Real Estate Agents

[Three4Cy]

This is absolute worst case scenario. We just sold in June, this was our experience:

1) We did not decline a single showing, but ~90% of them were either weekday after 4pm, or on a weekend = no time off.
2) Inspector & appraiser did not require us to be home. For anyone with a digital doorknob, or garage keypad = no time off.
3) Our realtor gave us next to zero feedback (said even when he regularly follows up with realtors, they rarely provide any). The little feedback we did receive was about things we would never change anyway, so feedback was worthless.
4) You do not need to open a bank account to hold a $500 deposit check. If a buyer really wants to be stringent on that, you can hire a 3rd party for well under $10k.

You're over-exaggerating big time.

You used a realtor, therefore your house was in the MLS. Appraisers and inspectors are part of the MLS therefore have access to your lockbox when using a realtor. Every time the lockbox is accessed by someone, it registers with the realtor can see who entered the house.

The post was about doing a FSBO and not using a realtor which is not on the MLS, therefore realtors, appraisers and inspectors would have to have the owner give them access to the house because the seller wouldn't have a lockbox.

 

[Tailg8er]

You used a realtor, therefore your house was in the MLS. Appraisers and inspectors are part of the MLS therefore have access to your lockbox when using a realtor. Every time the lockbox is accessed by someone, it registers with the realtor can see who entered the house.

The post was about doing a FSBO and not using a realtor which is not on the MLS, therefore realtors, appraisers and inspectors would have to have the owner give them access to the house because the seller wouldn't have a lockbox.

Again, that assumes the homeowner doesn't have a keypad entry on the front door or the garage.. Which are both quite common today.

 

[Tailg8er]

You used a realtor, therefore your house was in the MLS. Appraisers and inspectors are part of the MLS therefore have access to your lockbox when using a realtor. Every time the lockbox is accessed by someone, it registers with the realtor can see who entered the house.

The post was about doing a FSBO and not using a realtor which is not on the MLS, therefore realtors, appraisers and inspectors would have to have the owner give them access to the house because the seller wouldn't have a lockbox.

And if you really want to get down to it, you can buy your own lockbox for ~$20 - much less than the $5k+ that we were discussing.

 

[BCClone]

You used a realtor, therefore your house was in the MLS. Appraisers and inspectors are part of the MLS therefore have access to your lockbox when using a realtor. Every time the lockbox is accessed by someone, it registers with the realtor can see who entered the house.

The post was about doing a FSBO and not using a realtor which is not on the MLS, therefore realtors, appraisers and inspectors would have to have the owner give them access to the house because the seller wouldn't have a lockbox.

Doesn’t matter who is on MLS, the new key lock boxes reset every time they are opened so you have to call the listing Realtor every time you enter

 

[isucy86]

I sold my home and it was a fairly easy process.

Marketed on Zillow and FSBO website. Bought yard side at Home Depot.

Pretty simple process
Research your sales price. Look at recent sales for similar homes in your neighborhood/town. County Assessor website is also good source of info.

Hire real estate attorney. He took $1,500 retainer I ended up getting about $300 back based in their hours.

I made it clear in my marketing materials I was willing to pay commission to buyer's agent, but stated would pay 2.5%

I have nothing against realtors, but in the end they are Sales people. They don't close, they don't get paid. Also it always struck me as odd that Buyer agent get commission as % of sales price. Not much incentive to negotiate lower price

 

[Trainer]

We were just getting ready to offer on a house when our realtor called and told us it is located on a flood plane and advised against it. I’m pretty happy for that.

 

[flycy]

Yeah, but that depends on the scenario - most of the time your situation is not possible.

That only works if:
1) You are selling it yourself and would have been willing to pay (for example) $5K to the buyers agent for bringing in a buyer for you. If you weren't willing to pay the buyer's agent anyway, obviously you will not knock anything off the price for not using one.
or
2) You (the seller) are using a realtor who would forgo half his/her fee if the buyer doesn't have an agent. I've only sold one house and never run into this scenario, so I'm not sure how it works, but I've got to imagine that's a tough sell.

I guess you don't understand how it works, half the selling realtor's fee (or so) goes to the selling agent so they already forgo the half of their fee. Your agent should be able to reduce the fee if their is no buyers agent(should be in your contract.) I've also had contracts where the agent accepts a lower percentage if they find a buyer.

 

[Jmarsh13]

Also it always struck me as odd that Buyer agent get commission as % of sales price. Not much incentive to negotiate lower price

This right here. It isn't in buyers agent interest to fight for lower price as it cuts into their commission. Similar on seller agent side to fight for higher price because small increase in commission may not be worth risking potential buyer from walking.

 

[ISUguy]

On the settlement statement it doesn’t but in reality the sellers are factoring that into their net profit. You come in without a buyers agent all the sudden an offer 5k below listing looks much better.

That is not how it works, assuming the seller has an agent. If you are paying 6 percent commission as a seller, and the buyer has an agent, that commission is split between buyer and seller agents. If there is no buyer's agent, the seller's agent keeps both parts. You still pay the 6 percent. I would never purchase without a buyer's agent.