Selling first home.?

Question

Hi, im selling my first home. Need a couple questions answered. This is my first home, its a town home. I called a realstate broker to work with me. He told me he charges 6% of what ever the home sells for and will not collect a dime until closing, and $195 service charge. He said he is going to evaluate the home for free. My question is, is his prices good, great or normal? Also is there anything i should be aware of, as far as information about that house that I should conceal. Like giving away TOO much information?
Any professionals out there that could give me some basic pointers and what to look out for would be much appreciated. Thanks

Answer 1

Charlie, never heard of the 195.00 service charge. All Realtors will evaluate your home, they need to to help you set a selling price. I wouldn't go with him, just call it a bad feeling. Call other agencies and see what they charge (6% is the norm-but I just sold a house and the real estate charged 4%). See if they will negotiate the %-especially since the market is slow so their business is slow too. Ask how many houses they have sold in your area recently, what kind of a market do they have for your type of house and how long they agent has been selling houses. Remember you are the boss-they are working for you, not the other way around. GOOD LUCK

Answer 2

Don't walk away from that broker, Run!. The service charge sounds like a scam. With the prices of homes today a 6% commission is considered very attractive for a brokers/agents. When interviewing prospective agents ask many questions like how will your home be marketed and advertised. Also, if your home will be on the MLS this is the best place for your to be exposed to buyers. Some agents give themselves a budget as to how they will spend out of their pocket on advertising. The 6% commission helps to determine that too. Remember, the agent must split the commission with their broker and the selling agent and their broker (most cases), so the selling agents/brokers don't usually get all the commission. One the last thing, I would ask your agent what percentage will he offer to the buying agent, the higher commission he/she offers to the buying agent the more your home looks attractive to agents which results in your home being showed more than others who offer less.

You as a seller must "disclose" any defects your home may have. I would recommend getting your home inspected by a licensed and experienced home inspector before you list your home for sale. That way, when a serious buyer makes an offer you already have the disclosure info. made by a licensed professional ready to share. This could speed up the process and protect you. Because if you get sued because a defect was not disclosed the liability falls on the inspector. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

The commission of 6% is not unreasonable, however if you are planning to move up into a larger home tell your agent 5% and he can represent you on the purchase of the next home. Of course he will not collect a dime until the house sells, so, don't fall for that. Evaluating your home- he is going to check it out and give you some ideas on what to put away, store and generally give you ideas on how to give the house a spacious look. $195 service- I'm assuming that's a administrative fee which is not to bad considering I charge $500. per company policy.Information about the house would be in the residential disclosure in contract. This is always filled out by you telling the buyer if there are any problems with the house that you are aware of. I would negotiate the contract price to 5% and let him represent you in a new purchase. All your questions have been answered.

Answer 4

6% is pretty normal. That's what my real estate agent is charging to sell my home. However, she's not charging any kind of service charge. You might want to ask around and see if a service charge is normal for your area. The 6% fee should cover advertising, him being available to show the home to prospective buyers, the house getting listed on the MLS, advice on how to best stage the house to get the most offers, help with closing the house, etc.
As far as giving away too much information, you'll want to tell him as much as you can about the house. He's your agent, and his job is to present the house in the best way possible, but he can't do that unless he knows as much as possible. If you don't reveal things that you know about (mold issues, leaky pipes, etc) and the buyer can prove that you knew about these things but didn't tell, then you can be in a whole heap of trouble.

Hope this helps...

Answer 5

The $195 transaction fee is normal, I worked with for a company that charged $300, now my company gives me the option of charging it to people. The agent gets none of that transaction fee, it is very common and of course negotiable, But many of the best companys charge it. It usually covers the companies insurance and legal staff in case of any contracting problems, document storage of the contracts since the state usually makes companys hold them in fire proof storage for 3-5 years and this is usually done with a storage company. And the local MLS board usually charges fees for MLS insertion. This is normal, and it is only $195 in comparison to the value of your home, you will find a similar fee come closing time by the title company. I am a Realtor first off and an honest hard working one as well. His price seems very good, not cheap, not expensive. But it is all in comparision to what he will offer. Questions you need to find out, how much of that is offered to buyers agents, what kind of advertising do they do with that money, Also make sure you can walk away from the listing agreement at any time with no costs if you feel the agent isn't living up to what they promised. Ask around for peoples referrals and use a company with a name that is respected. As for the agent disclosing info. There are certain things you must disclose to buyers, but the agent owes loyality to you and cannot repeat anything said in confidence as long as he or she is a principal of yours, there are different agreements of agency relationship, but at worst the agent must keep his mouth shut and owe loyality to neither party, so as long as he is ethical he cannot repeat any info you gave him for example that you would take any price for this house just to get out, he cannot tell a buyer that thinks it is a little too high that you would take a lot less.

Answer 6

Okay, six percent is normally what Realtors charge. However, the $195.00 service charge sounds kind of shady to me. He is already charging six percent so it seems idiotic to charge an extra $200.00 on top of it. Most Realtors assess your home for free anyway. If you can negotiate him out of the $195.00 then it would be a better deal. You shouldn't go with the first Realtor you meet with either. Definitely call a couple of other Agencies and meet with A Realtor from each before making your final decision. Anyone that tries to tack on an extra charge on top of the percentage seems shady to me.

Legally you have to disclose everything that you know about the house as well. When you finally settle on a Realtor and sign the Seller's contract, you will be required to fill out a Disclosure Form telling about anything that has happened to your house. Termite damage, mold, flooding, foundation problems, etc. are all examples of things that will be required info. you will have to disclose on the sheet. Disclosing as much information about your house that you can think of basically saves you from getting into legal trouble after the house is sold. Basically the buyer cannot sue you after closing for termites or foundation problems if you put it on the Disclosure Form.

Answer 7

In UK there are a lot of rules to be followed. Apart from the hygiene ones there is a question of labelling. All cakes must have a precise list of all ingredients, amount of each per cake or per 100 gm. the amount and percentage of fat, sugar, salt etc.. a list of any additives or colourants. Whether any nuts or allergy type materials are present. I honestly would query whether it was all worth it. Could mum control her baking so the quantities and results were exactly the same every time? You can do what you like at home or give them away but can't sell them. Even the WVS and Mothers Union have had to stop the home made cake sales at fetes and similar because of rules and regulations.

Answer 8

It seems that the going with a real estate broker is very costly so better take a different route try the cash home buyers as they will not take any commission and you will have buying offer along with quote at the first meeting.

Answer 9

I think with the housing market as it is today, you may find a better offer from a Realtor. Do remember, you get what you pay for. 6% is standard and I have paid less and have had properties that were poorly marketed thus costing me payments and loss of time. I have paid 6% and had the same issues too.

Answer 10

Yes there are several things you can do. First of all ask the real estate broker what the $195 service fee is for and why is it a charge since he is getting 6% of the sales price.

Now about that 6%, that is the start figure and that figure is not set in stone. Ask this same broker what is the least amout he will be willing to sell you house for? He will hee and haw about the national average the normal fee and several other normal things for real estate brokers to earn. Ask him this is normal for whom and the national average for what city and how did he come up with that number of 6%.

You see what the real estate agent don't tell you is that they will work for less, but most people don't ask for how much less. The good thing about real estate agents is that there is an office on each corner, find another that is willing to work for less.

Look at it like this you have earned the equity in your home,either by staying there a long time or putting money out of your bank account down on the property.

Now your job is to keep as much of that equity as you possibly can and put back in your bank account or pocket and not stuff the pocket of some real estate agent.

You should not conceal anything about your house if there is a particular problem with it at all.

There are many discount brokers that you might contact before making a decision as to whom to list your home with. You might contact a flat fee broker, you might decide to sell it yourself which is not really hard if you can read, reason and have common sense.

It might be that you will eventually go to this broker, but you should check out all options before making a decision as to whom you want to list your townhouse with.

There are several For Sale By Owner (FSBO) web sites that you can look up in selling your home yourself.

The main thing about selling your home is the maximum exposure through advertisement. This can be done several ways

#1 Advertise in your local newspaper (to include any open houses you schedule)

#2 Flyers on some part of the property or house that is easily accessible to the public and that they can see from the curb

This flyer should give the sale price, have a picture of the property # of bed and bathrooms, perhaps a few inside shots of the house and it should be in color.

#3 Open house to show the property to potential buyers.

#4 Advertise on the free websites on the internet.

Even though you plan to sell the property yourself you might consider interviewing three real estate agents, tell them the truth you are considering selling the home yourself but you wanted to interview a couple of agents to get their ideas. During the interview they should give you some idea as to the sale price of like properties in your neighborhood.

Clean up the property so it will have good curb appeal. When you drive up to the house ask yourself "Would I purchase this house?" Take care of any possible problems that you know are there but you simply over looked them. Paint inside and outside, cost about $3K increase value about 10K. New carpet might also be in order if it is more than 5 years old.

Take away any clutter that might also be there, that lived in look you have might turn some buyers off. So clean up

Now you should also call a mortgage broker to see if he would be interested in assisting you with open houses. Tell him for his expertise you are willing to give him a list of those individuals that looked at your home, but were not pre-approved. You would also want this individual to be there for your open houses so set up a schedule that he is able to attend.

This individual should also assist you in finding an escrow closing agent, an appraiser as well as a title company to assist you in your sale.

Now once you have found a person to purchase your property, draw up a sales contract with the assistance of the mortgage broker. He will get an appraiser to verify the value. He should assist you in opening an escrow closing agent.

If the buyer is not pre-approved your mortgage broker will get the buyer approved and handle the paper work. If he is pre-approved his mortgage person will take care of the rest of the paper work.
Either way the mortgage broker whom ever he might be will take care of the majority of the rest of the transaction.

Don't fall for the real estate agents that will come by and ask if they find a buyer would you give them a commission. Tell them if they find someone their buyer should pay them. The reason for this exercise is for you to put the maximum amount of your equity in your pocket as you possible can and not into a real estate agent's pocket. Keep your eye on the mission.

Now about paying off your mortgage, the escrow closing agent will send a letter to your present mortgage company and request a demand of payment indicating how much you currently owe on your mortgage. Your mortgage company will send them a reply with the amount you owe. This will be done on any mortgage you owe if you owe more than one.

The escrow closing agent will pay off any demands they receive. Anything left after all payoffs a check will be written to you the seller.

I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.

"FIGHT ON"