6 ms·

10 percent is insane, most sellers with an agent pay 4-6 percent And honestly the cheapest way to get it done is a sign in your yard, a flat fee broker to get

10 percent is insane, most sellers with an agent pay 4-6 percent And honestly the cheapest way to get it done is a sign in your yard, a flat fee broker to get it on the MLS and a lawyer to finalize the sale Zillow and agents are not doing Jack shit to earn the commission they get

mistrial9 5y ago
after obtaining a junior real estate credential in California, my irreverent twenty-something colleague told me with no equivocation "a trained monkey could sell these houses"
- zdragnar 5y ago
  In a hot market, totally. Get out in the sticks or a smaller town in normal or slow days, and good agents will do a fair bit of legwork to sell a house.
  - bink 5y ago
    It's been so long since we've had a real down market. People are going to be shocked when it happens again.
    - mensetmanusman 5y ago
      Down markets are all over in more rural places.
      - tata71 5y ago
        For about ten more minutes.
- hellbannedguy 5y ago
  I am shocked Realtors are not obsolete by now. 8 courses and a simple test, and if you're lucky they purchase Omissions & Error insurance. I would like to see commissions capped at 1% nationwide. (Oh yea, in CA you used to only need a 4 year degree in anything along with the 8 courses in order to get your Broker's license. Lobbiest from The Realtor's syndicate drew up a bill stating all brokers need to 4 years of work experience as a Salesman before sitting for the test. This durning Arnold's governorship. There was not one instance of a new Broker who got the license with the education exemption screwing up a sale. Arnold vetoed the bill. He said, "Since there are 0 problems, why make it more difficult to get a license. Gov. Brown ended up signing the bill though.)
zdragnar 5y ago
In a hot market, selling without an agent is easy. In a normal market, they can help quite a bit. On the flip side, buying with an agent is handy in a hot market, because they can help you get bids in by having access to sellers realtors and knowing in advance when a home is coming on the market. That said, my last purchase definitely didn't need the involvement of a realtor at all. (You're totally right that I misremembered the 10% number, btw).
- ssharp 5y ago
  I've sold two houses in normal markets without an agent doing what the above poster mentioned. I talked to a handful of seller agents and none could articulate any value over just doing a flat-fee MLS listing. Some were completely unwilling to come down to 4 or 5% commission and typically the ones who insisted on 6% also insisted on listing the house below market value. I was more than happy to plop down a couple hundred to list on MLS and pay the buyer agent a 2% commission. We had a pretty boilerplate purchase agreement and then the title company handled the rest.
- throwaway803453 5y ago
  Personal story, I sold my home in Austin in July of this year. I was going to sell it myself but instead found a 1% broker. It was listed at $525k and I would have taken $495k. Because I don't negotiate for a living and because $495k is a lot in comparison to what I paid, _anyone_ could have easily talked me down from $525k. But because they called the broker instead of me the property sold for $547k. The broker also encouraged me to offer only 2.5% to the buyer agent instead of the 3% that is typical. So yes, if you can keep your cool, keep your mouth shut, forget how much you already profited, and have a bit of greed in you, then sell it yourself. Otherwise outsource this job and pay as little as you can for it.
- short12 5y ago
  Its not just in hot markets. That is myth
weeblewobble 5y ago
Things my agent did: * hire and manage a staging company * hire and manage a photographer * print and distribute printouts * hire and manage cleaner, landscaper, other various people to get the house ready and appealing * use personal network to get the word out to other agents I could have done most of this on my own, but I'd be cold calling random contracters. My agent had relationships, got the work done fast and at good price. Also I'm convinced all their work added at least 20% to final selling price. Maybe more.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- 13of40 5y ago
  When I sold my last house, about seven years ago, we got a free consultation from Redfin. "Should we fix anything or stage it?" we asked. "Meh, don't bother, just put it up for $250K and we can sell it." Just to be sure, we consulted the realtor who had helped us buy our new house, and she convinced us to do maybe $15K of remodels on the kitchen and bathroom (for which she sourced the contractors) then told us how to stage it and put some little shrubberies up front, etc. Final selling price was $350K. To me, that's the difference between places like Redfin or Zillow vs. an agent.
- short12 5y ago
  Staging is actually counterproductive Anyone can take pictures Most people already have the printout via some website The network connections is a myth. If it's on MLS everyone that counts is already seeing it
  - nradov 5y ago
    Anyone can push a shutter button. Very few people can take pictures that really sell a unique property. If you're listing a cookie-cutter 2 bedroom urban condo then pictures don't matter much because buyers pretty much already know what they're getting. If you're listing a rural luxury property with acreage and a view then good pictures matter a lot. Same thing with staging. It's counterproductive for some properties and almost essential for others. You have to know the local market and target buyers.

mistrial9 5y ago

after obtaining a junior real estate credential in California, my irreverent twenty-something colleague told me with no equivocation "a trained monkey could sell these houses"

zdragnar 5y ago
In a hot market, totally. Get out in the sticks or a smaller town in normal or slow days, and good agents will do a fair bit of legwork to sell a house.
- bink 5y ago
  It's been so long since we've had a real down market. People are going to be shocked when it happens again.
  - mensetmanusman 5y ago
    Down markets are all over in more rural places.
    - tata71 5y ago
      For about ten more minutes.
hellbannedguy 5y ago
I am shocked Realtors are not obsolete by now. 8 courses and a simple test, and if you're lucky they purchase Omissions & Error insurance. I would like to see commissions capped at 1% nationwide. (Oh yea, in CA you used to only need a 4 year degree in anything along with the 8 courses in order to get your Broker's license. Lobbiest from The Realtor's syndicate drew up a bill stating all brokers need to 4 years of work experience as a Salesman before sitting for the test. This durning Arnold's governorship. There was not one instance of a new Broker who got the license with the education exemption screwing up a sale. Arnold vetoed the bill. He said, "Since there are 0 problems, why make it more difficult to get a license. Gov. Brown ended up signing the bill though.)

zdragnar 5y ago

In a hot market, selling without an agent is easy. In a normal market, they can help quite a bit. On the flip side, buying with an agent is handy in a hot market, because they can help you get bids in by having access to sellers realtors and knowing in advance when a home is coming on the market. That said, my last purchase definitely didn't need the involvement of a realtor at all. (You're totally right that I misremembered the 10% number, btw).

ssharp 5y ago
I've sold two houses in normal markets without an agent doing what the above poster mentioned. I talked to a handful of seller agents and none could articulate any value over just doing a flat-fee MLS listing. Some were completely unwilling to come down to 4 or 5% commission and typically the ones who insisted on 6% also insisted on listing the house below market value. I was more than happy to plop down a couple hundred to list on MLS and pay the buyer agent a 2% commission. We had a pretty boilerplate purchase agreement and then the title company handled the rest.
throwaway803453 5y ago
Personal story, I sold my home in Austin in July of this year. I was going to sell it myself but instead found a 1% broker. It was listed at $525k and I would have taken $495k. Because I don't negotiate for a living and because $495k is a lot in comparison to what I paid, _anyone_ could have easily talked me down from $525k. But because they called the broker instead of me the property sold for $547k. The broker also encouraged me to offer only 2.5% to the buyer agent instead of the 3% that is typical. So yes, if you can keep your cool, keep your mouth shut, forget how much you already profited, and have a bit of greed in you, then sell it yourself. Otherwise outsource this job and pay as little as you can for it.
short12 5y ago
Its not just in hot markets. That is myth

weeblewobble 5y ago

Things my agent did: * hire and manage a staging company * hire and manage a photographer * print and distribute printouts * hire and manage cleaner, landscaper, other various people to get the house ready and appealing * use personal network to get the word out to other agents I could have done most of this on my own, but I'd be cold calling random contracters. My agent had relationships, got the work done fast and at good price. Also I'm convinced all their work added at least 20% to final selling price. Maybe more.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
13of40 5y ago
When I sold my last house, about seven years ago, we got a free consultation from Redfin. "Should we fix anything or stage it?" we asked. "Meh, don't bother, just put it up for $250K and we can sell it." Just to be sure, we consulted the realtor who had helped us buy our new house, and she convinced us to do maybe $15K of remodels on the kitchen and bathroom (for which she sourced the contractors) then told us how to stage it and put some little shrubberies up front, etc. Final selling price was $350K. To me, that's the difference between places like Redfin or Zillow vs. an agent.
short12 5y ago
Staging is actually counterproductive Anyone can take pictures Most people already have the printout via some website The network connections is a myth. If it's on MLS everyone that counts is already seeing it
- nradov 5y ago
  Anyone can push a shutter button. Very few people can take pictures that really sell a unique property. If you're listing a cookie-cutter 2 bedroom urban condo then pictures don't matter much because buyers pretty much already know what they're getting. If you're listing a rural luxury property with acreage and a view then good pictures matter a lot. Same thing with staging. It's counterproductive for some properties and almost essential for others. You have to know the local market and target buyers.