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Real Estate Brokers, What the…!
The Grapevine…
I have always liked reading weekly or daily columns by Earl Wilson, Herb Caen, Jimmy Breslin, etc. This will be the first of a weekly column, mostly about real estate-type businesses. Here are my two cents.
I heard that buying or selling a house right now is as difficult as putting a square peg in a round hole. All y’all know better than me. My wife and I have been working with a realtor in Tampa, Donna Davidson. Bless her Irish soul! She is great to work with. My wife and I found a house in Ocala, Florida, and called Donna with two other listings, all within ten minutes of each other. Donna was, at the time, visiting her sister on the opposite coast and said maybe if she called ahead to the listing realtor, that’s exactly what she did, and she spoke to Ortiz, who was handling one of the listings. Donna asked if he could possibly show the two others; his response was yes. ”We realtors have to stick together.” He was more than happy to do so and contacted my wife. They spoke briefly on the phone as I chimed in that I would give him $50 cash for his trouble. He agreed at 10 a.m. Friday morning, just before 10:30, the time we were leaving, to make the hour and a half drive to Ocala for a noon appointment. At ten minutes to twelve, he calls my wife—mind you, we are ten minutes away—and changes his mind. He now says he wants Donna’s 3% commission on the two other listings, and, get this, he wanted 6% on the house he was showing! He wanted me to screw my realtor broker and collect fifty bucks. Being the New York City boy as I am, I said, Well, you really don’t want to know, and I cursed at him like I was a drunken sailor who hasn’t been on shore leave for two years. We immediately made a u-turn and headed back to Tampa. I turned to my wife and said in my best mafia voice, “Now he’s got nothing.” I’m supposed to be buying from this guy and trusting him, and he’s screwing me even before we meet. I will only give you one chance to be trusted; if you fail, there is no second chance. He had a one-in-three chance of us buying his listing, plus he would have a crisp Grant in his pocket. Now he’s got nothing. Is this common? Also, while I’m at it, who determines the percentage rate for the realtor? Some realtors state 1.75% or 2%. What’s that all about?
Let’s get back to realtors: who do they work for? I am always confused about the buyer or the seller; they can’t sell a house without the owner, right? That’s where the cash is being generated. So they work for you, the owner. However, they play footies with the buyer, saying, “Don’t worry, we can get them down in price.” When my wife and I sold her previous house, we used. Nice people, so I thought they just wanted the listing. When we had a prospected buyer, I knew right away by the sidebar conversations that something was brewing and it was rotten. They asked me if they could have someone inspect the roof, and I agreed. The buyer brings one of his drinking buddies, wearing sneakers and a roofer. They ascended the ladder; they had no tools, had a little pow wow, and left without saying a word. People must think I’m a complete idiot; I am street smart! I have an IQ of 185 on the street! I look and sound like I came out of central casting for a mob movie. You are not pulling any wool over my eyes. Within minutes, our realtor, remembering the person working for me, calls and says in an excited voice, ”You need a new roof; the next strong wind will rip it right off!” I’m smiling and saying to myself, Are they for real? I responded to her, sort of like the drunken sailor, and told her to pick up her sign,For Sale,” which would be in the street. I pulled that sucker out of the ground as if it were a strong man’s cement or wood post and tossed them far in the street. They never came back for the sign, so I kept the 4×4 post and trashed the sign. So I ask again: who does your realtor really work for?
You heard it through the grapevine.
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3 Replies
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Great story, Peter. Thanks for sharing. I thought I ran into a lot of people with lower morals, below average ethics, and Satan worshippers until I entered the real estate and mortgage industries. I hate to say it but I can confidently say that I have never seen so many scums of this Earth 🌎 in any field but the real estate and mortgage industries. Beware folks. We definitely need regulations and stiff penalties for scammers.
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Thank you for sharing your experience with a scoundrel so consumers can be aware of what kind of fraud is out there.
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I will share my story, Peter. Most people who get scammed like this keep things quiet. We need to speak up and expose unethical licensed so called professionals. The 1.0% of scumbags ruin it for the 99.0% of the professionals who abide by the rules. This goes for all industries. You are a hero for speaking out about your recent experience. God bless 🙏