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Huh? The buyer doesn't pay the commission. The seller does. The commission is not mortgaged.
Sorry sweety, but commissions don't appear out of thin air, and the inflated prices used to pay realtors DO get rolled into mortgages.
FSBOs have a 6% lower COG than people with agents, and they have more wiggle room to meet me in the middle with an offer. I'll happily buy gas at a station that is 24 cents a gallon less than across the street, and the same logic holds true for houses. Why would I buy a $400K house when there's a FSBO down the street that I can negotiate down to $376K based on MLS comps?
If the listing agent is willing to cut their commission from 6% to 3% because I don't have an agent, the MLS listings get more attractive to me.
I don't agree with that at all, sweety, and we already know that houses that are listed at inflated prices, DON'T sell. The buyer does not care what the seller is paying for a commission and they aren't going to pay an inflated price.
I've seen nothing to convince me that a buyer needs an agent.
I have no desire to convince you otherwise.
As a listing agent, I look to the MLS to profile the buyer's agent. I know if the firm is a rebator, how much experience the agent has, where they have done business, the list to close ratio of their previous transactions, and how long since the last transaction and how hungry they are to make a sale, any sale.
I love to get an offer from an agent whose license hangs with a broker whose only claim to fame is that they rebate a portion of their fee to the buyer.
Most of the larger agencies that rebate a significant part of their commission to the buyer (in those states where it is legal to do so) work huge geographical areas and the agents do not know the dirt and do not have the time or financial motivation to do their homework.
I know this and use it to my client's ( seller's) advantage.
I am intimate with the local comps unlike the Rebate King and know why a place sold for what it did, when it did.
That in 5 days, the overpriced listing next door is going to become relo-owned and sell at a serious discount to some fortunate buyer who is represented by an agent who brings more to the table than the ability to drive a car and fill in the blanks, on a contract.
I know that the school bus route requires the kids to be at the corner at 6:15 AM, even though school does not start till 7:45, unlike the house for sale, 2 blocks away.
I know that the guy next door was a convicted sexual offender, no longer tracked by the databases.
I know that the house behind you is known as party central with the local high school crowd.
What I don't know are your priorities or values, because my job and loyalty belongs to the seller. Who is looking out for your best interests?
we already know that houses that are listed at inflated prices, DON'T sell. The buyer does not care what the seller is paying for a commission and they aren't going to pay an inflated price.
That's exactly what I'm saying. Hiring agents automatically inflates the price by 6%. If a seller needs to get out of a house, and needs a certain amount to pay off their mortgage, that extra 6% could mean the difference between a successful sale or eventual foreclosure.
If agents realize this fact and are willing to work for a little less during the tight times, they're putting their clients at a competitive advantage.
Just my two cents....
Last edited by sterlinggirl; 08-05-2008 at 04:27 PM..
That's exactly what I'm saying. Hiring agents automatically inflates the price by 6%. If a seller needs to get out of a house, and needs a certain amount to pay off their mortgage, that extra 6% could mean the difference between a successful sale or eventual foreclosure.
Just my two cents....
I agree with you and it isn't so hard to find comp. your self...realtors try to make it almost impossible for other people to find out comps....well 63 hours isn't enough to come up with a better story. I agree that if you don't use a realtor you can use this as an advantage to negotiate and by the way in short sales the banks love it when there is only one realtor...they pay less...banks know how to negotiate and so do I!
I keep seeing people carping on the 63 hours thing.
You learn jack all in class. What people are not factoring in is field experience, which is where you learn everything.
An agent who actually succeeds in the business knows what they are doing. Every transaction is a learning experience. The idea that Joe Schmoe on the street has even the fraction of knowledge of an experienced agent who has a lot of sales under their belt is ludicrous.
I agree with you and it isn't so hard to find comp. your self...realtors try to make it almost impossible for other people to find out comps....well 63 hours isn't enough to come up with a better story. I agree that if you don't use a realtor you can use this as an advantage to negotiate and by the way in short sales the banks love it when there is only one realtor...they pay less...banks know how to negotiate and so do I!
In most states, property transfer information has a long history of being public information. Realtors tend to have access to it sooner.
Some Realtors have actually been inside the comps and know why a property sold for what it did, when it did. This is more than one can infer from public records or the MLS.
Professional full time investors are a breed unto themselves and most have no need for a Realtor. When buying, they will take the "saved" agency fee, right off the top of their best deal.
Mr/Mrs " Been Watching too Much HGTV" who buy a project to flip often lose their shirts on investments, gone bad.
I keep seeing people carping on the 63 hours thing.
You learn jack all in class. What people are not factoring in is field experience, which is where you learn everything.
An agent who actually succeeds in the business knows what they are doing. Every transaction is a learning experience. The idea that Joe Schmoe on the street has even the fraction of knowledge of an experienced agent who has a lot of sales under their belt is ludicrous.
A cliche that remain true .......Knowledge and experience are priceless.
How many times in a lifetime does the average Joe buy property?
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