After my last several SH^$$Y experiences with Realtors i have decided to market my current property FSBO with a high commision to the buyer’s agent.
Has anyone else done this and did you find that the response was much better? I will send faxes and emails to all of the local agencies regarding this property and maybe do a property website.
Anyone?..Anyone?..ideas? :anon
I have done it and I must say you will need to have a strong real estate agent(s) on your side to succeed in this business. I used to sell my properties myself and got really burnt out with all the work that is involved. Having a couple of solid agents helps take a little of the workload off of your shoulders. If you list them FSBO and have the buyer’s agent receive a larger commission, you will see better results and will ultimately be cheaper and less of a headache, instead of having to market/show/sell the property yourself. The answer is yes, people do it all the time, but regardless, from my experience(and from whom I’ve spoken with) you will need to have solid relationships with a few agents.
I have a call center that filters my calls through my script, and determines the motivation levels and if they can better be helped by a RE agent or refi from broker - then my call center connects them to my RE broker to give to his agents, and my mortgage broker 24/7. That way still see money if they close deals, and you create a business affiliates! Good Luck!
Why not just sign a listing agreement with a broker that gives you the right to sell privately with no obligation to them? If they sell you owe commission, if you sell privately you don’t owe commission. Most are going to steamroll you into an exclusive right to sell but you can have what’s called an exclusive agency agreement (at least that’s what its called around here) whereby you only pay if its sold via another realtor but if you sell yourself you don’t pay.
Good advice Rich…I am going to do just that. Do you know hwat it is in Ca? I’ll just check with my broker, thanks!
What we have here generally are 3 types:
Exclusive right to sell- If ANYONE sells the house (broker, owner, another agent, etc) the listing broker gets paid.
Exclusive agency- If the broker produces a buyer or it comes through the MLS from another broker the broker gets paid. If the seller procures the buyer privately the broker does not get paid.
Open listing- Unlimited brokers can sign up listing with this, whoever gets the buyer wins. If the seller gets the buyer no one gets paid.
Your market may be different though I imagine similar. Also, you see variations in listing agreements even within the same area. Sometimes the local Realtor board will create the own, sometimes these boards countywide or sometimes statewide, sometimes they are local to a metro area. You can go from Hartford to Waterbury in this state which are 20 miles apart and they each have their own standard forms and each have their customs. Sometimes brokerages have their own attorneys draft them. Some brokers will not take anything but the exclusive right to sell agreements so you may have to ask around.
I would try for an exclusive agency agreement. This way you aren’t on the hook if you sell yourself. Open listings suck for both you and the agent. They aren’t really that protected so they aren’t too willing to try to sell it and they don’t want to sink money into marketing it. Also, a BIG factor is on an open listing most times they CANNOT list it in the MLS. In my opinion 75% of the benefit of an agent is using the MLS to market your property, without this WHY BOTHER?
Food for thought.
You could also use flat fee mls, look on craigslist to see if anyone offers such service. Basically they put your property on MLS for couple of hundred dollars. Then you can afford to offer buyer agent 4%.
dealMakr8, Which call center do you use?
CNN reported that a new company is allowing anyone to list a house on the MLS for free.
I’ve never tried it but I would probably do so next time I have a house to sell.
Topaz
RealityCO, I’m curious what decision you made and how it ended up working out for you?
PC