Agents Deserve Reward

Regarding “Hot Market Has Everyone Hot Under the Collar” (May 24), I wanted to reply from a real estate agent’s standpoint to the idea of the agent doing “so little work for so much money.”

First, it is really only the agents who hung in for the last eight to 10 years while the market was dead who are now benefiting from their referrals and strong client base, and they deserve it.

But even they do not earn 6%. Very rarely does an agent sell his own listing, so 3% goes to the listing agent.

Then the 3% is split with the brokerage company, and for new agents, your split could be 70% of 3%, minus marketing expenses.

And an agent will be incurring other costs, whether he or she is successful or not. These include Board of Realtors’ membership and lock box key and boxes; desk in the office; home computer, printer, fax, second phone line, cellular phone, pager, decent car to take clients around in and special insurance for the car, open house signs, business cards, advertising, phone calls from the office (all charged to agent) stationery, fliers, mailings, forms for contracts, errors and omissions insurance, classes to update modern technology and Internet service (now a must).

Finally, we’ll wait six to eight weeks to receive that commission, when and if escrow closes, and that’s if you’re lucky enough to get a sale.

So it’s a risky business and not for the faint-hearted, even in a hot market.

MAGGIE D’ABO

Remax on the Boulevard

Sherman Oaks