FSBO Real Estate Commission 7% to Buyer's Agent or List With a Realtor
The OWNER of For Sale By Owner hired a real estate broker to sell his Manhattan condo. The Do It Yourself for sale by owner online company Buy Owner went up for sale and into bankruptcy. Here is another story from the Palm Beach Post about Buy Owner being in liquidation. The Tampa For Sale By By Owner company filed for bankruptcy.
Is it better to list with a Realtor or to offer the selling agent (buyer's agent) 7%? Both commission structures can work. How experienced are you? Have you sold a home before? How much time do you have? Do you have a flexible work schedule?
Where will your home get more buyer eye balls? Will your home get Realtor eye balls? You can get your home in the MLS by going through a for sale by owner on line company. You can pay by the transaction, by the month or get a discount with a 6 month listing.
The more buyers who see your home the better the chance that it sells. If more than one buyer likes your home maybe they will bid against eachother and you will get more money for your home.
You can sell through FSBO.com or any of the similarly named companies on line companies. Some take a monthly listing, give a discount for a 6 month listing or allow you to pay by the transaction. With these companies you can put your home in the MLS and in front of every Realtor and buyer in your area.
A 7% commission to the buyer's agent / selling agent can appeal to the Realtors that are in it for the money. The agent that you will attract will want your money. That may be to your benefit. The agent cares more about themselves than they care care about you or their buyer. That may benefit you.
The professional Realtor is going to help their buyer find the best home at the best price. A desperate agent or agent who is in it for the money because they saw the TV shows about the agents in New York and LA make a lot of easy money may push your listing. The greedy agent may be the agent you attract. If you have a hard to sell over priced home maybe this is what you want?
If a person came in to do your job tomorrow with no experience would they do your job as well as you do? Would they have questions and problems that they needed help with? Could they loose a customer or cause a problem that could result in litigation?
Could being a DIY real estate agent you are in unfamiliar territory? Offer 7% to experienced and greedy agents could put you at a disadvantage. Offering 3% probably won't get their attention. For 3% they will be doing all of the work and a greedy money hungry agent is about doing 1/2 the work not twice the work.
If you offer 7% to the buyers agent and run into a problem will it be them against you? Who is going to be in your corner? If you have a real estate attorney you can call for help you may be fine, but will it cost you money? Have you saved time, money or aggravation?
Many of us don't like spending money on Realtors, dentists, doctors, lawyers or other services that we feel are expensive. Some feel like spending money in these areas takes away from our quality of life and the money we would be spending on fun. Sometimes it's just necessary to get the professional help you need and invest the money in taking care of yourself and your family.
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