Would you interview two RE agents from the same company (different offices/ teams)?
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Anonymous
| We are looking at our first home purchase, but have not engaged a buyer's agent. We have been browsing open houses and met a few agents. Now, we are setting up interviews with a small handful. Should we avoid talking to two agents from different offices, but who are both say Long & Foster or REMax or Coldwell Banker? I just don't know what sort of relationship those agents might share or whatever. I don't know if they are totally independent businesses that just license the big name or how that works. |
RealtorDAD
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I can answer you question. I am a realtor in DC and VA, my broker is Keller Williams Metro Center. I am on a team: Mitch Curtis Homes, and frequently have transactions with other agents in my broker. It is to your advantage, the the ethics laws prevent them from disclosing any details about "your" side of the deal. The advantage to having agents in the same broker is faster closing, no hiccups, and a smoother process overall.
If you want to interview one more, let me know and I'll show you what I can offer. I LOVE working with first time home buyers. Best, Brendon Mills Brendon@MitchCurtisHomes.com |
Anonymous
Thank you for the the reply. I am not sure that I made my question clear, but having this might make it easier. If we had already met with a Keller Williams agent from another team, say Bob McExample Homes, would you have any concerns about meeting with us to discuss repping us as buyers? Assume that we have made no commitment to anyone. |
RealtorDAD
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I would have no concerns at all. At KW specifically, each team is run as an independent business. Each team has different areas of expertise.
It is in YOUR best interest to interview many agents and go with the one that feels right. Remember that you don not pay buyers agents, our commission comes from the sellers agreement with the listing agent. My team charges an administration fee at closing, $295, that is it. Be wary of agents that request a retainer fee. I hope to hear from you, Brendon Mills Brendon@MitchCurtisHomes.com |
Anonymous
Be wary of agents who charge an “administrative fee” of $295. If you purchase an $800,000 home. The buyer agent’s Company (not the team) is getting $16,000 to $24,000 in commission. Why do you have to pay them an additional $295? |
RealtorDAD
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Any buyers agent, has to split the commission with his or her broker, typically 30%, and then with their team (30-40%). Administration fees are very common place, if you take the time to read the large amount of paperwork at closing. I feel it is important to be up front and honest. On an $800,00 house, it only costs you $295 for the transaction. |
Anonymous
OP, you should never pay that "admin fee" Brendon is talking about. It's his fee that the agency charges him, not you, and he's passing it along to his client. First-timers get gouged by this fee. I once had a broker try to charge me this fee and I told her, "no." She said, "If you're too cheap to pay this *only* fee for my services, you're too cheap to buy a house." She would have made 30K commission on the house I bought, so why should I pay her an additional $300 fee (note the fee is $295 instead of $300, a shitty $1.99 tactic so you don't think you're actually paying $2.00). You have a choice to reduce this fee by going to a rebate broker and getting 1% to 2% back, or, just hire an hourly broker or attorney. Home buying is not rocket science and nor is filling out a sales contract. You don't need a buyer's agent unless you don't have time to find your own house (you're on Redfin and going to open houses? that means you're doing the work yourself anyway). Brendon, you seem to have a lot of time on your hands. Maybe you can tell OP what you have to offer over a rebate broker, or an hourly attorney? |
Anonymous
It's your JOB to read that paperwork. That's what you're getting a commission for. That you pay 30% to your broker is your problem, not the buyer's. You chose this line of work, man. Should OP pay for your gas on the way to closing? The paperclips you used? That's YOUR overhead covered in the commission you receive. The firm charges you that admin fee it and you choose to pass it along. Many buyer's agents think passing that fee along to clients is offensive. The paperwork at closing takes a mere hour to sign, and OP doesn't rely on you to read through it anyway. OP, the title company you choose will have someone there at closing to explain each document to your satisfaction. Your buyer's agent presence at closing is not even necessary. Maybe OP should split the commission with you Brandon, because he/she needs to read through each document anyway (in fact, OP gets the docs before closing and will read them prior, so at most, if he has a question about something in the short stack of documents he needs to read, you're at least earning your commission - well, kinda - because OP can ask the title agent questions at closing). The title agent is there to protect the transaction and the buyer's agent is there to thumb-twiddle while the buyer signs. Please tell OP what added services you provide at closing beyond having already read the short stack of paperwork? It "only costs you $295 for the transaction." I thought you said it's important to be up front and honest (which is a non-sequitur in that paragraph, so explain what you mean). |
RealtorDAD
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Hello, "anonymous" I just want to clear a few things up in your statement that are inaccurate. Any administration fee is NOT a fee the broker charges us. If you read my response above you would have seen that the broker charges a % to the agents commission based on their cap status. Has nothing to do with an admin fee. My team leader gets the admin fee to pay transaction coordinator. The second inaccurate statement is that you pay a buyers agent, the commission is decided on through the seller and the listing agent, but clearly you already knew that. You made a reference to me having a lot of time? Real Estate is not 9-5. I stay involved with the community through various social outlets, and take the time to create a profile and not be "anonymous" in my community. How can you serve a community that you are not involved in? Your comments seem to come from a negative place. |
Anonymous
OP, you're about to drop a lot of coin. If I were you, I'd abandon this thread and learn how to buy a house. Don't rely on a buyer's agent. Who cares if someone else in the brokerage firm's feelings are hurt because you're looking for a second opinion? It's the biggest expense of your life. Utilize the search term on this forum and plug in your targeted city and real estate agent recommendations. Post those names and people who tell you their experiences with each agent. There are a ton of recommendations. When you write to the agents, ask them if they intend to charge you an admin fee. Then post back and tell us how many of them said, "There is an admin fee, but we do not pass that along to our clients." |
Anonymous
1. That fee is your fee, not the client's. You can choose to pas it along or not. Most agents do not. OP will shortly find that out on his/her own, even at Keller Williams, where I had agents tell me they will pay the fee. 2. I know how the commission is decided. It's all money on the table and just because you want to call it a commission doesn't mean it won't cost OP anything. OP can go to a rebate broker and get 1-2% back. If they choose you instead, it cost them money. Say it's a 3% commission on a 1m house and a 2% rebate, that's 20K in OP's pocket if they go with a rebate agent that gives 2% back and rebated at closing, guaranteed in the closing documents that OP will read ahead of closing. If OP goes with you as a broker, he just gave you that 20K extra that could have been in his pocket. So, let's talk about accurate statements, shall we? OP, I believe it's fair and accurate to say that you can choose your agent, whether or not you want a rebate (a piece of that 3%, because after all, you're finding your house online, you're reviewing the contract, you'd better be finding your own inspector and title company (easy), and you'd better be reading/understanding those closing documents). If you choose to go with, for example, Mr. non-anonymous (who considers himself posting here as an exercise of involvement of this community by offering his services, if I understand him correctly), you're not paying out of pocket for the transaction. The seller's agent is splitting the commission with Mr. Non-Anonymous. BUT, if you're looking at all the money on the table for this transaction, you can put any kind of name on any part of the transaction: "rebate", "commission", etc...), and what ultimately matters is how much you walk away with or not. I chose to walk away with 2%. My agent was happy with the 1% earned on a 1m+ sale. If someone convinced me that I should go with, say, Mr. Non-Anonymous who doesn't rebate me, then I'm out 2%. Would that actually cost me out of pocket? No! But would it have cost me anything? You can decide for yourself, OP. My decision was that it would cost me $20+ grand. Maybe Mr. Non-Anonymous has a bag of tricks that will help you do better than a 2% rebate? I don't know. But for your sake, I hope you know how to figure that out before you sign that buyer/agent agreement. |
Anonymous
P.s. Brandon, Thank you so much for serving this community by offering your services. It's extraordinarily kind of you. What a selfless, wonderful, amazing volunteer opportunity for you! I think I'll create a profile with my own business name and do the same. Maybe I'll even get a community service award! |
Anonymous
"A realtor with a conscience. Honest, and actually give a crap about my clients, they're not just a commission check." - That you even wrote this shows your contempt for the profession. Most are without a conscience, dishonest, and actually do not give a crap about their clients. We are a commission check and we know this. So do you. It makes us resentful to be constantly subjected to all the K.Ss. in the profession. I hope two things for you, Brendan: 1. Get all of these threads deleted. 2. To provide real value for a client you need to be a wartime consigliere. Understand this thoroughly. Your career and livelihood depend on it. AgentX, I would not have won my house without your posts. Thank you, again and again. |
Anonymous
Brenden is with that huge KW office in Arlington. They are desperate for sales because their money goes up to the pyramid chain. |
Anonymous
What "administration" does a real estate agent actually do? The buyers/sellers are doing all the work We used Redfin to purchase our current home. RE Agents are a commodity, they are not the properties they sell |