Hello Steve,

Ute is also correct in providing a buyer's incentive. Realistically speaking the more you offer for the brokers and buyers, the better. It is a matter of what you can comfortably offer and is enough to create the energy and attention your property needs. Perhaps paying some or all of their closing costs is an option. I am now offering free gas to my clients seeing as we are in a crazy situation with inflated gas prices. Anything is possible as long as its legal.

Best Regards,

Stelios Stylianou
Marketing Specialist
stelios@stelsells.com
561.542.4131

Thu Jul 10 2008, 21:20

Hello Steve. If I were you, I'd consider buyer incentives before you give a bonus to the buyer's agent. Would giving a credit towards a dock be an option? If I were to buy a house on the lake, I'd be interested in adding a dock. While I am sure that a bonus to the buyer's agent would not hurt, I think a buyer incentive will get more attention than a bonus to the agent. The agent is adequately compensated through the commission while the buyer comes up with the money to purchase and will have to live in the property and will benefit the most from the incentive. Good luck selling your lake front home.

Thu Jul 10 2008, 21:08

Hello Steve,

It looks like you bought your property at a better time than many who are currently selling so that is a great relief on your part. There are currently four comparable properties for sale ranging from $199,000 to $334,900 and Days on Market (DOM) ranging from 39 to an unbelievable 734. Wow. . . All are 2/2 and waterfront properties. The least expensive is a SHORT SALE the middle two are end units and the most expensive has no dock. Regardless of your competition, you are on the right track by looking at the solds because ultimtely it doesn't matter what you want to get or what the buyer is willing to pay, if it doesn't appraise. Of course we must take into consideration it's condition, but regardless of everything else, a BONUS is definitely a great feature especially since many Brokers don't require the agents to split it with them. To me that is a greater incentive than an increase in commission, but both would even be greater. The incentive is for the brokers and since there are thousands and thousands of agents out there, it definitely won't hurt. I have properties for sale in the immediate area and I really enjoy what it has to offer and its location is perfect. Direct Canal with no fixed bridges. Can't beat that. I look forward to the opportunity to assist you in MOVING FORWARD. Contact me in confidence so we talk further about your current real estate needs. I would like to preview your property at your earliest convenience.

Best Regards,

Stelios Stylianou
Marketing Specialist
stelios@stelsells.com
561.542.4131

Thu Jul 10 2008, 20:50

It looks like most of us (REALTORS) are in agreement. Agent incentives are not going to help. Most of us are just going to offer it to the buyer, since the buyer is going to see it on the MLS sheet anyway, and what really matters is price. In our area, the only houses that are selling are the ones that are priced well below the competition, and slightly lower than recent sales. The last part being because it won't sell if it doesn't appraise. The banks are determining what they'll accept from an appraiser. The banks have been known to even take it upon themselves to lower the value, after the appraiser determined it to be worth the contract price. The banks have all the power.

But your first goal is to get a buyer to look at your home. So make yours look more attractive than all the others. This always boils down to price, condition, cleanliness and the sellers willingness to work with that buyer. Each buyer may have a different set of conditions that they'd like to have met when they buy. It may be the lowest price they can get, or having repairs made, or meeting a specific closing date, etc.

And to specifically address the cash incentive to the agent, ALL monies that an agent receives must come through their brokerage. So you would have to include that money in with the selling agent's portion of the commission, and that agent's brokerage would take their cut of the money before paying the selling agent their split.

And just for good measure, since so many people in the general public don't know this, anyone without an active license cannot receive ANY money from a real estate transaction. It's a felony. The only exceptions are buyer or seller rebates or incentives.

Good luck!

Thu May 15 2008, 12:15

Steve
I gather from your post that you are selling without professional representation.
So let's look at the facts:
When you bought your home, did you use the services of a Realtor? Why? Because we work for "free", right? So, doesn't it make sense that other buyers will do the same the you did?

As a matter of fact, the buyer that sees the home the purchase for the first time...sees is with a Realtor 90% of the time. So that would leave 10% that see it on their own.
Also, NAR sales statistic for owners selling without professional representation, 5% of the time they sell to someone they know, 5% to someone they don't know, the rest of the time they end of listing with a Realtor.

So, just so I am clear on this, by selling on your own you are targeting less than 5% of the market.

Let's look at the buyer's side. There are many homes, like yours, for sale. What would make your home stand out?
1. Realtors need to know about, so you need to list it with a Realtor.
2. Realtors need to show it - so it needs to be priced correctly
3. It needs to be a good deal. If the market is going down, then although you may not be in a hurry, you might be losing money each month as prices drop. How to make your home standout? One way is to offer a buy down program with a lender. A buy down program will instantly make your property more affordable, and will probably be cheaper than cutting the price.

Ask a Realtor for details

Thu May 15 2008, 10:18

The problem here is the prices are all over the map...No consistent price for the ones on the water, off the water, with a dock, w/o a dock, on the mangroves...Its confusing....I've seen some comparable to mine with all the same qualities be listed between 270 and 340..Thats a lot for the same unit...I guess it all does depend on the Buyer...But where are they???

Thu May 15 2008, 09:04

Steve,
Let's be practical....understanding the very first thing a buyer look at is the price of the property, the price is what attracts the buyer not the agent's incentive.

Frankly, when we encounter incentives, the first thing we do is to tell our customers if they like the property, we will request the incentive be credited to the buyer. We would suggest taking the course of trying to sweeten the deal for the customer.

Good luck,
The "Eckler Team"

Thu May 15 2008, 08:45

I'm in the beautiful Sun Harbor Townhomes..I'm not listed yet

Thu May 15 2008, 08:38

Thank you all....All good answers...I will do an incentive to the buyer {such as closing costs} AND the agent?? Just worried that there is no one even looking at houses these days...With all the units for sale here ,I see no one even bothering to look..I know getting approved these days is hard, but I'm hesitant to get a realtor as I see no activity at all...Why even think about listing and dropping price when there are no buyers? There happens to be at least 6 different agents selling here...Its a tucked away community that is very nice...

Thu May 15 2008, 08:34

Steve: I'm going to be honest with you too, and I have a different opinion than Chris, who answered previously.

In a buyer's market, where there are far more houses available for sale than there are buyers who are currently looking for them, it is often the case that a multiple listing search will turn up many properties that meet the buyer's criteria. A Realtor could not possibly show their buyer every single one of those properties, so they will take the time to filter down the many offerings to several choice offerings that will interest the client. If your home is competitively priced with comparable homes, and meets the buyer's criteria, the fact that you were offering an incentive might well entice Realtors to include your home in the selected group that are presented to the buyer for their consideration.

The key here is that your home has to be priced competitively, and in comparable location, condition, etc. I would not (and I hope other agents would not) show your house just to earn a higher commission, if it were, in fact, not amongst the better properties that I could present to my clients. In other words, if an agent had to choose between showing your house, and an otherwise identical house that was offered at the same price, chances are that the agent might very well show yours if the compensation would be higher.

If your Realtor feels that your house is competitively priced and comparable to the other townhouses available in your development, then there's no reason not to go ahead with your "bonus". You could agree to try this for a specific period of time, and remove it later if it doesn't seem to be driving any additional interest. At that point, you might consider cutting the price $2,000, as ultimately it is the buyer that you must attract, and not the Realtor, and the buyers really don't care how much the Realtor stands to make on the sale.

Best of luck!

Angela

PS: Where in Pompano is your home? Send me the MLS #, I may have an interested buyer!

Thu May 15 2008, 08:18

Hi Steve,

It seems like it is a consensus! :-) I am not in favor of agent incentives to have an agent try to "talk a buyer into" buying yours over the others. Buyers are gold right now and if you choose to offer an incentive then offer it to the buyer in the form of credit back at closing for closing costs, upgrades they would like to make, etc. Make sure your agent lists this offer in the remarks somewhere so as buyers are cruising your listing on the internet they see the credit to THEM. There may be some other things you can do to your home to make it stand out. Google "staging your home" or the like and get some ideas. Make sure it shows it's best all the time. Best of luck.

Christina
954-290-2772

Thu May 15 2008, 08:16

Hi Steve:

The best way to sell a house fast is to prepare them for sale (update, repair, stage), price them competitively, do the best marketing (Internet marketing is quite important now a days) to get the most exposure you can for your house, providing agent incentive does not work magic.

I provide my clients with information on houses they will like and they will either let me know which ones they like to see.

I do not include or exclude a house just because of my own commission or incentive because the goal is to help them find the house they will like otherwise we will be wasting time and energy on both ends. We also want to build long term relationship with our clients where they know we watch out for their best interest, not ours.

Imagine what they will think after they bought a house and found out there are more superior (or comparable) houses that meet their criteria out there at the same time when they are looking and we did not bother to show them the house? I would not want to be the one who's in that position.

That extra money might be better used for things on the house, or as others said, incentive back to the buyers.

Sylvia

Thu May 15 2008, 08:16

Nice answer Chris! I agree 100%.

I would go for reducing your price and making sure your home "sparkles" as opposed to offering a bonus to the buyers agent.

Thu May 15 2008, 08:07

Everyone is looking for a "DEAL" in today's market. Offering a bonus or higher commission might motivate an agent to show your house. It's not going to affect the buyer's bottom line unless the selling agent is going to rebate back that additional commission. Having your property price agressively will get your property sold. You can also offer some kind of blend: bonus to the agent and incentive to the buyer such as paid title insurance, closing cost, discount points.

Thu May 15 2008, 08:04

Steve,

I am sure that I will take some TD's for this. I don't believe that that type of incentive works most of the time. My reasoning is this:

My client will give me the list of homes that need to be shown (including yours). When I ask my client what they think of each place, I try not to interject my personal opinions. Now true, I am aware that you are offering me an extra $2000. However, I am not going to push the features of your home above and beyond the other homes that I am showing him.

My personal belief is that I want my client to choose the home that they wanted most, not the one that that I pushed onto them because I was looking for a larger paycheck.

Thu May 15 2008, 07:55