Bill Williams-Broker,REALTOR

This is something I found on an aviation forum and think it is worth sharing. I don't know the name of the original poster and I had to edit a litle for this post.

Yesterday I went to go workout at Ft. Sam Houston (which is closer to my house than my AF Reserve gig at Randolph). I typically go there when I have a day off from the airlines and my mil gig since it's such a short jaunt and obviously free. Well, yesterday they were having wounded warrior PT. There were about 50 army troops - ranging in age from their 20's to 40's that were missing limbs - arms, legs, arms and legs together, as well as having bad burns, deep wounds and scars, etc. You should have seen the pride they had in their eyes - it was phenomenal. While pieces of their body and their souls are 8000 miles away in another country, their pride in serving their country is right here with them.

No matter how terrible you think your life is with leaky faucets, long lines and waiting at red lights - it is completely trivial to the 20 year old corporal that will never have his legs again for the rest of his life. Everytime I see something like that - it jolts me right back to reality, and I hope it does the same for all the folks reading this. Thanks to all our true heroes!

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Every other Saturday night Hildebran,NC hosts a car show with live entertainment, lots of food and activities for the kids. It's a great family night out in a great family-oriented town

For more info about Hildebran, NC visit http://hildebrannc.com/

Today target opens its newest and largest distribution center in Newton, North Carolina between Charlotte and Hickory in Catawba County. It will be their largest distribution center and will supply most of the Target Stores and Super Centers east of the Mississippi River.

There are many sellers who act as though their listing agent, and all other agents for that matter, is just "one of the other parties" in the transaction. For this reason, as well as the typical financial reasons, they feel they are working in their best interest to negotiate lower than reasonable sales commissions. But in fact they do themselves no good service to chisel the sales commission of their REALTOR.

The sales commission, which is not set but negotiated, is difficult to discuss among agents because ethically and legally we cannot and should not set them. But we can keep in mind what a useful tool the commission is for selling a home, and consider how to explain the benefit to sellers at the listing appointment.

In our area furniture sales are a big business. Furniture salespeople are paid commission. Their employers like this arrangement for two reasons; first, if the salesperson is not productive they don't have to pay them, and it motivates the sales people to sell higher-end, higher-margin items.

Now apply this to real estate. When a homeowner lists with an agent, not only is that agent working for them but, by default, all licensed agents are. Those other agents have buyers who are looking for houses and the seller wants those buyers looking at his or her house. The buyers have a list of criteria for their new home and we present all the homes in the area meeting those criteria to them. When we finally show them the home they like we don't even have to sell it to them, the house will "sell itself!" The commission is merely the motivation the get the buyers-agents to "talk-up" a particular property. OF COURSE IT IS UNETHICAL NOT TO SHOW A PROPERTY BECAUSE OF THE COMMISSION, however an agent's natural salesmanship shines when there is an increased motivation. That's only logical. One percentage point is $1000 of income (before everyone else gets their cut) for every $100,000 of sales price. And each percentage point translates to cash which is the motivation for the buyer's agent.

In home sales, the seller's competitors are the other homes being sold in the area, not the agents. The seller has to be competitive, not only with the price of the home, but with the compensation to his employees. In any business better pay brings better results and real estate is no exception. It's not about selfish, rich real estate agents, or sob stories about agents having to pay their bills. It's about fair compensation for a job well-done. And in my opinion the chance to get paid more to do the same job for a different employer (i.e. seller) is a no brainer.

There are times when giving in on a sales commission make sense:

-If the seller is moving locally and signs with the selling agent to represent him in his next purchase. That's smart.

-Or if a homeowner can't afford to bring money to closing and the house won't sell at the price necessary for a higher commission. That's the right thing to do. We should be willing to give back on behalf of a great profession.

The key is getting the buyers-agents to get their buyers in the door, and the commission can be a useful tool for this purpose.