Jeff Escher

Is this for the listing side only? Or overall buyer and sellers agent?

Per side, 2% is very low for a top-teir agency. 2.5-3% per side is more likely. However, agents are more likely to reduce the rate on a higher priced home (over $500,000) and/or when you are buying another home with them. - Yesterday, 08:58

Where do the buyers who post on here find these agents?!? They give the rest of us a bad name! A Realtor should never be talking their clients out of something that will protect them. If they did it to make your offer competitive in a multiple bid situation, then you should have at least been told the ramifications of deleting the contingency.

Since it's already too late, do you have any other contingencies you can use to get out of the contract? Is there a homeowners or condo association? If so, that might be your best option. In Maryland, from the receipt of the HOA/condo documents you have 5-7 days to void the contract no questions asked. - Fri Jul 4 2008, 08:25

There is no perfect house. Every house is going to have problems.The question is really whether the problems you found in this particualr house are something you are willing to invest the time and money to fix. If not, then you should consider moving on to another house.

Mold can be a bigger issue than many people think. You might want to have a mold expert evaluate the extent of the mold damage, type of mold and cost to remove before making a decision on this house. - Wed Jul 2 2008, 15:47

There may be some out there, but you probably don't want them if you really want to sell your house. ;o)

I know 2 -3% or more sounds like alot of money, but you have to realize the Realtor is paying for all the marketing out of their own pocket, splitting the fee with their broker, plus paying income taxes. So at 1% commission on a $500,000 house, the agent is really only left with $1500 to cover marketing expenses and their time (often over 100 hours). Virtual tours can cost $500 alone, not to mention up to $100/week for newspaper ads. At discounted rates, you will not be getting a full marketing plan - and in this market homes that are just put in the MLS aren't selling.

Your best option is to find one agent to act as both your buyers agent for your new home and listing agent for your current home. Then the agent is more likely to offer a discount on the listing, as they can subsidize it on the purchase. - Wed Jul 2 2008, 11:43

Your are correct - some agents do only rely on the MLS as their marketing strategy. Plus, many of the traditional marketing techniques realtors use are designed to get the realtor new business - not sell the house ("just listed" mailings, open houses, print ads). Recent surveys showed that buyers overwhelming find their homes thru buyers agents and thru the web. Pictures and virtual tours are key - buyers will pay no attention to a home without interior pictures in the ad. A good marketing plan should be hitting other realtors directly thru networking, email ads, weekly flyers to office mailboxes, promotion at office meetings, agent open house tours, etc.

However, as others have indicated, it doesn't matter how good the marketing plan is if the price isn't right. There are 2 reasons a house doesn't sell - Price and Marketing. If the agent is doing their job, then all other negatives (location, condition) can only be fixed via price. It's not a matter of the agent wanting you to give your house away - the market is what it is. Realtors have NO control over market conditions and price. Buyers will only pay what they think it is worth, not what a realtor or homeowner says. If the house is priced too low, you'll get multiple offers driving the price back up. If its' too high, it will sit on the market.

Your agent should be contacting all showing agents for feedback - this can help find out just why buyers aren't making an offer. It could be something as simple as a paint color.

Sellers sometimes believe that they can price high and let the buyer make an offer. Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that - buyers don't even look at the house if they think it's priced too high. They say they'll wait till its reduced, but when that happens, they look at the days on market and think something is wrong with house.

Bottom line - it doesn't matter how good or bad the agents marketing is. If the price is right, the house will sell. - Thu Jun 26 2008, 09:04