Pricing realtor trying to control prices

What is it with agents who want to control our pricing. Our fees are not coming out of their pockets so why do they care what we charge for our services. I am fed up with this. I have a client make an appointment on my online calendar and realtor calls and wants me to charge $300 for a 4700 sq. ft. house with radon test for $50 dollars. So I told him to jump in the lake and cancelled appointment. He later agrees to accept the price quote I gave his client earlier . Why is it they feel they want to control our fees? After all we do not tell them what fees they can charge for selling a home.

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Agents want to believe that the are getting a “deal” for “their” client.

You handled it well, Ernest…IMHO

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Make a direct complaint about the realtor, to the realtor board and consumer protection advocate in your area. There are antitrust laws. What they/he/she is going is price fixing. The Division is protecting consumers through its litigation and investigative efforts.

Some agents get wayyyyy out of their lane. This agent was probably chest beating for their client trying to impress the client with their “skills” and get a better price. Funny thing, how does the agent “accept the price”? I love that you cancelled the appointment and the agent had to eat crow on this one.

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There appears to be a bit missing with this description. Did your prospective client ever contact you to disagree with the fee or did you not hear back at all from the client even after following up with them?

I had the same thing happen to me last month.A inspector came out of atl. an did it for 300.00 it was 6000. sqft. And 2 shops. He had some kind of certifacation that i had not seen before.

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https://www.canva.com/certificates/templates/

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I had the same thing happen. Do you think cause the market is weak now and the realtors think we should lower our prices.

I quickly wrote this note to a realtor who was trying to negotiate my price. Good or bad, it was honest and effective. Maybe it will help a fellow inspector generate a response and keep the relationship with the realtor a positive one.

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Very professionally worded! :+1:

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This week i had a realtor begging me at the inspection to go easy on a Condo. I feel like they are desperate and this year i have not received 2 inspections from them. I feel they are not promoting inspections or have found a inspector who will sugar coat their findings. As far as business I’m down %40 from years past for the 1st 3 months of the year.

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Over the past couple of years, agents were loving the fact that they could simply tell the buyers that if you ask for an inspection contingency, you will more than likely not get an accepted offer. Now that the market is changing back to a neutral to buyer’s market, this is no longer viable. So now agents are looking for the low-ball inspectors, knowing that they are more than likely the same ones that will write “soft” reports.

Just my thoughts on all of this.

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That is not the case in my area, and I suspect in many other areas as well. Inventory is incredibly low so there is just as much, if not more, competition for homes as there has been the last two years. Posts like the one below from a local agent come across my Facebook feed everyday.

Last week I did an inspection with the sellers present and they told me that out of all the offers they received in just 3 days on the market, the one they accepted was the only one that had an inspection contingency.

The inspection contingency isn’t the reason they accepted the offer of course. The potential buyers (a very young couple) had written a thoughtful letter to the sellers explaining why they would love and cherish the house. The older couple selling the house loved the letter and accepted the offer, even though it was the only one contingent on an inspection.

(Disclaimer: I have no idea if there was also a monetary factor in their decision. The sellers only told me they accepted the offer due to the letter).

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I’ve had this discussion with a few agents over the past few months. The inventory in my area is as low as it’s been in the 12 years that I have been inspecting. The interest rates are just keeping most from buying. Especially first-time homebuyers and parents buying homes for their kids while they attend college. There is also a fear of buying right now as what happens if there is an adjustment in pricing and the values fall. There is a fear that the value of the home will be lower in 2-5 years when they go to sell or upgrade than what they purchased them for.

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These statements seem to contradict each other. :point_up:

But in any case, in my area there seems to be a reluctance to sell, but there are many eager buyers.

Most homes are not even officially making it to market as the agents have buyers waiting in the wings to snap any inventory up immediately. My Facebook feed tells me many homes are still going for over asking price.

What you are failing to explain to everyone on this MB is that you operate in a very desirable area West of Minneapolis. Within the one hour drive time, there are literally hundreds of lakes for recreation with lakefront homes! There are many very exclusive communities in your general area.
In comparison, you are not operating in a podunk, small rural town and farm community like I do, even though I am 60-90 minutes drive South of Minneapolis, with very few lakes for recreation or homes.
As it goes… Location, Location, Location!! It is amazing the difference a two hour drive makes.

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Well, feel free to make an offer on my “waterfront” home! Recreation at its finest!

image

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Thankfully I’ve only had one realtor try to beat me down on price. They told me they had another inspector that would do it for $XXX. I told them I wouldn’t even start the truck for that and they should call that “other” inspector.
Needless to say, I got that job and have been continuously getting jobs from them ever since.
We do have some “one-hour wonders” in my area who advertise doing inspections for $200-300 and state they can do 5 inspections a day. Needless to say they aren’t my competition. :slight_smile:

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That is hilarious!!

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That is hilarious!!

Considering the disappearing truck beds these days, it’s a dying activity :).

The next thing they are just going to remove sedan trunk lids and call it a truck. It’ll be about as useful. Have you seen a Santa Cruz? It’s got what, 100 square inches of bed space?