I am trying to sell our house and I am concerned how much profit we will walk away with. I have never sold a house before and I just do not want to be taken advantage of.
2006-09-01 10:39:03 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
(this is long, but informative!)
I'm going to answer this as a Realtor and as a Consumer:
When you go to the dentist you have to pay for the service provided, right? If you ever use an Accountant/Lawyer/Car Mechanic, you have to pay for the service, right? Choosing the services of a Real Estate agent works the same way. As far as the fee let's say you and the agent selling your house agree on 6% and the agent puts your house in the MLS (which means they are agreeing to the MLS laws that state you must pay a fee to the other agent), and an agent finds your house and their buyers put on offer on it, here's how the 6% will be divided:
3% Seller's Agent - Seller's Agent splits the 3% with their Broker.
3% Buyer's Agent - Buyer's Agent splits the 3% with their Broker.
Now this split depends on how productive they have been, the more productive the less they have to split with their Broker. The less productive, the more they have to split. Either way they have to split their 3%.
Let's say they both have been mediocre and they have to split 40% of the 3% with their Brokers, meaning they keep 60%. This means that on a $200,000 house, after all the splits they each get: $3600 and out of that 20% has to go to taxes. After they take care of the dear IRS, they have to reimburse themselves on the costs of marketing your home. I don't know about your town, but the local paper here charges $250 for a ONE weekend ad. For all the marketing, phone calls, meetings, showings/gas, and time, the agent barely comes out ahead. But having the professional expertise of a Accountant is better then going at it alone, and the same goes for Real Estate, because we do it every single day.
2006-09-01 13:56:25 · answer #1 · answered by Cloud9999 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Simple.... The realtor basically sells the house for you. And you give them a cut of what you sell your house for. For example, my wife and I sold our house for 420K, our realtor skimmed 20K off the sale, and we got the rest. So we actually sold our house for 400K, when you think about it.
As for what type of commision they charge, typically between 1% and 5% depending on the realtor, what neighborhood you live in, and so on. Eitherway, you'll end up having to sacrifice a chunk of your profit to them so they sell your house.
2006-09-01 17:49:56 · answer #2 · answered by jeff the drunk 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Typically, the realtor get a % of the selling price. This % can be negotiated. You also have to look out for closing costs and who is going to pay them.
2006-09-01 17:43:20 · answer #3 · answered by WJVV 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good question. They work liike this: The real estate agent you hire will want anwhere from 3 to 10 percent depending on lots of factors. Part of this he shares with other realtors who might show your home while it is listed.
But what you need to do is get on Dave Ramsey's web site and look for endorsed local providers. He recommends real estate people who are top-performers and teachers. When you contact one of his Endorsed Local Providers, you will get all your answers.
www.daveramsey.com
2006-09-01 17:45:49 · answer #4 · answered by snvffy 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
do you have your house listed?? if not, consult with several different realtors. they will explain exactly how it works and should be able to provide a sellers net sheet detailing the approximate costes to sell your home and what you will net after costs and payoff.
2006-09-01 19:26:28 · answer #5 · answered by daniel r 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
mostly they get 3 to 5% I think. probably worth it.
2006-09-01 17:42:10 · answer #6 · answered by kurticus1024 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋