[foofy]

Hi all. I would just like to know if anyone could tell me what percentage I could expect to pay a Realtor here in Florida - Palm Beach County more specifically. Thanks to anyone who could help!

[in2dadark]

You don't have to pay them anything unless of course you want them to help you buy or sell a home..

[foofy]

Ha, good one. I guess you must've been the class clown.

[OC2OC]

Originally Posted by foofy

Hi all. I would just like to know if anyone could tell me what percentage I could expect to pay a Realtor here in Florida - Palm Beach County more specifically. Thanks to anyone who could help!

Will you be listing a property or purchasing a property?

[macguy]

Originally Posted by foofy

Hi all. I would just like to know if anyone could tell me what percentage I could expect to pay a Realtor here in Florida - Palm Beach County more specifically. Thanks to anyone who could help!

You can fashion what ever deal you want. Most ask 6%. I just sold a piece of property and I had in the deal if I brought my own buyer they got 2%. If I sold to someone, (this is what happened) I had talked to before doing the listing they get nothing. I never feel sorry for realtors, most are in the listing business and now with the net and MLS may actually do nothing to sell your property beyond that. Maybe an open house but that is really networking more then anything else. They meet buyers they can maybe show some property to once they have their name and needs.

[TANC]

Do a flat fee MLS listing and offer 3%. Do your own advertising and open houses.

[foofy]

Thanks everyone! I was hoping the commission would be 6% and not 7%. I can live with 6%. I was thinking about doing my own advertising etc. but I really would not be good at showing my home. If I were to do a flat fee MLS and advertise myself, would I have to show my home myself from time to time? I don't think I would allow a Realtor to do an open house here either, why let them use my home for networking. Also, I had a Realtor in mind, the one that was the listing agent on my current home. I was thinking that he would be more likely to negotiate since he made a commission on this home in the past. (I just can't remember what he charged but he got half and my buyer's agent got half) He's a member of the 100% Club also. I read somewhere that it's a good idea to go with a Realtor who is a member of this club. I am also considering a Realtor who lives in my neighborhood, I thought since she lives here she would try to make my home sell for a good price, thus increasing/maintaining her home value, plus she knows the neighborhood. Any opinions? Thanks again to everyone that helped.

[Floridasunshine]

I used a 2995.00 realtor to sell my last home why pay more?

[foofy]

Floridasunshine, did that Realtor list your home on MLS and show your home? I would love some more info on this, if you could give it to me here or in pm I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

[TANC]

$2995 is likely a company like Assist 2 Sell Realty which does not list the property in the MLS for that fee. They advertise it along with the rest of their listings on their website and in the paper but you're lumped along with the rest of their listings. It can certainly work but you'll have the best luck if you're in the MLS and offer at least 3% to an agent bringing a buyer.

If you don't want to show the property yourself (which isn't a big deal really), than you'll need to get the help of a realtor at a bigger commission of say 5 or 6%.

I just sold my home in 3 months using a Flat Fee MLS listing. We cleared the house of personal items and clutter, purchased professionally made signs and had open houses on the weekend, advertised in the paper for it, etc. We went on ForSaleByOWner.com but don't waste your money on this.

When you show the house make sure it is spotless clean, cleared of all personal stuff and clutter and let the buyers wander through the house on their own and stay out of the way. Be there to answer answer any questions and offer up one or two important points about the home which can not be discerned from the advertisement. Keep a log of who comes in to the home, get phone numbers, and follow up.

Most importantly, you must price your home right. We had an appraisal done, and priced the home significantly below that number (about 5%), We ended up getting full price and paying some closing costs for the buyer.

We'll pay 3% to the agent who brough the buyer and we spent about a total of $1600 on signs and advertising in the paper. We saved probably about $13,000 in commission.

That's my two cents....