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May 19, 2009
How Much to Pay a RE Broker
I am about to start aggressively selling my house in Windsor Terrace. I posted an Open House notice on craigslist and got a decent response. I sold a house before on my own, and am pretty confident about my selling skills. However, after I posted the ad, I got contacted by a couple of real-estate agents from the top agencies claiming they have perfect buyers for me and would like an opportunity to show it to them. Given the urgency of my situation, I am considering But I don't want to do that on an exclusive basis as I might be able to sell it on my own.
I am thinking of offering the agents 3% commission. Do you think they will take it? Does my plan sound doable and reasonable?
Any pointers will be appreciated.
Thank you
Comments
Some might be willing. Who are the RE agents with? What company? Some are more reliable/better than others. The ones who are better would probably not be willing to deviate from their 6% exclusive listings. I would investigate the location and websites of the realtors because you want the websites to be user friendly and the location to be good for people walking by. Also, now is the best time to sell a house (in the year spring/summer are best). You might consider listing with them for a 2 or 3 month term, and then trying again on your own after the term expires.
Posted by: theklahy at May 19, 2009 12:02 PM
3% is fair, and they ought to be prepared to hear that you're happy to let them have what would be their share of a co-broke.
Posted by: serpentor at May 19, 2009 12:06 PM
FWIW - I know about 15 people who are interested in a Windsor Terrace house, mostly young families from Park Slope. Can you post it on PSP or KWT listserv too? Or here? Although we bought our house off Craig's List, many people don't think to look there or are a bit afraid of it! Good luck - where is your house?
Posted by: WTbound at May 19, 2009 12:10 PM
The house is Vanderbilt Street between East 2nd and MacDonald Avenue. Here is the link to the craigslist posting:
http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/reo/1172468164.html
Does the price sound about right? If anyone is interested, please contact me at vanderbilthouse@gmail.com.
Thank you everyone for the tips.
Posted by: shalman at May 19, 2009 12:14 PM
Hi
I think you need some more inside pics,no?
Posted by: gemini10 at May 19, 2009 12:19 PM
I decided not to put inside pics as what's there currently is not very nice. The house is being currently occupied with very large family with many kids and its a mess. And I point that out in the ad saying the house requires interior renovation. However, the walls are very solid and the floors are wood and the ceilings are high although there is not much original details left. People have to come in and decide if they can take on the project of renovating it. Also, the house is more spacious on the inside than it looks on the outside.
Posted by: shalman at May 19, 2009 12:25 PM
I think you definitely need more information on your posting. Can you draw up a floor plan and post it? Can you explain how many square feet is on each floor, how many rooms? Can you describe the back yard? Check out corcoran's website. I think their realtors typically do an excellent job of providing information about selling homes, though their prices for property are usually higher than others. When I was buying, I always appreciated corcoran realtor's amount of information about the house. If I were to be honest, and I were looking at buying in Windsor Terrace, and I saw your add on Craigslist (which is really hard to sift through and takes a very determined buyer), I might still not email you because there is not enough information. I hope that helps! I'm just trying to share the perspective of a recent buyer.
Posted by: theklahy at May 19, 2009 12:29 PM
I will do so. Thank you for the great tips.
Posted by: shalman at May 19, 2009 12:32 PM
Sorry, that was the standard agent pitch. I had never met an agent who did not have a perfect buyer (you just let me list it, OK?) for a property I was selling at the time.
I agree with the comments re: craigslist. Too little information. If I were looking, I wouldn't think that you are serious about selling.
Posted by: kensingtonka at May 19, 2009 12:46 PM
Not sure CL is where the action is yet on sales. If you are serious about FSBO, bite the bullet and pay for an online NYT ad. You don't know yet how much interest your listing will get without the brokers' help. If you want to include the brokers, tell them the terms are that you will keep showing it FSBO buit that you will pay 3% if you accept an offer that comes in through the broker. If you do this, keep very careful records of who comes to you dierctly and who through a broker, and when. Also, make clear thast you will be considering the cost of paying the commission in evaluating bids. Then, if it is worth the trouble, they will bring interested buyers by.
Posted by: slopefarm at May 19, 2009 1:33 PM
I agree with everyone else here...more info, pics, floorplan. It seems priced a bit high for what comes off as quite a bit of reno. needed. But maybe it is in better shape than you let on? It is also skirting the bounds of Windsor Terrace, so not sure about the price. Try listing lot size or square feet or something, hard to get a sense of it.
Posted by: WTbound at May 19, 2009 1:34 PM
When I sold FSBO, I cut deals with many agents that said I would pay them between 2 and 3% if they found us a buyer. (Some agencies would only do 3%; some I was able to get at 2 or 2.5%.) What is the downside? The brokers probably are full of it, but if they will bring in some extra potential buyers, why not? Just keep good records as to who brings who.... Also, agreed that the CL ad is missing key information (size; layout; etc). Also, it is sort of useless without pictures.
Posted by: Splenda at May 19, 2009 2:17 PM
remember that real estate agents are very litigious in general so be very careful....
Posted by: smeyer418 at May 19, 2009 3:14 PM
We got every agreement in writing, which clearly spelled out when the realtor would be entitled to a commission. We also had every realtor email us the name(s) in advance of people they were going to bring.
Posted by: Splenda at May 19, 2009 3:56 PM
Man, after reading that ad, I would agree you need an agent. Your first two sentences are negative. Great to say how desperate you are to sell, that should get you some real high offers. Get an agent or get some help per what others have pointed out. Ad copy, photos, floor plans, etc.
Posted by: denton at May 19, 2009 6:19 PM
I liked the ad but agree it needs more information. I would like a floor plan and interior photos, I don't care how messy the rooms are, I want to see what the walls, doors, and windows look like. Definitely include any original details if there are any. Don't forget a photo of the boiler. And the back yard and rear of house.
Posted by: mopar at May 19, 2009 6:31 PM
I think inside pictures are crucial. If you don't have pictures, people may assume it's even worse than it is. I know I feel suspicious when a RE listing has no interior photos. How soon will your tenants be out?
The price does seem a little high to me, based on the one photo and the location, but admittedly I am lacking in information. It seems like a price you'd pay for a house closer to the park (or one that's where yours is but not needing a complete renovation).
Posted by: renonoob at May 19, 2009 10:10 PM
Brokers call all the FSBO's with that pitch. Their buyers if they do have some wanting a house are looking on their own too, trust me. We did.
You definitely need to spring for a NY Times ad. All true comments above about what your listing needs but if I were seriously looking at WT, I'd still check out your house. If I saw the ad that is. So the main thing is to get the word out to buyers.
Posted by: traditionalmod at May 20, 2009 10:06 AM
Yes - I agree with the others, your ad starts out desperate and negative. Just based on your ad, you probably should get a broker. You can do an open listing and get 2-3 brokers to show it. Usually, you get what you pay for, as you shouldn't expect them to spend any significant money on marketing. Or, you can give a 3-6 month exclusive to one broker just make sure to ask what type of marketing they plan to use, make sure they're tech savvy and simply wouldn't just stick a sign in the window or rely on craigslist, they know the area, and does comps to give you a realistic price, remember, brokers and sellers don't set prices - the market does. You don't want to be stuck with a stale, over-priced listing 6 months from now. Also, that they will have open houses every (non holiday) weekend and they're willing CO-BROKE. That usually will set you back 6% but in this market, you can probably neg that down to 5% if they get an offer from a buyer's broker and have to co-broke or 3.5/4% if they get a direct buyer.
Posted by: Crownlfc at May 21, 2009 1:06 AM
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