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Old 03-12-2008, 09:22 PM
 
175 posts, read 1,481,727 times
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What is the AVERAGE percentage of who usually shows your house? The sellers agent or the buyers? Forgive me for being naiive....I am about to list my house and have never done it before.
It seems to me that buyers agents would find my house for their client and THEY would show my house right? The only time I would guess MY agent (sellers agent) would show my house would be if someone (without an agent) 'happened' to look on the agents website and saw my house listed and wanted to see it. Does that sound right??
What about Assist-2-sell? Is it true that they won't allow buyer's agent to show your property? Or is that a lot of baloney?
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Old 03-12-2008, 09:30 PM
 
Location: Gorham, Maine
1,973 posts, read 5,196,136 times
Reputation: 1505
Quote:
Originally Posted by kitty3 View Post
What is the AVERAGE percentage of who usually shows your house? The sellers agent or the buyers? Forgive me for being naiive....I am about to list my house and have never done it before.
It seems to me that buyers agents would find my house for their client and THEY would show my house right? The only time I would guess MY agent (sellers agent) would show my house would be if someone (without an agent) 'happened' to look on the agents website and saw my house listed and wanted to see it. Does that sound right??
What about Assist-2-sell? Is it true that they won't allow buyer's agent to show your property? Or is that a lot of baloney?
Kitty, that is your choice. Some sellers insist on the listing agent being there and some sellers are fine with either an electronic or mechanical lock box, but it's your call. Keep in mind that if you insist on your agent being at every showing, you will limit the number of buyers who see your house because busy agents can't be in more than one place at the same time. At least I haven't figured that one out yet. Check with your agent about disclosed dual agency, where the same agent represents you and the buyer. That is another choice you have to make, some sellers don't like it and some don't care. You have a lot of say in the matter, choose a good professional and listen to their advice, but you and only you can make the decisions.

As for any individual agency's policies and procedures, you'll have to check with them. Most are individually owned and buy a franchise, although my company is owned and operated by a large holding company that owns many agencies and we all have our own policies and procedures. One agency with the same franchise's name may act quite differently than another.
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Old 03-12-2008, 11:21 PM
 
Location: Columbia, SC
10,886 posts, read 21,841,699 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kitty3 View Post
What is the AVERAGE percentage of who usually shows your house? The sellers agent or the buyers? Forgive me for being naiive....I am about to list my house and have never done it before.
It seems to me that buyers agents would find my house for their client and THEY would show my house right? The only time I would guess MY agent (sellers agent) would show my house would be if someone (without an agent) 'happened' to look on the agents website and saw my house listed and wanted to see it. Does that sound right??
What about Assist-2-sell? Is it true that they won't allow buyer's agent to show your property? Or is that a lot of baloney?
You should address those questions to the agent you hire but...

Normally it's the buyers agent that shows the home.

I don't know about Assist 2 Sell's policy there but that would greatly restrict your showings. If that is their policy I would have to suggest that you don't hire them. It reduce your chances of selling so much it probably wouldn't even be worth whatever fees they charge.
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Old 03-13-2008, 05:08 AM
 
Location: Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
4,207 posts, read 15,192,529 times
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Typically the buyer's agent shows the house unless for some reason the seller requires for the listing agent to be present too. But as mentioned above, it would limit the showings.

Buyers don't feel comfortable looking at a house with the seller's agent present because they can't comment comfortably about it among themselves or with their own agent.
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Old 03-13-2008, 05:15 AM
 
Location: NW Las Vegas - Lone Mountain
15,756 posts, read 38,047,428 times
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RE is local.

This tends to be a localism. So you need insight from those who practice RE locally. In the west we tend to be lockbox oriented with most showings by the Buyers Agent. Rarely you show someone without an agent a listing of your own or, even more rarely, show a buyer a property at the request of the buyer's agent.
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Old 03-13-2008, 10:03 AM
 
Location: Gilbert - Val Vista Lakes
6,069 posts, read 14,720,839 times
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Buyers agents in AZ are the ones who show the homes. They know what the buyer wants, and they do not want the listing agent to interfere. The buyers will ask their agent any questions and the agent will get the answers from the buyers agent.

It can be difficult to coordinate the schedule of the listing agent, the buyers agent and the buyer. So it can cut down on the amount of showings if you require the listing agent to be present. The sellers agent will only open the door for the buyers agent and the client, and then disappear into the woodwork so as to not interfere with the buyer agent's client.

The exception is on very high end homes that will be shown by appointment only. There is a smaller market for these homes, and it is more common for the listing agent to be present.
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Old 03-13-2008, 11:47 AM
 
Location: Montana
2,203 posts, read 9,287,204 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kitty3 View Post
What is the AVERAGE percentage of who usually shows your house? The sellers agent or the buyers? Forgive me for being naiive....I am about to list my house and have never done it before.
It seems to me that buyers agents would find my house for their client and THEY would show my house right? The only time I would guess MY agent (sellers agent) would show my house would be if someone (without an agent) 'happened' to look on the agents website and saw my house listed and wanted to see it. Does that sound right??
What about Assist-2-sell? Is it true that they won't allow buyer's agent to show your property? Or is that a lot of baloney?
Kitty3 - you really have a very good handle on how things work in the real world of real estate. I know sometimes owners are upset because "their" agent hasn't shown the house. But think about it - the listing agent may have several listings and concentrate her efforts on being a "listing agent", i.e. working almost exclusively with sellers and occasionally with buyers.

Once you list your home with an agent, it is being marketed to all the members of the local board - that could be 1,000's of agents (depending on the size of your area). And among those agents are "buyers agents", i.e. those agents who frequently work with buyers but most will have some listings, too.

Obviously not every agent who's a member of the local board is currently working with a buyer for whom your home fits their criteria . . . but a few are. The chances that the listing agent is currently working with a buyer that's looking for your type of home are probably pretty slim. There's a much greater likelihood that another agent will be the one to show and sell your home. But of course your agent will absolutely show your home if it comes anywhere close to what one of her clients is looking for!

In my honest opinion, I think you want to reach as many buyers as possible in this market. I don't know anything about Assist 2 Sell, but it they don't cooperate with other agents, then that eliminates all those buyers that are currently working with buyers agents from other companies. I would call them directly to find out the facts.
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Old 03-15-2008, 12:12 PM
 
175 posts, read 1,481,727 times
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I found out that they do indeed cooperate with buyers agents, and let them show the house. They charge four and a half percent commission (in my area) with two and a half going to the buyers agent. If a buyer contacts Assist-2-sell directly (no buyers agent), then it is just a low flat fee.
I wonder if the two and a half percentage commission will turn off buyers' agents? Or the fact that it is Assist-2-sell and not a 'full service' agency?
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Old 03-15-2008, 03:51 PM
 
Location: Gorham, Maine
1,973 posts, read 5,196,136 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kitty3 View Post
I found out that they do indeed cooperate with buyers agents, and let them show the house. They charge four and a half percent commission (in my area) with two and a half going to the buyers agent. If a buyer contacts Assist-2-sell directly (no buyers agent), then it is just a low flat fee.
I wonder if the two and a half percentage commission will turn off buyers' agents? Or the fact that it is Assist-2-sell and not a 'full service' agency?
I would love to see an agent from an Assist2Sell franchise comment, because I am obviously biased. The buyers I work with assume that they can offer less on a house that is listed with a limited services company, just like they figure they can offer much less for an unrepresented property (FSBO). The perceived savings disappear. They also disappear when I negotiate closing costs concessions from a seller offering a lower than usual co-broke.

I also have a problem with a seller paying more to the agent who's job it is to beat you down to the lowest possible price and least acceptable terms than your advocate, who is supposed to be getting you the highest price and the best terms for you. When I get a HUD settlement statement just before closing and see my company is getting more than the other agency, I wonder how that agent feels. It has happened to me once, where an agent kept a "processing fee" and it still gnaws at me.
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Old 03-15-2008, 06:58 PM
 
Location: Halfway between Number 4 Privet Drive and Forks, WA
1,516 posts, read 4,579,380 times
Reputation: 677
Kitty,
When my house was listed with Assist 2 Sell, (even though we paid the 4.5% for the buyer's agent co-broke), they were still the only ones who ever showed my home. No other brokerages were interested in showing their listings. At least not here in middle GA.
But RE is local. Could be different in your area. I chalk it up as 6 critical months wasted on the market. I know better now.
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