Need a Real Estate Agent (buyer's agent, commission, Realtors, listing)

[Njrover0216]

I was wondering if anyone knew a real estate agent that takes 3% commission. I do not need any emails about how real estate agents barely make a profit as is...blah blah blah. I own a townhome in Severna Park and it is going to sell for at least 300,000 dollars, so I am not willing to pay more then 3% of my profits. It is going to sell quickly due to the fact I am in a GREAT school district and am located across from the Severn River. Any recommendations are appreciated.

[teleblazer]

Originally Posted by Njrover0216

I was wondering if anyone knew a real estate agent that takes 3% commission. I do not need any emails about how real estate agents barely make a profit as is...blah blah blah. I own a townhome in Severna Park and it is going to sell for at least 300,000 dollars, so I am not willing to pay more then 3% of my profits. It is going to sell quickly due to the fact I am in a GREAT school district and am located across from the Severn River. Any recommendations are appreciated.

You might want to post this in the classified ads section.

You do realize the 3% is based off sale price not profits right?

I'm sure most realtors would be willing to work with you to get the profit off the sale of your home. It wouldn't make sense for them to deny themselves a quick $9000.00 based on your sale price.

[dxychristy]

i just bought a townhouse, thanks to my agent, help me a lot . i love my house so much , u can see i post here

http://www.city-data.com/forum/maryl...se-middle.html

he is so great

[westsideboy]

Finding a sellers agent that takes 3% won't be hard. The question is what are you going to do about the 3% you will need to pay to the buyers agent? If you don't include the 3% for the buyer's agent they will just not bother to show your house to their clients. Why should they? They don't work for free and don't want to have to explain to their clients that they are now responsible to pay the agent's cut. Just suck it up and pay the 6% overall. Trying to be too clever will probably end up costing you money in this slow market.

[bande1102]

Just curious, NJ Rover, where are you headed? NC?

On the real estate forum there are posts about this. There, they've talked about selling it FSBO and offering the 3% to the buyer's agent. Not sure exactly how that works, though. If you go less than 6%, I'd check and see how it's being split just to make sure there's incentive to whoever brings the buyer to the table. And also if the listing agent finds a buyer, I'd ask how much commission they're planning to take.

Good luck!

[Njrover0216]

Actually we are staying put. I am not going to be moving or selling my home any longer. When I do go to sell my house I will use an assist to sell because I will not pay out a total of 6% to anyone Call me greedy, but when I live in a townhome and these realtors have big beautiful homes on the water, who is the greedy one? My home is my investment, it is an easy sell. I actually found this house on my own when I bought it, I called my realtor and said I wanted to see it. With the slow markets, realtors can not afford to be greedy and those that are looking to buy a home will search and search to find what is right for them. Plus I live in Severna Park...a place where a lot of people would like to live in Anne Arundel County, I am sure if I posted it on craigslist or paid to have it advertised I would have it sold with no problem. You see the more I save from paying a realtor, the less the person buying the home will have to pay me for it. Buyers usually end up paying for everything, it all gets factored in

Bande- yes I was heading for NC, but I didn't want to have to rush to sell my house and buy one down there. And after REALLY researching NC, it is just not for me and my family.

[bande1102]

Doh, I see the thread was originally posted in March. I'd followed your other threads re NC and thought you'd changed your mind again

But the real estate forum is still really interesting. Love seeing how the whole real estate agent thing works. Very interesting. ..

[Rmx Christina]

About the commission issue: I visit homeowners whose homes didn't sell, and most of the time, they are the ones that went with "discounted brokers." The last homeowner I visited went with someone who charged 3.5%... Well, she and her husband were not happy campers, regarding the service or lack of they received. Everyone understands that you get what you pay for.

Many homeowners "think" their house is an easy sell...any buyer would love it because the homeowners themselves love it. I "think" the house I live in is worth all the others in the neighborhood, and mine is better maintained, etc. but when I was in the buyer's shoes before coming into RE, I didn't think this house was. =)

Even if it is in model home condition, perfectly designed, etc., the market is different today....with a discounted commission/marketing budget, I don't think the house will really get the service it needs... let alone sell for the most profit. Again, you get what you pay for....

About the wealthy agents: Granted, I eat and need a place to sleep, but really only a few of the many agents really live in homes off the water =) Those are the ones I personally would stay away from.

I realize alot of people came into RE thinking it was a "get rich quick" scheme. But really it's a job, like anybody else's. Hopefully as quickly as they entered this industry, with the change of market, they will leave the industry. Also, I think the next to go will be the "discounted" brokers. With this market, they can't survive. If "full-service" brokers are finding this market difficult, the next group to disappear will be the discounted brokers.

[Njrover0216]

It is hard to go back and forth with a realtor on this issue. You definitely do not want to be exposed, nor do you want consumers to look elsewhere for cheaper services, because the full service agents will then be out of a job. Good luck to you in todays market, it is only going to get worse.

[Njrover0216]

Well I got a neg for asking who is greedy? This is a comment back from my negative I got. I called the realtor greedy because I was told I was greedy for wanting to give less in commission. We got to read EVERYTHING before you give someone a neg rep. I do not think all realtors are greedy, however as a home owner please do not call me greedy, this is my investment, my hard earned dollars and I want to make sure I get what I deserve. I am sure any homeowner agrees with that. It is kind of like a car dealership, you walk in and you can talk the price down, the lower you talk the price down the more you take from the sales person, so they walk away with 500 in their pocket vs 5000, sorry...500 dollars for 1 hours worth of work is pretty good in my book.