British Expatriate Network

Make the same amount? Now you dont have me understanding as you went to great pains to tell us the overheads of selling and what little there is to be made on your 2.5%. Now the buyers agent brings the buyer and a contract offer for their 2.5% sounds like a better deal to me.

Honestly I've never met anyone in real estate here that drives a ford or chevy so I can tell you for one 6% is over the odds.

Why would the overheads of being the buyer's agent be any less? They still have to pay for insurance and advertising and split their comissions with their company, they have the same overheads I mentioned for the seller's agent. They also had to spend copious amounts of time driving their buyers from house to house until they decided on the one they wanted.

Just because most Realtors drive nice cars does not mean they earn "over the odds". That's a daft statement. If you were driving customers around a lot in your vehicle, would you chose to drive a beaten up Chevy or a nice, newer import car? Most of the agents in my office drive Nissans, actually.

I am sick to death of being berated on this site for being part of a profession that other people don't understand. It's very frustrating.

Ooooh errrr, sorry I asked... :wink:

Ok I honestly thought twice about replying to this one as we are poles apart on this one, but you are missing what upsets us all or you are misrepresenting you trade.

A Chevy can be fine brand new and does not have to be "beaten up" as you put it, even to suggest a Nissan as modest puts you way out of touch with what is affordable these days to most people. We are not daft enough not to know that our fees, yes out hard earned money is paying for a nice ride for you guys. I would expect that for half million dollar homes and up but for the rest of us it makes us feel taken.

If you are sick of being berated you should not misrepresent the facts, the buyers agent has far less overheads in the sole transaction and a bigger profit to make than the seller. This is an industry that buys and sells to make its money and to take the poor hard done by approach to your fees as the seller are a joke as your profits are baised on buying and selling over a years period as is the buyers agent. These overheads you refer to are costed as such and should not be micro costed to each transaction, you do not purchase insurance on a daily basis.

Its not like people have much of an option when selling they have to come to you guys, it's like going to the gas station and paying $6 a gallon for gas. Thats the kind of feeling we get when you roll up in you BMW as buying and selling a home (not a house) becomes as vital as gas, electricity and food.

I run my own freelance operation as a consultant and would never think to charge my clients in a way that you do and pick them up in a flashy car to boot. There is simply too much competition creating less sales or slow times as you put it driving higher prices to offset the costs in my opinion, not that you asked for it roll

Are you saying that you would pay $2,834 this year on fees, insurance and other stuff for each sale or was it a one off for the year. To clear fees and insurance with one sale and still have $1,541 to take home on the first sale sounds good to me.

What happens when the buyer uses the same agent as the seller ?Then the agent gets the full 6 percent~no split?

The thing that worries me about going the 'Sell it yourself route' is Pre- approving/ Qualifying the Buyer. The agent would surely do a better job,I think, than the average person.

But, I do notice a lot of sell it yourself signs around this part of the woods.

Thanks for the advice Stel. We haven't had an open house, but our Realtor did get about 20 of the Realtors from his office round to view just before it went on the market.

I don't think it's priced too high (but that's not to say I know for sure ;) ) as he gave us a top price and a price he thought would be priced to sell so to speak. We went for the lower price as we were hoping to maybe get back before Christmas, but doesn't look likely now. Not sure about the photos online, but they do make the place look a bit small maybe? I'll pm you the details if you've got a sec to give me your expert opinion. :grin:

For what it's worth, I think that (most) Realtors work pretty hard for their money. I know that with our Realtor, it's comission only pay and yes, that 6% is split 3% - 3% and he has to pay his overheads and a big chunk to the owner of the office. I probably missed out other costs etc. I don't think it's 'easy' money at all. I have no problem paying that for a trained person to sell my house.

Now, if I could just have an offer on our house..... :lol:

Sorry realtors, but think it's a bit of a joke to compare yourself with dentists and lawyers. They spend years in school and usually over $100,000 for their degrees so I don't mind paying them the big bucks. Doesn't it take 3 weeks to get a realtors licence? That's what irks me when I see the rates. I will agree that the hours are terrible and there's gotta be alot of competition nowadays - however the payoffs seem a little extreme. My realtor made $350,000 last year.

Personally, I would try the FSBO and see if you get any offers. If not, why not try something like Foxtons that sell for 3%. They seem to do alright around where I live. Also, I believe that most realtors will negotiate their commision with you, so although they may say 6% you can talk them down. Personally, I don't understand why it is a percentage and not a set amount, especially with the prices of houses right now. Surely it's the same amount of work for selling a multi million dollar home or a middle of the road home?

I doubt it ...I would imagine there are fewer potential purchasers around and a lot more features to market on a muti-million dollar affair?

FWIW, I believe that realtors work hard. A nice car is a must - as a buyer, I was impressed with the comfort in which I was transported from house to house - with husband and baby in car-seat. Our realtor was an older woman a mother of 12 no less, who happily entertained and kept our baby happy while we looked at the houses.

We spent about a month looking at houses. She was willing to take us anywhere we wanted to go which turned out to be something like a 15-mile radius - much of it out of her area. She was kind, friendly, professional, not at all condescending and certainly not lazy.

In fact the day we went to make an official offer in writing we saw another house for sale on our way to her office. It was being sold directly by the builder and we loved it. However we remained loyal to our realtor and went ahead with our offer, which was accepted.

Whatever her commission was back then (11 years ago), it was worth it. I should think it would be the equivalent of a month's pay for a professional person. Certainly what we paid her was the equivalent of a month and a half's rent. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

I'd definitely use a realtor again. They know the ropes. They have the connections and above all they know their stuff. I daresay it does vary from state to state as to what exactly a person has to do to qualify as a realtor.

Not all realtors drive Beemers -and for those that do, do you know they were bought with their income from being a realtor? Or should those with other sources of income that allow them to own flashy cars work for less than those that don't to make you feel better?

As far as I could tell, Stel was merely disagreeing with your viewpoint, not misrepresenting facts. She pointed out that the buyer's agent has the same major overheads -insurance (whatever that may be), commission, office and staff costs etc. It does not stand to reason -as you seem to feel- that the buyer's agent makes much more on the deal. If that were the case, seller's agents would charge extra fees to cover their overheads or insist on an uneven split. As a "freelance consultant" you surely understand that the market cannot sustain imbalance, so there must be a form of equilibrium even if you can't see it. Similarly, if realtors were not worth their 6%, they'd get no work. I don't see them as a dying breed, so they must be doing something right. And yes, you do have a choice -you can go to one of the many 5% or 3.5% or 3% agents or you can sell it yourself. There's no gun to anyone's head to force them to employ a 6% realtor.

Seems to me you have a mighty big chip on your shoulder.

Our realtor worked very hard for us when we were looking for our house and did not have a fancy car, a fairly old Jeep.
The realtor who sold our house was the kind that give realtors a bad name.
The buyers agent definitely earned her money

"Upsets us all"?? Please. I am not missing anything, but I think you are continually misunderstanding.

I didn't say a Nissan was modest, but you seem to have a chip on your shoulder that real estate agents are all driving around in BMWs and Mercedes or something and I was attempting to point out that not all agents own (or can afford) ostentatious vehicles. Don't tell me I'm out of touch with what's affordable to people - you're patronising. I worked for a Chevy for 4 years so am familiar with their quality off the factory line and the price, and who can afford them. My point was that Realtors tend to drive nice cars because they will be seen in them by clients and perception is important. They don't drive them just to upset small minded people who resent outward signs of what they perceive as undeserved success.

Oh, put down your violin. This topic started because you all have the right to sell FSBO. Most people don't. Most people still pay around 5% or 6% so there is a market for real estate at these prices, despite the amount of companies offering to work for less. If you don't want your "hard earned money" to go to a realtor, don't use one.

I wasn't aware that you were the USA's expert on Real Estate incomes. In fact, you are completely mistaken. Most agents work for buyers and sellers instead of taking just one type of client. It is generally recognised that it's easier to be the listing agent than the buyer's agent as a listing is yours for the duration and even if you don't sell it yourself, you still make money. A buyer's agent can drive buyers around for months and then in the end the buyers decide to move out of state, buy a house from a friend, etc. and the agent will make nothing.

I didn't "micro cost" the fees, I was simply explaining that agents have overheads and what might seem like an enormous commission for a $250,000 house is not that big once you look at the nitty gritty. Fair enough, most agents hope to sell more than one $250,000 house in a year, I didn't suggest otherwise.

Err, they have a lot of options as mentioned several times in posts by other people.

What are you saying? What the hell does my car have to do with any of this? Are you so bothered by what kind of car I drive?

Oh my god, the car again!! Do you need some hay for that high horse you're sitting on? None of my clients are bothered by my car. You've got your pants in a twist having seen a small photo of it on the internet.

Mitch, I don't know what your problem is with Realtors, or success, or BMWs, or maybe everything in general, but you've really pissed me off, blatantly being rude about my job, my integrity and my automobile. You've made sweeping generalisations and have been very patronising. Just because you don't agree with my job doesn't mean you can steam roller me into agreeing with you. I can't even believe I've bothered to respond to your daft post in the first place.

Stel.

When the housing market is slow agents have to work hard to make a sale. The present market in our area is slowing down, but earlier in the year it was so hot that properties in sought after parts of the city often didn't hit the market.

My son is a prime example. Through word of mouth, he had 2 offers to buy his place. He didn't even have to advertise and the whole deal was handled through a lawyer. He saved around $20,000.

Iis hard to tell if your amount of viewings is a good sign of a bad one .there again thats were your realtor comes in . ask him .her or a ,market comparision ,there are so many veriables in the home market . homes have to be compired to each other for such things as special financing , availablilty after contract is ratified , extras such as newly remodeled kitchen ,what type of financing seller wil except , condition of inside of home , and most of all LOCATION ,cus the home in the next steet is the same model and size ar yours doesnt mean the two are compatable in price .things like whats next door ( curb appeal ) .is it near a bus stop ,a interstate highway , is it on a corner,. etc and of course price.

Let your realtor earn the commision ask for all these facts get a idea of wether you are selling at the right price is it a hot market , have many sold in the subdivision if not why are there new homes bEING built nearby ??.Folks taht say my realtors didnt do anything have themnselves to blame ..ASK for a report when the home is shown ask the showing realtor his/her opinion . what the potential buyer said, get feedback did the pospective buyer make a offer on another home all this is in the hands of your realtor just ask for it .keep closely in touch and you wil see how the realtor earns his /her money .

Most showing wil be in the first week of the home appearing put in the MLS ,reason being there are* buyers agents* checking the lists each day for any clienst they have that are looking for a home like yours .

That is very veriable each home is unique to its self .

When a client ( buyer ) ordered up a home from me i got down to such details of there wants such as as colour of carpet? tiles , .where there pets in the home , smokers , was it a rental , landscaping .stuff like that and only showed them homes that fitted there criterior . its mostly a buyers market so they can be as picky as they want .

A informed seller is a wise seller ..make sure you are ....