[nitch]

fyi for sellers. found 2 realtors who will negotiate fees. one @ 5% and another at 4%

[vintageogauge]

You will also find that very few agents will want to show their buyers a home that is only paying 4%, they'll be showing homes similar to yours that are paying 5 or 6% first as their income is based solely on that percentage. Not worth it, just add 1 percent to the minimum you will accept to sell your home and let it go at that.

[Bay Kid]

You get what you pay for....

[manaboutown]

Originally Posted by Bay Kid

You get what you pay for....

Maybe...if you are lucky. Rarely, if ever, will you get more than you pay for.

[Daddymac]

Go for the 5% ... 2% for listing 3% for selling...

[Rapscallion St Croix]

I am reminded of what I was told in the military..."Remember, your weapon was built by the lowest bidder."

[retiredguy123]

I am extremely frugal, but I don't consider it a good idea to save money on the real estate commission. Also, as a buyer, I refuse to even look at homes that are for sale by owner. They are usually overpriced and the seller expects the buyer to essentially pay all or part of the commission they are avoiding. When a house is sold, the seller, not the buyer, should pay the sales commission.

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by nitch

fyi for sellers. found 2 realtors who will negotiate fees. one @ 5% and another at 4%

Congratulations! I think either of them will do a fine job and paying 50% more (4% vs. 6%) gets you zero more in a sales price.

[EPutnam1863]

One of our realtors agreed to accept a 4% if she sold before it went on MLS. We sold in 2 1/2 weeks so we did not have to pay the usual 6%.

[champion6]

Originally Posted by EPutnam1863

One of our realtors agreed to accept a 4% if she sold before it went on MLS. We sold in 2 1/2 weeks so we did not have to pay the usual 6%.

"One of our realtors" -- are you referring to a Villages sales rep? And she was the listing agent and the selling agent? And you got it in writing? And her name is???

[npwalters]

I'm guessing that most agents will be willing to show a $250K house if the commission is "just" 2% (to the agent). That is $5,000 and I know Id get out of bed for that. Would I prefer 3 or 4 % - sure. But Id show a saleable and reasonably priced property a 2%. Just sayin.

[autumnspring]

Originally Posted by nitch

fyi for sellers. found 2 realtors who will negotiate fees. one @ 5% and another at 4%

I expect commission rates are regional. You will find all brokers will tell you ZILLOW prices are no good. They of course have a vested interest in securing their position.

I suggest, as we did that you compare the zillow estimate to the actual sale price. You need to do this quickly after a home is sold before Zillow updates their price.

We had TIME to plan. My statement is about four years old but based on my research the actual sale prices were never more than 5% above or below the Zillow price. The broker tries to control the situation-YOU CAN'T BLAME THEM.

Our previous home sold for 5% above the top zillow price.
We got a full listing price offer-CASH. We paid the broker the agreed upon 4% and our home was on MLS. For the opened house we had 35-40 lookers. How many of those were legitimate-ABLE TO BUY. Perhaps watching too many of those FLIPPER SHOWS, we will never know.

It might be true that other brokers were not interested in showing our property as if, I am correct it is a 50-50 split between the listing broker and the selling broker-SALESMAN so 4% is then 2%. Our place sold in 1 week to ten days and it was the listing broker who sold it. We got 395,000 so 4% is 15,800.

MY OPINION-you will interview a bunch of brokers. One will tell you I will get you ............... and you are drooling over that money-my commission is only 7%. Then, you sit and wonder. Hum, that same broker now tells you compared to what is out there you are too high. Now your house is STALE. So now you will get offeres below you new lowered price and you are stuck with a 7% commission-7% of 395,000 is 27650 compared to 4% 15,800. That 7% broker needs to get you over 12,000 more for you to net the same money. HUM would my home have sold for 395,000 plus 12,000 407,000-NOPE-and even if some starry eyed person wanted ot pay that much for it, if they needed a mortgage it would not have appraised for that much.

[Mrs. Robinson]

It's really quite simple . . .

There is no "standard" real estate commission, although in the layman's mind, 6% is what they believe to be typically "standard."
Keep in mind that Realtors work on commission -- strictly commission only, and all their expenses are their own.

There is no doubt whatsoever, that when the selling agent's commission is less than what is considered "standard," the property will get significantly fewer showings.
Conversely, when the listing agent cuts her/his split, are the sellers really getting the full service they deserve?

The above is something to think about and should be fully thought out, before you cut off your nose to spite your face!

[John_W]

I don't know if this is the same way today, but when I had my Florida license in the 80's in Hernando County, at Remax the agents didn't share any commission with the broker. They paid $1200 a month for their desk and the broker provided the phone lines, a receptionist and the utilities for the building. So if a commission was $12,000, it would normally be a 4 way split, listing agent, listing broker, selling agent, selling broker. However, with Remax the listing or selling agent got the whole amount for their side of the deal.

My neighbor just put his 2BR 2BA masonry CYV seven years old in Tamarind Grove on one of the FSBO websites two weeks ago for $229K furnished and I found out yesterday he sold it, I don't know the amount yet. I had referred it to someone who was in the market and they said they thought it was too much, to me it seemed like an accurate price. It had a $10,000 landscaping job front and back.

[GoodLife]

I expect commission rates are regional. You will find all brokers will tell you ZILLOW prices are no good. They of course have a vested interest in securing their position.

I suggest, as we did that you compare the zillow estimate to the actual sale price. You need to do this quickly after a home is sold before Zillow updates their price.

We had TIME to plan. My statement is about four years old but based on my research the actual sale prices were never more than 5% above or below the Zillow price. The broker tries to control the situation-YOU CAN'T BLAME THEM.



Zillow "zestimates" are notoriously inaccurate. Why? Because they use a computer algorithm that goes only by square footage and nearby sales prices. They do not take into account things like view and privacy of the lot, expensive upgrades to the home etc etc. They do not visit the home in person. For instance, Zillow will zestimate two similar homes side by side, one sold for X this year and is a plane jane, original TV build with laminate counters, cheap developer tile and fixtures, carpet, wallpaper, ugly drapes and cheap blinds. The home next door has undergone an 80k remodel with new floors, granite counters, maple cabinets, plantation shutters etc etc. The "zestimate' will be the same for both homes if the remodeled home has not sold since remodeling. Realtors and Certified Property Appraisors actually visit the home and will take into account things like view and upgrades.