What Will a Real Estate Agent Do to Get My Sale?
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My house is on the market. I cannot stress enough that this is not a good time to have to sell a house, but then the real estate industry took a nosedive exactly one month after we purchased our massive Albatross here in Florida and has not corrected in the least since. We have put off listing it for almost two years now, but I just cannot stand co-owning this house with my ex and have insisted that he comply with the court order and put it on the market this month.
My ex chose an agent that lives in the same neighborhood, which seemed like a good idea at first since she knows the area and the particular charms of our community. But, she is unwavering on her commission and I have not been happy with her repeated insistence that we do bits of work on the house here and there before she will even list it. Our house is stunning and relatively new. Keep in mind that her boyfriend is a handyman and thus far has procured a boatload of work out of our house, mostly because my ex is a sucker.
I am urging him to look for a new agent.
I plugged our zip code into the ePERKS.com website and came up with a real estate agent who says he offers 15.5% cash back. Essentially, he is offering a percentage of his commission back at closing. While browsing through agent listings in other areas, I saw people offering even higher percentages and even perks like cruise tickets and flight tickets.
ePERKS also has a section that lists car dealers and home improvement providers, also offering perks to incite you to choose their services.
Wow!! Giving back 15.5% to the buyer. If that’s not an incentive to purchase a home. I don’t know what is then. Definitely worth a try.
I’m pretty sure that upon running the numbers it looks like that 15% is off of the agent’s commission. Still, it’s some cash back and seems like a good way for an agent to get a leg up on the competition.
A 15% off is remarkable considering the prices running on the market. I had two houses for sale in Toronto and I had to make a profound research before choosing the right estate agent. In your case I would definitely go for it!
I wouldn’t sell into a sinking market. You can only lose. Moreover, a good agent is worth his or her commission - you can lose more on a sale with a poor agent than 10 or 20% of an agent’s commission of 3% (buyer and seller agent each).
FSBO is dangerous and expensive.
I’d slow down and think if I really need this money now or if I could wait to make the sale later.
But maybe you should change your agent. Here are ten questions should ask a realtor before you hire him or her.