By: Raymond James
About the Author:
Ray is a sought after thought leader and an expert in financial and money management. He has been published and featured in over 50 leading sites and aims to contribute articles to help novice financial planners. One of his goals is to impart his knowledge in finance to educate and help ordinary people create and achieve their financial goals.
Selling your property is a hard task, especially when you have no experience in selling properties. You will need the services of a reputable realtor to make the process smooth. Nevertheless, it is not comfortable settling for a trustworthy real estate agent when selling a house. Due diligence is, therefore, necessary when contacting a realtor to list your property.
Before you pick a realtor to help you sell your property, check here to learn what realtors don’t want you to know when selling your house.
- You Can Negotiate on the Commission
When you are selling your house through a realtor, paying commission fees after a sale is your obligation. The commission is a percentage of the sales value. In most cases, you may have to pay the commission to your agent and the buyer’s agent. The standard rate that you should pay as a commission is 6% of the entire sales value. The two agents split the commission on an equal basis.
However, you can bargain on the rate to drop to 4.5%, especially when the sales value is significant. You have the right to negotiate on the commission fee before agreeing with the realtor. Most realtors will, however, not tell you that you can bargain on the stated commission rate.
- Your House is Their Marketing Point
Every business entity is looking to create a brand for themselves; realtors are not an exemption. Relators will not tell you that your house will feature in their portfolio if they are successful in selling it. Realtors build a collection of the houses they have been able to sell, both for short- and long-term periods. The portfolio is part of their marketing tool to earn more business in the future should there be another seller. In a real sense, the realtor will be marketing themselves and not your property.
Real estate magazines are full of real estate companies and houses they list for sale. A realtor may list your home on these magazines and websites to market your house and their brand name. There is no guarantee that the realtor will sell your house once they list it. However, the realtor may receive calls about other homes in your neighborhood. Ask the number of sellers the realtor is dealing with to ascertain whether they’re selling houses or their brand.
- They Have Not Been Able to Sell Any House for a While
A realtor who hasn’t been able to make a sale in a while may not be the best to hire. However, do we have faithful realtors in the market to disclose this truth? The real estate market has been doing well. Some realtors have not been able to make successful house sales for the last few years. Such realtors are now desperate for a deal, and they are not likely to tell you that they haven’t made a sale of late.
Desperate realtors can end up settling for a low offer to salvage their situation. You need to research more about a realtor’s history before engaging them.
- Millennial Buyers Will Not Buy an Old House
Young home buyers are looking to buy houses that have modern finishes and homes they can easily customize. They want houses with a swimming pool, sauna room, and large walk-in closets, among other features of modern houses.
With the significant percentage of home buyers today being young, old houses aren’t likely to feature in their preference list. Most realtors will not tell you the truth if you are selling an old house. They will list it regardless of how long it will take before they get a client. Instead, a reliable realtor should advise you on modernizing the house to meet the market’s expectations.
- Realtor’s Services are Not a Must When Selling Your House
Did you know that there are several ways in which you can sell your property on your own? FSBO listings are on the rise in different states. If you can take good pictures of your property, you can upload it on various online platforms as an FSBO. You don’t need any specialty to do it. You can also get a ‘House for Sale’ sign and wait for buyers, including investors in real estate.
Realtors don’t want house owners to know anything about FSBO listings because they want to earn from your ignorance.