..

 

[LuauLounge]

“Most people are too busy earning a living to make any money.”

Heard this many years ago

 

[RiverDave]

My comment was not to question anyones “worth”.

Enjoy the rebuttal. Respectfully.

The difference if I captured your quote right - IMO there’s a fundamental difference between service and goods (eg. plywood). Definitely specialized service with tolerances command a premium (aerospace / DoD). And you dictated the price for the service.

I agree that one should know there self-worth (1099) or contribution to a goal -something I under estimated for far too long.

Back to the “standard” real estate transaction model. Your enterprise is doing well as the clients are pleased and it shows with the awesome videos and showings (and sales). BUT it’s still 3 or 6% commission for the sale. It’s a fixed model often independent of the price (more or less).

Mentioning capitalism, your efforts and excellent delivery deserves say 4%. But that is not the case, it’s still a fixed model. So you move more ”product” with great service and volume to grow.

That’s not capitalism, as YOU (enterprise) would define the profit. No?

Where did you come up with the arbitrary number of 4%?

Let’s say you want to sell your boat.. for an easy number we will call it 100k. I am using the boat as something we can all relate too.

You got dickweed down the street that says he can do it.. he’s gonna do it for 500.00.

Now you have a starting brokerage and they are going to do it for 5%

Now you have an established brokerage and they are going to do it for 7%

And another established guy and he’s gonna do it for 10%


Dickweed shows up.. he’s got his I phone 4 in his hand.. he checks out the boat and starts taking pics. He doesn’t notice that he left shoe prints all over the interior.. he doesn’t move the life jackets.. he doesn’t clean the bilge.. he takes his shitty pictures that are kinda half blurry.. he writes some description that entails. 25 Daytona Merc 502 - 100k. Now low ballers..

In 30 days he’s gonna tell you the boat isn’t moving and we should lower the price to 75k (you just lost 25% of your value by the way) plus his 500 bucks..

You got starting brokerage guy. He shows up.. he’s gonna try harder. He’s moving the life jackets, he takes some better pics.. he’s gonna write a nice description, but he’s gonna leave it in your garage..

He’s getting some interest.. but the buyers show up and he’s fucking around trying to get into your garage.. it’s kinda awkward everyone being at some random guys house, or storage unit.. you get in it’s a little dark in there.. the boats dusty AF.. hey raise the engine hatch? It doesn’t go up the batteries are dead.. what’s that smell? Some rat crawled in there and died? (Ok now I’m joking).. seriously though how would he know about the batteries? He hasn’t laid eyes in this thing since he took the pictures and he didn’t know to turn the batteries off and there’s a slight draw..

He returns and says “I got buyers but they are at 80”. Now you have lost 20% plus his 5%

Now you got your 7%.. He shows up he has the boat washed, takessome nice pics in a parking lot.. he places the add in all the right spots.. he leaves the boat in the storage unit.. maybe runs into the same problems but his experience and salesmanship pull through..

I got guys we are at 90k.. I think you should take it.. now you the seller lost 10% plus the 7% of the 90.


Then you got your final guy.. he’s got a building in a high traffic part of town.. he gets the boat detailed, he’s got a lot porter that is wiping these things down once a week.. hey that batteries dead? No problem they either charge it back up and turn the batteries off or replace the battery. Hey that tires low? No problem.. The brokerage has their in house photographer shoot professional grade pics.. they don’t write a description they are selling the dream..

In the meantime they don’t have their one or two guys show up. They have traffic in their building, they have placed the ads on all the right spots..

They have a ton of interest in the boat.. Got a ton of people that want it but just can’t quite swing 110k. (Did you catch that?)

No problem sir step into our finance department and we will get you sorted.

Now he financed someone for 110.. he made his 10, made some $$ on the financing.. the new owner is happy because he got his dream and the payments are workable for his situation..

You the owner walked off with 100k..

That in a nutshell is no difference to what we are talking about. If you don’t know how to market shit and sell shit than it will cost you or the seller more in the long run than any % of the sale. Doesn’t matter if it’s cars, boats, houses, land, yachts etc..

To relate that to real estate.. there’s lots of people out there that show up to a house with a cell phone. Even more that show up with the professional photographer that charges a whole 75.00 and includes a drone shot.. both of those nimwits will place it on the mls and come back with “hey we aren’t seeing a lot of action let’s lower the price”

Then there’s guys that advertise the houses and themselves in various trade magazines.. Then a step further into publications for the general public..


Speaking for us only, we use the same photographers that we use for motorsports. The same videographer (in house) that we use for motorsports.. (both of those are inherently expensive, but necessary to show the product in its best possible light). We exhibit at every major show (larger reach), we advertise in trade pics publications , general public magazines, we advertise on every major online platform.. and the kicker? We have rdp which reaches 140-160,000 people a month.. we also have other independent platforms that we own like fb groups, and IG pages etc (I am speaking outside of RDP’s) and finally we have rdp fb group that we put the listings in. Then not to sound arrogant but ya got me out there making the videos describing what I see as the sales points if I was going to buy it, and I’m pretty good at finding positives and being confident on camera.

It’s a numbers game.. the more people you reach the better the odds are you are going to find a match, or find someone’s dream.

Marketing isn’t part of it, it is quite literally all of it.

I’m selling my pontoon right now.. I curbed my wheels pretty good the other day.. would you sell it as is? Or would you throw a set of better wheels and tires on it?

If you said well it’s a little rash (and it honestly isn’t that bad) your losing money.

New wheels and tires will be here Thursday. I’m not going to lose 10k because it didn’t show right for 2600 bucks to make it better than new. Especially when I can raise the price because of the upgrade.

RD

 

[RiverDave]

“Most people are too busy earning a living to make any money.”

Heard this many years ago

Bingo

 

[hallett21]

Where did you come up with the arbitrary number of 4%?

Let’s say you want to sell your boat.. for an easy number we will call it 100k. I am using the boat as something we can all relate too.

You got dickweed down the street that says he can do it.. he’s gonna do it for 500.00.

Now you have a starting brokerage and they are going to do it for 5%

Now you have an established brokerage and they are going to do it for 7%

And another established guy and he’s gonna do it for 10%


Dickweed shows up.. he’s got his I phone 4 in his hand.. he checks out the boat and starts taking pics. He doesn’t notice that he left shoe prints all over the interior.. he doesn’t move the life jackets.. he doesn’t clean the bilge.. he takes his shitty pictures that are kinda half blurry.. he writes some description that entails. 25 Daytona Merc 502 - 100k. Now low ballers..

In 30 days he’s gonna tell you the boat isn’t moving and we should lower the price to 75k (you just lost 25% of your value by the way) plus his 500 bucks..

You got starting brokerage guy. He shows up.. he’s gonna try harder. He’s moving the life jackets, he takes some better pics.. he’s gonna write a nice description, but he’s gonna leave it in your garage..

He’s getting some interest.. but the buyers show up and he’s fucking around trying to get into your garage.. it’s kinda awkward everyone being at some random guys house, or storage unit.. you get in it’s a little dark in there.. the boats dusty AF.. hey raise the engine hatch? It doesn’t go up the batteries are dead.. what’s that smell? Some rat crawled in there and died? (Ok now I’m joking).. seriously though how would he know about the batteries? He hasn’t laid eyes in this thing since he took the pictures and he didn’t know to turn the batteries off and there’s a slight draw..

He returns and says “I got buyers but they are at 80”. Now you have lost 20% plus his 5%

Now you got your 7%.. He shows up he has the boat washed, takessome nice pics in a parking lot.. he places the add in all the right spots.. he leaves the boat in the storage unit.. maybe runs into the same problems but his experience and salesmanship pull through..

I got guys we are at 90k.. I think you should take it.. now you the seller lost 10% plus the 7% of the 90.


Then you got your final guy.. he’s got a building in a high traffic part of town.. he gets the boat detailed, he’s got a lot porter that is wiping these things down once a week.. hey that batteries dead? No problem they either charge it back up and turn the batteries off or replace the battery. Hey that tires low? No problem.. The brokerage has their in house photographer shoot professional grade pics.. they don’t write a description they are selling the dream..

In the meantime they don’t have their one or two guys show up. They have traffic in their building, they have placed the ads on all the right spots..

They have a ton of interest in the boat.. Got a ton of people that want it but just can’t quite swing 110k. (Did you catch that?)

No problem sir step into our finance department and we will get you sorted.

Now he financed someone for 110.. he made his 10, made some $$ on the financing.. the new owner is happy because he got his dream and the payments are workable for his situation..

You the owner walked off with 100k..

That in a nutshell is no difference to what we are talking about. If you don’t know how to market shit and sell shit than it will cost you or the seller more in the long run than any % of the sale. Doesn’t matter if it’s cars, boats, houses, land, yachts etc..

To relate that to real estate.. there’s lots of people out there that show up to a house with a cell phone. Even more that show up with the professional photographer that charges a whole 75.00 and includes a drone shot.. both of those nimwits will place it on the mls and come back with “hey we aren’t seeing a lot of action let’s lower the price”

Then there’s guys that advertise the houses and themselves in various trade magazines.. Then a step further into publications for the general public..


Speaking for us only, we use the same photographers that we use for motorsports. The same videographer (in house) that we use for motorsports.. (both of those are inherently expensive, but necessary to show the product in its best possible light). We exhibit at every major show (larger reach), we advertise in trade pics publications , general public magazines, we advertise on every major online platform.. and the kicker? We have rdp which reaches 140-160,000 people a month.. we also have other independent platforms that we own like fb groups, and IG pages etc (I am speaking outside of RDP’s) and finally we have rdp fb group that we put the listings in. Then not to sound arrogant but ya got me out there making the videos describing what I see as the sales points if I was going to buy it..

It’s a numbers game.. the more people you reach the better the odds are you are going to find a match, or find someone’s dream.

Marketing isn’t part of it, it is quite literally all of it.

I’m selling my pontoon right now.. I curbed my wheels pretty good the other day.. would you sell it as is? Or would you throw a set of better wheels and tires on it?

If you said well it’s a little rash.. your losing money. New wheels and tires will be here Thursday. I’m not going to lose 10k because it didn’t show right for 2600 bucks to make it better than new. Especially when I can raise the price because of the upgrade.

RD

Can I like this twice?

 

[gqchris]

My realtor double ended my current house and she ate some commission to allow me to transfer my moms property tax base into the house. It was a beautiful thing and the ultimate fuck you to the thieves in Sacramento. Saves me a good 8K plus a year and allows me to enjoy the beautiful weather we have here without paying up the ass. Reading this thread she was worthless.

My realtor friend constantly gives back cash to the seller/buyer whatever. Its all smoke and mirrors because he is still making 40+k on a simple So Cal deal and everyone is happy because "value" is just a perception to the buyer no matter how the pricing is.

This same friend also tells me its a great time to buy a house. LOL

 

[RiverDave]

My realtor friend constantly gives back cash to the seller/buyer whatever. Its all smoke and mirrors because he is still making 40+k on a simple So Cal deal and everyone is happy because "value" is just a perception to the buyer no matter how the pricing is.

This same friend also tells me its a great time to buy a house. LOL

I’m curious as to how he markets the house.. because it sounds like price point and kickbacks from your post..