Why do realtors make so much? (flat fee, movers, loan)

[matrix5k]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

If I truly believed that, I would admit it. If you'd like to argue about real estate commissions, I suggest you pop over to the real estate sub-forum. There seems to be one going one every so often. I stopped participating in them long ago. I don't have the time for it. If you don't want to use an agent, then don't. If you think you can do everything on your own then be my guest.



Commissions are 100% negotiable. My experience is agents who are actually worth spending money on are often not willing to negotiate off their standard rate or not willing to negotiate much. Those that are willing to be paid less often do less, have less experience, and/or are less skilled.

I could train a monkey to get a listing sold in most markets around here right now. However, the monkey is not going to get you as much money as someone who actually knows what they're doing and they're not going to be able to help you navigate problems that may come up during the transaction.

More run around answers. "If you don't want to use a real estate agent then don't". I never said that, in my very first post I said I used one! No one has answered the question in my OP. Is it twice the work?

[matrix5k]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

Next I'm sure you'll be asking why the waiter at Capital Grill deserves a bigger tip than the waiter at TGI Fridays even though they're both serving you food.

Let me guess, the Capital Grille waitress is more likely to get sued by me?

[simplexsimon]

It doesn't appear you really had a question to begin with.

Originally Posted by matrix5k

My job pays the same whether I'm in Boston or Springfield so there goes that theory.

Just because this applies to you doesn't mean it's not true. Aren't median salaries much higher in Boston than in Springfield? Isn't this reflected in real estate prices? I don't know why you would willfully ignore the impact of geography.

In a town where a median home price is $700k, one could argue that a house priced at $350k may be a difficult sell. Just look at the other thread about the house in Waltham that's been sitting on the market forever.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by matrix5k

We sold our first house for 350k and the realtor made 17.5k commission. The house we bought after that was double the price and the seller's realtor took double the commission. Was it double the work? Don't think so.

Well, it's a service, and like virtually any product or service, the real estate brokerage charges what the market will bear. I agree that it seems like relatively easy money, especially in today's era of digital photography and real estate websites, the marketing side is easier than ever. Still, brokers - good brokers, can provide good counsel during the process, they guide it and can provide confidence that the right thing is being done to cover the right bases legally (versus the do-it-yourself approach), and by being a dispassionate 3rd party, they can also act as an arbiter and smooth over some of the emotional points of dispute that can make deals fall through when either the buyer or seller is being unreasonable. If most sellers didn't think it was worth it, they'd be doing their own sales; that seems to be just a sliver of the houses sold though.

[mdovell]

Look things that cost more generally have people getting paid more to sell and service them. A steak cost more than a burger. McDonald's doesn't sell steak (get that mcrib thing out my face)

Why does a specialist make more than a gp?

My job pays the same across the state but grant funding is what it is. Totally different VS commission based.

[matrix5k]

Originally Posted by mdovell

Look things that cost more generally have people getting paid more to sell and service them. A steak cost more than a burger. McDonald's doesn't sell steak (get that mcrib thing out my face)

Why does a specialist make more than a gp?

My job pays the same across the state but grant funding is what it is. Totally different VS commission based.

A specialist makes more because they're a specialist lol. A GP cannot do what a specialist does. Does the 700k house realtor specialize vs a 350k realtor? Nope they are the same.

[matrix5k]

Originally Posted by simplexsimon

It doesn't appear you really had a question to begin with.



Just because this applies to you doesn't mean it's not true. Aren't median salaries much higher in Boston than in Springfield? Isn't this reflected in real estate prices? I don't know why you would willfully ignore the impact of geography.

In a town where a median home price is $700k, one could argue that a house priced at $350k may be a difficult sell. Just look at the other thread about the house in Waltham that's been sitting on the market forever.

What do you mean I didn't have a question to begin with? Read the OP, the question was "Was it double the work?" So far NO ONE in this thread has answered this question! All I've gotten are long non answers and snide remarks like "If you don't want to use an agent then try selling on your own" or "you should have negotiated". Can anyone answer my question? Was it double the work?

A 350k home may be harder to sell than a 700k home? This realtor just said it was harder cause the pool of buyers is lower! And they might get sued!

The one outlier in Waltham is not a good example. Do you know how long a 350k house would last in Burlington, Lexington, Bedford? Maybe a couple hours tops. Unless maybe they had a garage that opened to nowhere like that house in Waltham.

[jks1985]

Rent if you don't like it. Buying/selling houses is expensive business! With all the expenses and fees, you're more likely than not to lose money on your "investment", unless your house appreciates substantially.

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by matrix5k

We sold our first house for 350k and the realtor made 17.5k commission. The house we bought after that was double the price and the seller's realtor took double the commission. Was it double the work? Don't think so.

Depends. I had a neighbor who literally sank her own sale. House listed for 650k. She had a bidding war....so she demanded the come back with highest and best. THEN she demanded another 10k on top of that. This was also a seller that did not want anyone in the house without them present, AND you had to have a submitted offer before you could view the house. The guy who bought it told me all this. He got the house for 525k. 6 months later. Because everyone walked away. And he was the only one willing to go through the hoops and he lowballed the duck out of it. He figured might as well lowball since they are Aholes.

Some sellers are easy others are tards. You never know who you get.

And yes there are entirely too many ****ty agents out there.

[RBThescot]

Realtors provide a valuable service and should expect to be fairly compensated for what they do.

When you engage a licensed realtor
from a reputable agency they add credibility value to your listing and transaction. Most people, IMO, think an FSBO seller is flakey to begin with so you're hanging up your deposit, down payment, movers, lawyer, children's schooling, mortgage, etc on a flakey deal. You're also dealing close up with the FSBO seller's psychology, and we all know what people can be like.

My main problem with Realtors is, bottom line, when push comes to shove, they don't work for you. They work for themselves. You're just the conduit for the transfer of money to them. No sale - no commission.

That's true also of other professionals. Lawyers would prefer to win, of course, but they don't care about you personally. They care about billable hours. Same with doctors. I'm elderly and have real things wrong with me, none of which will be cured by a camera up the keister, which is where they seem want to make their money these days, and which is one concept that would really annoy me. They don't care about you, they care about billing codes, what your insurance company covers, and that's the health care they sell you.

In my experience realtors have undervalued my properties when I'm the seller because it makes for a quicker sale. They might be sacrificing an extra couple hundred bucks of commission to make the sale, but that might cost me $10 or 20k out of my pocket. You only get to sell it one time and getting top dollar is king.