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My hat is off to you. If you truly have the values and morals you appear to have I would say.....you are truly a gift. If you ever set up in Pike County you would make a killing - because of your honesty and the fact that you truly want to help people. You have to be a decent human being before you can be good a your occupation. We need more realtors like you!!
Thank you so much Hat, you are more than kind. Guess what?! It looks as though I found a home for one of those horses today!!
Oh and as far as being in the area, I am going to be in the area very shortly for the acquisitions I am doing! In fact I may even be looking at some homes there too!!
I have been in contact with a realtor in PA for about a year now. She sends me listings, I let her know which ones I like and print them out, put them aside and when I am back in PA, if they are available I will see them.
In August I did spend the day with her ; my sons came also and she even gave them time at the beach to split the boredom. So far, we havent bought anything due to other expenses coming ; a tenant here trashed one house and we are trying to put it back together. But I am so hopeful that in the spring I will be able to buy one of the homes. There is no pressure, she understands the situation and is so patient.
d
It is nice that you have a realtor that is patient. As a seller, I am not too thrilled with people spending a lot of time talking to us when they have no immediate plans on moving. I know my realtor has worked with others for over a year.....but that has to get frustrating for the realtor and the sellers knowing these people are not serious lookers.
My experience was in Brooklyn, so I cannot be certain that it will necesarily be useful in the NEPA market, but I have sold both a house and co-operative apartment since 2001 and in doing so, I negotiated rates with real estate brokers. It is difficult to walk down some streets in Brooklyn without tripping over real estate agents so the competition is fierce. NEPA seems to have a fair quantity, but they may not be as feral as the Brooklyn variety. I don't know. I made a list of brokers and sat down with each one. I said I would not pay more than 4% and if they were not up for that I thanked them for their time and moved on to the next agent on my list. I also did not offer any agent an exclusive. That would have removed any element of competition from competing brokers. I gave the listing to only a few. Too many and you make yourself crazy and tick off the brokers, too few and you diminish your chances at selling in your timeframe. It certainly sounds like restraint of trade or illegal monopolization if ALL brokers refuse to negotiate rates. That might be a court case. There is always Craig's List.
I thought I would share this with the forum since many of you have houses up for sale or are looking to buy. I just found this out yesterday when I spoke to my realtor who is wonderful and professional. Another local realtor from an agency in Milford and it begins with E -told my realtor that he would have never shown my house because we are offering a five percent commission instead of the six to eight. He said he would never take anyone else to see our house because of the rate! The people he took here are very interested in the house but who knows what lies he made up! My advice to anyone that is looking for a house; is to be careful of some of the low life tactics that some of these agents use. After all, showing a house for 15 minutes and making one thousand five hundred isn't all that bad.....is it? I don't know if I have a a legimate beef with the realtors association but if there is something I can do we are going to turn him in. Most of the realtors are hard working people.....but some of them leave a lot to be desired!
I know the agency you are talking about and it may not be the best agency for you. However there is no price fixing on commissions in the Pike/Wayne board of realtors. Realtors are allowed to decide what commissions they charge however if they are not competitive with each other they will not have much business. The standard commission used to be 10% in Milford and surrounding area and now it's 6-8%. I am a realtor and I do know most realtors in this area and most of them are honest hardworking realtors. However the fact remains that realtors will push their own listings and those at a higher commission first although they must listen to the needs of their buyers as well. Realtors also have a lot of overhead that sellers are not aware of such as phone bills and due to our area most calls are often out of state to potential buyers, fuel expenses, advertising, insurance, some have agency fees for National associations, licensing and professional fees and continueing ed costs, etc. Many brokers today make agents pay for office expenses and other fees and an agent does not get the whole commission. It is split with the broker and listing agent and not always 50/50 especially if it's a co broke so a realtor never sees the whole commission on the sale of a home. This is a very tough market and realtors work on commission. The truth is they will try to sell a home that is paying a higher commission then one that is only paying 5%. In my opinion it was unprofessional for your realtor to repeat what the other realtor said to them but it does give you some insight to how many realtors do think in a market such as this. A realtor can only present available listings regardless of commissions and a buyer chooses what they'd like to see but if a buyers criteria matches a home at a higher commission and a lower commission the realtor will definitely present the higher commission property first. My advice to anyone selling a home in this market is to list a home with a reputable realtor and agree to pay the standard 6-8% commission which will assure your home will be advertised. Let's face it, if someone is only paying 5% an agency is not going to put an investment in ads into that persons house to sell it when they have others that are paying a higher commission to advertise. Sign for 8% and your home will be pushed above the others. I know what you are thinking that I'm just trying to get more money for agents but you can always negotiate commission when you get a serious offer on the table. If a buyer comes in at less money then you may have wanted but you really want to sell, you can then try to negotiate commission to help bridge the gap between offer and what you want. You can also negotiate if buyer wants money off for repairs and a realtor may agree to drop commission to offset price as well. If there is a qualified serious buyer interested in your home no one wants to let the deal go so everyone tries to negotiate a deal. If a realtor gets you full asking price they deserve that higher commission as they worked their tail off for it in this market to get it but sometimes its just not possible. This is a buyers market and they hold the cards right now. A good realtor is worth their weight in gold to get a house sold today and they hold that buyers hand right thru the closing to make sure the deal gets done. Please do not think all they do is show a house for 15 minutes as that is incorrect. The real work is keeping the buyer interested in your home and helping them with everything they need as well as trying to keep you happy at the same time and getting a deal to close. But first you have to get your home seen and promoted and to do that agree to the going commission rate. Milford is no different then any other area in the country and all realtors will push a property that pays a higher commission over a lower one. There's nothing wrong with that as they invest more money and time into the home that will pay them more when it sells. Go with a large name agency such as Century 21, Weichert, Remax, etc. as they have the tools to get a property promoted. They also have name recognition that is important to a buyer coming into our area and also be willing to agree to the commission they get if you really want your house to sell. Best of luck with your home
I have heard the pros and cons of being home and not being home..........and I guess it is my background in law enforcement plus the fact that I do not trust people in my home. The other day there were 10 people and 2 realtors.....no way does the ratio work for me. Plus, many of the realtors can not answer questions about our house. We had these Staten Islanders here a couple of weeks ago.....making comments about our bedroom furniture.....sorry I am not up to chatting about personal preference in furniture. In fact I would love to have most of them take an MMPI-2 test so that I could confrim my thoughts. Also, we have been asking folks to take their shoes off....after all coming in someone's house with wet shoes is a no-no. You would be surprised about how many people do not get it. Add in that they must touch and move things....including mechanical items. I have had several of them come back a second time......so personally I think if folks are serious for the house, the fact that the home owner is present will not bother them....Just my own opinion.
If a buyer really loves a home it will not matter but in my experience buyers are uncomfortable if sellers are right there. They feel that they can't open those closet doors, or look in areas they want to as they may offend the seller. Afterall you are coming into someones home and I think most people act like more like guests then buyes that may want to live in the house themselves. They often miss a lot that they would have liked to look at because they felt uncomfortable doing so with buyer present so often they will come back again but still won't see everything they would if seller is there so they usually pass. A good realtor is present with clients to be sure they do not touch or disturb an owners belongings and they should remain with the buyers. A buyer needs to imagine themselves living in your home. That's hard to do if there are a lot of distractions by the seller being present in the home. People do think out loud and many times they will make comments about if their furniture will fit, or they would change the paint color, or they do not like how the seller has the home decorated. A good realtor counters these concerns with paint can be changed and decor can be updated, etc. If a seller is present it's hard to do as the realtor doesn't want to insult the seller by agreeing with buyers and buyers may not really look as they can't get beyond the seller being present and feeling like a guest that may be intruding. I understand your concerns of having strangers in your home but a good agent know the people are qualified to purchase and has their personal information or they shouldn't even have them in your home. It's really a matter of trusting your agent that they will take care of your property when showing it. If a seller has to stay then they should really just be out of the area of the buyers so that the buyers feel they have privacy and are free to really examine the property and to talk with each other and the agent without fear of seller overhearing them. Purchasing a home is a huge investment and smart buyers want to be able to inspect every inch of a property without worrying about possibly insulting the seller.
If you do an open house scenario where several people will be coming and going, you can stay around but simply do not let people know you are the seller so they feel free to inspect the property. This is also a good way to see what people really think of your property and find out if there is something that seems to be an issue that you can change. It can give you a good idea of what people are looking for also and the opportunity to do things to make your home more appealing. Just remember not to say anything as you are not the seller but just another buyer looking at the home I always had sellers make a punch list of details for an open house. I had them list all recents updates in the home including age of the mechanical systems, roof, siding etc. current taxes, neighborhood info such as walking distance to parks, etc., Property lines should be clearly marked, age of appliances, what goes and what stays, etc. That way the agent has the correct info to answer all questions buyers may have and the agent can also point out all the best features such as a new heating system or new bath, etc. If it's a community, list all the best features such a pool, clubhouse, playground, etc. as not only will the agent be selling your home but your community also.
Milford 07,
Are you a realtor....??? Most open houses are for nosy neighbors not people that are serious about looking for a house. Since, the market isn't so good, money is money and when an agent is so greedy it comes back to haunt them - not to mention the reputatoin they get among their peers. BTW, I am with Coldwell Bankers in Milford and I think they are tops - I see a HUGE DIFFENENCE IN
...sorry...continued...in the realtors from Coldwell then some of the others that have popped up recently and are cutthroat.
The Hat
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Thanksgiving...!
Setting the Rate
I always had sellers make a punch list of details for an open house. I had them list all recents updates in the home including age of the mechanical systems, roof, siding etc. current taxes, neighborhood info such as walking distance to parks, etc., Property lines should be clearly marked, age of appliances, what goes and what stays, etc. That way the agent has the correct info to answer all questions buyers may have and the agent can also point out all the best features such as a new heating system or new bath, etc. If it's a community, list all the best features such a pool, clubhouse, playground, etc. as not only will the agent be selling your home but your community also.
