I don't work for free.  

For my Dad, yeah.  But thing is that my Dad (and Mom when she was alive) never would have expected me to work for free.  We would have had a smack down like "Take the money!"  "No!  You're not paying me."

When someone approaches me as though my only value is the potential discount I may provide, I lose interest.  They can go somewhere else.

This is your business.  Treat it that way.

From my experience you should go up on the commission for family.

My step brother (A type personality) once asked me what my commission rate was.  I told him X %.  He then asked what my family rate was.  I went 1 point higher.  

People only take advantage of you because you allow them to.  Stand strong, no exceptions.  

I ask them if they work for free.  They generally say no.

Fortunately, I don't have family in the area or the types of friends who expect something for nothing! But I have sold for friends elsewhere and I might give them a small break on the commission, but certainly not free! (What of value will they be providing me for free?)

When I first started in the business I was so put off and hurt when I would see friends list with others ---- over time I have come to decide that it may be for the best. Not just because of possible commission discussions but also because "friendship" may get in the way of the frank and direct discussions that are a part of the best real estate relationships. 

Business is business and family is family.  I don't discount anything in my business for anyone.

I have a rule that I don't work with family members. I refer them out. For mom and dad it is always FREE. 

just say you can't work for nothing....and no one is going to represent them better than you will....

I've never had to deal with this.  My friends and family know I work for a living.

We all have different relationships and different places where we would draw the line. For immediate family, I would not take a commission. For friends, I might agree to work for a discount, but certainly not free.

Well I would commend them for coming to the right source to get it done. For free is another matter. Reasonable is more like it or discount but any laborer is worthy of wages. The world runs on this principal. Honor it!

I'd say... "why?"....

Then I'd ask them if they can split their paycheck with me for the next 6  months, that would only be fair.

Our broker won't let us take a listing for less than an appropriate commission. He'll let us give a break to family, but free? No way. It's expensive to market a property. It take a lot of time to negotiate a deal and maintain it to the close. We can't afford to work for free.

I tell my friends and family that I have to get paid so I can pay my light bill, water bill and feed my family. I have to work to get paid, and I work hard for my money.

I have some friends that recently just saw how hard I worked on getting them a bank owned property and that I made next to nothing on it. They were the type of people that cut their agent's commission until they saw how hard I worked for them. Now they know and understand the value of my services. 

When I started working as a realtor, I got a barrage of calls seeking free advice.  Then about home improvement projects. Do you get 35% discount from Home Depot?  

Doing it for free? There is legal and tax consequence on it.

I tell my friends and family they called me because I am a professional and will not allow anything to get in the way, and deserve the money I am paid.

For friends I always tell them they can hire me as a professional for my regular rate or I can give them the friend/family price which is 2% hire because you are dealing with friends/family. Usually they take the regular fee.

If not I'd rather have them deal with another Realtor as opposed to discounted my fee's

I am never asked by family or friends to do this so don't know how I would respond. If I want to do something special it comes later.

I'm with Richie, a laborer is worth their wages.  I tell people I might can give them a break on what I normally charge, but I have to put food on the table and pay my bills too, so them paying me is me helping them.

My Father always said: "Money is money; friends are friends; business is business; relatives are relatives never shall the interfere with each other."

Fortunately, I do not have such relatives. I would make some adjustments for a friend that make us both feel comfortable with that arrangement, but I would not work for free.

Mixing friends and money never ends well, I'd rather keep a friend.

Daniel Hayes - well, you should not have done that is what I can say. After all, you have to feed your family!

They're going to make money. I should make some too. Fair?

One way to have handled your friend's home sale would have been: Hey, pay me the 3% commission now and if you buy with me, well, I'll give it back. That way if they don't buy with you...well...you got paid :)

I don't like that people think this much too often and I see so many people who want certain sevices for free, especially creative ones.

First I will lay out what it costs me for me to have a license, be a member of the boards and a lot of other things...Then I ask them if their boss asked them to work for free...would they.

At thaa point I will NOT list the home even if they offer to give me a full commission.

For family I'm a pushover. Unless someone wants to marry into my family, they'll need to expect that normal compensation will be involved.

I would take a reduced commission listing for my Dad but noone else. He knows it cost me money to market and work the property. This is my "job" and noone else will pay my bills.

Daniel - What kind of friends and family do you have that they all want you to work for free all the time, just kidding.

I would just let them know that if they worked with any other agent, they would not get their services for free. I may offer friends and family a discount, maybe not. If they are buying, it doesn't cost them anything anyway. If they don't want to work with me because I will not work for free, I would try and get a referral and send them to someone else. Sometimes it is better not to work with friends and family anyway.

i know its a olddddddd saying. but i never buy or sell anything from or too a relative or friend. period. i refer them to someone good

I dont do it.  In my line of work, I can't do it, it's illegal for me to work for less on any file.  Even if I could, I still wouldn't do it.  I'd take care of them and make sure they got amazing service, but I try to do that for everyone.

Right. Set boundaries and as John McCormack mentioned, remind them that you work for a living and this is significant time you invest.  If they have issue, refer out.  Nothing wrong with not discounting.  Sounds like you have it under control Daniel!

I cut my commision very sparingly. Typically I may give family a discount, depending on what level of service they want. If the market is hot, my out of pocket expenses are low. I've learned in my twenty four years in the business cutting my comission is rarely a good idea. Working for or with family is the toughest thing you can do. 

Daniel Hayes,

I personally made a decision last year no to handle any family members real estate needs.

At my previous brokerage, they told us a horror story of an agent "helping out" a relative for free, then got named in a lawsuit and ended up paying out thousands - even though they didn't make a dime.

I have provided free consulting services and offered such, but I think that to be appreciated as a professional we should always attach a fee to our services, in writing. If we like, we can offer a discount or waive the charges as a professional courtesy, but that should be up to us. 

I cut my commission for family. They don't have to ask.

Some caveats:

- I don't lose money on these deals.

- I issue a refund check after they buy something from me which has been 80% of the deals.

- I don't think twice if they don't use me.

My mother, father, and sister... I don't charge a penny. The things they have done for me over my lifetime are incalcuable. They may try to pay  but I won't accept. 

It's not up for debate.

I would never ask any family member to do something for me for free. I would insist on paying them full price no matter what I hired them to do. But my family members don't have the same thinking that I do. One of my sisters wanted to sell a house. I had another listing nearby, and I had a buyer that would have bought their house. She said she didn't think they should have to pay me because I wouldn't have to do much work. I did comps and suggested list price of 443000.00 They said that was too low. plus I offered to list it for 4.5% and they said that was way too much. They listed it with another broker for 6%, and listed it for 15,000.00 less than what I suggested. Sometimes it's just not worth it to deal with whining relatives.

I have never had family ask for a discount.  For my children I would offer a reduced commission, but offering is different than asking.  Some people subscribe to the old adage that if you don't ask you won't get it. Sometimes just telling them this is how you pay your bills and feed your family is enough.  I find usually the clients that ask for a reduced fee have plenty of money, they are just used to asking for  discount.  If they know me they know how hard I will work for them and with my business knowledge and negociation skills will save them money on their transaction.

I sold a home for a family member two years ago.  My son in laws mom needed to get out of a bad neighborhood.  I sold her house for free.  However, she didn't ask, I volunteered it.  She's retired, living on fixed income and needed to get out of that neighborhood fast!  But if someone asks upfront before you even start, it could be a bad deal about to happen.

It's easy - if you are a sales agent you simply tell the "friend" that it's not your decision.  Your broker owns the business and sets the commission rates that you charge.  You are not allowed to change commission rates without his permission.  It's the same answer we give to anyone who asks us if we will cut our commission.  We are running a business.  It's a business decision to be made by our broker, not by an independent contractor representing the brand.

I usually tell friends and family I normally charge 6% but I can reduce it to 5-5.5%.  I don't really provide a huge discount but I definitely will not do free.   We do not go to their jobs asking them for free services so I don't expect them to ask me either.  Sometimes I would prefer not working with friends/family because they turn out to be the biggest problem clients. 

Jill,

Would you:

- ask your heart surgeon for a cut-rate by-pass operation?

- ask your dentist for a steep discount on a root canal?

- ask your server at a fine restaurant to bring you some pre-eaten or returned food?

Remember always that anyone can do shabby, incomplete, or  slipshod work.  The difference in real estate is that selling a home is usually the most expensive transaction that a family faces.  Selling/Buying are highly detailed processes where missing a "little detail" or fine point can cost the seller/buyer plenty of money or even result in a lawsuit.

In a case like that, do they want to shave  a little off your commission or do they want all your attention and skill applied to getting the best price and terms that work for them?

Good Selling,

Lee 

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Daniel Hayes Sorry to hear you had to learn this the hard way.

I have never been asked to sell someone's house for free. Reduce my commission, yes.

If I knew someone that was totally destitute, I might consider not charging them a fee or charge a small fee to cover my advertising costs.

If it comes down to the nitty gritty and it's a matter of earning something instead of nothing, then I would think twice about it. My area is very competative and there are many homeowner's that need every dime they can get from their transaction. 

I value myself and the services I can offer to my clients. I don't however let greed get in the way. Each and every client/customer is unique.

When presented with such an opportunity to work for free, I always say 'YES' with that half smile that suggests to the knucklehead they may want to ask more questions.

I actually have a 'free' model that requires the seller to make some commitments. In explaining the 'free' model, it becomes clear the seller must commit to selling the house before I invest my resources and knowledge. (NOTE: the real estate professional actually makes more $$$ using the FREE model than the traditional model)

THEN it becomes clear the motive of the knucklehead who proclaims they NEED such a concession.