I often wonder if home sellers and home buyers have any idea how Realtors make a living. Very few, and I mean verrrrrrry few, of us are on salary. That means we only make money when a deal is done.
OK, with that said, if a buyer is a tire kicker looking at 30 houses because he is
bored, that equals no money and wasted time. Also, when an "investor" calls in for that $16000 (just had this one) house, there is no money. And, the buyer who is trying to find that diamond in the rough equals no money. The rental client who wants to see 20 rentals before making a decision, equals negative money. I hate to make this all about money, but that's what business is. We also need to feed our families, send our kids to college, pay car and mortgage payments and buy groceries.
So, buyers, sellers, rental clients if we don't seem to be enthusiastic when you call, it might be because:
- You're not pre-qualified to buy, which equals no money.
- You have no idea what you want and you're not quite sure if you really want to sell or buy, equals no money.
- You want an owner to hold his rental off the market for 3 months for when your current lease runs out, equals no money for anybody.
- You can only look at properties from 4:15-5:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and you want to look at 15, equals no money.
- You have to have your parents look at every property a week later, equals no money.
- You want to look at properties $100K over your pre-qualification letter, equals no money.
- You want to look at properties in 6 counties in 3 hours, equals no money.
You see where this going? Realtors make a living by selling or renting homes. If they can't sell or rent, they can't eat, pay mortgage payments or buy gas. It really isn't a pro bono business. A Realtor works with a client (In VA, that requires a Buyer's Broker Agreement, or a listing contract. The key word is contract.), and the client buys, sells or rents a property. If that doesn't happen, the Realtor goes home and writes the day, days, weeks or months off as a business loss which she cannot deduct on her taxes.
Did I mention this is how Realtors make a living and feed their families? So, if you call an agent, consume his time for weeks on end and promise him nothing in return, don't be offended if he cuts you off and doesn't give you free stuff any longer. Like all businesses, he needs to meet the expenses of being in business when the day is done.
Thanks for this excellent post ... every prospective buyer and seller needs to have a little educating prior to us giving them our services ... so we are all on the same page. I try to explain this to all my clients and it is an eye-opener once explained.
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