Chosen by Asker

Everything is negotiable and you'd be a fool not to shop around for the best rate. I really don't know what the going rate in your area is, but you have the right and obligation to ask around. I agree that 14K is a lot of money for a quick sale. I just bought a home and I really resent that my agent made money on it. She was nice, but truthfully, I did more work than she did in finding my house. When and if I ever sell my house, I'm going to pay to have my house listed on the MLS and then market it on my own. I've pretty Internet savvy and feel that I can do a good job marketing my home especially if I can get it on the MLS without actually having to pay an agent to list it there. I think a good house that has a good price will sell easily - even in this market. I don't need an agent to do that for me. So shop around and get the best deal you can. It's your money and your home. Don't give it away to someone for doing so little. Good luck with your Open House!

by bluewithoutu

2 months ago

Asker's Rating: 

of course! IF the agent will agree and he/she SHOULD! Keep this in mind; dual agency--where the listing agent also seeks to sell the house-- is, necessarily, a dying activity because it HARMS the buyer! Saying that, it means IF the listing agent does not sell the house but a buyer's agent comes in and has an energetic buyer, that agent will need to accept happily, only 1.5%, instead of 3%. Otherwise, have a great Canuck day!

by kemperk- 2 months ago

Things must be very different in Canada if you can sell a house in a few days based on one open house. I live in the US, but it's the middle of the night and I can't sleep, so I'll answer anyway. Commission here is 7% most of the time, but it's negotiable. The listing broker gets 55% of that, and the selling broker gets 45%. They each split the amount 50/50 with the agent that did the actual deal. So on $330,000, the listing agent would get $6,352.50 (as would the listing broker) and the selling agent would get $5,197.50 (and so would his broker). The broker I worked for wouldn't have let me make that kind of arrangement, and the other agents would have shown other houses where they'd make the normal commission. This assumes the buyer doesn't have his own agent. I stopped selling real estate before that became popular, so I don't know how they do it.

by daeve930- 2 months ago

Sounds like he's already cutting his commission. Average in Texas is 6%. Of that, 3% goes to the company with the sign in the yard (the listing company) and 3% goes to the company that brings the buyer. Sometimes it's the same company - here, we call that "Intermediary Relationship". The listing company isn't representing the buyer or the seller - they are assisting and advising (limited) both parties. Neither buyer nor seller get full representation in that situation. The brokers at each company have an agreement with the agents as to what the split would be (how much of the 3% goes to the agent and how much goes to the company) - this varies from one company to another and from one agent to another within companies. Ask the agent how much he is going to offer to a buyer's agent to bring a buyer - and what is the average in the area? If the average is 3%, and he's offering 3%, then he's only getting $4,000 total to split with his broker. Sounds like he's doing you a favor. If instead, he's offering a lower amount to the buyer's agents, then there will be fewer showings for your house - sorry, but higher commissions get the house sold sometimes.

by teran_realtor- 2 months ago

There a re many companies that offer a variety of fees. 7+3 is a fee most agents like to follow but is not written in stone. I use to charge 2500 plus 3.5/1.5. 2500 for me and 3.5/1.5 for the selling agent. If I sold the home I got both ends. (I sold/purchased around 50-60 homes per year for my clients). Commission is not fixed. You can negoiate. You just have to look around. What you do need is a full time realtor that has a performance record (15-30 homes per year). Realtors get their experience by doing deals/ No deals no experience. There are many great realtors out there. You just have to interview them and get a realtor you feel comfortable with. Working with a large company does not make a good realtor. Their record has to speak for them.

by Ken M- 2 months ago

Teran has it right for Texas. I don't know how things work in Canada or in other states, but that sounds like a whopper of a comission. Here, we charge 6% commission on the sales price of the house. It's the agents' business about what additional costs he'll incur or how he splits it- those fees should not be passed on to you. I would definitley shop around, that is an extremely high commission. If that's how it works in Canada, I want to move!

by blondewithheart- 2 months ago

Your paying 7% on the first $100K, and 3% on the rest? So that averages, 4.3% so that is VERY Low. If she puts the split at 2 or 2.5% you won't get many showings if the average in the area is 3 -4%. A 1% drop in commission is really a 1/3 cut in pay for realtors, so that is what you have to keep in mind. If you somehow think that you can market, advertise and list it for less money than that, do it. Sometimes realtors have quick sales, and to those clients it seems like a lot of money for very little work. Other times they might work with a client, buyer or seller for months without a sale. So do they get more when that happens ... no. The average wage of a realtor in the US is $50,000 which is not exactly the height of income... Bottom line, you could have a variable rate, that is if it sells in 30 days you pay one fee, and after that it goes up, and the price of your house goes down.. everything is negotiable.

by RED- 2 months ago