This is such a great story, I couldn't wait until the transaction closed to write this post. Mr. and Mrs. buyer contacted me via email. They said they had seen my blog and were relocating to Los Angeles from out of State and needed to find a home that suited their needs in one weekend. They had been to the San Fernando Valley one other time on a house hunting trip but didn't find what they were looking for.
Both, Mr. and Mrs. Buyer were very tech savvy with Mr. Buyer relocating for a position that he had accepted with an online gaming company. After several emails back and fourth we narrowed it down to seven homes. I previewed all of the homes and even video taped the homes that I thought would suit their needs the best, streaming the video online for them to review.
With all of this information in hand Mr. and Mrs. Buyer made arrangements to fly in to Los Angeles for a weekend whirlwind house hunting trip. Luckily when I met Mr. and Mrs. Buyer we had an instant rapport. Our house hunting trip was a success and we found a home that was right. Well almost right. It wasn't in the right price range but everything else was good.
Knowing the Calabasas market like I do, we agreed to make an offer far below the asking price. When I received the counter offer and presented it to Mr. and Mrs. Buyer who by this time were back in their home state, I received the following email.
"Tracey -- I am concerned about making a counter-offer on this property without an understanding concerning the end game. If it takes going above $1.81, I would be willing, however, I do not think it at all unreasonable to have participation from the Realtors in assisting us in going above this price. At this stage I would like to have your commitment to share in the overage above 1.81 on a 25% basis ... meaning if we do settle at 1.85 that would be a $10k rebate ($40k * 25%) of your commission ... which is well under the commitment from Discount Realtor (which would be $11.6k rebate). I believe this is quite fair Tracey ... Mrs. Buyer found this house ... WE Settled on it prior to flying ... WE went around shopping ONCE with you ... WE are the best buyers a Realtor could ever ask for ... and WE are closing on this very quickly. Please provide your commitment here so we can finalize the counter-offer, which I would like to make $1.81 ... and find our way to a final price, which is in both our interests to keep low."
Now because Mrs. Buyer is so tech savvy she had been searching endlessly online for homes. She had done a magnificent job of researching the homes and the neighborhoods. All along she had been using a Discount Brokers website and this is why they were bringing up the rebate issue. I thought long and hard about this email. My policy is never to cut my commissions. I have worked long and hard to get where I am and just because I make it look easy doesn't mean that it is. Here is my email response.
"Hi Mr. and Mrs Buyer,
Thanks for being for being open about your concerns. I fully understand your thought process. Many people feel the same way when dealing with Realtors. The lure of discount brokerages is not new and certainly can be enticing.
In hiring a full service Realtor, such as myself, you are hiring an individual with expertise in many different areas, not just in Calabasas. However; I live, work and play in Calabasas. My child goes to school here. I have seen all houses of interest on the market inside and out. I have also built solid relationships with many of the agents that work in Calabasas. Even if I don't know them directly, they know of me. In fact I am not just a real estate agent, I'm a licensed CA Real Estate Broker. I have also have received the GRI and SRES designation. The GRI is a year long real estate designation that less than 10% of agents have nationwide. The SRES designation means that I am an expert in helping Seniors find housing. The education is helpful, but my main motivation when I obtained the extra license and designations was that it helps me when negotiating for my clients. Let me explain.
When a (good) listing agent receives an offer, one of the first things they will do is see which agent wrote the offer. If it's an unknown agent from out of the area or a discount broker they know that they have the upper hand. We go so far as to Google other agents to see what type of negotiator and how much experience they have. When someone Googles me, it's becomes crystal clear that I know my stuff.
The letter that I sent over to the other agent with your XXXX Street offer did not say much, but the conversation that I had with the listing agent on the phone is what facilitated the seller's dropping the price $111,900 (nearly 6%) in the opening round of negotiations. He tried to use the list of comparable sales that he had and we literally went through his 20 comparable's one by one. I had them thrown out for one reason or another. Primarily because I had seen the house and knew that it was not a similar property because of amenities, area, year built, etc. This is my area of expertise, I know the houses, I know what they sold for, I even know the back story on many. I know if it was divorce, or another problem. I have that information because this is my business. The discount broker or an outside agent does not have access to this information.
When you hire an attorney, you have a choice to hire an inexperienced lawyer for $150 hour or a seasoned veteran who knows all the tricks and the players. For this you will pay much more. Many times you pay $600 an hour or more. But for your money you get knowledge and power. You can do things with a high powered attorney that you could never do with a new discount lawyer. The amount per hour is so much less than the time or money that the experienced lawyer saves you.
This is the same in real estate. If you would have used Discount Broker to submit this offer and negotiate this transaction, you would be almost acting alone. They just write the number you tell them to and send it over. Then when the counter comes back, you tell them what to write next. They will prepare a comparable market analysis, but it would have been exactly like the one that the listing agent from ABC Company provided. They wouldn't have been able to get a counter this low.
I educated the listing agent on the phone on the other properties. I told him what to tell his seller's. I gave him the ammunition to get the price reduction. It's all about market knowledge and understanding people. I am the best at this and this is why I do well.
Again, I understand your feelings, but in the long run I will protect your money and investment as if it were my own.
And just so you understand, once an offer is accepted and goes in to escrow there are more 
negotiations to come. The home inspection usually brings around more items that need to be negotiated. My Rolodex is full of experts that will help me to help you get accurate information on repairs and negotiate these repairs etc.
This business is not just what you know, but whom you know also.
In closing, life is like Texas hold ‘em, we are dealt cards, but how we play them is based on our skill level. It may look easy, but until you sit across from Phil Hellmuth you don't know what a real poker player is all about.
I hope you will reconsider now that you have all of the information. Please let me know how you'd like to proceed as the counter offer expires today at 5:00PM. "
And here is the response that I received back from Mr. Buyer.
" Life is like Texas Hold'em ... you not only play the game extremely well ... you are certainly one of the pro players I would back in my business!! Thank you for taking the time to answer. Your answer is not only appreciated but it is accepted.
With that ... please provide our counter-offer at $1.81 million. "
As it turned out, we did get this offer accepted so there wouldn't have been any commission concession, but that was never the point. The point is that it pays to be confident and to explain to your clients exactly what it is that you do. There is a wonderful epilogue to this story. I received this email from Mr. Buyer a few days after the closing.
" Tracey -- Thanks so much. I simply cannot thank you enough for all your assistance. Mrs Buyer talked to many different people on the phone when we were looking for a Realtor for California ... and it was only after talking with you that she could finally say "I found the right person" ... and that was from a single conversation. "The right person" for us was someone who would care for our interests as if they were theirs ... would take Mrs. Buyer's picky tastes, which she is quite good at communicating over the phone, and convert that into the less than 1% of homes that actually qualify to meet those tastes ... would take us soup to nutz through the closing procedures in California, and never let us miss a deadline with a friendly nudging approach ... and would deal with my craziness in all regards, including my penny-pinching way of looking at life.
No one could ever be expected to excel in any of these areas ... and I still scratch my head at how you scored more than 100% in ALL of them for certain. We have never met anyone like you ...
When we are ready for the step up to a $10+ Million mansion (give me a few years to make my millions first) ... I don't care where it will be located ... or where you are located ... you simply must be the person to find it for us! I would be elated to be a reference to anyone that wants to use Tracey Thomas as their expert in finding a home ... and you can believe I will be a walking billboard to anyone I come across that is looking. "
Mr. and Mrs. Buyer moved in to their new home last weekend. I was there on moving day with my favorite cake and some gorgeous flowers for their patio. It all felt so good. Did I say how much I love Calabasas Relocations!!
Please call Tracey Thomas at (818) 652-2937 if you are planning a relocation to Calabasas, I would love to help make your move a smooth, pleasant experience.
The names, numbers and identifying information have been changed to protect the privacy of my clients but this story is very true. I did mention to my clients that I'd be blogging about their experience and they were all for it. They have given me permission to tell this story.
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All In! Great post.