February 18th, 2022 7:32 PM by Linda Holley
Yesterday, 2,100 people read my blog! THANK YOU! So tell me, who's moving next and let me help them find a good Realtor.
Do you understand real estate discount brokerages and other brokerages that offer 100% commission to their agents? Most people, even those in real estate, don't!
Discount Brokerages:
What is a "discount real estate brokerage"? According to NerdWallet.com, "Discount brokers offer lower commission rates to sellers but vary in their fee structures and the range of services they provide." Generally, discount brokers cut corners, offer concessions, and handle low tier properties and serve For Sale by Owners.
100% Brokerages - are NOT discount brokers!
- My license is with Fine Properties, a 100% brokerage offering full service to sellers and buyers. Our office fees are extremely affordable.
- One national real estate franchise (RE/MAX) offers agents 100% commission and also provides full service to their clients and customers. They have franchise fees and their agents pay steep office fees.
Realtors and consumers have the opportunity to shop around for different levels of service and fees. Many sellers call four or five agents from local brokerages, listen to listing presentations and learn about the various the tools and connections we have to market their properties. Some agents attend listing presentations with an expensive bottle of wine (not me), and others may have already built a website for that property. Sellers have the opportunity to see how the different brokerages have performed in different price points. This is the normal process. However, it's important to know that when agents are clamoring for business, many tell sellers that 100% brokerages are discount brokerages and not full service. They will also say that we will discount the price of their home during negotiations with buyers. I know this because I have worked for some of the large brokerages and have heard these things in weekly meetings. I think that this is both untrue and unfair to their competition.
The important thing for sellers to remember is that most companies in town are full-service brokerages and most Realtors are ethical and won't discount their home in negotiations just to get the deal closed. We all put listings in MLS and the worldwide web. We all have open houses and return our phone calls promptly.
I was happy to have my license with Harry Norman Realtors in Atlanta. It was a full-service brokerage like other brokerages in Sarasota. I moved to Fine Properties because this brokerage is well known and branded in Sarasota, Venice, and Bradenton. We sold over $1 billion last year, so the growth is definitely here.
On Branding: In my 32-year federal civil service career, I worked for US Army Forces Command in Atlanta. General Colin Powell was our Commanding General. Of course, he lived on post at Fort McPherson, like the other senior military staff, who were brought to work by their drivers in military sedans. Everyone except for General Powell. He drove the old family 1980 Dodge station wagon and parked it in parking space #1. One day the MPs had it towed in because they thought it didn't belong there. We laughed for days. General Powell did not attend West Point-- he'll laugh and say that he couldn't have gotten in. He went to college and learned leadership from ROTC. General Powell was not West Point-branded, not a "ring-knocker." But he was hard working, smart, simple, and knew how to take care of his people. He was one of the best leaders we ever had at the headquarters.
Don't be fooled by the brand of a national or premier real estate brokerage. All agents go to the real estate school, some of us pass the test, and we take our continuing education courses. We try to abide by the Realtor Code of Ethics. I would never treat one client different or discount the price of a home in negotiations and don't know any other agents in this town who would. So how do you choose a good Realtor to sell your home? Find someone you like, someone with a good resume, and who will take the time to help you get your home staged. Remember, photography is everything!
Some business owners are driven by profit while others are devoted to helping their own people succeed. That's why I'm with a brokerage that allows me to keep 100% of my commission today. My broker, Shaun Peens, is brilliant and always there when I need him. I also had my license with PalmerHouse Properties (now HomeSmart). My former broker, Larry Waters, is also brilliant and always had the answers I needed. Both brokerages are full-service and I'm very thankful for Shaun and Larry and the financial advantage I finally have by increasing my commission split from 65% to 100%.
My book, Diary of a Real Estate Investor, will be out in paperback in about 8 weeks. The genre is women's fiction, based on a true story. Nell Hill was on vacation in northern Wyoming, walked into a national brokerage she knew from buying/selling homes in Atlanta, and met a new, untrained agent who talked the talk. Nell bought two ski condos under construction which were deceptively marketed and poorly built for a high alpine environment. She almost lost her life up on the mountain in a propane fire in the middle of the night. It's a story that lays out the investment property buying process and the "red flags" indicating when it's time for buyers to get out.
There are other books with this title, and that's ok. Be sure to get the one by Nell Hill. Thank you, Linda and Dick, my first editors, who took a chronology of events and turned facts into a novel. You'll be able to buy this book on Amazon, Books a Million, Barnes and Noble, to name a few.
Please call Linda Holley, Realtor, GRI, SRES, Fine Properties, Sarasota, Florida, if you have any questions about real estate. 941-914-4914.
www.LindaHRealtor.com
Most sincerely yours,
Linda
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