Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: And we are live.
Welcome back to Real Talk for Heather and Andres, where we talk about the moments nobody trains for, but everyone eventually faces.
[00:00:14] Speaker B: And today, we're putting you guys in the hot seat.
[00:00:18] Speaker A: Let's go. This is our what would you do? Real estate edition. Because the situation is happening every single day. And how you respond can change your career, your reputation, and your piece.
[00:00:31] Speaker B: So as you're listening, let's just not along. Put yourself inside the story.
[00:00:38] Speaker A: Ask yourself honestly, what will you do?
[00:00:42] Speaker B: All right, let's set the scene.
[00:00:44] Speaker A: Let's go, let's go.
All right. Real Talk family. This is one spicy one.
This is in theory, this is happening right now in real estate offices, kitchens, group chats across the country, anywhere. Put yourself in the situation and ask yourself, what will you do?
[00:01:04] Speaker B: Okay, so let's break it down.
You're a real estate agent. You've been working with a first time buyer for six months.
You've shown them 15 homes, submitted three offers, held their hand through inspections, appraisal anxiety, all of it.
Finally, you get the call from a listing agent, Heather. Your client's got the house.
You're celebrating, you're relieved, you're proud.
But then two days before closing, you get a notification.
[00:01:42] Speaker A: Boom. And your client sends.
They say, hey, I'll let you know. My cousin just got his license and we decided to use him so we can keep the commission in the family.
They ask you to release the transaction after you have done all that work.
[00:02:01] Speaker B: So what would you do?
[00:02:06] Speaker A: That's a good question.
[00:02:09] Speaker B: From the looks of the story, you've done all the work and they knew all along their, their cousin was getting their license. Assume you assume they knew that and then in the nick of time, right before you close, magically they have their license and they just want to basically gift their cousin the closing and the commission is my understanding of the story.
[00:02:33] Speaker A: Yeah, the man. And this actually taps into a little bit of what we talked about last Thursday where or the friend asked for discounted on the commission. Now in this scenario, you know, they want to use their family member to keep the commission within the family.
I don't know. This is, this is the tough one because so far, in two days before closing, if everything else has happened accordingly, you know, financial was approved, there was no contingency in place to, to be able to cancel the contract.
I think you really need to sit down and show them what could possibly, what the consequences could be.
And this could include legal, you know, legal proceedings from the seller at this point to, to keep the commission and even get reimbursed for, for other expenses in the area because it's so far in, into the contract right before closing. There was no contingencies that something didn't happen in order to cancel this contract so far. And so it's a tricky one.
[00:03:46] Speaker B: It's definitely a tricky one because there's a lot of moving parts in this. You know, like I said, every state has different rules and regulations for closing.
And if you're two days. It said two days, right? It was like two days away from closing.
[00:03:59] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:04:00] Speaker B: If you're two days away from closing in Georgia, at least the, the, the CDs have already been sent out. All the numbers are like finalized or getting finalized. So everything is like set ready. Closings should be like getting zipped up and ready to go. And if all of a sudden last minute you want to like, you know, swap a roo, your agents, there's a lot of stuff that has to be changed on that. It's not as simple as like, oh, we want him to be there instead of you. There's a lot of paperwork that goes into that. There's a lot of brokerages now that come into play that are going to be like, hey, what, what, what, what's going on?
[00:04:36] Speaker A: Especially they get the clear to close already.
Imagine that they get the clear to close three days before and then the next day they want to, they tell you they want to cancel.
Like, I don't know. This is, this is something that you got to sit down and look at the big picture, right? A lot of people when, when they come into a transaction, they're looking at what they're going through on their end and they forget oftentimes that there's another side to the table.
You know, what are the sellers doing to, to, to get to this point? You know, how long did they have the property on the market? Are they contingent on, on selling this property to move into the, the next property? We mentioned this last week, right. So the scenario is you got to look at the big picture of what plays a route. And, and I understand people just, just looking at, for their own interest, but in a situation like this is not just your interest on the table. There's a lot of other parties involved that because of certain actions that you are, you're really affecting the outcome of so many other people on that table.
[00:05:48] Speaker B: And that's, that's, that's true. And there's also going to be, you know, feelings involved in this.
Obviously you've worked your ass off to the, at this point to get it to the closing table. And now they're like, yeah, thanks, but we just, we don't, we don't want you to make any money off of this. So thanks for doing all that work. Give it to my, give it to my cousin.
So obviously you have hurt feelings. And since they felt comfortable enough to ask this of you, they probably assumed you would just lay down and be like, okay, yeah, sure, that's fine. So if you, you know, resist or you know, push back on this at all, then they're gonna have some feelings about that.
I'm not really so much concerned with the other agent. That's the cousins feelings because like, they're not even a factor in this yet. So like it's kind of messed up that they would want to come in and start their career doing that, taking something from somebody, but that's on them. But then you've got the feelings of, you know, the sellers who are probably going to freak out if all of a sudden we're, you know, doing amendments to contracts and things like that. The listing agent is going to be like, what the actual, you know what? Like, why are we doing this?
So it creates a mess.
[00:07:04] Speaker A: It does. And I think you, you mentioned something.
The other agent hasn't got the license. If they would care about that particular person or they wanted that person to represent it, they would have waited for them to get their license and then start up the process.
They wouldn't have, you know, work with you and go on the contract with the property knowing that they were that close to getting their license.
Yes, you have been working with them for some time.
But he also tells you about the character, you know, who this person is, like waiting that far in to tell you, hey, you just want to cancel so I can pay my cousin and stay like, come on.
I don't think that's, that comes around often, but it tells you a lot about the person.
[00:07:59] Speaker B: It really does. And we don't really have like. And again, this is a made up story, so we're just gonna jump to imaginary conclusions here, but this could have been a situation where the buyers didn't want to use their cousin because they're like, we know he's going to get his license or she's going to get her license, but they're not going to be experienced. We don't want to be the guinea pigs. We don't want to, you know, get screwed over because we use them for our, you know, we, we let them use us as guinea pigs for their first transaction. We want to use an experienced agent. And then they use that experience agent. And they really did quote unquote use them because now they want the cousin to get the commission.
And it just seems like if they didn't want to use the inexperienced agent who just got their license for the deal. To me, one like scenario in this that could have maybe been helpful for everybody is that agent, even if they weren't licensed yet when this transaction started, could have contacted with permission of the, the buyers, obviously the, the buyer's agent, and been like, hey, I'm so and so I'm the cousin of your clients. I'm getting my real estate license. Could I shadow you on this deal so I could learn from you? Because I'm new to this, I don't know how to do it and I think it'd be awesome to work with you on my cousin's property.
[00:09:19] Speaker A: And I think that that would have been the appropriate approach in these scenarios because like I said, it just, just so far in, into the process and at the same time allow them to, to learn from that particular experience then would have been the right thing to do in that process, not just come in and undermine everything. All the work that your agent have done to just put your cousin in front of that. I think that, I don't know, I don't know, I don't have the word to say that. I just really would not appreciate that particular scenario.
[00:09:55] Speaker B: It's definitely one I am sure somebody somewhere has faced. Even though it's a made up one for today. I'm sure there's been a very similar scenario that somebody has faced. And I think everything goes back to legalities and looking at your contract, going over the contract, what does the contract say? What are reasons why you can terminate and what are reasons why you know, you can't terminate? Is there a period where you can't, is there a protection period in your contract?
So do you have like a 90 day, 120 day protection period in your contract?
But again, if they're asking you to just release them, what does the contract say about that? So when all else fails, if you don't know, go talk to your broker, go ask your broker and see what your broker says.
[00:10:43] Speaker A: Yeah, and if it's before we submitted any offers on the property, you know, and I haven't show them the property that they want to purchase.
By all means, here you go. Terminate the contract. You can have no problem doing so. They can terminate the contract at any time.
But so far in, into the transaction, yeah, it's, it's One of the things, one of the questions we had. Would you continue to fight for your commission?
You know, would you walk away to protect your peace? I think these are questions, of course, you know, you. You put the work in, you put the time in, you help them out best you could.
Like two days away from closing.
Everything is aligning with you and everything that you have done as a professional to help them.
So most definitely you have to, you know, keep fighting for that.
[00:11:41] Speaker B: And with, like, with anything, there's always a million ways it could have been done different.
To your point, what you said, if it was, you know, just a couple of weeks or days in and you hadn't put in a contract in, you just shown a couple of houses, or let's say you had shown the house that they decide they want. Let's say they're like, yes, this is the house, but you haven't wrote the contract yet. Right? And then they say, you know what? We really want our cousin who just got the license to represent us. You could always be like, you know what? Okay, I get that your cousin got a license. You want them to represent you. However, I did find you the house.
[00:12:18] Speaker A: So.
[00:12:18] Speaker B: So how about, you know, I'll terminate our agreement and your cousin gives me a referral fee?
That's one way you could do it. And then maybe the cousin wouldn't be thrilled about that, but they're still getting the business that they would have. Would not have gotten otherwise.
[00:12:33] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. And his business, they got the house. You saved them a lot of time.
You saved them a lot of time. And it could really help facilitate, you know, the entire situation and sending that as a referral to them and creating the peace of mind and the reputation for both ends. Right? Because at the end of the day, as an agent, I feel like a commission is, okay, we can give up a commission, but your reputation, that continues to generate business over time, you know, and that's something that not able.
I should not put on the line for anybody. Like, I rather have peace of mind. I'd rather maintain that than. Than earning a commission for a particular client. That's being difficult in that situation. I would just give up, like, whatever.
For me, it's not worth going through that because on the back end, I'm losing a lot more than just. Just a client.
[00:13:35] Speaker B: Right, well, you're not losing referrals on this one because you weren't going to get any. They were all going to go to the cousin whether you didn't, whether you kept this deal together and you stuck it through to the end and you, you got credit for the deal and you got commission for the deal or whether you, you know, gave it over to the cousin. Either way, unless that cousin seriously screws up for somebody and turns out to not be a great agent or leaves the business, they're pretty much probably going to send all of their referrals to their cousin.
[00:14:05] Speaker A: Yeah. But they could also, let's say, put a bad review on my account, on my Google profile because I did not comply with everything they require. People, people are hateful.
You know, people tend to do things just out of spice and in some cases I rather just not get anything at all. Right, right. Including a bad review or comments because then the road, it's not just who are they going to refer me is who else is reading what they think of me.
[00:14:38] Speaker B: True.
So there's a lot to really kind of consider when you're doing this. So if you stick it, so kind of like if you stick it through, if your broker's like, no, we're in this to win this, we're two days out, you're not going to be released from this contract and you're in it to win it, then yeah, you're looking at, you know, possibly them being angry, them writing you a bad review.
You know, the good thing about that though is you can always go on to your review page, Google review or wherever and, and make a comment, make a note. So if they're like, they were the worst agent, blah, blah, you can be like, yeah, you, you, you tried to take the deal and give to your cousin two days before closing. So, you know, but I mean, so you know, I, I still, to your point though, I still understand not wanting that bad review on there, not wanting drama on your review page.
[00:15:24] Speaker A: Right.
And some people just like the drama everywhere. I don't like the drama.
I don't, I keep it simple, straight four, that's me at all times.
[00:15:38] Speaker B: So let's, let's look at it from the other side and it's hard to do, it's hard to put yourself in the buyer and seller shoes when you're the agent because your, your mindset is think like an agent.
But let's put ourselves, let's flip it. Let's put ourselves as those buyers and they, and we not they. See, there we go again. We really want our cousin who just passed his real estate exam and got his license to have his first closing and it be in the family.
And would we ask our agent who's done all this work for us, who's held our hand, who's been there when we were fighting with our spouse about which house to choose, when we were freaking out over the inspection report, when we didn't think that we were going to get all the contingencies for the loan met, like when we were just freaking out and they were there.
[00:16:35] Speaker A: Will I ask? No, I, I wouldn't. I, I personally wouldn't. As a buyer myself, I would just let somebody else in the family have that option, you know, allow them, allow him to, to represent them in their transaction.
I respectfully feel like I'm, like we've mentioned too far in, like we've worked so hard to get to this point, only to cancel and take five steps back.
You know, if we are excited about this property, I'm already making plans, I'm already moving myself in mentally. I'm already in the house to be that close and then cancel this. What is the likelihood that the seller is going to want me, want to do the transaction again with.
Yeah, you know, now, now I may lose the house that I, that I already envisioned, that I already planned for, that I already already furnished, you know, in my head and with the family, there's so many things that are happening on the back end because this is their dream home, you know. And now to take a step back and start over again, I don't think. I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't, certainly wouldn't do that to, to my wife, I wouldn't do that to the kids just because I want to help my cousin get his first transaction.
I, I, you know, I respect my cousin. I wish him luck. But as a buyer and, and as the well being for my family and everything that is happening for us at that moment, it's not something that I would, that I would certainly do.
[00:18:21] Speaker B: Yeah. And it's kind of like, you know, you wouldn't go to a car dealership and pick out your car and then go through all the process with the, the dealership and the sales guy that's there selling you the car and then get ready to sign the lot on the line to buy this car and be like, oh, but you know what?
In another state, I have a cousin who works for a car dealership and I really want him to get credit for this cell. So can he get credit for the cell instead of you? Like, you can't do that. They would be like, you can get the F out of here is what you can do.
So what would make it any different in real estate?
[00:18:59] Speaker A: Yeah, it just wouldn't. I think it all depends on the character of that person. Right. And the buyer. Like, what are you trying to accomplish? Exactly what was your goal going into this transaction really?
If you really want to get this house or not?
Are you just looking to give your cousin a transaction?
What's the point behind this transaction?
Because if it's to get into your dream home, you're two days away to getting at them.
You know, if it's of course to give him a commission, then, then yeah, then you're looking to cancel, looking for any reason to cancel that contract and starting over.
[00:19:42] Speaker B: Have you personally, Andres, ever had a situation close, close to this or know an agent who had a situation close to this?
[00:19:51] Speaker A: Not yet. Not yet, but I, I have no doubt that that's something that will come up in this career. I think this, a scenario that we think is not going to happen until we're in the middle of it.
You know, we never, we never consider scenarios like this happening to us personally, but all of a sudden we're in the middle of it. Whether as an agent, as a buyer, if you're looking at a different angle, you're like, okay, so would that make sense to like I mentioned, like, if I have so many things involved, it's not something that, that I personally would consider.
But then again, you know, you never know. You never know until you're in the middle of it. And, and I think this is great that we bring this up because it kind of makes you think about what you have going on and better prepare you or take actions beforehand to not for it not to happen.
You know, like if it's, if it's allowing your cousin to represent you, then by all means wait until they're ready to be able to represent you. Don't jump into a transaction because you love this house, but at the end of the transaction you want somebody else to represent you. That's not how it works. That's why the comfort. The contracts are in place, right? The contracts are in place to, to protect everyone, to protect the buyers, the sellers, and both agents and brokers. Right.
And, and, and that's exactly it. Because you don't want these type of situations to be in normal, in the business, in the industry.
Just, just imagine you jump in with the transaction with somebody. Halfway through, you jump with somebody else. And what's, what's the point of that?
[00:21:36] Speaker B: That's very, very wishy washy.
[00:21:39] Speaker A: Right?
And you know, that's exactly why we have all these things in place and regulation is to protect everyone involved.
I think buyers nowadays make you, you know the question, why should I use an agent? Why should I do that? And the reality is there's a lot that goes into it.
You know, you want to protect your best interest at all times.
[00:22:06] Speaker B: I'm wondering, like, with the buyers in this story, if they just didn't care or if maybe they didn't understand. I mean, it kind of seems like they just didn't care.
But I think a lot of this can be explained too. And we talk about that a lot, about explaining the contract and making sure that they understand completely the ramifications of every action from putting in that first offer to the closing table. So if a lot of it comes down to just explaining the contract, does this fall back on the agent at all? That they even thought that they could get out of the contract like that at the end and ask something like that? Do you think it falls back on the agent?
[00:22:49] Speaker A: Is it does to some extent. Right. Awareness. If the person is not aware of the entire process and the due diligence and everything that comes through that transaction, then of course they think they can get out at any time. Of course they think that they can do whatever they want throughout the process because they're not aware of what each step of the process means and the time frame that they had to get certain things done, including canceling that contract. Right.
So if you're not aware of this and all of a sudden you have somebody come in and like, hey, man, I should have helped you with that property. Oh, shit, let me see if I still cancel. Let's make this happen, you know, and where somebody that is aware of exactly what's going on throughout the process, they'll be like, you know what? I'm not able to make that happen anymore. We are two days away from closing at this point. We already put everything in line to, to make this deal happen close on time.
We're excited for closing.
Tell you what, if I see or I know of anybody else that's looking to buy or sell, then I'll definitely introduce him as my cousin to be able to help him out, you know, and that conversation is handled right there on the spot a lot more differently than somebody who's on the clouds just unaware of everything and think that they can cancel and nothing else will change.
[00:24:11] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's just an awkward conversation. Like, if you are at that point, it's an awkward conversation you're going to have to have with your client.
And, you know, if your stance is, no, I'm. You're going to push back and you're gonna be like, nope, you know, we're in this to win this. We're going through the closing, and that's, you know, what's gonna happen then. That's a conversation you have to have with your client. And my goal as an agent is always to make the closing table a happy place. I don't ever want there to be regret at the. At the closing table. And I can say there have been several, like, heated closing tables because of how the two sides, you know, did not mesh on this.
And like I said, there's a lot of emotions, a lot of feelings that come along with buying a house.
But if the goal is always to make the closing table a happy experience, it's your job as the agent to make sure that all through the transaction, you're explaining things, they're understanding things, you're anticipating the questions that they don't ask or they don't know how to ask.
Nobody's perfect. Everybody's gonna, you know, miss things, miss signs. But the more communication you have with your clients, the better.
[00:25:21] Speaker A: Yeah. It's a moment to celebrate, right?
That's what I. What I think of.
Of the next step in that process. You get into the closing table, you're getting your keys. It's a moment to be grateful, to celebrate your accomplishment, to. To turn around and look at yourself and be like them, you know, freaking did it. Especially first time homeowner.
We don't always understand the journey on how they got to that point and what that means to them. Right. So as an agent, it's important to, I think, to understand that in the process of the transaction so that you can make that moment even more so, more special, you know, oh, another.
[00:26:07] Speaker B: Another thing then that you could do would be, you know how you were saying, Andres, you're like, I don't want the bad reviews. I don't them to go on and put like, they held me hostage as their clients and forced me to buy a house with them.
One thing you could do, just throwing this out there would be, you could tell them, hey, why don't we do this? Maybe this will make everybody happy. It's a compromise. How about I write your cousin a referral check, I give them a referral off this deal, and they can come to the closing with us and shadow the closing and experience what of, you know, a closing would be like. And technically it would be their first closing because they are getting a referral fee off of this. So they can still take that picture at the closing table. They can still post on social media, because technically they, you know, referred the deal, even though they probably didn't because you were working with them way before their cousin got the license. But it is something that would kind of help Band Aid the situation.
[00:27:06] Speaker A: It sounds like they're just trying to get some more money back.
Like, really, if it comes to that, you know, what other ways can you get that money?
[00:27:16] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:27:17] Speaker A: You know, because they're just looking for their friend to cousin to get a commission.
And that would be nice, right? Not have any part whatsoever in any transaction, not even know that your cousin is doing a transaction until you get your real estate license.
Oh, by the way, I'm closing in a week. Do you want every faro check?
Must be nice.
For real.
[00:27:38] Speaker B: I got a lot of cousins.
Where are they?
[00:27:43] Speaker A: Exactly? So I think it's just.
I think it just. It really comes down to the character that you're working with.
Like, if they don't respect you enough as an agent to be able to say and hold your ground and vouch for you and pay the commission that you entitle, then it really tells you a lot about the person that you've been working with, you know, and how much they respect everything that you did for you.
You know, and if. If they would respect you, if they trust in everything that you did for them, they wouldn't be asking those questions.
You know, if you show them the value that you put on the table, they will not be asking for you to send a referral check to a cousin that just came out of nowhere and got a license.
You know, it really comes down to the value that you bring on the table for them. And for them to respect you enough to. To hold you all the way through as a. As your agent, as their agent, you know, and then if it's somebody shady that just looking for ways to get a cut back, then, you know, get that commission, get the referral, and that's it. That's somebody that I would not look forward to working with, probably anybody that that person refers me either.
So I will leave it as it.
[00:29:04] Speaker B: And we are at the top of the hour, so that leaves us asking you guys, what would you do? Would you fight your. Would you fight for your commission?
Would you walk away?
Did you educate them earlier or change it to the game?
[00:29:24] Speaker A: Well, jump into the conversation. You know, you can join us.
Leave your comment on the video. Tell us what you think and why, and man, let's have some fun with this.
[00:29:38] Speaker B: Because when it comes down to it, how you handle this moment says everything about the kind of professional that you are.
[00:29:44] Speaker A: And trust me, your answer. Here's the truth. Your answer might surprise you, but there.
[00:29:50] Speaker B: Is no right answer, no wrong answer. There's just your answer.
[00:29:55] Speaker A: That's it. The one that lines up with your values, your boundaries, the kind of professional you want to be known as.
[00:30:03] Speaker B: And when you think about it, it doesn't just test your personal skills, it.
[00:30:08] Speaker A: Also tests your business skills and they reveal your leadership. So.
[00:30:13] Speaker B: And that's why this is real talk.
[00:30:17] Speaker A: Let's go. Let's go. We'll see you in the comments. Please let us know what you think.
[00:30:23] Speaker B: Don't forget to drop your opinion. Like share, follow and subscribe. If you drop your opinion in the comments, we'll make sure to reach out and like you guys on social media.
[00:30:32] Speaker A: And if you want to be a guest here, let us know. We'll be happy to, you know, put your application in. Join us here on next time. What would you do? Or our other excitement.
Am I the so it'll be fun.
[00:30:51] Speaker B: See you guys next time.
[00:30:53] Speaker A: Take care.
