We live in Perth, and as everyone has had happen, we have all seen our properties double if not triple in value over the past 5 years. So what is with these real estate agent fee’s?.
We have had our home valued a few times during this time, for investing purposes These were the figures.
Year Value 3.5% agent fees
2001 ……. $195000 ……… $6825
2003 ……. $260000 …….. $9100
2004 ……. $310000 …….. $10850
2005 ….. .. $390000 …….. $13650
2006 …… . $500000 …….. $17500So now we have decided to sell our ppor (working class suburb)and we call up a few agents believing we can negotiate these fees We ask the questions. Are your fee’s negotiable? As he has just told me that it will cost me $ 18200 for a $500000 sale. He’s reply was ” If I take a lower commision on your property and negotiate with you.
What is that saying to you about my skills when the time comes to negotiate with the person who wants to buy your house”Dont get me wrong I’m all into a fair days pay for a fair day’s work and more if your good at it but….. If anyone can tell me in 5 short years, while I work my ass off for at paltry 3% per year wage increase, these agents who were driving bmw’s in 2001 and have upgraged every year since, have enjoyed a 250% wage increase or 50% per year since then.
It makes me so angry……..and wish I hadn’t wasted my time in a three year university course getting into a heap of hec’s debt.Other peoples thoughts?
Hi Jec
Try selling it your self:
Ad on Domain ( only that will let private sales) $295 for 30days & you can load 5 photos on this site
A sign for out the front of the property $300
a couple of ads in sat / sun paper directing them to the domain site
$200.00 2-3 weeks worth if small ads.
and then you can either do home opens $ 80 for 2 surb signs for this. or do by appointment.If you are not in a hurry give it a try.
Celeste
I hate the fees to the agent as well.[blush2]Hi,
While nobody likes paying fees, what the agent says is a fair point.
Why would you want to hire someone who is so quick to drop their price to get your business? Then it is extremely possible that that agent who dropped their fees, would drop the price of YOUR home just to get a sale.
Not just coincidence, I see it all the time. A very valid point. A good agnet will be one who will get what your property is worth plus more to cover their fees. So say your property is worth 500k, they will get 550k, therefore making their fees reasonable. I guarantee you that if you sell it yourself, you will struggle to get that extra, as no offense, but you dont spend your life honing your negotiation skills like agents do. That is their job. Plus it takes longer to sell FSBO, and people will be out to scam you thinking youll be easy because your not an agent.At the end of the day, only pick an agent you feel comfortable with, and remember, if you try to sell it yourself, and its on the market a long time, you cant then send it to an agent and expect good results. Properties become stale when on the market too long.
Howver, I dont know how long things take to sell in Perth, but maybe your right. Think long and hard about this one, as the selling process is not much fun.[confused2]Maybe now is the time to consider a real estate career if your frustrated they update their beemers?
Sorry, to throw a spanner in here, but the agent is full of garbage.
His prime driver like all sales is $$$ for the least effort.
So why would he negoitate down a fee? Then when you agree to a fee, why would he waste a lot of time negotiating a best price for you? What is the incentive?
I see no difference. Unless commissions are structured in a way with incentive then you will never get the best results.
Is it possble to agree on FMV, agree on a base commission and then an incentive bonus scaled to every $ over that FMV it sells for?
Noted this is me talking from dealing with sales agents in wealth, life and commercial lending – not house selling.
Mat
jec I am in the same predicament as you in that I worked my guts out doing a degree 2001 – 2004 and then haven’t found anyone willing to employ me. This was when the property market was really booming. In hind site I should have done an apprenticeship and I would not now have a 17000 hecs debt and would have been paid for 3 to 4 years.
Neil Jenman has a good way of dealing with sales in that you pay a certain commission rate up to $500,000 and then pay a higher commission rate for any amount above $500,000. This gives the sales rep a motive for getting the best price possible.
It may be worth your while visiting his web site at http://www.jenman.com.au/
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
