Seattle Real Estate Commissions (flat fee, rental, condo)

[dhpeter]

Hi Everyone,

We are currently interviewing realtors to list our house in West Seattle. We spoke with a Redfin agent who of course lists for 1%/3% while the realtor who sold us our home will do it for 3%/3% and it didn't seem negotiable.

I'm curious of two questions. Did you sell your home with Redfin and what was your experience?

Secondly, in this market, is it acceptable to offer less than 3% without excessive worry of missed showings/shady business tactics?

The difference between 4% and 6% is quite a bit and we're wondering what our own strategy should be before we get to market.

Thanks,
Dan

[87112]

When I was laid off from my job my property manager who managed the condo help me out by selling my place at a flat fee saving me thousands.

Teresa Warner

About Us - Agilon Properties LLC

It would be worth it to ask them about selling a home, as their main business is property mgt.

[MayouInSeattle]

I know several people that used Redfin to list their house and had a phenomenal experience. They use a lot of technology to create 3D views of your home and a floor plan so people see. They also prominently display it on redfin.com so it attracts more attention as well.

Most homes priced right will sell very easily in this market.

[homesinseattle]

Hi There Peter,

Talk to a traditional broker and a redfin broker before you make your decision. Traditional brokers often will cover staging costs and a host of other things as part of their fee. They serve as a dedicated point person for your whole process, rather than your agent being part of a team of people helping you. It is true that the sellers' market is strong right now, there is a lot of nuance, experience and strategy needed though to maximize your results. Best wishes.

[Tac-Sea]

I used Redfin to buy a rental and they were absolutely AWFUL. The agent was a complete idiot. The supervisor was condescending and their executive management was clearly where they got it from. I'm an experienced investor, have bought and sold many properties, millions of real estate over the years, and Redfin was a freaking JOKE then one time I used them.

Don't take my word for it, check the Redfin reviews on Yelp, I wish I had before I used them. It's mostly one star reviews...I would never use Redfin again. I've worked with a half a dozen brokers in my time and Redfin, every freaking realtor I talked to was a complete imbecile. I had to explain to my realtor how to fill out the contract, how the process worked, etc. She had been a realtor for YEARS, and worked for John L. Scott (sp?) prior to that. She also lied repeatedly, changed her story, and then tried to cover it up despite my having several texts to prove it.

Their agents are salaried. Ask yourself why a competent agent who can make several hundred K a year in Seattle would work for a 40K a year salary, less than a secretary makes if they are a performer....

[agaace]

I bought a couple months ago with Redfin and the agent was wonderful. Our experience was overall pretty bad because of the shady practices of the seller's agent (and partially the seller, because she was related to the seller and did not disclose it). I could write a book about her numerous f-ups, borderline unethical stuff (like accepting two offers at the same time), being aggressive and threatening towards the other buyer with the lower offer they accepted before our higher offer they decided they wanted, so she did everything to make them walk away, "conveniently" inflating the listing to the point it was annoying (like listing non-existing square footage, non-existing bedrooms, non-existing parking spaces etc), "conveniently" mixing up form 17 with another almost identical house, only to disclose the real one 3 days before closing (it was our fault we didn't double check the address but come on.. same lies in both the listing and form 17, both "conveniently" mixed up). "Conveniently" forgetting to send the lead paint addendum to the other buyer and then attempting to use that to cancel her contract with the lower offer buyer. I mean, how many times can you mix up your paperwork for a single home?? And other straight out lies (like 3 independent contractors told us the roof was not up to the city/county code and had to be replaced immediately but she insisted it was ok because it was her daddy or uncle (also not initially disclosed information until we pressed) who did the roof, without warranty of course, and every time told a different story about her daddy's roofing "company" until our future neighbors told us how it looked like). I think she works at John L Scott Boney Lake. PM me for her name if you'd like to avoid that woman. I'm actually thinking of filing an official complaint against her. Joke of the year: right after we closed on our home (so after all the drama she created), she was named an employee of the month by John L Scott. Lol, if I was her employer, she'd be fired and not an employee of the month.

But our Redfin agent was very transparent, honest, prompt in responses and resourceful, and made the best out of the situation. As a buyer I also talked to all the listing agents from various sellers, and my experience (as a buyer) was typically the best with the Redfin guys. They were the same - transparent and knowledgeable about the property, really good at showing it (they divide agents into districts, so same person shows the same property all week long to various buyers, usually several times, so they were quick, efficient and thorough with the showings. They didn't play any dirty offer wars, or setting up private showings during open house without disclosing that information, didn't play the "pretend I'm so busy and unavailable" game when contacted etc. They also didn't do this whole annoying BS salesman tune of trying to make a run down flip with cosmetic makeup sound like an owner's pride mansion (we're not idiots, we can actually tell a terrible paint job done in a hurry where someone didn't even bother to match the paint or cover up windows..). I understand your interest is to sell for as much as possible though, so my experience as a buyer may not be relevant to you. Or it may be if you care about a positive relation between you and your future buyers (because you will get above asking price no matter what in this market anyway). Just my 2 cents and good luck selling!

[Xanathos]

Honestly, you don't even need an agent in that market. All you need is a lawyer to look over the contracts and make sure everything is in order, and then you can use one of those self listing utilities out there that will get the place on MLS. Offers will come in, regardless, and the agent isn't going to drive any real foot traffic or buyers that weren't going to show up, anyways.

Why give someone 3% when you can just pay an attorney a few hundred bucks?

[cmswazey]

Well, there are lots of things realtors do.

[Xanathos]

Not that many, especially in a rabid market like this. Houses don't need to be "sold" in this market, they merely need to be made available to the general public in a way that the house can be found. Most of the value a realtor provides in a market like Seattle right now, from a seller's perspective, is just making sure all the documents are properly signed and filed. With the advent of the internet, it's a simple affair to get your own property on MLS. There are resources out there to tell you what your home is worth - not that it matters, cause the bids will all be over your asking price, anyways. And even if you have a realtor, you still want an attorney to look over the documents, anyways. Sure, you'll have to do your own filing, but the attorney can tell you what to file, when, and where. If you're selling an average house up there for...what's the median today, 750? None of what I've listed is worth $22,000. A lawyer can get you through that entire process for a fraction of the cost. Heck, a lot of companies up there offer legal services as part of their EAS program (usually through Hyatt Legal), so a $10 monthly subscription gets you access to this for free.

In a buyer's market, sure, a realtor might be handy because they can actively market the house and soft-sell it to people or answer questions. The way Seattle is right now, it's completely pointless.

[dhpeter]

Everyone! Thank you so much for the honest replies. There are so many things to consider. So far we've talked to Redfin and 3 other agents (one of them a referral who's offering 25% back to us).


Everyone of them had their own differences in strategy, staging, listing timeframe, price range etc...


We're leaning towards the agent who sold us the home. The experience, strategy and us having worked with him before we know we can trust him.


the 25% back could be 5K which is definitely worth considering as well.