After the final day of swimming and tennis at the sports club we're dropping, I took my kids to an open house in San Francisco. My wife was on a mom’s trip to Napa and I wanted to keep introducing my children to real estate, my favorite asset class. Maybe they might take a professional interest in it one day.
The open house visit did not go the way I expected. It was a jarring real estate experience, but one I'm thankful for, because it was a great lesson to give my children about how to treat people.
We arrived at this five bedroom, four bathroom home on the south-western side of San Francisco listed at $3,995,000. It was 3:53pm, seven minutes before the posted open house close time. My kids, tired from a long day of activity, sat down on the living room sofa to take it in, quietly.
Almost immediately, the real estate agent, let’s call her Nancy (not the main listing agent), told them not to sit there. I was surprised, as no agent has ever said don't sit on the furniture before. I've sold two houses, one with staged furniture, and it's not a big deal. I want prospective buyers to soak things in, which includes relaxing on the couch and imagining what it would be like.
So I asked the kids to stand up. Kids can be energetic. I gave her the benefit of the doubt, but was not pleased.
Then, she looked at us and said: “Shoo shoo, I'm closing up and don't want you to delay me.”
WTF?
I do not know what Nancy saw when we walked in. I am aware that people like us are not always welcome in spaces like this. Maybe we looked too poor to walk into a house like this given we pulled up in an 11-year old car and wore athletic clothes after tennis. But what I do know is that my children and I deserved basic respect, and we did not get it.
What An Arrogant Real Estate Agent
Shoo shoo.
I have been to more open houses than I can count over the past 26 years. I have never, in any market, in any neighborhood, heard a real estate agent speak to a prospective buyer that way.
The standard, the absolute baseline of the profession, is to make visitors feel welcome. You say take your time and have a look around. You offer a card, a smile, a question about what they are looking for. That is the job. At minimum, you let people stay until the posted closing time without treating them like they are a nuisance.
Instead, we were shooed. Like pigeons. Like unwanted pests. Amazing.
Here is what I think is going on.
Easy To Get Lazy And Dismissive When The Real Estate Market Is Strong
San Francisco's real estate market is strong right now, in large part due to the AI boom. Inventory is tight, demand is high, and sellers are often fielding multiple offers. In that environment, a certain type of listing agent starts to behave less like a service professional and more like a gatekeeper.
They forget, or perhaps never really understood, that their job is to sell the home. To do that, you need buyers. And to attract buyers, you need to make them feel good about the property and about the experience of walking through it. You do not achieve that by making a father and his children feel like they wandered into the wrong place.
This kind of attitude is not just unpleasant. It is bad business. It is a failure at the most fundamental level of the job.
A listing agent, rightly or wrong, is an extension of the seller. Get the wrong one, and not only does the listing agent look bad, but so does the seller. And perhaps by extension, the entire neighborhood.
Seller's Are Paying A Lot In Commission
Let me be specific about what “bad business” means here. This home is listed at $3,995,000. At a standard commission of 2-2.5% for the listing agent, that transaction is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $79,900 to $99,875 in fees. For that kind of money, the seller deserves an agent who is doing everything in her power to make every single visitor fall in love with the home.
The open house I attended had nobody else in it. In a market that is supposed to be strong, a nearly four million dollar home sat empty at 3:53pm on a weekend, and the one family that did show up was told to shoo.
That is not a strong market problem. That is a representation problem. We were at another open house two blocks away at 3:45 pm, a complete fixer and there were plenty of people.
This matters even more now given what the industry has been through. The NAR price-fixing lawsuit and its subsequent settlement forced a long-overdue national conversation about what real estate agents actually provide in exchange for their commissions.
For years, the standard commission structure was defended on the grounds that agents deliver expertise, access, and service. Buyers and sellers are now asking those questions more directly than ever before. When an agent behaves the way Nancy did, she is not just being rude. She is actively making the case that her commission is unjustified.
Who is going to buy the house when the listing agent makes you feel like crap? Nobody.
Because of that interaction. No amount of square footage or updated finishes is worth transacting to someone who spoke to my family that way. And I imagine I am not the only person who walked out of that open house feeling the same.
For the Seller of The House: What You Should Know
If I were the seller of this home, I would be appalled, unless I personally instructed my agent to exclude certain types of people. If every buyer who walks out of an open house feels dismissed, belittled, or unwelcome, then I can forget about receiving an offer. That's costly.
In a market where perception drives price, and where a home already priced above the frenzy zone needs every advantage it can get, an agent with a bad attitude is not a neutral presence. She is actively working against the seller's financial interest.
For anyone preparing to sell a home, especially in a high-value market like San Francisco where your property may be the single largest asset you will ever own, here is what I urge you to do before signing a listing agreement.
Things To Do Before Hiring A Real Estate Agent
First, examine the agent's track record in detail, not just the volume of sales but the quality of outcomes. Did homes sell at or above asking price? How long did they sit on the market? Were there price reductions? An agent can have a long career and a full roster of past sales while consistently underperforming for sellers. Sales volume tells you how busy someone is. The specifics tell you how good they are.
Second, ask for references, and then go beyond them. Do not accept only the names the agent hand-selects. Look up recent transactions independently through public records or listing history on Redfin or Zillow and reach out to at least three sellers who worked with the agent in the last year or two.
Ask them directly: how did the open houses go? Do you always show up, or do you farm out the responsibility to someone else? Did buyers seem engaged and welcomed? Did the agent communicate with you consistently throughout the process? Were there any surprises? You will learn far more from those conversations than from any marketing deck or agent bio.
Third, visit one of the agent's active open houses yourself before hiring them. Go unannounced. Observe how they treat people who walk through the door. Are they engaged, knowledgeable, and warm? Or are they watching the clock and treating visitors like an inconvenience? What you see in that open house is exactly what your buyers will experience. It is a direct preview of the service your listing will receive.
Fourth, understand what you are paying for and hold the agent to a standard that justifies it. A listing commission on a San Francisco home priced near four million dollars is not a small sum. It is money that could fund a child's education, pay off debt, or change a family's financial trajectory. The person receiving that commission should approach every single showing, every open house, and every interaction with a buyer as if their professional life depends on it. Because in a meaningful sense, it does.
What I Told My Kids on the Drive Home
The way you treat people, especially people you perceive to have less power or status than you, is a direct reflection of your character. Learn to treat everyone with kindness, no matter what they look like or who they are. It's not easy, given we all have our biases, but we must try.
In my culture, we believe that the greater your good fortune, the more humble you should be. Success is not a license to look down on others. It is an obligation to be more gracious, more generous, and more mindful of how you carry yourself. A hot real estate market does not make anyone important. Markets change. Reputations do not.
I also told my kids that what they witnessed today was a professional failing at her job in real time. She had one task: to make people want to buy that home. She did the opposite. Whatever she earned in commission on past sales, she provided negative value that day. Showing up is not enough. How you show up is everything.
To the real estate agents reading this, please hear this. The families walking through your open houses on a weekend afternoon are not inconveniences. They are your clients, your future referrals, and sometimes the exact buyer your seller desperately needs. Treat them accordingly.
Don't judge people by how they look, especially if they are polite and have done nothing wrong. Some of the most plain looking people may also be the most resourceful.
The market will not always be this forgiving of poor service. And even when it is, there is never an excuse for making a prospective client, let alone a child, feel unwelcome.
Professionalism is not complicated. You welcome people. You let them stay until closing time, maybe even a few minutes after. That is the floor, not the ceiling.
That day at the open house, we did not even get the floor.
Readers, have you ever encountered an arrogant real estate listing agent? What happened, and why do you think they behave that way when their entire job is to make prospective buyers feel welcome and sell the property? Given it's a bull market, have you noticed an uptick in egos and attitude?
Addendum: That day, I emailed the main listing agent, who wasn’t there, to let him know what happened, and he forwarded my feedback to the showing agent. After I finished this post, she emailed me on Monday afternoon to apologize, explaining her mind was distracted by some personal matters. She even offered to meet me at my house and represent me if I didn’t already have an agent. I declined. I thanked her for her apology and removed her name and the open house address from the post. Everybody has a bad day once in a while.
Invest In Real Estate Passively
Investing in physical real estate is easier when you are young. But as you get older, your tolerance for arrogant listing agents, bidding wars, and remodeling headaches declines. At some point, you start preferring to let professionals handle it.
Fundrise makes it possible for anyone to invest in a diversified portfolio of private real estate with as little as $10. While I was getting shooed out of an open house today, Fundrise investors were quietly earning returns on institutional-quality real estate deals they never had to visit, negotiate, or manage.
Today reminded me that the traditional path to real estate wealth comes with friction I no longer want. Overpriced gatekeepers included.
As always, investing involves risk and past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Fundrise is a long-time sponsor of Financial Samurai, and Financial Samurai is an investor in Fundrise products.
Sam, clearly, this never should’ve happened! I am a longtime Real Estate Broker and I for one apologize on behalf of the entire industry. It is absolutely inexcusable.
And then, to top it off, she asks if you need representation. Like you would entertain working with her? Clearly, she simply does not get it!
No excuses for this unacceptable behavior!
Thanks Craig. Yes, the audacity was impressive to ask for my business. Maybe it’s a lack of self-awareness, or maybe she things she can find me a steal somewhere. Not sure.
But interesting times for sure!
I hope you wrote to the brokerage on this shameful listing agent, Sam.
This was happening in Vancouver, Canada during the heyday of the real estate frenzy 15 years ago (2011) when my wife and I were shopping for our first home. Open houses were swarmed with potential buyers (and their home inspectors) and offers were made with no subjects (hence the home inspector at open house). Listing agents got so lazy they had brochures on the dining table (if at all) while they surfed on their iPads in the living room.
People just don’t take pride in their craft tehse days… but that’s another story..
After many years of buying/ selling as a homeowner and casual investor, I had a first last year. I have lived in CO for 30+ years and since our kid’s have grown and left the house, we have some extra money and have been casually looking at some remote acreage for a cabin in the woods kind of set up. One day, we went exploring an area with the guidance of Zillow listings and came across a big piece of land with a private gate on it. I saw the listing agent’s number on Zillow, called and asked if we could go through the gate and up on the land. She obliged, asked if we had an agent which I said not if we could potentially save some money with reduced commissions. Well, we loved it! It had a few issues that could easily be addressed by us, but I could see could have been turning off other potential buyers as it sat on the market all summer. I texted with her over the next few days, sent a few emails and told her we would like to submit a cash, quick close no contingency offer. It was 15% under ask and I backed it up with some comps and the fact that it was fall in CO and the lot would not be sellable once the snow hit. She told me that the offer was insulting and she would not bother her seller with anything other than a full price offer. I told her that I was pretty sure it was the law that she had to present it. She came back that she would send a text before wasting her time on paperwork. I told her, ok and that we had no contingencies to place on the offer, financial or inspection wise. I had her on speaker with my wife next to me and she was yelling at me that the sellers did not need to sell, they just wanted to. I politely said that I did not need to buy, but wanted to. She continued to insult me and reluctantly submitted the offer. The sellers came down to a reasonable counter, but at that point I could not stand to see this lady get one penny of my money, so we declined. After a few months, my wife and I decided that we couldn’t stop talking/ thinking about the land and wanted to take another run at it. We used our realtor friend who we told the whole previous story and decided to revisit using my wife’s name only. He submitted a much lower offer than we originally did, the sellers agreed on a lower price and they paid him a 3% commission for representing us. We got the land, her seller’s got less and so did she after having split the commission. I wouldn’t list her name online, but have certainly told the story many times and will continue to locally.
Yes, all agents must present all offers to their clients to decide. That is standard.
Congrats on getting a better price! I hope you are enjoying the place, even though the insulting agent still got paid.
Ooooh boy. This is one hot topic for me.
Sam please tell me you called her broker and read them the riot act. Nancy needs to go. I have been in sales of heavy machinery my entire career. Big ticket items. Real estate is sales. You never know who is walking through that door and you never judge a book by its cover.
Some of my wealthiest customers, (multi millionaires , and perhaps 2 billionaires) dress like construction workers and drive pick up trucks. They treat me, and everyone that works for them, as if we are family.
The big miss for Nancy is she has not learned the skill set of relationship selling. And successful relationships are built on mutual respect.
Sam do Nancy and the seller a favor and call the broker and complain. That’s the way to fix this.
And you are doing a good job to educate your kids about how humans are not perfect and how to treat others.
Showing respect is important, in both directions; seller to buyer AND buyer to seller.
True. Do you have recommendations how I could have been more respectful coming into the open house and saying hello? Maybe I could have brought the agent a gift or dressed nicer than in my sports outfit?
All tips welcome. I guess it can be hard work to host an open house for two hours at a time.
No, you did Nothing wrong… that merits bringing a gift!, or dressing nicer…! She was out of line, and too bad that she had ‘personal’ problems on her mind. That is no excuse to treat you and your children that way. BOO to her. I sure hopes she gets to read your response. Just. No. Excuse.
Thanks. That’s what I was thinking. To be treated normally just the way I am seems like a standard way of interacting with people. Some open houses even provide snacks and drinks.
The short-sightedness of humans never fails to surprise me.
It grieves me to hear of your experience. I am grateful that you were there to help your children process any emotional reactions to that encounter. Children, our future world leaders…
little did you know when you woke up that morning that someone was going to hand you a golden opportunity.to reinforce a profound life lesson in your youngsters that could someday impact the world
Thank you. Yes, they were confused bc they have never been asked to leave before, and not in that way especially. It’s always been a great experience of exploration until this incident.
What happened to you totally reminds me of the scene from Ford v. Ferrari where Ken Miles’ son (who’s a car expert himself) opens the door to the new Mustang and Leo Beebe is very rude and condescending to him for touching the show car.
Will have to check out the movie!
It’s really good and well made, and also based on the true story of the rivalry!
I’m so glad you reached out to the listing agent. You have likely saved others from enduring her crappy treatment.
Another superb post. I will say I think with RE agents a lot of it is appearance-judging.
I’m a 40-something blonde white woman and I went into an open house in Rancho Park (LA- nice area) for a $2.5mn traditional home which I could afford. I’m single so I showed up alone and wearing a plaid Duluth Trading shirt jacket in my 10-year old Jeep SUV. Meanwhile all the other people were couples and you could tell from their cars and attire they were rich, new money/tech type young couples. Anyways I was INVISIBLE. There were two agents on site and I was the invisible (wo)man while all the trendy couples got warm greetings and actual eye contact. Whatever.
Feeling invisible is a terrible feeling. Everybody wants to be seen in some way.
The book from my childhood that resonates with me most is,Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison.
Towards the end of the book, he goes to his basement abode and turns on 1000 lightbulbs do you feel seen.
oh yes I’ve heard of this but haven’t read it yet, will check it out thank you.
Showing respect is important, in both directions; buyer to seller and seller to buyer.
Hunting requires efficiency, so agents will take the bait of the prey they think has the highest chance of succeeding the objective; a sale. If I went into a job interview, disheveled, and the other job candidates were dressed professionally well (a reciprocating act of respect to the employer), it would stand to reason that the better dressed would receive a better response than my appearance, unless my reputation preceded myself as highly competent. These acts or prejudice reduces the need to reinvent the wheel and expedites the process, but always the leaning curve is inclined, even for the masters.
Would you go out of the way and insult the job interview candidate though?
Yesterday I was talking about this – rude real estate agents who offer very poor service. We see it all the time in Amsterdam, however the market is starting to be in a little dip here, so they can’t really afford this attitude anymore, already seen in the past few weeks that houses aren’t being sold anymore. Last bid we had to withdraw because the real estate agent was giving false legal information multiple times.
Hello Danae from Amsterdam, the San Francisco of Europe and one of my favorite cities. :)
It makes zero sense to be rude to people if you’re trying to sell a product. I’m not sure what’s going on here.
Best of luck to you in finding someplace nice and getting a good deal as well.
The Realtor world is a shit-show. It’s like playing roulette, you never know who you’ll land on. I’ve been a Realtor for over 20 years, so I know this from multiple angles. A couple of things to consider: 1. There is no such thing as the ‘standard commission’; they are negotiable, and always have been. I would encourage anyone to shop hard before aligning with a Realtor and negotiate a fee structure that you’re happy with. I just helped someone list/sell their home, and I did it for .05% (yes, half of 1%) it was a modest $500k home. Why?? Because I could, and they also worked with me on the purchase of their next home, which was an easy transaction. 2. If you’re going to invest heavily in real estate, or you think you’ll buy/sell a few homes every decade, it’s not a bad move to get your real estate license. Then you’re in the driver’s seat and have access to all the tools needed to stay on top of the market. You can save money later when selling and get paid when buying.
I’m sorry you experienced that. The agent must not realize that 3 minutes of your time and an internet connection is all it would take to leave her and her brokerage a scathing 1-star review, which would asymmetrically compound negatively until the end of time. In business, every person you come into contact with could be a source of a viable lead in the future. They should be treated as such for that reason alone, not to mention basic human decency.
Sam, We sold our home last year in San Mateo County we interviewed a couple of agents and went with one who”gave white glove service” only to find out after we signed that he dod not have an office or a local assistant. The home sold in 5 days one of his agents sold the home so he pocketed himself close to $150,000.00. I asked for the agent to pay non recurring closing costs of 4k and he acted VERY upset because we didn’t ask for the credit upfront. Finally after we dragged our feet to closing he begrudgingly gave us a 2k credit. A lot of listing agents believe they are GODS.
$150k?? That’s absurd. Didn’t you do the math ahead of time?
It’s incredibly disappointing to hear stories like this, and it’s frustrating because it reflects poorly on an industry filled with professionals who care deeply about their clients. While stories like this gain attention, I believe they are the exception—not the rule.
The reality is that most agents work tirelessly behind the scenes to advocate for their clients and create positive, respectful experiences for everyone they meet. Every person who walks through an open house deserves to be treated with kindness and professionalism, regardless of their budget or buying timeline. That belief is core to how our team operates and how we train every one of our agent partners.
I’m thinking about listing my house in SF and one of the agents who checked it out told me my kitchen was old and “not great.” It’s three years old.
Ouch, especially if you remodeled it yourself. That’s a double foot in the mouth.
I’m truly sorry you and your family had to deal with such unprofessional behavior. No one should be treated that way.
After more than 30 years as a real estate broker in the Boulder, Colorado market, I can honestly say this isn’t typical. Most agents work incredibly hard and care deeply about their clients. It’s frustrating when one person’s poor conduct reflects poorly on an entire profession.
It’s a powerful reminder that one bad apple can spoil the bunch — and why the Golden Rule matters so much in our industry.
Thanks, Steven. It is the worst encounter I’ve had in the past 25 years of looking, buying, and selling, so I guess that’s not that bad.
And I definitely don’t think that all real estate agents are like this by any means.
I think what really got me was the way the agent treated us in front of my kids. B/c from my kids perspective, they are experiencing this type of treatment for the first time and they are wondering why and what they did wrong.
I’ve experienced plenty of slights, racist remarks, and other poor treatment in my life, so I’ve gotten kind of used to it here in America. But the papa bear comes out when someone treats my children that way, as I think most parents would feel the same way.
And these experiences tend to shape how they think of other people, which can be dangerous due to generalization.
Whoa. I didn’t realize SF real estate was that hot. I live in a similar home in Central IL for 1/5 the price.
Regarding your service experience, I was taught that the first customer should receive the same experience as the last customer. That has always stuck with me. It’s unfortunate that you had that experience.
Yes, it is the hottest market I’ve seen in a couple decades now. Homes that were selling for $3.2-$3.5 million a year ago have jumped to $4 million.
The wealth creation here is the main reason why. People have income and cash to spend. We are talking thousands of people going from $0 to $1 – $10 million in just a couple of years due to AI.
“the first customer should receive the same experience as the last customer” – Good mantra to go by!
To me this isn’t even about the setting of an open house or a potential customer, this is just poor human behavior and it’s far too common. Then she cited personal matters as a reason. We can all do better in our day to day interactions with one another. We also shouldn’t need to be motivated by a business transaction to be nice to one another. The problem is alot of this is acceptable nowadays.
Many years ago we lived in a coastal beach town along the central coast of California. We had bought a house a few years prior and were curious about home values in our neighborhood. A house had just been listed so we walked down a block or so to check out the open house. The instant we walk in the door, the listing agent took one look at us (we were a young couple) and loudly announced the price of the house, “SIX NINETY FIVE!!” as if to scare us away and to not bother her. I remember laughing in my mind about how incredibly obnoxious that was and laughing more when I ventured out to the backyard and noticed a mattress propped up against the fence. Anyway, a buddy of mine coined the term “Realatards” which more often than not fits the bill.
I just sold a condo. It sold quickly at below asking. The agent put the fear of God in me that no accepting the offer could mean not selling anytime soon. I would guess that the agent put in about 10-15 hours of total work in. Yet she made almost $15k for her efforts. Also, it occurred to me that $20k here or there did not matter to her because the extra money she made on that $20k was minimal. It was not a great experience, but she made damn good money for not a lot of work, and I lost money on the transaction because of the $33k in agent fees. I am not sure how real estate agents are paid makes any sense. Does it really take that much extra work to sell a $10M place vs a $200k place? The whole thing makes little sense to me, but I am not sure the alternative to how fees are structured now.
If it’s so easy you should do it
i find this funny because I once had a travel agent tell me the same thing back in 2008.
For the last three homes I’ve bought, and three homes I’ve sold, the realtor posted the listing to the MLS, put my offer in a template, and prepared paperwork for the closing table. One of these realtors was my brother in law, who admitted he spent less than 2 hours on everything.
Sure, a small fraction of homes require a savvy realtor, but that fraction is growing smaller and smaller every year.
Wow, I definitely wouldn’t like being treated that way. Great words on the importance of kindness, which is all too lacking on the world. It’s definitely bad business to be rude. Even if the market is strong, that won’t always be the case, and people don’t forget bad treatment. And kindness for its own sake has great value.
That “shoo shoo” interaction is a classic case of bad manners meeting a low-inventory ego. It’s a shame your kids had to see a professional failure in real time, but you’re right—it’s a perfect “how not to treat people” lesson. I’m sorry you had to experience that.
However, I’d love to push back a bit on the idea that the “strong market” is a rising tide lifting all boats in San Francisco. From what I’m seeing, the city’s real estate market has fractured into two completely different worlds:
-Single-Family Homes (SFH): This is the market you likely experienced. Supply is effectively zero for the foreseeable future, and these have essentially become “luxury goods” rather than traditional housing. When demand is this decoupled from supply, you get “Nancys” who feel they are gatekeeping a rare resource rather than providing a service.
-Condos: This is a different story. Between the “decent” supply levels and HOA fees that have spiraled out of control, there is a massive amount of “gravity” acting on these as investments. For many buyers, the math on a condo—even a high-amenity one—doesn’t pencil out the same way it did five years ago because the carrying costs eat the appreciation.
The “arrogance” you saw feels like a symptom of that SFH scarcity. If that agent were trying to move a two-bedroom condo with a $2,000 HOA fee in South Beach, I bet she would have been much more welcoming of a family walking in at 3:53 PM.
Do you think we’ve reached a permanent “decoupling” where SFH prices will simply never correlate with the rest of the SF market again?
Not sure about the decoupling argument because the rise in SFH prices is correlated with the rise in the tech and AI boom. As wealth goes up, price is naturally go up given Housing is the main asset most people who build Wealth want to own, and a nice one at that.
But I think you’re absolutely right that the agent would’ve been more welcoming if it was a condo in South Bay with a huge HOA.
So the question is whether people can be OK with living in a condo versus a single-family home. And I think if that answers, yes, then Housing is more plentiful. If you go to Hong Kong, Singapore and many other big cities around the world, plenty of people live in condos and do just fine.
Spot on with the condo. I sold mine (in San Diego) for that exact reason. The rent the place could command was only positive if I managed myself and assumes zero repairs and the HOA not going up again by 18%. Also, the condo (a one bedroom, which is the worst) hadn’t appreciated one penny in 5 years. So much for appreciation.
I’m on holidays and forget my BP Meds, so this article is NOT good for my health. At the minimum, I’d call the agents company and complain. If you weren’t in the Bay Area, I’d have mentioned racism, but that shouldn’t apply here
Hope not, but you never know. We were of different race. There is a history of exclusion in these neighborhoods, and mentioned in initial charters.
Oh jeez. What is happening to human decency? I’m so sorry you had to experience that especially with your kids right there. I’ve had sub optimal experiences with agents at open houses myself, but nothing to that severity.
What bugs me are agents at multi bedroom homes where families with children as the main demographic but the agents act so annoyed when families with small kids tour the homes. I’ve seen this happen over and over again. They instantly lose their smiles when the prospective families walk in the door and can’t help but say things like “don’t touch that,” and “don’t run.” I understand they don’t want something to break or for chaos to ensue with other buyers, but it’s rarely ever even close to something like that happening and the parents are right there. Some agents just don’t have the right personal skills to make people feel welcome. It’s a shame!
Or get a real estate license and sell your home yourself? I have several friends who’ve done this, mostly moms who pulled back from careers when their kids were young. When you are selling a $4m home, the commission is $80,000 to $120,000. They just found a low-cost broker so they could keep most of their commission. I think it’s worth the effort.
Great idea. There really isn’t much too it. I just lacked the time.
Saving 120k on commission to then lose 300k in negotiations and pay income tax on the 120 on top ;)
Yes, not too hard, but easier than it sounds.
Genuine question: why would saving $120K in fees result in paying income tax on the savings? And negotiation isn’t some rare superpower reserved for realtors, is it? In fact I would argue that using a biased party to help you negotiate can be detrimental at times. Most realtors would love their buyers to submit asking price offers (for obvious reasons), but they must balance that with keeping their buyers happy too.
Saving $120k in commissions would only result in taxable income to the extent that it increases a taxable gain on the transaction. Given that up to $500k of gain is usually federal tax free if you are married filing jointly (or $250k if filing single), many people never pay any tax on the sale of a home. Of course, if you’re selling a property expensive enough to generate a $120k commission, your gains may exceed those limits. However, the federal capital gains rate would be 15% or 25%. So if you save $120k and it all adds to your taxable gain so you pay $18-40k in capital gains taxes depending on your bracket and state rates, you’ve still come out way ahead.
Losing a dollar of gain to save 25 cents in taxes is a ridiculous argument that gets made by people who don’t understand taxes.
BTW, I’m a CPA and not a butthurt realtor.