Don't reach into my client's pocket

Lynda - Lately I hear the advice to charge transaction fee, I just listened to a presentation on a CD and they were talking about it. I do not have anything against it as long as they do not reach into the wrong pocket.

Personally I don't think they are serious when even advising to get the fee. If they close a sale, there is serious commission, so a couple of hundred dollars would not mean much, and if they don't have a sale, then they don't get it anyway, so it is simply an extra fee. I think this is the best way to make your principal aggravated.

But the insistence of the agent, who are afraid of their own Office Manager to the point that they go to another broker and try to get things done the way to please them. "I can't give it to my Office Manager". That's what I hear some time. Yes, but I do not work for your office manager. They have tough time getting it.

Jesse & Kathy - I really thought that this is a common practice throughout the industry, and turns out that it is not. I was even thinking that I might have been fighting with something accepted by many. Good that I was wrong.

i guess there is a bigger issue of brokerages trying to make more out of the deal by not negotiating the commission, but by charging funky fees, like many Title companies do here with courier fees in two places, and e-mailing fee (still can't figure what that is).

Pretty standard explanation is that the company started outsourcing something, and now charges to the client the cost of it. But they were doing it themselves before and were not charging the client. So, it is their convenience, allowing them to free time to do more prospecting.

I am a subscriber to ISucceed and some of the Counselling calls are actually teaching how to outsmart the clients because they may not what they can get if they are professional Realtors themselves. Sometimes it is questionable. 

Mark - That's exactly how I feel. The logic that my client has to pay to the Seller's agent company because this is their rule? You set the rules, you play by them. I never agreed to your rules, and you never asked me to. And that's what I tell my Sellers. So far they always told me to cross it.

If I would not explain it to them, they would be worrying that this is a standard thing, and not to lose the deal they rather have to, but this is wrong. It is not what the Buyer wants and demands, this is what the Buyer's office would like to have.

Jesse & Kathy - I am a bit concerned about coaching and training. I was watching Mike Russer (aka Mr. Internet) and I like his articles. I signed for his 3 day boot camp in Chicago in 2006, took my son (he works with us) with me, and spent $3,000 on a seminar, plus hotel, plus, plus, plus...

I was very frustrated. It was an unbelievable waste. I really should have been wiser. Not that it was a total waste, but for that money I got a lot of showmanship. The audience was so either unprepared or overprepared, there were gems here and there, but it was in the best traditions of the old (I wanted to say 19th century, but because it was all about Internet, I sort of hesitant) times.

However, he has a good book.

ISucceed is only $30 a month, some of the people interviewed have good ideas. Not that expensive, mostly.

Alan - Good luck watching.

Did not get what you are going to be watching, but, anyway, good luck.

Simon - This is the part that I could not understand. If this is your transaction fee, you charge your client.

Charging my client only because their manager requires it, forget it.

Virginia - I am an independent Broker, and one of the reasons is that I did not like the things like these fees. But let me tell you that if I were working for one and they would require the transaction fee, I would pay it out of my commission, the way you do. I would not like it though. You are still on a split, so this is an extra fee.

I guess he got angry with both of you, and though you you were not at fault, he associated you with this failed transaction. I agree with you 100%. I hate these things, when the agent would tell me that tis is how their office manager wants it. They do not even get it that I do not work for their office manager and can't care less about what he wants.

In Florida we use different contracts, all approved, and it drives me nuts when in the listing agreement the listing agent would say that they would only accept a certain type of contract.

I guess there are plenty people who are simply not smart.