Is this true? (regarding commisions)

[Jen1098]

We will be putting our house up for sale shortly. I met with the agent last night just to do a walk through and get ideas as to what we need to do with the house to get it ready.

She went over numbers with me briefly and we talked about commision. It will be either 6% or 7%. The other homes in our neighborhood are at 6%. She said by us going 7% it would make us more attractive to other agents b/c they'd get more money out of it. She of course adds " I don't work that way but sad to say some agents do"
Does this make sense I mean nowadays buyers can look up homes on line and tell their agents what homes they want to see. That's what we did when we were looking.

So do you think an agent will not show a house b/c it's 6% instead of 7%?

I know it's only 1% but we haven't been here to long so as it is now we'll be lucky to break even so we need to save what we can.

TIA and sorry so long.

[boilermaker]

Honestly, without knowing anything about your area, I can't tell you if it is true or not. However, I would definitely interview at least 2 other agents before you decide who to list with. All of them are going to have a slightly different view of the value and faults of your house, and a different idea of how they will find the "perfect" buyer. You should see which one meshes with your thought best. And the commission is part of it. If other agents say the same thing, go with it. Also, the commission is usually split in half, so by upping you that 1%, she upped her fee by .5%.

[Jen1098]

Thanks Boilermaker. You're right we really should meet with other agents.
As for our area homes here don't sell the way they do every where else.

Also, the commission is usually split in half, so by upping you that 1%, she upped her fee by .5%.

Very good point.

[linda_loo]

a slew of my friends have bought friends around the city, in the last 5 years (us included) and we all were at 6%.

[lml41981]

If you're using the same realtor you used to buy the place, he or she ought to cut you a deal on the commission. Our fee is 5% - 2% for my realtor and 3% for the buyer's agent.

[KarenS]

Does this make sense I mean nowadays buyers can look up homes on line and tell their agents what homes they want to see. That's what we did when we were looking.

Yeah, but not all buyers do. My ILs don't even have an internet connection right now - they have a house in Phoenix where they're moving (as we speak, in fact), but if they didn't, they'd be relying mostly on a Realtor to find them a house.

Now a good Realtor won't *not* show them a house with a lower commission, but she (or he) will probably show them full commission houses first. And quite frankly ...can you blame them? Wouldn't you try to encourage people to buy "up" if your income depended on it?

Karen

[Jen1098]

LindaThat's good to know that you and your friends had a 6% commission. I'm thinking it must be the norm then for our area.

lml41981 You've got a great deal. Lucky you. We aren't using the same agent though-he isn't aggressive enough and his office is to far.

KarenS Good points and I guess it's hard imagining people not having internet access these days. I personally wouldn't sway people towards a house with a 1% higher commission but I'm sure there are plenty who would.

This agent will be calling us on the 12th to set up a time to go over paperwork and $$. I do think we will be going with the 6% though. But I think I might make a couple of other calls to agents to see what they say.
Thanks for your responses.

[juliemag]

As far as I know - realtor's are entitled to 6% commission. But when we bought/sold our house in June our realtor only charged 4% (2 for her, 2 for the other agent). Both realtor's were friends of the family.

[KarenS]

As far as I know - realtor's are entitled to 6% commission.

Actually 7% is the standard, but a lot of brokers/Realtors are going with 6% nowadays to gain the business.

Also remember that if your Realtor lowers her commission for you, that doesn't mean that she's still splitting it evenly. A Realtor who lowers a commission has to accept that the buyer's agent may not accept a reduced commission. So if you list your house at 5%, your Realtor may have to take only 2% so the buyers agent can get their full 3%.

Also, just a semantic note - Realtor is a proper noun and should be capitalized.

Karen

[wine_o_girlie]

I would be very wary of this agent. I would definitely interview other agents before signing any listing agreement with her. I am in the Northeast and 6% if by far the norm (or even less because we are in such a hot housing market that so many do FSBO's that agents are a bit more flexible if you negotiate hard with them).