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First of all, you must seek and find several professional Realtors to consider listing with. Most every state in the nation consider a listing to be an employment contract. If you were hiring a plumber or an electrician for a project that could cost you several thousand dollars, would you just hire the first one in the door?
Secondly, what is your goal? Are you needing to sell quickly, do you need a certain net closing income (price a buyer pays less commissions, taxes, seller's closing costs), or do you need to give a family member or friend a job?
Third, assuming you interview 3-6 agents (I would consider 4 optimal), what are they offering in return for any commission you pay?
I am certainly not saying that what you pay a broker is not important, but commissions should be just a part of your decision equation. Back to the plumber, it doesn't make sense to hire the cheapest plumber if they do work that will cost you in the long run for follow up fix-it calls.
Do not worry about normal, standard, average, etc, you deserve specific to what your unique home requires.
I don't disagree with anything you said. What I can't reconcile is what you said coupled with the comments that have been made that anyone who works for "less" (whatever that is since there is no set amount) will not work as hard or care as much.
First of all, you must seek and find several professional Realtors to consider listing with. Most every state in the nation consider a listing to be an employment contract. If you were hiring a plumber or an electrician for a project that could cost you several thousand dollars, would you just hire the first one in the door?
Secondly, what is your goal? Are you needing to sell quickly, do you need a certain net closing income (price a buyer pays less commissions, taxes, seller's closing costs), or do you need to give a family member or friend a job?
Third, assuming you interview 3-6 agents (I would consider 4 optimal), what are they offering in return for any commission you pay?
I am certainly not saying that what you pay a broker is not important, but commissions should be just a part of your decision equation. Back to the plumber, it doesn't make sense to hire the cheapest plumber if they do work that will cost you in the long run for follow up fix-it calls.
Do not worry about normal, standard, average, etc, you deserve specific to what your unique home requires.
I tried to stay away from the tradesman analogy in my response because it really just confuses things and IMO is like comparing apples to oranges.
Quote:
Originally Posted by manderly6
I don't disagree with anything you said. What I can't reconcile is what you said coupled with the comments that have been made that anyone who works for "less" (whatever that is since there is no set amount) will not work as hard or care as much.
Like any professional you encounter real estate agents will have a range of fees they are willing to work for and just like any other professional the guy who charges least will likely do the worst job (and you'll have to hire someone else to clean up the mess) and the guy who charges the most is probably delivering the same quality of work as the guy who charges somewhere in the middle. This is especially true in real estate where many agents pay most if not all of the cost of marketing your property. I work in this industry every day. The agents I know who charge less are either ones who don't put in the effort or are the most untrustworthy agents in town who put their own needs in front of their client's.
In every market, you'll see different fee levels. It depends on what the local market demands. Most homesellers won't tolerate a fee above X amount and most agents won't work for less than Y amount. Somewhere in the middle you both can find the number that works for you.
The advice you received from Tom is SOLID. Interview multiple agents when you are thinking of making a real estate transaction. Find out what services each agent offers and what they charge for that. Then hire the one you think is the best fit. You said your agent wants 7%. If you're comfortable with what that agent is offering you and you trust them and you feel they're worth 7% then go for it and hire them. If you don't feel they're earning their money then interview a couple more agents and see if you like one better. Tom makes a good point when he says don't focus solely on the fee. Decide which one is going to do the best job first.
Someone else may have already said this but the bottom line for any seller should be competitiveness. If you price your property too high relative to your market, you are less likely to attract offers and will probably stay on the market longer. The same principle applies to the co-broke commission percentage. Ask your prospective agent to show you your competition (your active comps) and see what those listings are offering in the way of co-broke commission. Human nature is human nature-whether it is professional or not. You can, of course, try swimming upstream but it is exhausting.
Manderly, of course it varies agent to agent. One agent could charge 7% and be terrible and another could do 5% and be great. I think general rule of thumb is the more successful agent is in demand and can charge more for their services as a result but of course there are always exceptions both ways. People ultimately remember if the job was done well or not and not what the commission was, so a job well done will get referrals.
Manderly, of course it varies agent to agent. One agent could charge 7% and be terrible and another could do 5% and be great. I think general rule of thumb is the more successful agent is in demand and can charge more for their services as a result but of course there are always exceptions both ways. People ultimately remember if the job was done well or not and not what the commission was, so a job well done will get referrals.
Agree. It just seems a tad self serving to see an agent make a post basically saying anyone who charges less than they do will not do as good of a job.
The advice you received from Tom is SOLID. Interview multiple agents when you are thinking of making a real estate transaction. Find out what services each agent offers and what they charge for that. Then hire the one you think is the best fit. You said your agent wants 7%. If you're comfortable with what that agent is offering you and you trust them and you feel they're worth 7% then go for it and hire them. If you don't feel they're earning their money then interview a couple more agents and see if you like one better. Tom makes a good point when he says don't focus solely on the fee. Decide which one is going to do the best job first.
Agree. It just seems a tad self serving to see an agent make a post basically saying anyone who charges less than they do will not do as good of a job.
I agree with this statement. It's why I always recommend interviewing multiple people for any job.
I don't disagree with anything you said. What I can't reconcile is what you said coupled with the comments that have been made that anyone who works for "less" (whatever that is since there is no set amount) will not work as hard or care as much.
Sorry... I wasn't clear. People who work for too little can't afford the costs a listing will require. It has nothing to do with how hard or caring. Thank you for asking me to clarify. Btw: If the commission is too low, and the listing agent is too busy because of being too low, then I would guess too much busy could convert to being too much to give specific care.
Agree. It just seems a tad self serving to see an agent make a post basically saying anyone who charges less than they do will not do as good of a job.
Of course it is self-serving, and typically groundless.
The cool thing about taking the high ground, avoiding baselessly slandering other firms or other agents or other business models scurriously is not having to try to cover crap we leave behind like a tomcat in a sandbox.
Here is how it works in the ethical world:
Consumer and agent consult.
Agent proposes and documents service offerings.
Agent and consumer agree on services to be rendered and a fee for the service.
After agreement is executed, service and fee payment are both delivered as agreed.
"...the ethical world" dwellers know that they make and honor agreements, and fee vs. service is not a dynamic to be rationalized mid-delivery.
That would be silly, of course. Raising the price is going to do nothing but make it more difficult to sell. Discuss the plan and the money with the agent, of course. But be careful about trying to "punish" your agent, and hurting yourself in the process.
I am about to re-list my place at a much lower price and don't see paying an extra 1% if most other agents are charging less. Even if I raise the price 1%, it will still be competitively priced. Plus, why should I be paying the buyer's agent more too? 1% or 2% in real estate is a lot of money.
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