I have three chosen career fields. My main focus is law, but
I won’t be diving into that career until I finish law school (in 2020,
hopefully). Due to still needing income while on my mastery journey, I am also
interested in real estate, hair, and owning a customer service company. Both of
my parents are licensed real estate brokers and have been in real estate for
over 25 years each.
I know the basic terms and am slowly learning about how to
invest. I found a property that I wanted to purchase to house downtrodden
people, there were 166 units and the sale price was $4,400,000. I thought this
was a reasonable price, being that it was a subdivision whose owner went
bankrupt. When I contacted the agent, I had basic questions and requests:
I said, “Please send me additional information about this
property. You can reach me at (000) 000-0000 (my number). What is the asking
price? I already have a broker. What is the commission rate as well?”
The reason why I asked about the commission was because my
mother would obviously put that towards my down payment.
He said, “You will
need to pay your broker on this deal. Sudeep please send buyer questionnaire.”
I’ve never heard of an agent telling a buyer that they would
have to pay their broker for the deal, and still not attach any information on
the property,
I replied with, “Are you saying that I will need to pay my
broker in order to get more information on the property?”
He said, “It's very uncommon for a buyer to ask for info and
then ask for a split. I'm already seeing red flags. I'm not willing to pay you
to buy a deal and educate a broker that may not have any experience in working
in this asset class.”
I have never been so offended in my life. For an agent to
approach a potential buyer like this is not only unprofessional, but its bad
business as well.
You will need to fill out my buyer questionnaire sheet
before I release any info
I said, “I think there may be some miscommunication. I am a
buyer. I turn 20 this month and am interested in investing in real estate. My
parents are licensed real estate brokers and have been doing business for over
20 years each in South Florida. I asked for the commission because my mother
would be my broker. That's why I told you that I already had a broker - because
I do (two actually). If you don't want to provide me with the information then
you don't have to. I'll look for another property that interests me. Paranoia
is going to hinder your cash flow. God bless you.”
He said, “Name, I have attached a Buyer's Criteria Questionnaire
along with this mail. Once you fill it up and send it back to me, I will be
able to release the marketing package of the Suburban Woods MHP.”
Then, when I didn’t reply, he sent another message saying, “That's
fine, however I need you to fill out the buyer questionnaire form Sudeep will
send you momentarily. Thanks for your interest.”
I never replied again because I was so offended by his
statements and actions. He was too greedy to want to make the sale and share
his commission with a qualified and experienced broker. Not only did he accuse
me of wanting to steal his sale, but he also insulted my brokers experience and
intelligence by saying that I would have to teach them the ropes.
This is how one loses business opportunities and business
relationships. If this deal had gone the way I wanted it to, I probably would
have bought more offers through him. Instead, he has called me twice and
emailed me twice as well. According to Fannie
Mae, the real estate market is down, and he will be sitting on that
property for months or years to come due to his bad attitude.
He obviously never practiced professionalism
in real estate, and is too cocky for his own good. In real estate, it
doesn’t matter who the buyer is, as long as they have the money and are not
purchasing properties for illegal reasons. He had no grounds to ask me to fill
out a questionnaire when I already had the desired property in mind. His loss.
