Chapter 20

I had Caroline call a moving company to schedule to pick up and move our stuff to our home in Stockton. She also called Jennifer to give her a heads up about it.

“Caroline, have we cancelled our lease on the building that was broken into yet?”

“No, that’s one of the outstanding things on our ‘to-do’ list, number 11, I believe.”

“Which leaves us with ... what?” I asked.

“Number 6, Let Mom and Dad know we’re moving, #7 Let Jackson and Sharon know we’re moving, and #9 Apply for marriage license ... are we really gonna pursue that, Richard?”

“I don’t know, but I like the idea of it so much, it’s gonna stay on our list for a while.”

RING

I looked at the caller ID on my phone ... Sheila. “Hello Gorgeous,” I said.

“You’re certainly in a good mood today. Back when the place was broken into you ‘suspended all operations,’ I have some checks to cut for Stan, Robbie and you, due to some house sales. What do I do with the money owed Robbie?”

“Cut all the checks except Robbie’s ... no ... the monies due Robbie, change the payee to Caroline O’Hara. We’ll be by to pick up Caroline’s and mine. Goodbye?”

“How much is Robbie’s commission for?” Caroline asked.

“Well, in California, the standard is somewhere between 6 and 8%, and potentially, up to four people are involved, the listing agent, his broker, the selling agent, and his broker. So, if the listing had an 8% listing fee and sold for one million dollars, which happens in California a lot more than you might think, then the total commission is $80k, each of those people I just mentioned get $20k. If I list one and Stan sells it, using this example, I get $20k for the listing, plus $20k for being the broker of the listing, Stan gets $20k for selling and I get the last $20k for being Stan’s broker.”

“Is that legal, to be the broker on both sides of the deal?” Caroline asked.

“Yes, Caroline ... it is both legal and very common, as long as the seller and buyer are aware of the Dual Agency, as it is called. You’ll learn all about this as you go through your online courses.”

We proceeded to Sheila’s place, where she’s working from, until our new facility is ready to be moved into.

Caroline had never been to Sheila’s, so she got the tour and then we sat down to take care of business. Sheila gave me the checks to sign, which I did. I handed Caroline hers and she just about jumped out of her chair, screaming and shaking the check in her hand. Sheila and I chuckled at this.

“Richard, this is $13.3k ... how much was the house that Robbie sold?”

“Final selling price was $475k, Caroline,” Sheila smiled and said. “With an 8% listing fee.”

“That’s $38k in total commission?” Caroline asked.

“Correct Caroline, you did that in your head?” Sheila reacted.

“Yeah, no big deal. So, 25% of $38,000 dollars is $9,500, so why is this check for $13,300 dollars?”

“Because I motivate my Realtors by adding 10% of the total commission to their split,” I replied.

“And who listed this place?” Caroline went on.

“I did, Caroline.”

“So, the other $24.7k is yours, holy crap Richard. That’s a butt load of money.”

Sheila and I had a good laugh about this, Caroline sat down on my lap and gave me a great big kiss, saying, “Thank you Wichie,” which caused Sheila to snort and say to me, “Wichie, isn’t that cute?”

We repeated this for the Mountain View home Stan sold, and for Caroline and my home, which Stan bought himself. Sheila also told me that the Wheelers are closing in on their first listing. That’s a really good sign that they may be able to take up the slack of Robbie being gone. I gave Caroline all of the checks so we could bank them on our way home.

“Caroline, next thing to put on the list for Stockton, get a personal and company checking account.”

“Got it Richard, numbers 14 and 15.”

“Sheila, please cancel the lease on the downtown building ASAP?”

“Yes, sir ... Wichie.”

Ignoring her I said, “Oh ... I forgot, Sheila these eight addresses in Stockton we need put in the local MLS as belonging to O’Malley Real Estate, but not exclusive to them. If an O’Hara agent finds a buyer, we keep it all and pay 1% to O’Malley, If O’Malley finds a buyer, we get 1% for carrying it. Any new listings from Jennifer O’Malley, are the sole property of O’Hara. Got all that?”

“Yes, Sir ... Wichie.”

“You’re gonna hold on to that for a while, aren’t you?”

“As long as it annoys you, I will,” she said with a great big smile.

Caroline decided she wanted to replace her old Honda Civic. She got it when she turned 16, and even then it was a hand me down car from Sharon, our sister. We went everywhere together so she hadn’t been driving it much lately. I think the money she got, was burning a hole in her pocket, just a little.

I suggested we go to Stockton again, that way we can check on the progress of our new office, our new home, and open the bank accounts and buy Caroline a new car. She agreed, we packed some clothes this time, and went off to Stockton. Caroline made us a reservation at the same Best Western as before, and said in her best Jennifer impersonation, “Oh, Richard ... is that your phone or are you glad to see me?”

“Ha-ha Caroline ... that was pretty good, including the look on your face,” I said.

We got to the bank and had the new incorporation papers with us, so first we setup the business account, allowing myself or Caroline to sign on it, then a Richard and Caroline O’Hara account, with either of us allowed to sign. We left after finishing our work and went over to our future offices, seeing Jeremy and Jennifer there. Caroline gave me a look, and we walked into the place. We all said hi to one another, Jennifer and Caroline gave each other a quick hug. Caroline got a phone call.