Even Real Estate Agents Hire Real Estate Agents

Cattleya orchids are the showiest and the type of orchid most people think of.

Even real estate agents hire real estate agents. Well, I like to say the smart ones do. The dumb ones, the doofuses who think they have to squeeze every dime out of a transaction just because the are legally entitled to, obviously don’t. And to be fair, for some of the agents, it’s not only greed that motivates them to try to represent themselves when they should not, it’s because they don’t value the experience and knowledge local Realtors bring to the table. They don’t value other Realtors because either they possess low self esteem or they wrongly believe all Realtors are the same; hence the doofus label.

You know the type of real estate agents I’m talking about. The ones who hold a license in a completely foreign locale and probably don’t much practice real estate, but by golly they have a real estate license so they expect to collect the full commission on the selling side when they do half the job of a local agent. Their poor clients don’t know any better because, hey, Uncle Bobby can dust off his California real estate, let’s hire him. Although agents who are a REALTOR® could be guilty of violating the Code of Ethics by trying to provide professional services for which they are unqualified but rarely are they prosecuted. That’s why many real estate agents hire real estate agents.

Of course, when my husband and I needed the services of an out-of-area agent in Big Island, we hired Hawaii Broker Hella Rothwell. She brings an interesting mix to the fold. Ten years in the real estate business, and she holds a broker’s license in both California and Hawaii. But she also has a lot of personal experience in Hawaii and has lived in the islands for decades. What she lacks in specific local knowledge is supplemented by determination and her commitment to finding the answer.

Most agents ask for a referral fee when they refer a client to another agent, and it crossed my mind that if I had asked Hella she probably would have reciprocated, but in reality, expecting a referral fee for referring yourself is tacky. When real estate agents hire real estate agents, they do not expect to receive a commission. Not only does Hella get all of the selling commission, but she should probably get paid extra to have to put up with me. To say I am a fairly demanding individual is like saying it rains a lot in Sacramento in the winter. She’s a lot like me in some ways. We are both not materially motivated and we don’t focus on individual financial gain in our businesses. I said thank you to Hella for her services by taking her to dinner at The Fairmont at Brown’s Beach House.

It never occurred to me that she would send me anything. A few days ago, a package arrived from FedX. She had read my blog about the orchids in Cuba. She wanted to cheer me up, especially since I had come down with a cold. Closing on our house in Hawaii had been sort of anti-climatic. It’s not like I could run over and move in. But now, every day when I enter my kitchen, I am greeted by orchids in bloom. Thanks, Hella!

Photo: Cattleya (pronounced KAT-Le-Ya) from Hella Rothwell by Sacramento Realtor Elizabeth Weintraub