I have recently been trying to help a good friend in other state sell his home. He has accepted a job and will be relocating and he has been bombarding me with several questions on how to choose his Realtor and should he try to sell himself. I cannot remember ever being in this type of situation - helping a friend find a Realtor...that wasn't me!
My friend is not necessarily a frugal man but, like everyone, enjoys a good deal so he hit me with his ideas of beating down a Realtor for a commission cut - a.k.a, commisionectomy (because it really does hurt that bad!) or selling the home by owner. I told him that unless I am helping a seller find more Albuquerque Real Estate or have several deals with that person, I do not cut my commission. And if I did, what would that say to the seller? That I will settle for less when it comes to my own money? If a Realtor cared so little about his own money, how much more could that Realtor really care about their clients' money when it comes to negotiating?
Any Realtor can take a commission cut and do the minimum to sell that home and anyone can try to sell their own home, put a sign in the yard and enter it into MLS. That all seems like a great idea on paper, but having expert advice readily available when selling the biggest investment in most people's lives is more than worth the 6% most people agree to pay. Realtors have been around for over 100 years and must be licensed and continually educated and tested during their career.
People don't try to negotiate an accountant's fee. And even if people did do that, do you think that person's tax return is going to be a priority to that accountant? It's worth the extra up front rather than a huge amount later to the IRS.
Here is an example I heard recently: People who go to Ethan Allen know that the furniture in that store is expensive but they also know that it is a quality product. People who shop on Ebay realize that they are taking a chance on the furniture sold by the owners who are only experts in sitting on that couch. These people are willing to take the chance of buying a couch that could have been a dogs bed for 12 years in order to save some money....and then finally end up buying a couch from Ethan Allen. Wouldn't it be better to go with quality service, expert opinion and protection right from the get go? I also believe that this attracts serious, qualified buyers who expect the same quality service rather than attracting those who are not screened (your Realtor should make sure all buyers are qualified with a mortgage professional) and just looking for a quick deal? Just a thought.
I love selling Albuquerque Real Estate!! Thanks for reading!
by Tim Fish
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