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Joan Herlong: Buyer (Agent) Beware

Joan Herlong of Herlong Sotheby's International Realty

A lot of people mistakenly think sellers base buyer-agent fees on what kind of offer they get for their home.

“It matters because sellers are no longer obligated to pay anything to the buyer agent,” Herlong says. “Most of my sellers, for example, aren’t committing to a set fee, or percentage, any longer. They’re instead opting to negotiate buyer-agent fees as part of the final sales contract.”

This is tied to a change in National Association of Realtor rules that took effect in August related to guaranteed compensation for buyer agents.

“As of August, listing agents cannot recommend, imply or expect sellers to offer compensation to buyer agents,” Herlong says.

As a result, Herlong says, sellers are beginning to base buyer-agent compensation on whether the buyer agent is bringing any value to the transaction.

“Are they facilitating the transaction or just throwing up roadblocks?” Herlong says. “Because too many buyer agents simply parrot the buyer’s concerns and that doesn’t bring value. It only adds static and difficulty.”

This doesn’t mean a buyer must cater to the seller, but it does mean that buyers’ agents should ask intelligent, informed questions on behalf of the buyers.

A recent transaction underscores Herlong’s point.

“The buyer agent simply relayed her buyer’s concerns over and over again, making us wonder if she was not relaying our answers back to them, or whether the buyers were not listening,” Herlong recalls. “Either way, it gave the seller pause, and they went with an offer from another agent.”

This article originally ran in The Greenville Journal

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Don’t Let It Intimidate You: Tips For Starting (or Strengthening) Your Real Estate Career

Greenville, SC

When I started in real estate in 1993, I swore it would be part-time.

I had four children under age nine, but I needed to put my skills to use other than deciding what to make for dinner that didn’t include SPAM or hot dogs. I had worked as a news writer for CNN and then in advertising before kids — so why real estate part-time? The short answer is the numerous underwhelming experiences with real estate “professionals” I had while relocating my family during the late ‘80’s. I learned what not to do from those people. The long answer is those people — plus my mother and sister. Both were in residential real estate, and while I often told them I found their jobs boring, I knew they made good money working full-time.

I also knew they had made real estate all-consuming. They even had a battle over a property during Thanksgiving one year, which pretty much ruined turkey and stuffing for the family forever.

I was assured that most real estate professionals worked part-time, so I decided that was the route for me. Two weeks into my new career, I sold my first house. I was hooked like a feline with catnip. Six weeks after starting, I went to the broker-in-charge and told him this part-time thing was not working out. He said he was not surprised. While the vast majority of real estate professionals work part-time, he knew my personality would make me go full-time quickly. He said, “That’s a you thing, not a real estate thing.”

Where am I going with this?

There are three million Realtors, agents, associates, professionals (and unprofessionals) packed into tight housing markets in every corner of the 50 states. That can seem intimidating to someone just entering the industry. It shouldn’t be. The vast majority of those people aren’t selling anything. They are part-time or less. They have a license for reasons only they understand.

I recently read Abraham Verghese’s The Covenant of Water. While you may be wondering what a book about South India’s Malabar Coast in the Twentieth Century has to do with real estate, there is an amazing lesson to be learned: Sometimes contrary courses of action can lead to the same results. The thing to remember is that the journey and the destination are not the same thing.

There is no single, right way to enter this industry and find success. But after 30 years, thousands and thousands of transactions, and quite a few headaches, there are several intrinsic truths in an industry where 60% of the people quit during their first year.

  • Be a self-starter. This may sound like a cliché, but to succeed in real estate, you must be driven. This is not a job if you want to stay at home all day in your sweatpants or shorts, and punch numbers into a computer. This is a job that requires you to learn on the fly, figure things out on your own, and learn from mistakes. If you think of this as starting your own business, that is the first step to success.
  • Be an expert at knowing experts. There’s a reason you are a licensed Realtor, and not an electrician. Your skills took you this way, but people will ask you about electrical stuff. Or roofs. Or building cabinets. Or how often a plane flies overhead. Your biggest asset is having a core group of experts and professionals you can turn to in order to answer those questions. So, how do you find these experts if you are just starting? Ask other real estate professionals. Ask mentors. Don’t just go off Google reviews. Get to know these people. It will take time, but the investment is worth it.
  • Honesty is your job. Too many real estate professionals just repeat what their clients want to hear. I call them parrots. You can guess how valuable they are to buyers and sellers. To be a successful real estate professional, you have to be candid with your client. You need to point out facts about a house that they may not want to hear. You must be the “bad guy” when needed.

A lot has changed in the real estate world in thirty years, but it remains a brutally challenging field. Reality TV has created the illusion that selling real estate is easy work and fast money. That’s not true. Hard work matters the most. Don’t be intimidated by it.

Originally Posted by Joan Herlong on September 11, 2023 (Original Article) 

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We’ve Rebranded!

Herlong Sotheby's International Realty

With an eye toward the future growth of the company, Joan Herlong announced the rebranding of one of the Upstate’s premier real estate companies Wednesday morning.

Herlong Sotheby’s International Realty will be the new name and brand for the agency that has been one of the top producing real estate firms in the region since its inception in 2011. Joan Herlong, the company’s founder and CEO, said a new brand was needed in order to take the company to the next level.

“We have developed an amazing group of Associates and want to attract more, and we want to create a brokerage that goes beyond just being my name out front,” she said. “We already have been heading in that direction, and this brand change signifies this new direction.”

Herlong stressed the new name did not signify a change in ownership or her taking a permanent step back from selling and listing, but added that was the ultimate goal for the company in the next 10 years.

“We remain a woman-owned business, but this change frees us up to be so much more,” Herlong said. “This change further empowers our Associates to build their own brands and identities. My goal is to strengthen them by being their leader and mentor.” 

In choosing a new brand name, Herlong praised working with Sotheby’s International Realty as a resource. The Sotheby’s International Realty affiliation is one of the few that puts the local owner’s name and brand first, which helps show buyers they are working with someone who knows the market.

The company has tripled in sales and the number of staffing since affiliating with Sotheby’s International Realty in 2017, she said.  It also has led to many of the company’s successes in the past few years including David Vandeputte setting a new Upstate record for a single-home sales price earlier this year and the numerous business accolades it has earned.

“This is an exciting new era for us and for me,” Herlong said. 

Herlong Sotheby's International Realty
Herlong Sotheby’s International Realty

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Herlong Sotheby’s International Realty lists $10 million property

Herlong Sotheby's International Realty $10 million

A 16,000 square foot mansion on a 171-acre estate is being listed for $10 million by Pat McNamara of Joan Herlong & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty.

With eight bedrooms and 11-and-a-half baths, 822 Poplar Springs Road in Westminster features a luxurious swath of rolling land  (the property is known as Rolling Meadows and the name fits) tucked into the South Carolina foothills with easy access to the major metros along the Interstate 85 corridor.

A winding driveway with mountain views leads to a magnificent brick home where a beautiful fountain and crepe myrtle create a majestic entrance.

Once inside the double front doors, a fabulous Swarovski chandelier hangs just above double spiral staircases flanking marble floors. The formal living room is welcoming with a 30-foot-high stone fireplace, beautifully carved mantle and elegant bookcases. Large Palladian windows allow sun to flood the space with doors leading to a grilling patio spacious enough to entertain a crowd.

Located on the main level, the main bedroom suite with tray ceiling creates a luxurious ambiance with a separate sitting area featuring a gas fireplace. The bathroom suite includes heated marble flooring, steam shower, separate tub, double vanities, and beautiful Swarovski lighting. The second floor features four sizable bedrooms with en suites. A private in-law apartment is also located on the second floor and accessed by private stairs and an elevator. 

This house is made for entertaining as the chef’s kitchen dark wood cabinets is perfect for sipping wine with friends as the meal is prepped around two islands, a breakfast area, luxury appliances including double wall ovens, Bosch warming drawer, two dishwashers, six burner Jen Air cooktop and Sub-Zero refrigerator

Of course, why stop entertaining there when the bottom level has the ambiance of an English-style pub with a dark wood grand bar housing a dishwasher, refrigerator, and ice maker with enough space for a billiards table and more games. This floor also features home theatre as well as two bedrooms with en suites, and a gigantic walk-in storage area.

But it’s not all relaxing. The bottom level also features a home fitness room complete with a six to eight person sauna.

French doors allow private access from this level to the vast patio area, tranquility of the fountain, and hot tub with waterfall into the pool. Views of the stocked pond, rolling pastures and expansive barn surround the stately home and grounds.

And about that barn.

Equestrians dream of barns like this with its 11 stalls, air-conditioned office and tack room, laundry room, bathroom, and misting system. A full caretaker’s apartment is located on the second floor of the barn.

Finally, the estate offers generous parking with the home’s four car garage, and the barn’s three car garage equipped with a Tesla charger.

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Top Realtor’s Insight Raises The Bar For Real Estate Expectations

Originally posted by: Forbes.com on September 23, 2023 (Original Article)

As Is: An Insider’s Guide to Real Estate, by Joan Herlong is now available. The book is published with Forbes Books, the exclusive business book publishing imprint of Forbes, and is available on Amazon today.

Popular television programs make the real estate business look easy. However, with more than thirty years of experience as a realtor in the Upstate of South Carolina, Joan Herlong knows there’s more to buying and selling houses than meets the eye.

In As Is, Herlong speaks the language of real estate fluently. She shares everything she has learned about achieving success in real estate—as an agent, a buyer, and a seller. Herlong explains how to separate the professional agents from the part-timers, and she outlines how she trains Joan Herlong & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty agents to succeed by serving their clients. Finally, she offers proven, practical advice to buyers and sellers to help them get the most out of every transaction.

Buying or selling a home can be stressful, emotional, and extremely personal. That’s why her book and company are formed around three core values: honor, advocacy, and expertise.

“This is my effort to raise the bar, hopefully inspiring more dedicated, full-time agents who will treat this high-stakes business with the seriousness that buyers and sellers deserve,” said Herlong. “Whether you’re an agent, aspiring agent, a buyer, or a seller, you’ll find insights and strategies in here that will help you become better informed to get the most out of your experience.”

About Joan Herlong

Joan Herlong is a top-producing, award-winning Realtor with more than thirty years of experience, as well as the Founder and CEO of Joan Herlong & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty, a real estate firm with more than 40 professionals that specializes in luxury properties located in the Upstate of South Carolina. During her career, Joan has negotiated thousands of deals, advised on thousands, and believes professionalism, transparency, candor, integrity, and advocacy are not just words. Learn more at www.joanherlong.com.

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Four Typical Real Estate Buyer’s Agents

Originally Posted by Joan Herlong on Forbes.com on November 13, 2023 (Original Article)

Buyer agents are most of the agents in this industry: they assist buyer-clients at every step of the home-buying process. This includes the contract-to-closing period—most agents are primarily rep buyers.

They meet all kinds of wonderful and amazing people in this process. They also meet some very interesting recurring characters.

Here’s that cast of characters and, more importantly, how to deal with them:

1. The Buyer With ‘The Dad’

Negotiations go smoothly, and the contract is signed, but when it’s time to schedule inspections, your buyer makes an announcement that sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard.

“By the way, my dad will inspect the house for us to help us save money. He’s a retired [fill in the blank].”

The Dad can be a retired anything: a butcher, a baker, or a candlestick maker. But this is the record-scratch moment. What the buyer means is, “My dad, the retired [________], is gifting us our down payment, so we need to do this his way, or no way.”

The best way to handle this buyer is to invite The Dad to attend the home inspection and to please share his helpful perspective. But note that the seller is unlikely to accept repair requests that aren’t based on a report from a licensed home inspector.

2. The Lawyer

My husband (sometimes referred to as my Reason for Living) is a lawyer, so this is not a knock on the legal profession. The Lawyer often cannot resist the urge to take a red pen to the contract’s boilerplate language, regardless of whether their specialty is contract law.

They will haggle over cost. They will haggle over the word haggle. The Lawyer can be a tough buyer to deal with, but you can win them over by knowing your contract inside out. Answer their questions succinctly, but use the handy phrase “I don’t know” when you don’t know.

If they are bound and determined to make changes to the contract that are likely to confuse or annoy the other party, ask your closing attorney for assistance because you are sooooo not a lawyer.

3. The Wannabe Realtor

This is the buyer who’s watched too much HGTV, so they think they know everything about real estate.

Or, this is the buyer who dabbled in real estate for 10 minutes 10 years ago, which makes them an expert today. Or, they may have a Zillow account and an Excel spreadsheet. Regardless, the Wannabe Realtor knows that they know more than you know, making you wonder why they even hired you as their buyer agent.

The best way to handle them is to remind them that they hired you for your knowledge and skills. Your job is to guide them and inform them, not defer to strong opinions.

4. The Handyman

This person once built a deck with some pals (without a permit). He now believes he can spot structural flaws that other so-called experts have missed. Think Cliff Clavin with a measuring tape and a pencil behind one ear.

The solution is to introduce him to your own licensed guy so they can review the inspection results together and reminisce about the good ole days when your pals would help build a deck in exchange for a case of warm beer.

My Advice for Working With Buyer’s Agents

I’ve been in this business for a bit, and I’ve seen a lot of changes. I’m somewhat qualified to offer advice to buyers and their potential agents.

When I first start out with buyers, I tell them a couple of things. First, I’m not going to ask them to sign a buyer agency agreement with me until after our outing together because I view our first house-hunting foray as a mutual audition.

After a week or so, they get to decide whether they value my input, and I get to decide whether we’re a good fit. If so, we will sign the Buyer Agency agreement.

A buyer agency agreement is a mutual loyalty agreement, and it’s also a binding contract. I want to make sure we both fully understand the agreement before signing. Our industry is changing rapidly, perhaps faster than many agents can adapt.

If you’re working with a buyer agent who has not even mentioned an agency or a buyer agency agreement, press pause. Ask questions, then make sure you fully understand and agree with each other’s expectations in writing.

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Three of our team members make Top 100 sales leaders in SC list

Herlong Sotheby's International Realty

Three Associates of Herlong Sotheby’s International Realty were ranked in the Top 100 Sales Volume leaders in South Carolina, according to data released by RealTrends this week.

Joan Herlong, the agency’s CEO and founder, was ranked 10th; Lisa Vogel, an associate in the Clemson/Lakes office was 29h, and Grace Herlong Loveless, an associate in the Greenville, was 62th, according to RealTrends, which  identifies the country’s most successful residential real estate brokerages, teams and agents each year. The RealTrends team compiles and verifies transaction sides and closed sales volume for the industry’s trusted annual rankings program.

Herlong was the top ranked Sotheby’s International Realty agent listed in South Carolina.  She has been selling real estate full time since 1993, and led all agents in the Greater Greenville Association of Realtors in sales volume between January 2012 and December 2021 with $388 million worth of real estate transactions.  She opened her own boutique agency in 2011. Herlong affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty and launched Joan Herlong & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty in 2017, and the company has more than tripled in size since that time. Her book, As Is: an Insider’s Guide to Real Estate, was published by Forbes in 2024.

Born in Greenville, Loveless joined Herlong Sotheby’s International Realty in 2017 after a career in luxury automobiles. In her first year, she sold more than $9 million and was named the company’s Rookie of the Year. She became a member of the President’s Circle, which is for Associates who did more than $5 million in sales, and the Chairman’s Circle, which is for Associates who did more than $10 million in sales, in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Before Vogel joined Herlong Sotheby’s International Realty, she was in the top 5% of agents at different brokerages and a member of the firm’s President’s Circle Society. Prior to that, she was the Broker-in-Charge for one of the largest North Carolina real estate companies. In 2022, Vogel had the largest sale for anyone in the Clemson/Lakes office. In 2023, she was named to the Chairman’s Circle and was the top producer in the Clemson/Lakes office.

“Real estate is more than listing and selling a house at our company,” said Jackson Herlong, the company’s Chief Strategy Officer and the non-compete Broker-in-charge for the Clemson/Lakes office. “We are here to help guide people on some of the biggest decisions of their lives.”

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Grace Herlong Loveless named one of GSA Business’s Forty Under 40

Grace Herlong Loveless has been named one of GSA Business Report’s Forty Under 40.

GSA Business Report’s Forty Under 40 annually celebrates the success and community involvement of 40 professionals under age 40 who are making their mark on the Upstate in a mix of industry, professional and community sectors.

Nominations for the award are submitted by businesses, organizations and individuals. Judges independently score the nominations, and 40 emerge from the pool of candidates for the final list of honorees.

Loveless grew up in Greenville and is a graduate of Furman University. Since 2017, she has been an award-winning Associate with Joan Herlong & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty. She became a member of the President’s Circle, which is for  who did more than $5 million in sales, in 2020 and joined the Chairman’s Circle, which is for Associates who topped $10 million, in 2021 and repeated in 2022. She also was the top producer in the company’s Greenville office in 2022. She also was featured in a 2020 episode of HGTV’s House Hunters.

“Everyone is very proud of Grace’s accomplishments,” said Joan Herlong, owner and CEO of Joan Herlong & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty. “Grace is an amazing Realtor and dedicated to working for the best of her clients.”


Grace Herlong Loveless
Grace Herlong Loveless