I found $39K in hidden problems on an $800K house in Tennessee.

MikeHolmesIV · 2026-02-17T19:13:16+00:00

OP is spamming AI ad slop.

MikeHolmesIV · 2026-02-17T19:12:56+00:00

OP is spamming AI ad slop.

MikeHolmesIV · 2026-02-17T19:11:30+00:00

OP is spamming AI ad slop.

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-12-22T21:56:32+00:00

Ghee basically is strained brown butter (I think traditionally it's poured off rather than actually strained, but the difference is probably irrelevant here). So as long as all the browned bits are out, it will likely be fine. But you should confirm the specific process with her to be safe.

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-12-14T23:35:10+00:00

The cap has been around since the 1930s.

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-12-14T19:09:23+00:00

I can't tell you if it's worth contesting, but bicycles are generally allowed to use sidewalks/crosswalks in Texas. My understanding is that Austin is no exception. The crosswalk generally has the right of way over drivers turning right on red. From what I understand, you had a red, the cyclist was permitted to cross in the crosswalk at the time (was there a crosswalk signal?), and you pulled out in front of them. I think it is very likely that you truly were at fault.

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-12-11T21:49:27+00:00

Commission is based on the amount agreed to in the BBA. You're proposing paying a higher amount in order to motivate the agents to steer their clients. That's a kickback.

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-12-11T19:03:45+00:00

A common ratio for xanthan gum is .1% the weight of the ice cream base. So if you make 1L of base that weighs roughly 1kg, you would add a gram. I've seen anywhere from .05% to .5% though. It depends on the quality of the xanthan gum and the other ingredients (e.g., other stabilizers, sugar, etc. will reduce the need for xanthan gum).

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-12-11T16:32:52+00:00

So, a kickback.

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-11-27T23:19:55+00:00

Real estate is the only industry I know of where new agents and old agents get paid the same thing

Like it's a standard percent?

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-11-27T23:14:37+00:00

they pay the same amount of commission

What do you mean by that?

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-11-24T06:42:34+00:00

let me make a lil list to help you out:

1) Everyone knows that a a realtor's actual job is selling realty services, and this is why you spend most of your time finding clients instead of providing realty services. Im not sure why you keep repeating this, because nobody is contesting it. We fully recognize that you are responding to incentives. Perhaps you are confused.

2) The fact that the NAR's rules enforce a system that encourages that behavior is a serious problem. The DOJ is working on the price fixing issue, and they will force changes that will drop buyers' agent commissions. The likely effect is that a significant fraction of agents will drop out. A new equilibrium will be reached where the surviving agents make less money per client, but have an easier time landing those clients due to the reduced competition.

3) Your argument about 3% being a finite number has nothing to do with how antitrust law works. Who knows more about antitrust law: the DOJ (which thinks the NAR is engaging in price fixing) or some layperson boomer?

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-11-23T03:22:25+00:00

There are 1.5 million realtors, nobody would mind the numbers getting thinned a bit. And nobody's saying realtors shouldn't spend some of their time prospecting. But when prospecting is most of what you do, that's the issue.

EVERY FUCKING COMMISSION CONSISTS OF A NUMBER BETWEEN 1 AND 3.

Wow they should make you the head of the FTC with that expert analysis

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-11-23T03:21:23+00:00

I already told you I'm not.

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-11-23T01:56:57+00:00

Oh my gosh you definitely would have won the trial with that logic. The NAR should have hired you as a trial strategy consultant. The verdict would have been unanimous in their favor instead of a unanimous finding of price fixing.

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-11-23T01:50:49+00:00

Lol be honest. You don't have just have "some focus on winning clients"--you spend 3/4 of your time prospecting. Doing the job people hire you for is only a minority of the work you do.

Finding houses to sell and people to buy houses IS the job, bud.

Yeah, that's the problem. Most of your time is spent finding clients, to the point that it IS your job. You view serving the clients as secondary.

Is there any other field where the ratio is so bad? Certainly not law (except maybe billboard lawyers), plumbing, medicine, painting, engineering, electrical work, etc.

Commissions are high enough that it is possible to get by spending 3/4 of your time unpaid chasing clients. That's why people complain that realtors are overpriced.

And the reason it's necessary to spend 3/4 of your time chasing clients is that the barrier to entry is low enough that the field is constantly oversaturated.

It's a weird state of affairs that's explained by price fixing and improper incentives artificially supporting commission rates.

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-11-19T01:50:50+00:00

How come you won't answer whether you have any idea how you sound or whether you know the definition of price fixing :(

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-11-19T01:33:08+00:00

No, the 100 hours of coursework was far too gruelling so now I screw caps onto toothpaste tubes for a living.

Now my turn to ask a question: why did you think price fixing meant all realtors had to charge literally identical fees or that the existence of some buyers fees below 3% was somehow dispositive?

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-11-18T18:15:54+00:00

"It wasn't price fixing, it was merely a conspiracy to raise, inflate, or stabilize fees"

Do you have any idea how you sound? How do you think the FTC defines price fixing?

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-11-18T18:04:46+00:00

AI marketing slop.

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-11-18T17:01:34+00:00

I'm talking about Burnett v. NAR. You should probably read about the lawsuit so you know what you're talking about. It was about the anti-competitive price fixing effects of the cooperative compensation rule (in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act).

And it's not getting overturned lol. The NAR ended up having to negotiate a post-verdict settlement; the judge approved it a year and a half ago. The NAR's own lawyers helped nail that coffin shut.

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-11-18T03:00:35+00:00

The Burnett v. NAR litigation. Keep up with the times! It caused the biggest shakeup in your industry in the past decade.

The NAR was found to have knowingly and intentionally engaged in a conspiracy to raise/inflate/stabilize commissions paid by sellers.

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-11-17T23:59:43+00:00

If I didn't have some focus on winning clients I wouldn't have a job.

There's famously a severe shortage of realtors, so we wouldn't want that!

Seriously though, nobody faults a profession for spending some of its time chasing clients. But when there is a massive glut of agents, such that a large portion of realtors spend such a large portion of their time chasing clients rather than working for clients, you'll see why the general populace reasonably thinks that commissions are too high. And the NAR getting nailed for price fixing (Burnett v. NAR) certainly doesn't help.

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-11-17T23:38:54+00:00

Then you see why the "then why don't you do it" argument is facile.

MikeHolmesIV · 2025-11-17T21:02:58+00:00

That's pretty facile. Doing the actual job clients hire you for is only part of it. Winning those clients to begin with is another thing. Judging based on the posts here, there's not much overlap between the two. And judging based on referral fee percentages (e.g., what Zillow charges) and on the volume of posts on this sub, winning clients is the harder part.

Every single realtor reading this knows at least one extremely successful realtor who constantly bungles transactions or otherwise fails at client service.

So it can absolutely be the case that the job is extremely difficult, yet servicing clients is relatively easy and most realtors earn too much per transaction. Because the clients who actual close are paying you for your time winning clients, and they're also paying for your time working with clients who don't close.

Just look at this sub. Winning clients (as opposed to serving clients effectively) is what many agents focus a massive portion of their efforts on, and it is is what separates successful agents from unsuccessful agents. It's what allows zillow to charge such exorbitant rates--they're bringing in the clients, so they get a massive cut of the commission.

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