Chris, Thanx for taking the time to respond. I do realize that brokers work very hard and most are well deserving of their comissions. In many cases the net procedes will be the same or better than a FSBO. Especialy in a market that may be starting to plateau. Your first comment about getting in the MLS for about 5 c notes being money well spent is also very helpful. Thanx, Don
You might want to consider negotiating a lower commission with the agent selling your house - if you go that route. No, I am not a RE agent.
In my area, some people have succeeded in getting the commission in the 4% range if the agent handles both sides and 4.5 to 5% total if they only get 1/2. I think it depends on your market. Where I am, the homes still sell within a couple weeks and the prices are high, so the commissions are also a fair amount.
When I sold my principal residence in 1999 with my RE agent, I negotiated a 5% commission since I used him to also buy my replacement house. He took 2% and gave 3 to the buyers agent. My house sold in immediately WITHOUT paid advertising - he told a group of his fellow agents in his office and they sent clients out even before a sign was ordered. We received an offer within 2 days of the conversation for more than we expected. The house we sold and replacement residence closed within 45 days.
He worked hard for the commission because he showed us replacement houses for 16 months and this was the 7th offer we had made on a house - finally we had not been outbid. Good luck![ Edited by finniganps on Date 06/22/2006 ]
The answer seems to be different strokes for different folks. Pick out the level of service you want and pay accordingly. Sounds good to me. I like choices.
As far as the lock box goes, I did not use the lock boxes you can buy at the home improvement stores (I already have several of those). I "rented" for $75 the same type the Real Estate Agents use here locally (not for sale to the public). By so doing I ensured there would be no problems with agents gaining access, plus the listing agent would download all the info saved in the lock box every few weeks. I wanted to make sure I could contact the agents showing the property if needed for any reason. As far as ethically being required to show FISBOs, it goes against my ethics to expect someone to work for free. Realtors provide a valuable service and deserve to be compensated, of course I am not apposed to negotiating a fair price based on what they are bringing to the table. Example, if they bring a buyer whether or not listed on the MLS they will get a similar commission as the norm for a buyers agent. If however a buyer comes to my open house from signage or adds I placed, then later a realtor magically appears to represent them, then I would negotiate a more realistic fee structure. Just the way I feel about the situation.
Experiment is over. Still not getting any traffic at all on the property. It is well within range on price and a great location, lot, etc, but still no calls. I did find out realtors will not show flat fee listings, even if i am paying standard commision. I was informed it was a general practice that they do not show any discount services or flat fee listings. Unfortunately, I need to sell the home and not take a stand against the realtor cartels so I am putting a full service listing on it tomorrow with a very good agent that I have used in the past. Thanks for all the info and I wish others better luck!
Chris, Thanx for taking the time to respond. I do realize that brokers work very hard and most are well deserving of their comissions. In many cases the net procedes will be the same or better than a FSBO. Especialy in a market that may be starting to plateau. Your first comment about getting in the MLS for about 5 c notes being money well spent is also very helpful. Thanx, Don
You might want to consider negotiating a lower commission with the agent selling your house - if you go that route. No, I am not a RE agent.
In my area, some people have succeeded in getting the commission in the 4% range if the agent handles both sides and 4.5 to 5% total if they only get 1/2. I think it depends on your market. Where I am, the homes still sell within a couple weeks and the prices are high, so the commissions are also a fair amount.
When I sold my principal residence in 1999 with my RE agent, I negotiated a 5% commission since I used him to also buy my replacement house. He took 2% and gave 3 to the buyers agent. My house sold in immediately WITHOUT paid advertising - he told a group of his fellow agents in his office and they sent clients out even before a sign was ordered. We received an offer within 2 days of the conversation for more than we expected. The house we sold and replacement residence closed within 45 days.
He worked hard for the commission because he showed us replacement houses for 16 months and this was the 7th offer we had made on a house - finally we had not been outbid. Good luck![ Edited by finniganps on Date 06/22/2006 ]
The answer seems to be different strokes for different folks. Pick out the level of service you want and pay accordingly. Sounds good to me. I like choices.
As far as the lock box goes, I did not use the lock boxes you can buy at the home improvement stores (I already have several of those). I "rented" for $75 the same type the Real Estate Agents use here locally (not for sale to the public). By so doing I ensured there would be no problems with agents gaining access, plus the listing agent would download all the info saved in the lock box every few weeks. I wanted to make sure I could contact the agents showing the property if needed for any reason. As far as ethically being required to show FISBOs, it goes against my ethics to expect someone to work for free. Realtors provide a valuable service and deserve to be compensated, of course I am not apposed to negotiating a fair price based on what they are bringing to the table. Example, if they bring a buyer whether or not listed on the MLS they will get a similar commission as the norm for a buyers agent. If however a buyer comes to my open house from signage or adds I placed, then later a realtor magically appears to represent them, then I would negotiate a more realistic fee structure. Just the way I feel about the situation.
Experiment is over. Still not getting any traffic at all on the property. It is well within range on price and a great location, lot, etc, but still no calls. I did find out realtors will not show flat fee listings, even if i am paying standard commision. I was informed it was a general practice that they do not show any discount services or flat fee listings. Unfortunately, I need to sell the home and not take a stand against the realtor cartels so I am putting a full service listing on it tomorrow with a very good agent that I have used in the past. Thanks for all the info and I wish others better luck!