Thread: First time selling

By federal law, commission is negotiable and there is no set amount or standard.

Interview several agents in your area and discuss with them what the commission was on the recently sold comparable homes. They will also be able to provide you with an estimated net sheet showing how much you should get if you sell at a certain price.

Is that only for houses they sold or is that information available for
any houses that were sold by any broker in my price range?
Sounds like a good idea though because that would cover
everything from commission to closing costs.
Thanks.

The other question -
Is it a good idea to insist that my listing broker give a larger %
of commission to the buyer's broker since this is a buyer's market?
If 6% is the total commission, would my broker bark at giving 3.5% to
the buyer's broker?

Originally Posted by jeff_seller

Is that only for houses they sold or is that information available for
any houses that were sold by any broker in my price range?

If I understand what you are asking, the commission amounts for the recently sold comparable homes will be in the MLS. There may be exceptions, such as the agents agreed to less than stated in the MLS to cover a last minute problem.

Originally Posted by jeff_seller

Sounds like a good idea though because that would cover
everything from commission to closing costs.
Thanks.

An estimated net sheet is a must!

Originally Posted by jeff_seller

The other question -
Is it a good idea to insist that my listing broker give a larger %
of commission to the buyer's broker since this is a buyer's market?
If 6% is the total commission, would my broker bark at giving 3.5% to
the buyer's broker?

The amount the listing broker offers to the other agents is between you and the listing agent. Again, why not interview several local agents and get a feel for what they charge and offer to the other agents, what their marketing plan is, their track record, what seems to be working in your area.

DO NOT tell any of the agents you interview what you must have, or disclose anything that will hurt you if/when you select another agent to list with. Because the agent you do not list with may have a buyer later on. The other agents might use what you tell them to help their buyer client get a better price.

Good luck and best wishes. Really this is just the basics, you really need to start researching local agents and interview several to find who charges an amount that is acceptable AND more importantly, is actually selling homes similar to yours.

I had planned to interview two or three.
I'm glad to know about the net sheet and I appreciate
everybody's input and advice.
I also have another question about what type of listing agreement I should make. I realize that normally it should be an exclusive agency listing. But, I work from home and will be here virtually all the time if I wanted to show the house myself. Any advantage to that?
And, a more important question is whether I can be home while an agent shows my house? I've been to a number of open houses and it seems the owner is never home. I have to be home since I work here. I cannot leave. Will that be an issue ?

Originally Posted by jeff_seller

But, I work from home and will be here virtually all the time if I wanted to show the house myself. Any advantage to that?
And, a more important question is whether I can be home while an agent shows my house? I've been to a number of open houses and it seems the owner is never home. I have to be home since I work here. I cannot leave. Will that be an issue ?

Yes this is a problem. Most buyers do not want you there when they come to inspect the home. If the home is being shown, the seller should NOT be present in my experience.

Mark,
when you say "buyer', I'm assuming you mean the buyer's agent right? I mean; when I was looking at houses, I could care less if the owner were home as long as s/he didn't follow me all around the house. I guess I need more info and perhaps I'll just have to discuss it with whomever I interview. Surely they've had to deal with other people who work from home. We can't just go away every time the house is to be shown. Weekends, yes, but sometimes not since when I'm on-call, I also have to be home on weekends.

No I mean most buyers I have worked with do not want the sellers there.

Thanks for the clarification.
I guess if they want the house to themselves in my case,
they'll have to wait til late afternoon when I'm off.
Just have to work around it.

Try to be as accomodating as possible. Quite often agents will be showing buyers 5 or more properties and they have a pretty tight schedule. If they can't get into your house when they need to, they might give it a skip altogether. I know this sounds inconvenient, but as a motivated seller, you do have to inconvenience yourself once in a while.
Also, the previous commenter is correct, buyers feel uncomfortable when the seller is in the house, and will tend to leave quickly. They won't feel like they are able to talk openly when a seller is present. If it is a buyers market in your area, then you really have to do everything possible to make your listing just that much more attractive than the other ones.