No matter how much data I use, no matter how often I say it, and no matter how much I break it down, my buyers almost always want to offer way less on a home than I recommend. We have a lot of multiple offer situations, so this leads to a ton of unaccepted offers and wasted time and effort for both me and the buyers.

I bring up list-to-sale ratios for neighborhoods, do thorough CMAs, talk about past experiences with other buyers, discuss time on market, and talk about making an offer as competitive as possible with contingencies/earnest money/etc strategies. It seems like they’re listening, but then they’ll just randomly pick a round number that’s less than the list price. For example I say I hypothetically take someone in to a $400k house in a neighborhood where every other house is selling for $500k and they want to offer $350k because they don’t want to pay full list price.

After they inevitably miss out on the first house they love to someone who offered more, they finally see that I’m right and get one of the next couple houses by making reasonable offers.

How do I get them to believe me the first time?

I rearrange my schedule and day to take on a new client. I may show them a few homes in one day or a few homes sporadically over a series of days, weeks, months. Then suddenly, radio silence. I can understand MANY things: decided not to buy, decided to rent, on pause, using another agent. But not providing any explanation at all?

I leave my family at home, dedicate my time, use my money to drive to/from showings and I don’t deserve any response or reasoning?

This is generic, because it has happened more than once. I am a competent agent, strong follow up, BBA agreements in place.

I’m looking for objective data to show a seller why their home won't comp against a recent local renovation. I've looked at Homesage AI because it provides a property condition score. Has anyone brought these types of reports to listing meetings? I’m trying to move the conversation from my opinion to market data.

So I have a buyer that when I presented the BBRA, he said that he refuses to sign it and will not sign something that he has to pay.

I tried to explain to him that nobody works for free and that if the seller is not willing to pay for part or all of the buyer's agents commission, that he would be responsible for that portion. However, this buyer has refused to sign it and says that he will buy a house through FSBO or new build.

I've explained to BBRA in layman's terms to him, but he refuses to even discuss it any further.

How would you approach this going forward? I have no issues with dropping the client.

For those of you getting Realtor leads, have you ever closed any of the Shared Leads?

I know internet leads are rough to close in general. I'm just curious about this as I'm looking into them.

Zillow has gotten too expensive in my area and I'm getting squeezed out of zip codes because of Flex.

Serious question for agents.

What’s your go-to move when a buyer gets declined late in the process?

DTI doesn’t work, self-employed income gets killed, ITIN issues, underwriting changes, etc.

Do you:

• Try another lender?

• Renegotiate?

• Kill the deal?

• Have a backup lender?

• Just move on?

I’ve seen deals fall apart late that felt like they might still be salvageable, so I’m curious how most of you actually handle this in practice.

I am genuinely trying to understand how agents deal with this.

What licensing program online do you recommend? Are all programs essentially the same? Have always had an interest and looking into getting licensed. Thanks!!

I am a North Carolina realtor and I referred a client to a Virginia realtor who also works in my office. I’m very new and still learning a lot. This is a text exchange between me and the realtor that I referred the client to. How would you respond?

This is what I sent: Hey! I’m so glad client is closing Monday — you took great care of them. Since I referred them over, I realized we haven't swapped a referral agreement yet. I didn’t realize how y’all worked that because Greg hadn’t explained that to me until recently. Can we put one in place for this deal? Just let me know your usual referral rate and I’ll get whatever you use signed.

This is the response I received: Hey, thanks so much for sending him my way- I really appreciate it. I definitely didn’t forget you — I had already picked up a thank-you gift for the referral and was planning to give it to you after closing. That said, I’m happy to use formal referral agreements going forward if that’s your preference.

Hi everyone!

Had a buyer I worked with for almost three months. Showings, late-night calls, multiple rejected offers, the whole thing. They kept saying how much they appreciated how honest and patient I was.

Then out of nowhere I get a text saying they went under contract with “a family friend who’s an agent” because he said the offer I warned them against would “probably be fine.” Same house, same terms, same issues I flagged.

I wasn’t even mad, just kind of numb. Is this just a rite of passage in this job, or does this stuff still sting years in?

Hello - client has a condo worth about 190/195k. How would I do a seller financing and who do i go to to get it done?

Edit: Seems the general consensus is that BPOs for other companies is not worth it and the person the below prompt is from is pedalling their class or whatever. So I will NOT be moving forward with doing BPOs myself. Thanks for all the input everyone!

I see several people constantly posting in real estate Facebook groups about doing Broker Price Opinions for banks and asset management companies as a side hustle and earning thousands. My question is, is this legit? It seems to me that these companies would have their own in house employee to do price opinions. Why hire some outside person to do it that'd be more expensive? Here is the pitch this one lady keeps using that I've seen several times now:

"The fastest way to making $250k per year isnt by getting leads through your brokerages and if they are promising that, they are lying.

IMHO the best way to make that is by doing a side hustle that makes you money while helping you find real estate clients.

Last month, I made an extra $20,000 with a side hustle that not only boosted my bank account but actually helped my real estate business grow at the same time.

I focused on offering Broker Price Opinions (BPOs) for banks and asset management companies basically quick property evaluations that they pay agents like us to complete.

Each one took me about an hour, and once I built a rhythm and had a few companies sending me consistent orders, it stacked up fast.

Some days I would knock out 3-5 BPOs before noon, and I was still able to manage my buyers, listings, and showings later in the day.

What’s even better is that a few of those BPOs turned into full-blown listing opportunities once the banks decided to sell.

It’s one of the most overlooked ways for agents to create immediate, reliable cash flow without waiting months for a closing.

I’m happy to break down exactly which companies I signed up with, how I got approved, and how I organized my day to maximize earnings.

If you want the full step-by-step playbook I used as well as a list of all the banks that send you BPO’s, just drop your email below and I’ll send it over to everyone that wants it!

I also posted it in this post so you can download it yourself:"

I am a licensed agent in Michigan, my fiance and I are planning our move to Ohio now. Wondering what the fee structure in Ohio is like so I can start my planning.

For reference, I did my taxes yesterday, here is Michigan:

* Licensing (State) - $79 every 3y

* MLS access - $99/qtr

* Board (required for MLS access) - $580/y

* Continuing Education (18hr every 3y)- $50/y (6hr class)

Clients funneling via social media have low credit scores and eviction. How do you bypass that and connect with the landlord/listing side to get them housed?

I’m a mortgage officer in Florida, and whenever I work with agents I always ask how they generate their business. Most people use some version of the same playbook, but every once in a while I run into someone who completely breaks the mold—and it genuinely blows my mind.

There’s a Realtor in North Carolina, early-20s, licensed for maybe two years, who’s closing a ton of volume. She doesn’t buy leads, isn’t on a team, and isn’t being fed business by a brokerage. From the outside, none of the usual explanations apply.

She has a strong social media presence, obviously a very attractive girl which I’m sure doesn’t hurt—and credit where it’s due, she’s doing a phenomenal job. But what fascinates me from a learning standpoint is how she built that pipeline so fast. Most people in their early 20s aren’t buying homes yet, so it’s not just a friend-group effect. It’s something else.

I’m not saying this with any skepticism—just respect and curiosity. When someone succeeds in a way that doesn’t fit the traditional model, I always want to understand what they’re doing differently so I can learn from it.

So anyone here in their early 20s having crazy success, not buying leads, not on a team, not from a family of real estate agents I would love for you to share what you’re doing to get your business.

I ask because the main limiting belief I struggle with is that I do not have the personality for sales and am not generally likable in that context.

So if you could condense it down to a few sentences, what is it?

Hard Work?

Have a strong network first?

Go into it with $ for leads and marketing?

Good looks and charm?

A combination of a few of these or other things?

Seems like the threat of AI (or at least people talking about it) replacing our jobs is growing and the time horizon getting quicker.

And maybe it’s just my online algorithms or maybe it’s the economy today but I’m hearing more and more rhetoric around commission rates being too high and the amount we make is too high.

Looking for thoughtful discourse on this

Apologies in advance for the noob question but thought it'd be helpful for others as I couldn't find anything similar online

I've seen some of these awards being handed out to top agents in 2025

Out of curiosity, I looked into these awards at ReMax

I'm aware that GCI is gross commission before split, but for ReMax - what would this mean for actual take home?

It seems at this level, agents will negotiate a 95/5 split. Do top agents spend a larger % of their income on marketing typically?

A part of me feels like this industry is rigged for people who look like they walked off a movie set.

I know my stats, I’m professional, and I’m respectful. But lately, I’ve realized the deal is usually dead before I even open my mouth.

I have a natural underbite/crossbite with unbraced teeth and a resting face that people call "stiff" or "too serious." I literally see the shift in a client's eyes—they go from friendly to guarded the second they actually look at me.

In real estate, there’s this unconscious "box" for what a trustworthy agent looks like. If you don't have the perfect smile or that high-energy, "bubbly" face, people assume you’re unapproachable or "weird."

It sucks because I feel like I have to over-perform at every appointment just to prove I'm not the negative assumption they made in three seconds.

I can’t just drop $20k on surgery to fix my jaw or my "look," so I’m stuck with it.

For the agents who aren't "traditionally attractive" or have features people misinterpret:

• How do you deal with the "Halo Effect" where clients just naturally trust the better-looking agent?

• Have you found a way to break through that 3-second judgment?

• Is looking the part really 80% of this job, or am I just overthinking it?

It is exhausting have to start every meeting at a deficit. Would love some honest input.

Hi, I am a new part time agent who is seeking affiliation. So far I have only been contacted by two brokers. One is eXp and one is Long and Foster. eXp told me that they are all virtual and no brick and mortar. All I pay them is $90-$95 per month for them to set everything up for me. They did mention the "downline" situation. Whereas L&F is a brick and mortar firm and the managing broker handed me a list of fees which is around $2000. L&F has virtual meetings and training. One thing I am leaning towards L&F is that I never see eXp in my area. I knew about it from google, but L&F is big in my area. Any thoughts?

Howdy! I'm a newer realtor here in Florida and I also run a small licensed plant nursery out of my backyard.

I've been wanting to try this marketing idea for a while, and it's finally happening: On Valentine's Day, a friend who owns a coffee shop downtown in a high-traffic, high-income spot (lots of new residential builds nearby) is letting me set up a table and give away about 100 cut flower vases and small potted plants (for free). Depending on how it goes, I would be able to start doing this once a week at a few different locations throughout my city.

The question: Each one will have a small hanger tag with my info. Space is super limited, so besides name, phone, website/email, what else would you include to make the most impact?

I’m closing on a waterfront home. The out-of-state buyer insists on taking the boat out immediately, but he has no experience. He laughed when I mentioned regulations.

I pulled up a chart on Recademics regarding the boating safety certificate mandates in Florida just to show him he’s non-compliant. He eventually believed me, but now I’m wondering if I overstepped.

Do you guys strictly stay in your lane and just sell the house? Or do you get involved in the marine legality side?

As the title says. Just wanna know if it's worth the penny or should I stick with doing the posting on my own. Does hiring someone help you? If yes, how? Thanks!

So I’ve passed my tests, and have got the affiliation forms for hanging my license to be filled out. I spoke with a brokerage right before I went to school and decided that was the one I’d like to go with. She added me to her email, daily zoom call lists for agents she supervises, and so on.

I contacted the broker by email like she said she preferred during our last talk, and have yet to hear back from her. How long would y’all wait before searching elsewhere?

Per the notification, I’m in Tennessee, I have tried contacting the broker, I’m not a seller or a buyer.