If the seller chooses to place his/her home in the Master Listing Service (MLS) and have other local agents participate in the sale of the property, the seller will have to agree in writing to the percentage of commission he/she is willing to pay the cooperating broker.
It is not possible to say the percentage of commission the seller may be willing to pay as this totally negotiable. But I believe it will be something very competitive in the market.

Michael Otubu. GRI

Sun Jan 27 2008, 16:03

But Michael, how is the buyer agent compensated: do they get a traditional 2.5-3% of the selling price?

Sat Jan 26 2008, 19:29

Thehob

Mistakenly, many consumers believe that Help-U-Sell is a For Sale By Owner company, or, that we provide consumers with a menu of services to choose from. However, none of this is true. Just like traditional real estate companies, we offer full real estate services, but we give you something more the freedom to choose if, and how much, you want to participate in the sale of your home. Thanks to our set fee model, whether you do some of the work or we do it all, you still keep more of the equity in your home.

Our choices are simple, although they do vary by office. In general, you can save the most amount of money by showing your home yourself and conducting open houses. Or, if you'd like a more traditional real estate experience, you can choose to allow us to show your home for you. You can also choose to place your home in the Master Listing Service (MLS) and have other local agents participate in the sale of your home.

No matter what your choice, you still save thousands compared to the cost of a traditional commission and receive a full complement of real estate services from our licensed brokers. Throughout, we manage the transaction, providing the same services a traditional agent does including negotiating, helping you evaluate offers, finding financing for the buyer, coordinating inspections and appraisals where appropriate, troubleshooting hurdles that may arise, and more.

Michael Otubu, Realtor GRI

Fri Jan 25 2008, 10:12

Thehob,

I agree with what the Somers previously said below: you get what you pay for. Even when you use a company like Help U Sell, you are still responsible for paying a commission to the Realtor who procured a buyer.

Listing your property in the MLS is the main instrument that will get your home seen by thousands of Realtors in your area. But when those agents read that they have to “deal directly with the seller,” some agents will look the other way.

Not me, but here’s my experiences.

As a real estate professional, I do not like working directly with sellers for several reasons: they’re too emotionally tied to their house, they’re not willing to negotiate on price if necessary, they’re not likely to offer seller concessions, and the home is typically always over priced. As a result, I am never able to proceed forward with a “for sale by owner” purchase because it’s never in the best interest of my client.

It's not that I don't want to show and sell your home - I do. But it's been my experience that for sale by owners will often say "no" to an offer that two real estate professionals would easily have negotiated to a close. With that said, I invite you to watch a very informative video that provides some great tips for “going it alone.”
http://www.chesapeakehousehunt.com/forsalebyowner.htm

For sale by owner, Buy Owner, Help-U-Sell, it’s all the same. The seller does all the work, and the home seller is still liable for making sure all state and government required disclosures are provided to the prospective buyers.

Frank Biganski, Realtor ABR

Sun Jan 20 2008, 13:53

The buyer broker should still be compensated the same way, from the sellers proceeds from the agreed upon percentage that was decided between the seller and Help U Sell. In many cases. it is similar to a FSBO where the owner agrees to compensate the buyers broker. For the most part, the seller handles most of the activity but pays Help U Sell to get it on the MLS. Help U Sell, to the best of my knowledge, will provide very limited services besides putting the property in the MLS to the seller. From a sellers perspective, this may work well in strong sellers markets but not so good in current market conditions. Basically, from what I have seen, you get what you pay for...

Sun Jan 20 2008, 13:07