{"id":6747,"date":"2009-01-30T11:33:11","date_gmt":"2009-01-30T18:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=6747"},"modified":"2009-02-13T10:24:44","modified_gmt":"2009-02-13T17:24:44","slug":"times-are-tough-but-thats-no-reason-to-be-a-thief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/6747\/times-are-tough-but-thats-no-reason-to-be-a-thief\/","title":{"rendered":"Times Are Tough – But That’s No Reason To Be A Thief"},"content":{"rendered":"

I haven’t had a good rant in a while… and unfortunately, I don’t have enough time to have one right now – so the Reader’s Digest condensed version will have to do.<\/p>\n

Most agents who have been in this business a few years or more know when something doesn’t look right. We’ll see something – and although we don’t know the underlying logic… we instinctively know it’s just not right<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This morning, I was perusing some rental properties for a client. As with listings for sale, it’s not uncommon to find some agents who are offering a ridiculously low co-broke. This morning was no different.<\/p>\n

This particular agent is offering a 10% co-broke if you show the property. Since many brokerages charge transaction fees – the co-broke on this listing could easily be less than the transaction fee. Kinda gives “co-broke” a whole new meaning.<\/p>\n

Now don’t get me wrong – a 10% referral fee for sending the client to a property shown by the listing agent<\/em> is just fine. But 10% for bringing the tenant and showing the property is a non-starter – I don’t care who’s doing the paperwork.<\/p>\n

Just for giggles and grins – I pulled up this agent’s recent history. One sold listing and more than sixty leased listings. Every single one of them offered a measly 10% co-broke… and all but two were leased out by – drum roll please<\/em> – the listing agent.<\/p>\n

[snarky comment] What an unexpected surprise! [\/snarky comment]<\/p>\n

Of course, both of those co-oped listings rented out for full asking price… while nearly every single one of the double-ended listings involved a rent reduction… sometimes several hundreds of dollars in rent reduction.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now maybe you think that I’m just whining about some agent who is too greedy to offer a more generous co-broke – that’s fair. Maybe you think that I believe that a co-broke of 25% is more appropriate. I will tend to agree with you on both counts.<\/p>\n

But there is an underlying ethical problem here.<\/p>\n

When you list a property for lease and offer a ridiculously low co-broke – you are denying your client the best possible chance for Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I haven’t had a good rant in a while… and unfortunately, I don’t have enough time to have one right now – so the Reader’s Digest condensed version will have to do. Most agents who have been in this business a few years or more know when something doesn’t look right. We’ll see something – […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,5],"tags":[287,286],"class_list":{"0":"post-6747","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-dual-agency","7":"category-real-estate","8":"tag-co-broke","9":"tag-rental-property","11":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":576,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/576\/learning-to-negotiate-the-buyers-agents-commission\/","url_meta":{"origin":6747,"position":0},"title":"Learning to negotiate the buyer’s agent’s commission . . .","author":"Greg Swann","date":"October 27, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"From my column in today's Arizona Republic, a familiar theme. The permanently linked version uses a somewhat longer version of the text. \u00a0Negotiate agent commission In past weeks, we talked about using the simple question \"How much do you charge?\" to negotiate a more reasonable buyer's agent commission. Buyers traditionally\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing"","block_context":{"text":"Marketing","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/marketing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":371,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/371\/project-planning-101-in-the-real-estate-industry-putting-the-client-first\/","url_meta":{"origin":6747,"position":1},"title":"Project planning in the real estate industry: Putting the client first . . .","author":"Cathleen Collins","date":"September 23, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Responding to my post on the spec-home I'm working on right now, John Keith commentedI still don't get where you guys are coming from. Is it the actual dollar amount that bothers you, the percentage, the feeling that agents don't add value equal to their commissions, or what? How does\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1983,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1983\/foxtons-almost-gone-about-to-become-a-footnote-in-real-estate-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":6747,"position":2},"title":"Foxtons Almost Gone – About to Become a Footnote in Real Estate History","author":"Russell Shaw","date":"September 29, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Some of the \"we do nothing for less crowd\" got very good at marketing themselves to the broad public. They did this at a time when the average busboy or cab driver could have easily listed and sold a house. A few short years ago it was uncertain if the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disintermediation"","block_context":{"text":"Disintermediation","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/disintermediation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"crying smiley","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/crying%20smiley.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":613,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/613\/a-horrifying-thought-experiment-elaborating-on-a-brokerage-business-model-that-could-completely-disintermediate-buyers-agents\/","url_meta":{"origin":6747,"position":3},"title":"A horrifying thought experiment: Elaborating on a brokerage business model that could completely disintermediate buyer’s agents . . .","author":"Greg Swann","date":"November 7, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"I wrote this this morning, and it's been bugging me all day:Here's a thought: The $99 divorce. It only works where the split is unclouded by children or property. But imagine a $999 FSBO package: The usual MLS-only marketing package with a buy-back guarantee for the buyer. Quoting me: \"From\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disintermediation"","block_context":{"text":"Disintermediation","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/disintermediation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2202,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2202\/a-consumers-guide-to-the-divorced-real-estate-commission-cataloging-benefits-starting-with-a-complete-catalog-of-available-homes\/","url_meta":{"origin":6747,"position":4},"title":"A consumer’s guide to the divorced real estate commission: Cataloging benefits — starting with a complete catalog of available homes","author":"Greg Swann","date":"November 10, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Part IV: Divorcing the real estate commissions will result in benefits not just for buyers but also for their agents and for the real estate market as a whole The National Association of Realtors is embroiled right now in a protracted anti-trust suit brought by the United States Department of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing"","block_context":{"text":"Marketing","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/marketing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2179,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2179\/a-consumers-guide-to-the-divorced-real-estate-commission-why-buyers-and-sellers-each-paying-for-their-own-representation-is-the-most-significant-reform-that-can-be-made-today-in-residential-real-estat\/","url_meta":{"origin":6747,"position":5},"title":"A consumer’s guide to the divorced real estate commission: Why buyers and sellers each paying for their own representation is the most significant reform that can be made today in residential real estate","author":"Greg Swann","date":"November 7, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Part I: How we got into this mess in the first place Can we be straight with each other? 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