Question to all of you folks...what is the prevailing commision for selling a home these days? We are selling my father-in-law's house as he is moving into an assisted living facility. The one agent we talked to wanted 4% commision if the house sold with 30 days, 4-1/2% if sold in 31 - 60 days and 5% if it takes over 60 days to sell. This seems "fishy" to me. Wouldn't there be a conflict of interest where the agent wants to delay the sale to earn more commision where we want to sell quickly? I know there must be marketing costs associated with any sale and the longer the house is on the market I would presume the higher the costs would be, i.e. multiple viewings, multiple ads, etc.
Any thoughts out there? I know we won't sign a contract with any agent for longer than 90 days but what else sould we watch out for? The house is in SoCal and priced in the $400K range.
It sounds like he is giving you a break on the costs if it sells quickly, not trying to hose you if it takes longer.
Around here 6% is standard, although many will do it for 5%, and sometimes 4.5%if they double end the transaction.
Talk to a couple of agents to get the price they think it ought to sell for. Make sure they are from separate offices.
If listed at the right price there is no reason you won't get reasonable offers within the first 30 days. Especially with today's market.
One of the things that surprised me when I got the details from my father-in-law was the agent that he talked to showed up with only a couple of 2 year old "comps". We have an appointment set for this coming weekend to meet the agent and look over the contract.
Originally posted by Essex502
One of the things that surprised me when I got the details from my father-in-law was the agent that he talked to showed up with only a couple of 2 year old "comps". We have an appointment set for this coming weekend to meet the agent and look over the contract.
Give me the zip code, address and other related info and I'll get you some more recent comps.
Interview at LEAST 3 realtors - anyone who has a flexible % built in their contract I would be concerned with. And I would not sign for more than 60 days. 30 would be best. If the Realtor is a flake, at least he is gone in 30 days. If he is good, in the market as it is now....... the house will be gone in 30 days. RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH - Go look at houses ON THE MARKET right now....look at your competition. Good Luck
As far as I know, the standard commision is 3% for the selling agent and 3% for the buying agent...... You should be able to get recent comps fairly easily.
Use websites like www.realtor.com to try to get an idea of what similar homes in the area are being listed for, keeping in mind that sometimes the listings on realtor.com are 1-2 months old, so the current prices might be slightly higher than what you find there.
Originally posted by Essex502
Question to all of you folks...what is the prevailing commision for selling a home these days? We are selling my father-in-law's house as he is moving into an assisted living facility. The one agent we talked to wanted 4% commision if the house sold with 30 days, 4-1/2% if sold in 31 - 60 days and 5% if it takes over 60 days to sell. This seems "fishy" to me. Wouldn't there be a conflict of interest where the agent wants to delay the sale to earn more commision where we want to sell quickly? I know there must be marketing costs associated with any sale and the longer the house is on the market I would presume the higher the costs would be, i.e. multiple viewings, multiple ads, etc.
Any thoughts out there? I know we won't sign a contract with any agent for longer than 90 days but what else sould we watch out for? The house is in SoCal and priced in the $400K range.
the house should have no problems selling, and I wouldn't be suprised if went over your asking price, most real esate agent
charge a flat 3% commission or 6% if they list the house and sell the house.
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The house will sell itself in this market. If you have no experience selling or buying a house of your own then list it thru a discount broker like Help-u-sell or better yet find a forum member to give you a good deal. If you have some experience, sell it yourself.
You should't have to pay high commissions in this market. The costs are minimal for the agent unless it is a very unique property that will require some special marketing or special attention.
I sold my home myself for $10k over what I was asking. The escrow company handles all of the legwork and its pretty easy.
OL
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