Help, cost of selling a condo in Broward (sale, real estate)

[ecoast]

I want to sell a condo in Broward County, Florida. There is a cash offer of $81,000. I will not accept it because the offer price is too low. What I concern here is the net cash amount (after all fees).

$81,000 selling price - $74,190 net cash = $6,810 all costs

$81,000 is 100%
$6,810 is 8.41%

I will have to incur the cost of 8.41% of the selling price. Is that too much in Broward County? Redfin says that they only take 1.5% as seller agent. I also have to pay 3% for buyer agent. Is that reasonable(one gets 1.5%, the other gets 3%)?

My listing realtor wants to charge me 3%, buyer agent also wants to charge me 3%.

Thank you for reading
Enclosed is the rough calculation from the realtor.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Sales Price $ 81,000.00

Title charges
Closing Fee: $413.00
Search Fee: $125.00
City Lien Search: $165.00
Sub total (title charges) -703.00

Recording & Transfer Taxes
Doc Stamps -567.00

Payoff Loans
Payoff Loans: $0.00
2nd Lien Payoff: $0.00
Sub total (Payoff Loans) $ 0.00

Real Estate Commissions
Listing Broker Commission: $2,430.00
Buyer Broker Commission: $2,430.00
Additional Broker Commission: $0.00
Sub total (Real Estate Commissions) -4,860.00

Property Taxes (pro-rated)
County taxes: $246.30 credit from seller
Sub total (Property Taxes) -246.30

Homeowner’s Association
HOA Dues: $433.55
Sub total (Homeowner’s Association) -433.55

Other Expenses

Estimated Net Proceeds $ 74,190.15

[vigo]

Yes, these are normal closing costs. The usual commission here is 6%, split between buyer's and seller's agent. Sometimes one or both agents will discount their commission in order to get the sale to go through. You can always ask.

[AlexRodriguez]

6%? that's a scam, a thing of the past, Realtors bamboozling uneducated sellers/buyers to keep their lifestyles. 3% total commission, max 4% is what you should pay.

[ecoast]

Originally Posted by AlexRodriguez

max 4% is what you should pay.

Thank you. I hope I can negotiate down to 2% for listing agent & 2% for buyer agent. If I cannot do that, I may cancel the contract.

[bmw335xi]

I consider myself a small scale real estate investor. I currently own 3 properties. I'm flipping one right now and going to put it on the market at the start of September. A good listing agent is worth standard commission rates, typically, 5% to 6% is standard in most markets these days. There is a growing number of discount brokers who offer limited services for very low commission. Generally speaking, the cheaper the property, the less likely a good realtor will take less commission because the costs and time to properly market a property isn't much different than a $1 million listing.

Often times realtors willing to take less do more of a disservice where you would have been better off going with a reputable realtor and paying more in commission. Just look at some of these listings where it looks like the agent used his or her cell phone to quickly snap some pictures, lights aren't turned on, angles are bad, clutter in pictures, no thought was put into staging, description information is inaccurate, etc. I cannot tell you how many idiots I've dealt with where I actually didn't bother pursing because the listing agent was too stupid or incompetent or unresponsive.

Whatever you do... make sure the realtor is:

1) Responsive, meaning if they get a text or call at night or on the weekends, they will answer it right away.

2) They will hire a professional photographer and editor to take pictures of your property.

3) They are competent, knowledgeable and professional.

4) They can offer advice on how to stage your home even if your budget is $0, there are still ways to make your home more appealing.

5) They will do at the very least an open house every two weeks.

These things are more important than 1-2% savings in commission.

[ecoast]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

A good listing agent is worth standard commission rates, typically, 5% to 6% is standard in most markets these days.

1) Responsive, meaning if they get a text or call at night or on the weekends, they will answer it right away.
2) They will hire a professional photographer and editor to take pictures of your property.
3) They are competent, knowledgeable and professional.
4) They can offer advice on how to stage your home even if your budget is $0, there are still ways to make your home more appealing.
5) They will do at the very least an open house every two weeks.

Do you mean the 5% commission is for both agents (listing & buyer)? How do they do that? 2.5% for listing agent & 2.5% for buyer agent?

My listing agent let her assistant do most of the work. He is an old man with walking cane. He used his cell phone to take pictures. Even my 13 megapixel camera has better quality than his. He took photos when the lights are not turned on, there are clutters in the pictures, they did not bother to stage anything, there are many typos in the Remark section

He took pictures with open toilets, picture with himself stuck in the bathroom mirror, his English grammar is horrible, there are too many typos when he communicates with me via email, my first language is not English, however my spelling & grammar is better than his

Thank you for your advice

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by ecoast

Do you mean the 5% commission is for both agents (listing & buyer)? How do they do that? 2.5% for listing agent & 2.5% for buyer agent?

My listing agent let her assistant do most of the work. He is an old man with walking cane. He used his cell phone to take pictures. Even my 13 megapixel camera has better quality than his. He took photos when the lights are not turned on, there are clutters in the pictures, they did not bother to stage anything, there are many typos in the Remark section

He took pictures with open toilets, picture with himself stuck in the bathroom mirror, his English grammar is horrible, there are too many typos when he communicates with me via email, my first language is not English, however my spelling & grammar is better than his

Thank you for your advice

Your agent sounds exactly like the bad ones I'm talking about. If it's not too late, which ts sounds like it is, drop him right away.

5%-6% total commission when you combine both the buyers agent and listing agent. I've seen it split 2.5% and 2.5% or 3% and 2% and vice versa. Once again, I don't think any good full service agent would list the property for 5% given the low asking price. When you think about it, 1% is really insignificant based on the asking price. I'd turn your focus from getting a lower commission to finding a good competent agent.

Your agent sounds horrible! These are the bad things I mentioned lol. Honestly Redfin does a pretty good job, if you aren't able to find a good realtor, Redfin is an easy option if you don't have time to interview different listing agents.

[ruski]

It baffles me how many agents take horrible pictures, and sometimes too few pictures. How are the sellers even letting this happen? I'd kick such an agent so hard and so far...

[ecoast]

Originally Posted by ruski

How are the sellers even letting this happen?

My mother was the sole owner of the condo. In 2011 she signed a quit claim deed to my sister (mother 50%, sister 50%). In June 2018, my mother passed away. Before passing away, my mother signed another quit claim deed to me.

Therefore, my sister has 50% ownership & I have 50% ownership. My sister & I do not get along well. My sister was the one who initially called this listing agent. The agent said that she could give us a net sale (after everything) of $87,000. My sister believed that & signed the contract.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by ecoast

My mother was the sole owner of the condo. In 2011 she signed a quit claim deed to my sister (mother 50%, sister 50%). In June 2018, my mother passed away. Before passing away, my mother signed another quit claim deed to me.

Therefore, my sister has 50% ownership & I have 50% ownership. My sister & I do not get along well. My sister was the one who initially called this listing agent. The agent said that she could give us a net sale (after everything) of $87,000. My sister believed that & signed the contract.

That’s an unfortunate situation. You have to look at what kind of listing agreement you have. You can also see when it expires. I would politely but firmly tell him, “I’m not happy with the marketing of this property, especially the photography. I’ve spoke with other LAs who said they pay for things like HD photos, video walk-throughs, among other things. If the property doesn’t sell for the price I want, I will list the property with another LA when our agreement expires.” However, if your agent is a limited service broker or someone who is only taking 1% or 1.5% commission for himself, then you can’t expect him to pay for these things. This is why I’d never recommend realtors who are like CHOOSE ME I WILL ONLY TAKE 1%! They take less because they either are bad and desperate for business, are incompetent, don’t provide any extra services or marketing, etc.