6% seller's fees. Good riddance.

This makes me very happy, even though my days of RE transactions are mostly over (2 more houses to sell). Over the years, I've spent more money on realtor fees and closing fees than I've made myself in profit. That ain't right. Wonder how this will shake out in terms of a new selling model?

 

Around here the RE commissions are typically 7%. I have no idea why its so high. Anyway FSBO is really popular in this area.

 

I have yet to buy or sell house through RE.

 

That's f#$@king criminal. They have nothing invested in the sale to justify that. When I sold my last house I told the agent listing it that I wasn't paying any more than 3.5%. And she was fine with that and it sold in a few days. Even that price seemed too much.

 

I nearly listed a couple homes with a realtor last year. Over the phone conversations were fine, and she agreed on the 5% I was willing to pay. So she sends the listing contract over and I find that she's put in wording that says if she sells my home for more than the asking price, commissions will go up on a sliding scale to a max of 10%. Are you F&&&Ing kidding me?!

 

It’s all negotiable - my house I sold in September I gave buying agent 2% and listing 2.5%.

I got 100k over ask, all cash, 15 day close and they didn’t ask for a dime more.

If you have a good house to sell right now with no inventory I bet you can get them down to 1.5% on each side. There is 1 home for sale in my area from pch to Hamilton, brookhurst to newland. They need listings.

 

The realtor set up is a racket. They buy up bargains and resale for personal profit. A friend was buying a fixer upper when it sold out from under him to a realtor from the listing agency. I doubt that's allowed.

 

I sold and bought a house last year…
Got flat put pissed off when I realized how much they made off the transactions. Used a friend of mines little sister for a realtor and got a discount…
5.5 percent of the house I sold for 280 and 6 percent of the one we bought for 550.
48,400 in fees. Still pisses me off.

 

I'm not sure anything actually really was changed, other than a bunch of lawyers making a lot of money from the lawsuit this week.

 

RE agents are grossly overpriced in today's market. Prior to the internet an agent would get a book with all the listing in the area in it. Would have to search through the listings to find houses the buyer may want. Then get keys to each house from listing agents, drive the buyers from house to house, then return the keys. All for a 2.5% commission (2.5% buyer, 2.5% seller where I live). This was acceptable when houses cost $150k. But since the internet, the buyer goes online, finds a few properties they want to look at, prints off the details and brings them to an agent. That agent makes a few phone calls to get the key codes to get into all the houses then meets the customer at the houses. The average house price in my area is probably around $800k, so 2.5% of that is $20k to the listing agent and $20k to the buying agent. $20k to make some phone calls, F that. I think less of current RE agents than I do of lawyers or politicians.

 

Commission rates were more reasonable when the average price of homes were say $100k-$200k. With prices where they have been, it is absolutely crazy. When we contracted on our house last year with the builder (new construction), I came in without an agent and negotiated the price down accordingly since they didn't have to pay buyers agent fee.

 

I have no problem with this concept (save for the starting point of 5%).

 

There are many people that are more than capable to buy/sell a house without an agent. There’s never been a gun to anyone’s head forcing them to use an agent. But that doesn’t work for everyone. If you’re able to do everything on your own, great! Not everyone can do that, though.

 

the old adage "you get the experience you need immediately after you need it." Real estate is a local game unfortunately. I see alot of out the area realtors listing slum level properties... guess they dont want to show their face witg some of the asking prices.

 

^^^THIS

I always do all the legwork and find the houses I want to look at. The only thing I need a realtor for is the keys to get in and do a walk through.

This is likely to be my strategery going forward. We're bringing cash and they're tripping over themselves to find people willing to pay the ""new normal"" interest rates.

The only exception is if I find something existing that pencils out better.

 

I’ve always wondered how RE Agents get away with the unauthorized practice of law by marketing themselves as being needed to draft offer letters and purchase contracts.

 

There is more to it than them just getting you in the door to look at a property. Not necessarily saying they deserve what they get paid (sometimes) but there's more headaches involved than most would think. And to buy a house through a realtor doesn't cost you a dime. The commission is paid off the seller's side. A lost of people amazingly don't know that

 

Which is utterly stupid when you realize you are paying someone to work against you. You can do the mental gymnastics of saying well the 3% to the buyers agent is coming out of the 6% paid to your agent but that still means you paid someone to work against you.

 

The buyers do pay the commission as well. Without the commission the property would be purchased for 6% less.

 

Don't let facts get in the way of a good story.

I listen to some podcasts about real estate and the uncomfortable truth seems to be that the RE/mortage industry is riddled with crooks and fraudsters.