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SELLING A HOME
SELLING A HOME MONEY SAVING TIPS
Improving Your Home’s Salability
For many homeowners, the decision of whether to list your house with a realtor, or
try a for-
1. Realtors provide a valuable service (sometimes well and sometimes not well) but also charge a very large fee. Consider the following when considering using a realtor..
a. Realtors’ fees can vary (particularly depending on the area of the country), but are generally about 6% of the purchase price. Unless the listing agent and selling agent are the same, this fee is usually split between the seller’s real estate company and the buyer’s real estate company, but the seller pays the entire fee. It is a lot of money for putting the house on a computerized multiple listing service, in order to get access to potential buyers. But it may be worth it.
b. The real benefit realtors can bring is a greater selection of potential buyers.
With more potential buyers, you theoretically have a greater chance of selling your
home, as well as getting a higher price. If sales in your neighborhood or community
are rather slow, this can be a real benefit. In fact, it may be the only realistic
way to go. On the other hand, if sales are relatively brisk in your area, and/or
few homes are available for sale, buyers tend to look around more carefully for available
homes, and are more likely to find and contact for-
2. If you choose to work through a realtor, take some extra effort to find the right realtor, rather than just enlisting the services of a friend who is in the business.
a. If you are in a new, developer community, your first decision in finding a realtor
may be whether to list your house through the developer’s sales office (if they do
re-
b. But if you decide to look for a realtor in the community, try to get an established realtor that has been successful, with a good reputation and that works hard at their job. These traits will enhance the number of potential buyers you will see. Also, consider a realtor that either “specializes” in your community, or with selling your type and price range of house. Ask friends and associates what they know about realtors in your community in order to get referrals. If you are still at a loss, stop by a few of the major realtors in town and see what they have to offer.
c. Some realtors, in order to get your listing, will often try to excite you with
all the extras they will do to sell your house. This often includes advertising
your listing, making up fancy brochures, etc. While nice, these embellishments are
not all that important to finding potential buyers. And in any case, do not pay
extra for them. That being said, do make sure your realtor makes up a well-
3. Once you have found the right realtor, you will need to negotiate a few terms:
a. As noted, commissions are generally six percent. But sometimes there is flexibility to get a lower rate. This is particularly true if you have an attractive property that has a high probability of selling quickly, or if the overall real estate market is hot and sales are easy. Also, if your home is very expensive, sometimes a lower commission rate is possible, because of the high dollar amount of commission fees that will be generated. So make sure to see if you can negotiate a lower rate. The realtor will avoid this at all costs, and will tell you that it is not possible, but if they think they will lose the listing, sometimes they will reduce it a percentage point, or so. And that can be a lot of money. You may also be able to negotiate a lower rate up front, based on if the eventual buyer was represented by your agent.
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