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Did you know many brokers will not let you list your own home or represent a buyer of your home due to liability and conflicts of interests.
Many people think they will save money selling their own homes when it is not the case
Yeah I have even heard of brokers not being happy with one of their agents acting as an agent for both buyer and seller with on a listing because what obligations are owed to whom gets so mucky even if they are not personally associated with either party.
I also wonder why if someone is so intent on going it alone they would even bother to get and activate a license. Unless of course they are worried about agents who are hostile to unrepresented buyers/sellers. Are there states where you have to be an agent to represent yourself?
Tell me what the "professionals" did to warrant a 6% commission of $36,000 for selling a $600,000 tract home in California at the height of the real estate frenzy? I seriously would like to know.
That 6% gets split between the buyer's agent and the seller's agent. Your agent also has to split with his office (ie local Remax office) so he likely winds up with only 1.5%.
There are many non-percentage based alternatives out there like assist2sell.com (Flat $3000).
This is a typical posting about how other people are not worth what they charge. This is a free country. II you don't want to use a realtor, don't. If you think it is so easy, get a license and try it. You'll be surprised to find out how hard it really is.
Do you know about asbestos, radon, termites? What are the requirements and disclosure for each?
Sort of but my attorney certainly knows and he'd charge a whole lot less than 6% of $600,000.
That 6% gets split between the buyer's agent and the seller's agent. Your agent also has to split with his office (ie local Remax office) so he likely winds up with only 1.5%.
Sort of but my attorney certainly knows and he'd charge a whole lot less than 6% of $600,000.
I would not be so certain...If you are going contingency they may charge a whole lot more then 6% of the judgment. If you are talking just on a closing they would not charge 6% because all they have to do is a title search, make sure everything is legal and accounted for, talk you through the closing and maybe do a few other odds and ends...that is a whole lot less work then representing a buyer or seller through the drawn out process of buying or selling a home.
Back to OP's comment about MLS and the fights to disallow access. If being an agent was really that hard, there would be no lawsuits to protect MLS access since no one but a trained agent would be capable of selling houses. Again, not saying that many agents are not worth the 6% - just not a vast majority of them.
With the advent of Redfin, an on-line realtor service that charges a flat fee for sellers and a 3% commission to buyers (to which they return 2/3 of the commission back to the buyers), how is it that traditional full fee real estate agents are still in business? The National Association of Realtors tried to inhibit companies Redfin by limiting their access to the MLS. Redfin fought back and sued the NAR with an antitrust (anti-monopoly lawsuit) and won. In the settlement, the NAR must provide all brokers with equal access to homes-sales listings.
To me it seems like a no-brainer. People can either earn their own real estate license to buy or sell homes or use services like Redfin. Yes, traditional realtors are as successful as ever.
Lastly, how did the traditional real estate agent business allow for a 6% commission instead of a flat fee? And why was nothing ever done about this earlier? Why aren't realtors paid like other industries. Meaning if a successful and top realtor can command 8-10% commission then so be it but why do all realtors require they be paid in a commission percentage rather than a flat fee? How did they maintain such a payment system. Did the NAR act as a cartel that used anti-competitive practices to protect their fee schedule?
I brought this up in the Poltics forum because I noticed many industries use protectionist measures like this to insulate itself against competition.
There are too many realtors but not enough "professional" realtors and the comission they charge to sell a house is out of control. First, theres just too many realtors in the business for them all to make a comfortable living. Second, too many don't dress as a "professional"....if you want to be viewed as a professional you better dress as a professional.....image to a potential client is everything.....you only get one chance to make a first impression. Third, the comissions are just way too high.......theres no way to justify the comissions they are asking.......$15,000 to sell a $250,000 house is a slap in the face to the average blue collar worker and most mid corporate level white collar workers object to that type of fee also....thats exactly why many are turning to other less expensive options. What makes realtors think they are worth that type of commission for attending a two week real estate school ?
This is a typical posting about how other people are not worth what they charge. This is a free country. II you don't want to use a realtor, don't. If you think it is so easy, get a license and try it. You'll be surprised to find out how hard it really is.
Do you know about asbestos, radon, termites? What are the requirements and disclosure for each?
My wife has been arealtor for 38 years and I can tell you, it is not an easy carreer.
I am a New Jersey DEP licensed radon specialist and I can tell you that most realtors don't have a clue about radon, termites or asbestos....yes...they know the term but most can't point out the difference between a flying ant and a termite or tell you exactly what radon is or where it comes from. In their two weeks of training if they are lucky they may receive a half hours training on each of those subjects....hardly enough to qualify them as experts to guide others in spending their hard earned savings and hardly enough to warrant the fees they ask for their time while they are literally learning on the job. If your wife has been a realtor for 38 years ask her to give you an accurate definition of what radon is and exactly where it comes from and see if her answer sounds like its coming from a "professional" whose information you would trust with the biggest investment of your life. Granted she may work hard but how does that separate her from everyone else on here making a living......working hard doesn't automatically qualify you for windfall profits from inflated comissions after attending a two week real estate training course that doesn't come close to making you an "expert" to help others spend their lifes savings !!!
I am a New Jersey DEP licensed radon specialist and I can tell you that most realtors don't have a clue about radon, termites or asbestos....yes...they know the term but most can't point out the difference between a flying ant and a termite or tell you exactly what radon is or where it comes from. In their two weeks of training if they are lucky they may receive a half hours training on each of those subjects....hardly enough to qualify them as experts to guide others in spending their hard earned savings and hardly enough to warrant the fees they ask for their time while they are literally learning on the job. If your wife has been a realtor for 38 years ask her to give you an accurate definition of what radon is and exactly where it comes from and see if her answer sounds like its coming from a "professional" whose information you would trust with the biggest investment of your life. Granted she may work hard but how does that separate her from everyone else on here making a living......working hard doesn't automatically qualify you for windfall profits from inflated comissions after attending a two week real estate training course that doesn't come close to making you an "expert" to help others spend their lifes savings !!!
I have to say that, as a Realtor, I am amused by an inspector talking about huge profits (inspectors here charge $300-$400 for an hour's worth of work plus another hour to file the report). I certainly don't pull in $150/hr.
Nationwide, RE/MAX agents average the highest annual sales, a little over $2,000,000. Assuming that all of that was 3% (a bold assumption), that's about $60,000 - not bad by most standards. Now subtract the splits to the office, continuing education, marketing, offices fees and licensing and you are somewhere in the mid 30's at best - hardly a windfall. Take out taxes (including 100% of the Social Security taxes), and I doubt that many people are going to quit their current jobs. I know agents that have gotten out of the business because they could make more money as teachers. Definitely not complaining, just setting the record straight.
There is no question that there are agents out there that don't earn anything close to the 3% they may collect. And I have met people that successfully sell through FSBO. What's rare are the bad agents that survive or the FSBO's that repeat the process a second time.
Finding a professional that is experienced is key. While it isn't quite as easy as some on here suggest, I would agree that very little of what is taught in the classroom is very practical. Find someone that has been around, who does more than 3-4 transactions each year.
This may be shocking, but I agree that 6% is a dinosaur in the industry. home values have increased substantially overall, and dollar signs do attract the wrong type of people. Perhaps a smaller number would thin the ranks and leave a more professional group.
No doubt that there are Realtors that make extremely good money doing this, and they will continue to do so, even in this market. They know the ins and outs of the current laws, and they know when to refer to other experts for assistance, such as tax implications or to define radon. Most importantly, a majority of their business comes in the form of referrals and repeat clients. It's tough to get people to come back to you or introduce friends if you brought no value to the table.
In summary, if you don't need/want a Realtor, no big deal. I agree that we will see changes within the industry, but there will always be people that don't have the time/energy/knowledge/interest to do this on their own.
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