Think twice before paying a full 6% sales commission to a real estate agent. That is a lot of money and will dramatically cut into your profit. It is quite easy to avoid having to pay that full commission. Keep in mind this commission is fully negotiable and don’t think you have to pay it in order to get the help of an agent. Agents have become increasingly willing to negotiate their commissions becasue they are not making close to the money they were the past few years when the market was on fire.
Another option is going through discount brokers that will typically charge a flat fee for their services. As evidenced in the article below, the level of service is just as good but the cost of the service is much less. That is a good combination.
Sellers Report Satisfaction With Discount Brokers
In its September issue, Consumer Reports magazine reveals the results of its poll of more than 9,000 home sellers, indicating that those who paid discount real estate commissions and those who paid commissions of 6 percent were equally satisfied.
However, the survey shows that sellers who paid the full commission were more likely to express regrets about he transaction process, with approximately 33 percent believing they should have aggressively negotiated the fee.
Of the 46 percent of sellers who engaged in commission negotiations, the survey shows that 71 percent succeeded in lowering their rate. Additionally, 87 percent of sellers who paid full commissions and 81 percent who paid 3 percent or less received a comparative market analysis from their real estate agent.
Palm Beach Post, Jeff Ostrowski (08/04/08)
© Copyright 2008 Information Inc.
Posted by Carter Brown
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