Realtor Fees

[LRutigliano]

We are considering selling our home to move to a home with approx 1 acre, a 45x30 fully insulated shop (with a 12. 5" door and a furnace), 30x16 swimming pool and a fairly nice house. Not as nice as ours, but the property is WAAAY better...



With the way the economy is, realtors still believe they can get 6% and the realtor we are working is very nice and seems to be very good, but they are also representing the home we want and offered to sell ours for 4. 75% because of that.



Where do these guys get these figures and do they have any idea how long it takes to get 4. 75% to 6% of the selling price in equity??



Any tips on working this number down to a flat fee or maybe 3%. Its feels like highway robbery to me... We are trying to make every penny count in the jump up to the next house, but its looking dismal...

 

[E7mack96]

the seller of the home you are buying pays that fee. It may be built into the price, but like you stated, the economy has the price lower than it was just 2-3 yrs ago. Also the Realtor fees are still fair at 6%. they are still making less that they were 2-3 yrs ago as the home prices are lower. Here in FL places that were 250K are 160K now. The Realtor is losing nearly 6K per deal compared to then. As for selling yours, there are plenty of ways to sell it yourself. FSBO.com can list it. Craigslist is free. You can hire the title company yourself, yada yada...

 

[sarj]

Real Estate agents are the scum of the earth... worse than lawyers.

It's relative and negotiable. It'll translate to a dollar amount for effort expended for each agent... the buyer & seller agents. That means it depends how sell-able your house is in a down market. I'm in the middle of putting in a new kitchen (high-end stuff) on the off chance I sell my house in the next two years. My house will sell itself to anyone who likes the floor plan, so the listing agents effort will be negligible.

In a down market, the seller agent will either just take a listing and sit on it, or market it... it depends on if he thinks there's light at the end of the tunnel. It will depend on your price point as to if it will see many offers, and from an agents point of view; 2% of a house selling for $100,000 under market value is better than 4% of a house on the market selling for $100,000 over market value.

Choose your poison.

The agent of a buyer is the same kind of deal. If I tell my agent I have cash to pay for a 30 day escrow on the right house, he knows that's a better prospect than someone putting 10% on a pre-qualified loan that's contingent on selling an existing home as well.

Lastly is the price ranges of the houses. 3% on a $200,000 house is one thing, while 3% on $850,000 is quite another. It's true the seller pays both agents, but that's negotiable within the offer of the buyer, and the offers the seller and his agent might choose to accept. If I walk in with a cash offer, I may want 1. 5% cash back at the close of escrow from the selling agent, which the agent might agree to. The seller & his agent work those details out by themselves, as does the buyer & his agent.

If an agent is handling both ends for the same person, it's a package deal, which is also obviously negotiable, particularly in a slow market where cash is king.

Only a politician is worse than a real estate agent.

 

[HBarlow]

How about used car (or truck) salesmen, home repair salesmen, and lawyers?

 

[LRutigliano]

It's relative and negotiable. It'll translate to a dollar amount for effort expended for each agent... the buyer & seller agents. That means it depends how sell-able your house is in a down market. I'm in the middle of putting in a new kitchen (high-end stuff) on the off chance I sell my house in the next two years. My house will sell itself to anyone who likes the floor plan, so the listing agents effort will be negligible.



In a down market, the seller agent will either just take a listing and sit on it, or market it... it depends on if he thinks there's light at the end of the tunnel. It will depend on your price point as to if it will see many offers, and from an agents point of view; 2% of a house selling for $100,000 under market value is better than 4% of a house on the market selling for $100,000 over market value.



Choose your poison.



The agent of a buyer is the same kind of deal. If I tell my agent I have cash to pay for a 30 day escrow on the right house, he knows that's a better prospect than someone putting 10% on a pre-qualified loan that's contingent on selling an existing home as well.



Lastly is the price ranges of the houses. 3% on a $200,000 house is one thing, while 3% on $850,000 is quite another. It's true the seller pays both agents, but that's negotiable within the offer of the buyer, and the offers the seller and his agent might choose to accept. If I walk in with a cash offer, I may want 1. 5% cash back at the close of escrow from the selling agent, which the agent might agree to. The seller & his agent work those details out by themselves, as does the buyer & his agent.



If an agent is handling both ends for the same person, it's a package deal, which is also obviously negotiable, particularly in a slow market where cash is king.



Only a politician is worse than a real estate agent.

Thanks Sarj,



I guess was just venting... If you look at this way, the realtor is going to make approx $20k on my house and then another $30k+ on the house I want. Without a realtor, I can get a $50k discount and get into the house more affordably...



I honestly don't see the value of spending $50k or more that way... They should get a set fee or maybe $100/hr... Then you have all of the other highway robbers taking money from you when you seal the deal. They all want their cut...



One thing I did notice is that many of the realtors in my area are driving older Camry's and Accord's instead of Lexus' and Range Rovers... Times must bad for all...

 

[dresslered]

Personally, I believe with Sarj for 97% of the realtors. However, if you do your research and do get a good one, you will most likely come out way ahead even when you factor in their fees. A good realtor will NOT barter on commission as they know they can get it whereas a struggling agent will—and then later on ask you to lower the price. The bottom line is that you want to price your house so that it sells within 60-days (areas do differ slightly). If it doesn't, it will be considered dead and be shown very little. You then either have to drastically drop the price to spark interest again, or offer 4% to the selling agent. Early spring is the best time to sell, and winter is the best time to buy. A good realtor already has clients in hand or the knowhow to market your particular home. Again, exceptions do apply and these are just my opinions and experience.

 

[dresslered]

One other thought, if you don't know a good realtor, go to realtor.com and do a home search in your area. The realtor with the most listings is the one you want.