Agents commission
- Thread starter goddessk
- Start date
we recently sold our PPOR and paid 2.4% plus $500 marketing expenses.
I'm not to hung up on how much you pay, as a a good agent can make a $10,000 difference in your sale price.
I'm not to hung up on how much you pay, as a a good agent can make a $10,000 difference in your sale price.
2 to 4% is within the range. I would be very careful with agents that are willing or eager to negotiate their fees. Will they then be willing to tell purchasers the lowest offer you would accept or would they really work for you to negotiate the best possible price?
Desperate agents who "need the money" are also desperate to sell your property at any price so that they can get their commissions.
The ones that are most skilled in negotiation and have the people skills to negotiate the best possible prices know it and they would start by negotiating the highest possible commission with you!
Desperate agents who "need the money" are also desperate to sell your property at any price so that they can get their commissions.
The ones that are most skilled in negotiation and have the people skills to negotiate the best possible prices know it and they would start by negotiating the highest possible commission with you!
I'll second Caporn Young. And as 2bob said, it's about how much you get after all expenses, bankable dollars etc.
Also, the ones that charge less often work on volume and turnover etc. They don't really care how much you end up with.
Plus, I'd rather work with someone I like and pay a bit extra than work with someone I didn't feel comfortable with.
Cheers
I'm not a big fan of VPA (vendor paid advertising) as the agent takes no risk. In saying that I went with an agent that charges VPA because they were the best agent. We sold in 3 days so I'm happy.
Select the agent you're happy with (for whatever reason). Get quotes from the competition and go back to your preferred agent and negotiate. Not just the commission is negotiable; ad placement, size and type, open days/displays, signage etc etc.
Everything is negotiable! But you do have to be 'pro active'.
MC
Everything is negotiable! But you do have to be 'pro active'.
MC
Hiya goddessk,
North Perth is a good area. I imagine the unit is worth a bit, especially after what has happened in Perth over the past cuppla years.
Instead of giving 3% to an agent, why not pay $ 400 or thereabouts for a certified valuation of the property, (something a REA cannot give you) with plenty of relevant up to date comparative data thrown into the mix.
Then ask yourself the question, who knows the property the best. I reckon you would. If you do employ a REA, s/he is going to make you sit down and fill out copious forms to get them half ar$ed up to speed 'cos they have no clue about your place to start with.
If it's worth say 300K, why not step up to the plate and pocket the $ 9,000 tax free dollars yourself. Sales contracts by solicitors are cheap as chips, and you can tie the Buyers up with a whole bunch of clauses favourable to you as Seller, that currently are not listed in the "standard" REIWA contract of sale pro-forma. I reckon it's still a Seller's market at the moment over here. Yours might be particularly attractive to the FHB group who have just had their stamp duty on purchase price eliminated. I reckon you're in the hot seat with your asset.
If you do employ a REA, they are not authorised to warrant one word or write one word on your behalf anyway. Their agency's principal will not allow them to say or write anything legally binding on your behalf.....so what exactly are you employing them to do ?? Everything they say or write is not worth a cracker in a court of law.
Paying someone who doesn't know the asset half as well as you do, who is legally gagged from uttering or writing a single word......hmmmm, doesn't seem like a good deal to me.
Ask your well researched and fully valued price and stick to your guns. At least in the ads you place you can actually advertise the property, rather than pay for 2/3rds of the ad to be a big banner of the RE agency logo and a big mug shot of the uninformed gagged suit.
But then, maybe I've been diddled by REA's before, and know most of their charades. I also like answering direct questions about the property I'm selling, rather a lame "I'm not quite sure about that, I'll ask the Owner and get back to you..." Naaaahhh, sale opportunity lost right there.
Selling the property yourself by getting a Valuation done on the Property which could cost you in order of $400 to $1000 could be a temping and cost effective method. But to do that you must be a very skilled negotiator especially if the market is slow where your property is located.
If you have no negotiation skills then you could very easily sell the property $10k-$20k cheaper. That's where skilled REA come in. YES some charge high fees like 3% but usualy thier service is pretty exeptional. Anyone who charges less than 2% works on quanitity. They are very desparate to get your listing.
Remember not all agents who charge 3% are skilled but more often than not, they are better than the ones who charge less. Talk to some of the agents and try to negotiate thier fees with them. The way they negotiate thier fees with you will be pretty much the same as how they will negotiate your property with the buyer.
Some of them already include the marketing cost of the property in the commission so that could be another reason for the high commission %.
If you have no negotiation skills then you could very easily sell the property $10k-$20k cheaper. That's where skilled REA come in. YES some charge high fees like 3% but usualy thier service is pretty exeptional. Anyone who charges less than 2% works on quanitity. They are very desparate to get your listing.
Remember not all agents who charge 3% are skilled but more often than not, they are better than the ones who charge less. Talk to some of the agents and try to negotiate thier fees with them. The way they negotiate thier fees with you will be pretty much the same as how they will negotiate your property with the buyer.
Some of them already include the marketing cost of the property in the commission so that could be another reason for the high commission %.
....should probably re-assess whether this property game we play is really the game for you....'cos if you are cr*p at negotiating, then not only are the Buyers going to walk all over you, but the Bankers will, the vendor's agent will, the settlement agent will, the brokers will, the tenant's will, the lawyers will.....and every other swinging cat that hangs around feeding off the RE industry.
Seriously, if you are cr*p at negotiating a good deal for yourself, then it would be incumbent on yourself to maybe get better at it. Who knows, it may even help you in everyday life with your spouse, kids and the greengrocer around the corner.
If it's all too hard and confrontational, and you don't like upsetting anyone, regardless of how woeful they treat you and you like being steam rolled, then maybe RE investing isn't the right game to play ???
When you're the vendor it's pretty easy really.....if the Buyer doesn't offer you full price, then don't pick up the pen and sign their offer. Too easy. You may need to sit there a while, depending on market conditions, but we are talking about an apartment in North Perth.....so.....
Hi Goddessk,
Do you have to sell at all ?
As Dazzling has mentioned, given the boom in Perth over the last couple of years - presuming you've owned this property for at least part of that time - you're probably sitting on some nice equity.
Can you refinance to access some of that equity ?
Just a thought....
Thanks,
BDM
Do you have to sell at all ?
As Dazzling has mentioned, given the boom in Perth over the last couple of years - presuming you've owned this property for at least part of that time - you're probably sitting on some nice equity.
Can you refinance to access some of that equity ?
Just a thought....
Thanks,
BDM
Hi all,
If I don't get the right price then I will consider keeping it. I have been keeping an eye on the market and it's a really small 1 bedroom unit and I don't think I will make much more over the next few years however I am trying to make a life change at the moment and the $$ that I have made on the property would really help me to achieve that goal. I have 3 other properties so would not be left without investments.
To sell it myself, well I considered that. However the tenant is really hard to pin down plus I work full time, run a part time small business and I live in Sydney. If I wanted to drive myself to exhaustion I would sell it myself but I physically cannot do it. I have one day a week to myself so it's a bit hard. So I will use a real estate.
Thanks everyone for the feedback though, it is much appreciated.
If I don't get the right price then I will consider keeping it. I have been keeping an eye on the market and it's a really small 1 bedroom unit and I don't think I will make much more over the next few years however I am trying to make a life change at the moment and the $$ that I have made on the property would really help me to achieve that goal. I have 3 other properties so would not be left without investments.
To sell it myself, well I considered that. However the tenant is really hard to pin down plus I work full time, run a part time small business and I live in Sydney. If I wanted to drive myself to exhaustion I would sell it myself but I physically cannot do it. I have one day a week to myself so it's a bit hard. So I will use a real estate.
Thanks everyone for the feedback though, it is much appreciated.
We've paid 1.8-3% + gst. The 1.8% agent tried to convince us that the market was down and that the only offer he had received for our property was what the house was worth and we would never get anymore. Well we sacked him and the following week got 4 different offers all around $40K more.
We now use an agent who charges us 3% but we see results so we're happy to pay the higher commission. But as someone mentioned in an earlier post, higher commission doesn't mean better agent necessarily! So be careful and ask the agent how many listings they have on their books at the moment (if they have too many then unlikely your house will get the attention it deserves because there's only so many hours in a day).......secondly ask them how long their houses are on the market for before he gets a contract on them......and also check that what they're telling you is true! You can get a guide from sales data (just look at settlement date although this won't always give you a good guide because it could be that the vendor and purchaser have negotiated a longer settlement etc). Just a few pointers...hope it helps!
Cheers,
Kim
We now use an agent who charges us 3% but we see results so we're happy to pay the higher commission. But as someone mentioned in an earlier post, higher commission doesn't mean better agent necessarily! So be careful and ask the agent how many listings they have on their books at the moment (if they have too many then unlikely your house will get the attention it deserves because there's only so many hours in a day).......secondly ask them how long their houses are on the market for before he gets a contract on them......and also check that what they're telling you is true! You can get a guide from sales data (just look at settlement date although this won't always give you a good guide because it could be that the vendor and purchaser have negotiated a longer settlement etc). Just a few pointers...hope it helps!
Cheers,
Kim
