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I can speak from experience as a seller. I had a neighbor who listed their home their self to "save money" from the realtor fees.
I opted for the Realtor, had my house staged, appraised, inspected and was ready to roll I "LISTENED" to my Realtor and didn't try to tell her how to do her job nor was I trying to prove I knew more about pricing or selling than she did.
My neighbor's house sat for 3 yrs until it finally went into forclosure . Mine sold in 2 weeks for more than anyone ever had sold a house for in my neighborhood. I only had 2 people look at it and on the same day, both came back for a 2nd showing. I got only 2K less than my asking and they asked for my lanai set and I said NO.
The OP quoted "$9,000 as the commission" Well first of all she is not getting $9,000, her broker can be taking as much as 50%. Then come the taxes, licensing, insurance, advertising,etc.
Next, unless you are living in a resort area that there are lots of prospective buyers driving by, how do you plan on getting buyers into your home?
Do you have an attorney to look over all your submitted contracts, negotiate,etc. ($250 an hr)
People really think they are saving money but I guarantee the majority of the forclosed homes were homes that the owners tried to sell on their own. At least in my area that is what happens.
Plus, with all the scams out there, who in their right mind would buy a home from an individual without an agent there to look out for them?
Your home is your biggest investment, don't try to sell it by your own.
There is an old saying in the legal community, "a lawyer who has himself for a client serves a fool." Sellers may do a good job of selling their neighbors house but the emotions of selling their own home (note house vs home) is a key issue and difference.
People really think they are saving money but I guarantee the majority of the forclosed homes were homes that the owners tried to sell on their own. At least in my area that is what happens.
Life isn't that simple. Many properties are foreclosed on for one simple reason..... they owe more than they can sell it for. Otherwise they would just sell it and make a profit. Realtor or not, that situation is near impossible to fix beyond the rare approved shortsale.
The OP quoted "$9,000 as the commission" Well first of all she is not getting $9,000, her broker can be taking as much as 50%. Then come the taxes, licensing, insurance, advertising,etc.
Do you understand why that point is irrelevant? If the agent gets 100% or 50% means nothing to me.
Not trying to be Trollish. I just want to understand why what an agent does is worth 3% of the purchase price of a home. (i.e. $300K house, $9,000 commission.) A simple explanation of what an agent does for me when I purchase a house will work. Thanks.
As an agent in the Boulder area, I have to chime in on this one as well...
The single biggest thing I do to justify my commission, is diffuse the stress of the process for my buyers. Plain and simple, buying a home is extremely stressful, and somewhat difficult. If it was easy, apartment complexes wouldn't flourish like they do. Even after buying and selling hundreds of homes for clients (and four previous personal homes), I was extremely stressed out the last time I bought and sold a personal home last December. The entire process is emotional, and it is really helpful to have an "emotionally detached" agent in your corner, navigating you through the pitfalls of the process.
Not necessarily. Indiana law requires the agent or agents to attend the closing to protect their client. Kentucky law is much more lax on that issue.
Many times, I have gone to closing to find my seller "affected" by many issues including problems with contract, inspections, mortgage factors, or just simply an incompetent closing officer/attorney.
That's right. I think you should become one of us because it's so easy. We get paid to do nothing. I don't know why more people haven't figured it out yet or why 92% don't make it 2 years in the business?
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