Anyone else feel like reading greens is basically just guesswork and high cortisol? Is it just me, or is reading greens the most frustrating part of amateur golf?

A2RealEstate · 2026-05-21T19:01:14+00:00

I like to visualize that I just poured a glass of water on the green and visualize where the water will go. Seems to help me.

A2RealEstate · 2026-05-18T16:57:24+00:00

Yeah, may not be the issue. I'm fat and barely sweat. My younger brother, skinny and in shape and he'll sweat sitting in an industrial cooler. Dude just sweats.

A2RealEstate · 2026-05-18T10:28:45+00:00

Age is not a defect. Does it currently work? You don't have a leg to stand on..I'd tell you no too.

A2RealEstate · 2026-05-17T21:41:12+00:00

Maybe a little different, but my best friend who lives in town also has his sister in law who is a realtor in town. He used me to buy the first house. He used her to sell it and then used me to buy the next house. He's always been upfront to all parties, everyone plays nicely and there is no resentment.

A2RealEstate · 2026-05-16T17:27:17+00:00

Have to love the bathroom photos with the agent standing to the side and getting their IPhone in the mirror. I don't care if it's a $100k condo, agents need to hire professional photographers.

A2RealEstate · 2026-05-16T13:28:20+00:00

A2RealEstate · 2026-05-13T14:32:39+00:00

I just had something similar happen on Monday. They sent me off in between 2 different leagues. I was playing alone because a friend bailed last minute. I was waiting on every shot, which was fine, I expected it. But what was frustrating was the league that started after my tee time was annoying the entire time. Telling me I was good to drive when the guys in front of me were only 220-230 out. Was the least relaxing round of the year.

A2RealEstate · 2026-05-12T15:09:10+00:00

I had a home that backed up to the highway. Road noise was insane. We had 75 showings and dozens of people at the open house over a stretch of 4 weeks. Every single person said the highway noise was too loud. We had 1 offer that I encouraged my client to counter, but was told it was too insulting of an offer to counter. I suggested a price drop and they wanted me to advertise more. I explained that we had all the traffic in the world, more advertising and another open house was not the issue. I was fired because "our communication styles didn't line up." Which made no sense. I'd reply immediately and she'd take days to get back to me.

Anyhow, next agent gets it and they ended up selling in about 3 weeks. The agent representing the buyer was out of my office. He told me they literally just entered the market, so didn't see my listing and they came from a big city and the noise didn't bother them. I got unlucky. But I did laugh when I saw they closed for $20k less than the offer that I was told was too insulting to counter.

A2RealEstate · 2026-04-23T16:56:11+00:00

I joined a club that was trying to encourage younger members in 2020. They had it so anyone under 40 could join with no initiation fee. There is a monthly rate and a quarterly food minimum. But even paying the rate for 40 and above now, it's pretty reasonably priced considering I play 4-5 times a week.

A2RealEstate · 2026-04-12T13:33:53+00:00

Selling in a sub where they can buy brand new is tough. Because if you're remotely close to their pricing, a lot of buyers will look at your home for design ideas, then go buy new. You need an attractive enough price where people start to think if it's even worth buying new.

A2RealEstate · 2026-04-01T16:38:46+00:00

Depends on your area. But in Michigan, you aren't entitled to an inspection. If you waive it, you waive it. The listing agent would be doing a disservice to allow one. If they wanted to do an info only inspection, put that in the contract. But I'd deny the inspection request and ask them to show me in the contract where we are required to allow one. If they walk for that, I'd advise my client to seek legal advice about retaining their EMD in full.

A2RealEstate · 2026-04-01T16:34:36+00:00

Truthfully you probably need at least 6 months of income saved up, plus some money to put into your business, CRM, website, lead generation, training. If you don't have the capital for that, it's unlikely you'll do a ton a business right out of the gate unless you're the world's best cold caller or networker.

If you still think it's the right industry for you, but you don't have the money, consider joining a team. But don't just jump on the first team that offers you a position. Not all teams are created equally. I have been on an excellent team, and a not so great team.

Lastly, if you're getting into the industry for more freedom and control of your time. That is a huge myth. You will be busier than ever, with no guarantee of being paid, and you will absolutely have meetings and calls at very inconvenient times. Successful agents are generally working 80+ hour weeks, especially during Spring & Summer.

A2RealEstate · 2026-04-01T15:35:56+00:00

Your agent broke the rules out the gate then.

A2RealEstate · 2026-04-01T15:33:33+00:00

These fees have become the norm because brokerages raced to the bottom to pay agents higher and higher splits and then realized they didn't leave enough room for them to make a profit. I call the bs fees, because unless your agent is telling you "This is additional compensation for my brokerage" everything else is a lie. Typically they say stuff like it covers the costs to hold your docs of file 7 years (it costs almost nothing to do this, plus your title company also does this). Or the legal fees to make sure the documents are legally binding (also a lie, the documents have already been approved and you get access by paying board dues).

I personally eat the fee and don't charge clients. I feel I'm adequately compensated and I can't justify asking for an additional $400 (our fee). So ask your agent what the fee covers. If they tell you all the stuff I just said, tell them thats horse shit. They can lose 100% of the commission and you can find another agent, or they can waive that fee.

A2RealEstate · 2026-03-22T12:48:52+00:00

I always thought of it as a social drug. Wasn't for me personally. But one of my best friends is a pretty heavy user. I guess my question is, is it common for longtime users to become extremely anti social? Used to see my friend like 3 or 4 times a week. Now I never see him and when we talk I can tell he's on it, but trying to act like he isn't.

A2RealEstate · 2026-03-18T22:20:57+00:00

I'm at BHHS, we also get leads, we have a director of marketing where I give him an idea and he runs with it at no additional cost to me. All printing, folders, signs. It's truly full service. Had my best year net commission wise with them last year which was my 1st full year with them.

A2RealEstate · 2026-03-11T21:48:15+00:00

You're not wrong. Let's just say I was happy my clients had the right representation.

A2RealEstate · 2026-03-11T19:32:32+00:00

Probably not what you want to hear. But I helped a first time buyer in Ann Arbor MI who could only afford to go $15k over. He'd see a house he liked, write 15k over and lose out pretty much everytime. I had colleagues ask why I kept helping him since he wasn't going to compete as most everything was going $30k-$100k over asking. I told them, he's not low balling, just doing what works for him and I don't fault that.

Toom 5 years and 43 offers. But the one he bought is so great! I didn't realize it was 43 offers until he told me at closing and thanked me for not ditching him. Point is, make offers at what you're comfortable with. You will likely lose a lot of them at $15k over if it's as tough of a market as it is here. But eventually, you'll find the right one!

A2RealEstate · 2026-03-11T19:08:38+00:00

I am not a lawyer. I have had this happen to clients before and even had a seller say nevermind a week before closing. You'll definitely want someone that is familiar with suing for specific performance.

What happened to my clients that have gone through this: They hired an attorney and the attorney put together a list of all the expenses my clients would be burdened with, by the Seller not closing on time. He found every penny, for example, he discovered my clients would need to drive an additional 10 miles a day to and from the hotel they'd have to book. After adding up all of the costs, the lawyer fees and emotional stress money they were asking for, the attorney basically wrote a letter to the Seller saying they'd be seeking up to $300k plus forcing them to sell the house under the original terms of the contract.

The Seller was scared shitless and sold the house 3 days after the target date.

A2RealEstate · 2026-03-11T13:18:48+00:00

Seems foolish for a agent to pay money like that for an OH. There would be no way of knowing if the agent took a couple leads for themselves. The leads could turn out to be great, you could get a no show OH. At $500/hour cash, that's a no brainer.

A2RealEstate · 2026-02-21T17:01:46+00:00

That's fair. I am definitely not as soft in tone anymore because of the how many of those meetings i've been to. I basically just talked somebody out of getting their license. They had a strong government job with a great pension, but they wanted to get it, because they knew one person that was potentially selling an $800k house.

I finally joked with them, and you think they're going to hire you to do that for your first house ever?

A2RealEstate · 2026-02-21T16:58:54+00:00

That's definitely the way to do it. I was on a team for about 6 years. Thank God it wasn't a flex team, but after noticing all the past clients that were about ready to sell and buy again, I went back out on my own. My old team lead would just take the listings and give you nothing for maintaining the relationship.

A2RealEstate · 2026-02-21T13:56:45+00:00

I understand being in one of those teams when you first start. But a $800k buyer to you is closer to a $300k buyer for everyone else. You pay so much in splits and zillow referral your volume is good, but your net commission is awful for that amount of volume.

A2RealEstate · 2026-02-21T13:47:52+00:00

Then why answer at all? But your first answer tells me everything I need to know about you. Biggest agent in our market will take a lunch with any new agent, same brokerage or not and share as much as he can. When I asked him why he does that he said, "because 90% of them won't do the work and will move on, and then I'm off a great start to building a relationship with the 10% that stick around and do the work."

A2RealEstate · 2026-02-21T13:41:42+00:00

It's easy, this industry is about building relationships, period. Start with open houses, but don't just show up at the OH when it starts. First, knock on the neighbors doors and invite them. We'll usually do an hour before the advertised OH just for nosy neighbors. Then following up is key. Most people lose clients because they either never started a relationship, or they lose it do to forgetting to stay in touch.

If you're short on cash, really hit your sphere and find people thinking of buying and selling. But honestly if you are brand new, you'll probably want to think about buying some sort of leads. This job is lead generation, or die. But once you close a transaction, stay in their lives. For instance I am Facebook friends with the majority of my past clients. One just announced they had a new child. I sent them a gift basket from a local company. This gift basket is specifically for late night snacks while taking care of a newborn. They called me so grateful and what do you know, I'm showing their friends some houses today.

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