Who should the real estate be working for?

dream · Jan 17, 2006 10:13 am

Buyer or Seller?
We are curently selling our house and the real estate is all over what the buyer wants and is less listening to us the seller.
The seller is the one paying his commision so what is up with that?

Strumer · Jan 17, 2006 6:38 pm

Hi Dream,

Without being aware of the specific nature of your difficulty re Estate Agents...

dream

The seller is the one paying his commision so what is up with that?

Not if he doesn't sell the house to a buyer, as that is who is supplying the money.

One would hope that the needs of both parties are being addressed - unless one party is seeking to take advantage of the other.

What are the needs of the vendor? A Sale.
e.g. A low delay and troublefree settlement at a good price/ profit. (suggestions only)

What are the needs of a buyer? A House/ Home
e.g. Affordability, Finance, Attractiveness (do I want my children to growup in this?), Future Return, Work Required, Troublefree Settlement...(again only suggestions)

As a vendor you don't have to sell to a particular buyer if you don't want to.

A buyer is often not looking at just one property either - so depending on the demographic you may have to decide how much you are willing to compromise to get the sale.

Much respect, all.

Earl

lot 109 · May 04, 2006 10:40 am

Real estate agents should always work in the best interests of their principal - vendor or landlord.

In NSW the regulations to the Property, Stock and Business Agents Act include this requirement in the rules of conduct.

There's always a potential conflict of interest because agents are also trying to assist buyers and tenants.

Hope this helps.

wanelad · Jun 26, 2006 3:58 pm

From my point of view you have employed the Realestate agent to sell your property for the best he/she can negotiate. It is a wise move when sighning the agent up to have an escape clause that if they do not market as they have promised you can relinquish the contract. As far as I am aware if a contract is written up it is not only for them to set their conditions, but an opportunity for you to set yours.

I suggest before signing up a realestate agent consider how you have chosen them, For example the cheapest may not be the best, ask friends or neighbours whom they have used and if they would recomend them? When interviewing your potential agent ask them how they intend to market your property. Do some research, is this how they have marketed others in their area? Ask them for references of recent properties sold. Take note of how they negotiate with you, are they well skilled? if their negotiations with you are poor, chances are they will be with your potential purchaser.

However one needs to be fair at the same time check your expectations of price with the market. If you are expecting too higher a price it is in the agents best interest and yours to be honest and provide a realistic price. As the seller sometimes incorporates emotional value they may find it difficult to be realistic. Ask the agent for information on similar properties in your area and compare apples with apples. Ask the agent to leave feedback re the visitors opinions, and try not to take it personally. Be objective and see if there is any changes that can be made ask us for our blog site or submit to our news letter for more info. We have a news letter comming out soon with several topics being made available. We are not Real Estate agents however the information will be relevant and thought provoking. Content will be in relation to buying and selling your property contact us via our email info@brisimports.com
Note your information will not be passed on to others we respect your privacy and at anytime you can cancel your prescription. It is a free service that we provide

Brookie · Jun 27, 2006 7:00 pm

dream

Buyer or Seller?
We are curently selling our house and the real estate is all over what the buyer wants and is less listening to us the seller.
The seller is the one paying his commision so what is up with that?

Legally he is the Vendor's agent. However he has legal and ethical obligations to the buyer

SJ65 · Jan 16, 2007 2:50 pm

I think you have to be careful whether you are the buyer or the seller, and protect yourself and make the best informed decisions you can. I've notices lately that, increasingly, there are services that help protect the seller (which I think is an area that has been somewhat ignored to date). There are now "Sellers Advocacy" services that look after the seller (just like Buyers Advocacy), and there are site like www.sellmycastle.com.au which are helping people to find the best agent who is offering the best comission, experience, local knowledge etc in their area. There is also a ranking system on this website, where users score the agent they used, which helps eliminate any agents that may not be meeting their obligations.

norbs · Jan 16, 2007 6:46 pm

Most definately the vendor !!!!!!!!!!!! They should be gunning to get the seller the best price. At the same time, a reputable and respectable realtor will give good advice to the vendor and give them realistic expectations. When we were selling our house, we signed a 90 day contract with the realtor (who was great by the way) during which we could not list with anyone else. Fair enough too. If the house didn't sell within the period, then we could take our business elsewhere. If you are dissatisfied with the level of service, threaten to pull the property from the market.

At the end of the day, you are the owner and you MUST agree to the price. If you feel you are getting a less than fair price, then stick to your guns and don't sell.

Liya · Jan 18, 2007 4:13 pm

Hi everyone,

I have just joined this forum today and have really enjoyed reading everyone's views and most importantly experiences on Real Estate.

I am assisting my parent's with selling their residential property and was hoping to gather as much info as I can regarding how the whole commission, marketing thing works in terms of costs.

If the property say i.e. was sold for 500,000, what would the estimated percentage of comission for the agent be?

Would this be negotiable between you and the RE Agent? (Ray White)

When signing an agreement between you and the agent, how long would you be stuck in a contract for i.e. aprrox 6 months?

Lastly, are the marketing fees etc. seperate costs from the commission the RE Agent receives?

I have so many more questions but I think I'll stop right here for now.

Would appreciate any advice.

Thanks peeps

newhomebuilder · Jan 18, 2007 8:11 pm

I have being through selling a number of my homes, units, farming property's and most agents seem to be the same.

Generally it would be around $1500 + 3% of the final selling price, and agents might drop the commission a little (last house I sold was 3% down to 2.75%)

There are an ever increasing number of agents who will do a set commission rate, ie homes between $200,000 and $300,000 all you will pay is $5000, however I don't like this method as then the agent may not be interested in increasing the price of your home because they get paid the same amount one way or another.

You will find most agents will lock you into a 90 day period in which you may not sell with another agent.

Lastly the agents I have being with charge on top of commission for marketing.

This is the experience I have had with agents, and may be different to others, but I hope I have being able to assist you

Feel free to ask more question!

Bud977 · Jan 18, 2007 10:09 pm

In some areas of Sydney, the commission can be as low as 1%. It's probably low as the house prices are high, so the end commission is the same. 1% of $600,000 = $6,000, still above the $5,000 fixed price you mentioned.

I don't think having the commission based on sale price makes the agents work any harder. I am sure they would rather close the sale for a lower price than miss out on the sale for the sake of 1% of an extra $10,000 (=$100).

I don't think that the agents would be negotiable on their commission, but you may find one that generally has a low commission rate. They will normally quote you a separate fixed fee for marketing. Typical contract is for 3 months.

Good luck and remember, don't trust the agent one bit. They work to look after themselves and get the commission, not to look after you.

Liya · Jan 19, 2007 10:30 am

Thanks so much for all your replies. This information is very useful and would be good for me to have in your mind before appointing an agent.

I requested for a free market appraisal on the Ray White website and got a call back that same day. He asked me to provide him with some brief information of the house etc. I told him I MAY be interested to sell the property and currently meeting with different RE Agents to compare.

He immediateley suggested we auction our house which I thought was weird because he hasn't even seen the house, and secondly he hasn't asked what my preference is. I told him ... no..no I would prefer to list it for sale, as I'm in no rush.

Why did he suggest to put it up for auction? :shock:

Are the houses sold easier this way?

It's funny that I feel this way but the Real Estate Agent is the enemy to me lol. I think I just can't handle the thought of getting ripped off or played.

Anyway, I won't be signing anything with any agent until I'm content.

Thanks guys for all your advice

Liya · Jan 19, 2007 10:43 am

Hi newhomebuilder, it's me again.

Sorry, when you mentioned that the marketing fees would cost approx. 1500 would that be including the FOR SALE sinage?
:?:

newhomebuilder · Jan 19, 2007 11:57 am

Hi Liya.

Adverting/ marketing included; for sale sign (standard sign- not a special one featuring information on home/ photos) , internet, local newspaper, pamphlets etc.

Jamie

Liya · Jan 23, 2007 4:41 pm

I met with an agent from Ray White last weekend and they take 2.5 % commission. Marketing costs are 660 and Agreement of three months.

newhomebuilder · Apr 04, 2007 3:04 pm

Sorry for dragging up an old thread, what have people paid in the way of commission to real estate in different parts of Australia?

shoop · Apr 21, 2007 7:52 pm

Liya

Thanks so much for all your replies. This information is very useful and would be good for me to have in your mind before appointing an agent.

I requested for a free market appraisal on the Ray White website and got a call back that same day. He asked me to provide him with some brief information of the house etc. I told him I MAY be interested to sell the property and currently meeting with different RE Agents to compare.

He immediateley suggested we auction our house which I thought was weird because he hasn't even seen the house, and secondly he hasn't asked what my preference is. I told him ... no..no I would prefer to list it for sale, as I'm in no rush.

Why did he suggest to put it up for auction? :shock:

Are the houses sold easier this way?

It's funny that I feel this way but the Real Estate Agent is the enemy to me lol. I think I just can't handle the thought of getting ripped off or played.

Anyway, I won't be signing anything with any agent until I'm content.

Thanks guys for all your advice

Very smart move!

Yeah, this "auction" thing, is really a construct of the real estate industry used to rush a sale. The Real Estates are interested in one thing and one thing only, that is seller's big fat commissions from sales. That is their #1 concern. The auction is just a show, pushing the buyers and sellers coming to an agreed price in a much shorter time frame than may necessarily have been wanted from both the buyer and sellers, as the agents just want the commissions, and they want them now! I found this really insightful blog really putting the Real Estate industry underneath a fine tooth comb http://www.australianrealestateblog.com.au and learnt a huge amount about real estate agencies in Australia. Having read a lot of the material from this blog, I'll definitely be keeping real estate agents at arms length in any transactions.