Written by Loreena Yeo
3:16 team REALTY
Realtor/ Broker
Copyright 2008

So many times, potential sellers will call me on the phone and ask the fee I charge to sell their homes. The conversations may occur in some variations of this example:

Seller: I am thinking about selling my home and I would like to know how much you charge?

Me: Thank you for giving me this opportunity. However, I do not disclose this information over the phone. I much rather we talk face-to-face after I have seen your home.

Seller: Oh really? You can't tell me that - just over the phone?

Me: Not really. Do remember that I need to understand your clear objectives of the reason for your sale. If you want, we should set an appointment at our earliest convenience so that we can discuss this further.

The Sellers go on and on and try to get me to disclose my fee and again and again, I need to explain to them that I do not do that.

So many times, when potential Sellers call me on the phone, one of their very first question is, "What are your fees like?" Point Blank and cut to the chase. I respect that because they do not want to waste their time and neither do I mine. However, Sellers should consider the perspective/ their reason to sell: ie. to move on to the next phase of their lives. Do not get hung up about the fees. Even if I charge $10 as an example (all broker's fees in Texas are negotiable), and Sellers focus themselves on the FEE rather than what I can do to sell the house, when the house does not sell, it still does NOT meet the Sellers' main goal: SELL the house.

I have learnt in my experience not to work with clients whose sole focus is the fee. They often fail to see the value a good realtor can bring to the success of their sale. Besides just the fees, there are more important issues to consider:

• Correct pre-listing action items such as staging and prepping the house for sale.
  A good realtor knows what you must do to the house in order to sell it. They understand what Buyers are looking for and often provide solutions and suggestion to make the property more attractive.
• Correct pricing of property.
  This is the key to success. A good realtor will not let the Sellers determine what the house should lists for. A good realtor is very realistic on what is expected of the market. If it is too far away from a realistic number, it does no one in the transaction any benefit. When a realtor accepted an overpriced property, he or she is only giving false hopes and expectations to the client in hopes that one particular buyer would see through the overpricing and purchase that property.
• Correct marketing for the property.
  Understanding how to effectively market the property for maximum exposure and thus, bringing the most buyers for viewing and a contract is really what a Seller wants. Not necessarily how much he or she charges.
• Correct closing of the property.
  A good realtor knows the correct steps and procedures prior to accepting the offer from the Buyers. Then, a good realtor interviews the Buyer's lender is also a key success in closing on the property. An organized realtor has processes and procedures to ensure that closing will happen.

Thus, after disclosing what key steps are important to a successful real estate transaction, should the commission and fees be the sole determining factor in selecting your realtor? Think again. Evaluate this: 0.01% of nothing is nothing but would it fit your goal? Is your goal to sell your house or harp on fees?