Realtor Commissions

[Henry]

But with a realtor, you really don't. That's the problem. Chitty realtors cost 3%. Incredible realtors cost 3%.

You usually find out which one you had in hindsight.

Dang, you guys are brutal
I'm a realtor and i'm happy to say that i have helped many families sell and buy a home.

The above quoted post is exactly why you have to ask around and see who knows a good realtor. I'd say that 95% of my business is referrals from previous clients.

As mentioned before, if you're keen on researching the process then go for it. Not everyone is, and one of the main things you do when you hire a realtor is you are easing the legal responsibility off of yourself. If you do it yourself, please be sure to know all the forms that are required of a seller, and which are required of the buyer. Disclosure will come back and haunt you if you don't do it right, it just isn't worth it. The money, time, and hassle spent will be loads more than the 6% you didn't want to pay.

That said, I am a member of a few fishing groups and have happily given members a discount/rebate. But i will never do it for 1% like someone previously posted, i did that when i was new, but after that one nightmare of a transaction...never again.

There's a saying...Realtors always work, and sometimes they get paid.
Basically, the 6% really helps offset all the transactions that fall through, or the clients who bail after you've spent time and money showing them homes or preparing theirs for sale.

[Atfulldraw]

we haven't settled this yet?

I'm shocked.

[Chance Love]

we haven't settled this yet?

I'm shocked.

Nope.

And I'm all for negotiating our fee. If some don't like the 6%, how about 7%? Maybe 8%? Let's negotiate!

[Reel cajun]

How did you get past the sticker shock of realtor commissions?

We’ve had our house up FSBO for a couple of months now and the wife is really wanting to hire a realtor. I just refuse to. We have no reason to move other than the fact we are looking for acreage. Therefore, my motivation isn’t extremely high. (I want acreage, but not for the price of Realtor commissions).

You just chalk it up and say alright, I’ll pay it, or did you just stick it out and wait for a FSBO transaction to come along?


Disclaimer: I know realtors have to make money too. I’m just opting out at the moment.

Put it on Zillow. We did and sold it for over market value and had phone call the day after I listed it speaking for it. You will get more bites with more people seeing it online.

[RR 314]

I have tried to stay away from this but I can't. :-) Realtors provide a good/great service to many. The offer knowledge and assistance filling out TREC forms. They get market exposure for their listings. There is a post upstream asking about a lot of "legal" involved with the transaction. Realtors cannot give ANY legal advice. They may have counsel available to answer those questions; however, they are specifically forbidden from giving legal advice.

When realtors (or some buyers here) state a buyer doesn't "pay" 3% to his/her realtor this is technically true. However, as applied, your realtor is EARNING (not taking) money assisting you that you would otherwise likely receive as a discount off the home/property you are purchasing.

ANYONE can tender their own offer and represent themselves (principal party). If you have a realtor friend run comps for you and discuss the marketplace this is very helpful. Realtors have knowledge through MLS that others simply cannot access. Whereas some reflect they "saved" X dollars without a realtor, this is difficult to quantify without a solid understanding of relevant comparable sales.

I am representing my parents (I am obviously not a realtor) currently in a purchase and the listing agent (actually a broker) has been great so far. Some agents are reluctant to even let non-agents in a property. Agents are protective of their field as are doctors, lawyers and Indian chiefs (feathers--not dots) and this is understandable. I did have a realtor friend do some legwork on the comps etc. and owe her for her time (I will pick up her kid from swim practice a couple times and we are even). The house is now under contract and after negotiating a solid purchase price, again with KNOWLEDGE from a realtor, my parents received almost $27K off of the negotiated purchase price by not retaining a realtor. Again, the listing agent has been great to work with. I have heard from other agents/brokers in the past, as recently as two weeks ago on another house that my parents looked at, that they could not "share fees" with anyone other than a realtor. While this is technically not true (if a principal), I told her that is fine, if THEY (my parents) submitted an offer I would not be not asking to share anything. I simply would be asking for an additional 3% reduction in the price. She asserted this was sharing fees. I, respectfully, :-) asserted she was sick the day they taught real estate in real estate school. I told her if I was "sharing fees", which I could not do, that would create a taxable event and certainly would not make sense in this context, and 1/2 of the 6% (3%) in her listing agreement with her client would simply be subtracted from the market value price and reflected in the negotiated contract price. Synapses still were not firing for her. Thankfully my parents chose the other house!

In short, with the KNOWLEDGE from a realtor, I negotiated a solid offer and ended up saving a chunk of money for my parents. I viewed the property, spoke with a realtor, assessed the comps with her, drafted the contract, attended the inspection (and reviewed the report) and have sent a couple emails. I have no need to attend closing with my parents. I have probably 10-12 hours in the entire process. Not bad for saving my parents $27K in the transaction.

Some of my best friends are realtors and brokers. :-) They spend a lot of time giving free "hill country ranch tours" and take a beating showing a lot of properties to people who likely don't have adequate funds to buy the ranches they show. It isn't a closing every day, or even week for that matter, and they work long hours. That being said, if I represent myself, or a friend in a transaction with their client, I certainly make sure they don't keep the entire allocation of fees. They still send me a Christmas card. Realtors/Brokers are people too. :-)

[tdwinklr]

everything is negotiable.

[RiverRat1]

Nope.

And I'm all for negotiating our fee. If some don't like the 6%, how about 7%? Maybe 8%? Let's negotiate!

Maybe you can explain to some here how long and complicated buying a property over 1 million can be

[BitBackShot]

It totally depends on the market situation where the property is. If it's a tough sell, by all means, find the realtor that has the widest network and most powerful marketing tools and pay them the money.

There are times in my neighborhood where the day a home hits the market, there are 20 families lined up to see it and on day 2 everyone is to submit a "best offer" and they sort it out from there. Usually accept 2-3 backup offers, buyer has no leverage on repairs. A realtor isn't selling the house - the house is selling the house. You ain't getting 6% of my equity, you can have a fee to cover the paperwork.

Every situation is different. Every realtor is also different. About 80% of them are worthless mouth breathers, and the other 20% are very professional, helpful people. Gotta find a good one.

Good luck.

[meltingfeather]

Same old gripe. No one ever wants to pay fees. Then in their own career field they want the most pay. Smh. It is what it is.

lol this

[ClearcreekDC]

This is a funny thread to read being a full time agent for that last 7 years. Its really interesting to see all the misconceptions posted. I think a lot of you boys needs to come jump on the bandwagon and get your license!

[RR 314]

This is a funny thread to read being a full time agent for that last 7 years. Its really interesting to see all the misconceptions posted. I think a lot of you boys needs to come jump on the bandwagon and get your license!

Man, I would have thunk you were a back cracker with your screen name.

[tigerscowboy]

I'm on the Seller's side 95% of the time and have offered and paid anywhere from 2-5% to the Buyer's agent. Depends on what we listed, the market, and our needs.

[stickbowcoop]

I will always use a realtor. When we moved out here our relator handled selling our PA house. We had a lot of drama because some buyers inspectors found things we did not know about. She handled all the repairs, getting an engineer to sign off (buyers bank required it) she did all the showings, etc. She earned her commission and then some. I have zero interest in dealing with all that plus the paper work involved. I'll gladly pay their commission.

Maybe I missed it but did Sleepy sell his house FSBO yet?

[35remington]

we haven't settled this yet?

I'm shocked.

What shocks me is that the TBH realtors haven't stated what I think is the obvious elephant in the room: hardly anyone would complain about paying a great realtor, because the client is getting a better deal. The problem is that lots of realtors suck, and it's hard to know your realtor sucked until after the deal is over.

[DFWPI]

Right

This is a funny thread to read being a full time agent for that last 7 years. Its really interesting to see all the misconceptions posted. I think a lot of you boys needs to come jump on the bandwagon and get your license!

What I've found interesting, and I've only had my license for a year, is that 3/4 of the people that I went to training with are no longer doing work as a Realtor because of one reason or another. I had another call me last week, wanting to know if my Broker would carry her license. She has been a Realtor for a year, has worked for to Brokers and has not had one transaction as of yet.