[Driller1]

Originally Posted by RomanGeneral

Whoever gets a real estate agent to sell his house is a sucker.Why pay 10k or 20k for someone that has been outdated by the new technologies?Real estate agents are not doctors or even nurses.Matter of fact they swim in money because of the retards.On another note,it is very tough to undertake any action in the housing market these days.The market is being flooded with cheap foreclosed properties that go as little as 500$ to 45,000.How do you beat the bank owned home prices?This is one tough life to go through.

I always go with the pros!!! They do not drill wells, I do not sell houses.

[Adieoz]

Originally Posted by bklyntaper

Wouldnt a buyers realtor make around 3% anyway? I dont see why they would be against showing my property if it fit their clients description and make 2% off the sale.

Because there are hundreds of other homes that meet their clients description and are paying 3% or more.

I am sorry to hear that you spent too much time and money on your flip. If you had a good buyer's agent in the first place they would not have sold you a house that would put you in such a position (but why do I have a feeling you didn't have a buyer's agent when you purchased the house....)

Have an open house, that's bound to sell it....(thick sarcasm)

[Jswee]

Having been a Buyers Broker in Michigan for the last 20 years I can tell you that most buyer brokers would be happy to sell your house if you offer them 2.5%. Buyers brokers sell for sale by owners all the time, all you are doing is alerting them that you will pay them compensation if they bring you a valid offer that you accept, happens all the time. Understand that they are not going to provide the services that a listing agent does for their half of the typical commission and that they are legally representing the interests of the Buyer, so don't ask them for any advice about the terms of the contract, whether you should accept the offer, etc. Have the purchase agreement reviewed by an attorney prior to signing it. You will have to engage a title co. to do the closing but most likely the buyers agent will help arrange what needs to be done.

Depending on where you are in the state, another option is a flat fee brokerage which will place your property in the local MLS for a low flat fee (typically around $500) and then you can offer compensation through the MLS to any agent that sells the property (typically about half of the going rate for local listings). These are a bare bones service, they don't do any promotion or advertising or open houses, etc., they just get the property in the multiple listing service so that other agents and consumers can become aware of it. You can look in the yellow pages or google for flat-fee, fee-for-service or limited services brokerages and maybe you can find one in your area.

[altpence]

I think Realtors are over paid, but they make too much money when it is easy and not enough when it is hard, so a good realtor has to put a lot away in the good times to see them through the bad times. Selling a home on your own is not easy, first off you have to worry about conartists casing your home, when they go through a realtor most reputable realtors now want to know who you are before they just go off showing homes. Second is you can not get the exposure that a realtor can on the MLS. But if your price is low enough to beat out all the home prices that have fallen and the forclosures you may get some lookers. But if you just want to make what the home should have sold for a year or so ago, you are SOL

[bklyntaper]

Originally Posted by Jswee

Having been a Buyers Broker in Michigan for the last 20 years I can tell you that most buyer brokers would be happy to sell your house if you offer them 2.5%. Buyers brokers sell for sale by owners all the time, all you are doing is alerting them that you will pay them compensation if they bring you a valid offer that you accept, happens all the time. Understand that they are not going to provide the services that a listing agent does for their half of the typical commission and that they are legally representing the interests of the Buyer, so don't ask them for any advice about the terms of the contract, whether you should accept the offer, etc. Have the purchase agreement reviewed by an attorney prior to signing it. You will have to engage a title co. to do the closing but most likely the buyers agent will help arrange what needs to be done.

Depending on where you are in the state, another option is a flat fee brokerage which will place your property in the local MLS for a low flat fee (typically around $500) and then you can offer compensation through the MLS to any agent that sells the property (typically about half of the going rate for local listings). These are a bare bones service, they don't do any promotion or advertising or open houses, etc., they just get the property in the multiple listing service so that other agents and consumers can become aware of it. You can look in the yellow pages or google for flat-fee, fee-for-service or limited services brokerages and maybe you can find one in your area.

I was hoping to hear information more along those lines. Thanks.

[johnberk]

The ideas that it is a rip off to hire a real-estate agent is something that only a person who is not very educated would say. First off in any market it is exposure that sells a home. You do not have a tenth the exposure that an agent has. Many buyers will not buy on their own with out the help of an agent. In a very hot market where you can sell anything it may work to sell yourself. But in this market the very few buyers that are out there are looking for an agent to do all the leg work for them. They want to be taken to homes that fit their needs. So a seller will have their home sit on the market for month after month with nothing but tire kickers at best. Not to mention that some criminals case homes where people sell themselves where as it is harder to do so with a good real estate company when they get all your information up front before taking you to see homes. I had my last home on the market for a year and a half and did marketing for my own sale along with an agent. And it got ten times the showings that I got myself and that was at a six percent discount to the buyer for not using an agent. I ended up with more money at the end going through an agent.
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[dori36]

Originally Posted by bklyntaper

Even though I was planning on FSBO, I wanted to market my house by offering a 2% commission to the buyers agent. I was hoping that an agent wouldnt mind showing my house to their client because they would make something off it. Thanks for the continued help.

As a former Realtor, maybe I can shed some light. First, commissions are not set in stone by the brokerage. It's illegal to do that. They are negotiable between seller and the brokerage. You are free to offer what you think will be a fair commission and they are free to turn you down or agree to work with you.

My house is on the market now, too, and since I'm no longer a Realtor, I just signed up with one. Here's what we agreed to: If another brokerage brings the buyer and, thus, my agent's brokerage has to split the commission with them, it will be at 6%. If my own agent brings a buyer, or I do (I am actively publicizing it but am sending all inquiries to her), the commission is 3%.

Once an offer comes in, there is room to talk about modifying the contracted commission. It's a tough market and most agents who are worth their salt will give some if the seller and buyers will.

Another way to try to keep your commission expenses down would to go ahead and continue trying to sell it yourself but find a Realtor who would be willing to take a flat fee to draw up a contract after you and the buyer have agreed on terms and to handle getting the closing documents together and coordinating the closing with a title company. You really should have a good, legal contract drawn up as buyers are expecting a lot more for their money than in the days when properties hadn't lost so much value.

Personally, even though I have the knowledge and ability to sell my house on my own, I have no desire to cobble together, or find one on the internet that may or may not cover all my liabilities as a seller, a good contract and am happy to let someone in the business handle it for me. As a seller, you have a lot of responsibilities in representing your property and some buyers, in this down market, are just looking for ways to get you in a pickle. Be very careful!

Best of luck to you!