Then it happened, one day he emailed me that he was ready to start looking. He sent me an email asking me if I would "discount" my commission. At first, I thought - former client okay I can provide some sort of rebate. It IS NOT my normal practice to provide discounts. So instead of saying "YES," I called my client on the phone. I asked him, what sort of discount he was seeking. He commented, "oh well we just need someone to let us into the homes." I then asked, "who is going to write the contract?" He informed me he had not thought that far ahead. WOW.
After our phone conversation, I emailed him a list of my services and asked him to indicate which services he did not want and in turn I could provide a discount. As soon as I sent the list, I remember that I had read what a fellow Realtor wrote on Point2Agent.com. He commented that he would discount his services when Tiffany & Co. discounted their diamonds.
About an hour after I sent the list of services, I sent my client another email saying that I could not represent him in his best interest and also protect him from any liability with limiting my services. I did not mention the obvious:
- The commission is paid by the seller and not the buyer, so why did he need a discount?
- He should be asking me to ask the seller to pay for closing costs instead of a discount.
- I would negotiate a sales price in his favor.
- I would negotiate for the seller to pay for other costs such as: home inspection and appraisal.
Even though the market is tight, I am not going to "sell my soul," just to make a living. I also know that I would rather lose a client than to have the client bad mouth me even though I performed all the services that we agreed upon. I know that the professionalism and integrity will far out last the "discounters" in our profession.
For more information or assistance with setting up a real estate investment team (REIT), mortgage planning options or property management, contact Jennifer Johnson, your trusted real estate investment advisor.
Copyright© 2007 by Jennifer V-E Johnson. Others may not copy this material without written permission of Jennifer V-E Johnson. The views expressed in this RE News are those of the author(s). If you are currently working with a Realtor® this is not intended as a solicitation.
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