strive4impact

I have 2 sections of property in Waiouru that I would like to sell...

I'm currently in touch with a real estate agent, but I don't know what normal commissions are for a NZ real estate transaction.

I'm planning to sell each section for NZ $10k.

She wants to charge NZ $3500 per section.

Does that sound high to anyone else here? Is that a normal land sale rate in NZ?

Robbie2010

On houses they charge around 4% ... dont know if they have a minimum charge.

strive4impact

Thanks for posting that. I don't know either. I really need to cover the back taxes I owe with the sale of the land, so paying less in fees to sell it would be ideal...

Genesis

why not use trademe? I have no idea why people use estate agents. I am SURE there are good ones out there but I have never found one. Certainly not in NZ.

They have all been very much 'do as little as possible whilst removing the shirt off your back!' For god's sake they could NOT even turn my lights off and leave my home secure after an open home. How bloody useless!!!! ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS!!!!!!!

AND they want YOU to pay for advertising costs??? WTF?????? I will never, ever use one again (I had to last time as the ex insisted we use an agent selling the marital home after divorce).

It is a piece of piss to sell your own home/section with Trademe. And I know I will do a better job. I have no idea why so many people waste so much money on them. Its not magic, we do not use agents to sell our cars!

Rant over.

MrsFychan

You can always just go and ask other agencies what they would want as commission and then bounce them off each other. More and more agencies are doing fixes prices, on housing, but then it can depend on where you are.

are you sure that 10K is a good price for the sections??

simonsi

"High" doesn't even begin to cover it - are you sure you didn't mean $100k per section (which would bring the $3500 right into the 3-4% range which does seem typical here...)

Stuck in Auckland

I had similar discussion with an agent wanting to sell my property.

I gave them a comparison of doing it myself versus using an agent

They gave me the old excuse of the professionalism in negotiating the price.

I sighed and said ok so say 40 hours x $50 per hour (as your not really professional in terms of accountants or lawyers or nurses or doctors or teachers or firemen or policemen who spend a lot more time in their professional training)
That's $2k which sounds a fair amount. Why are you trying to charge me $75k?

- Tell me your annual salary?
- Be prepared to log and show me direct hours applied to selling my property
- Prove that your selling skills provided x above selling price if I used Trade Me

They never came back and I used Trade Me

MrsFychan

not on a par of dr, nurses or fireman but yes they do have to gain a qualification to gain a licence to practice and there is ongoing training requirements to keep the licence, which all has to be paid for by the Sales person. to get a licence is near on $3K to start and then you need about 6-8K for the first two months to cover your own costs. Are you aware that the sales persons has to pay for access to industry websites to help with valuations, they have to outlay the cost of all printing, the boards that go out the front of the property is also paid for by the sales person, etc etc. Not the agency. Some Sales people even have to pay a rent on a desk at some agencies as well as all the other associated costs.
the thing going with a Salesperson means that they should know all the legalities around buying and selling, and there is come back if incorrect. Selling privately and doing wrong could cost the seller millions in compensation if they muck up

Stuck in Auckland

Hair stylists also pay for a chair at saloons

My point is I don't agree with agents claiming a professional premium. I think they are hourly.

Not many agents appear to really understand legalities as I am constantly bringing them up on statements and claims. Professional claims requires a higher ethical level than paying a few K's and getting training on MS Paint (what power lines)

MrsFychan

no sales person gets paid hourly and I certainly did not get any training on paint. The exam is hard and the yearly training is also not that easy, chargeable to the sales person.

sr71

Have you been to Waiouru? Sounds expensive to me :-)

MrsFychan

no, but just trademe and costs of housing seems well under the norm so perhaps you are right.

simonsi

Haha - not as expensive as $3.5k to sell a $10k section!

Genesis

It cost me over $2k to get a taxi license. $15 an hour thereabouts is what I would have earned had I done it, I chose not to. The $3k fee for the license and the $8k for the first few months in NO way make it okay for agents to charge what they do. Especially when they want stuff like advertising up front, do not return calls and leave your house insecure after open homes, on more than one occasion. Sorry, but as you know virtually every interface I have had with realtors in both hemispheres has been less than good.

I am ex plod, I would and do expect the same from people when they have had bad exchanges with coppers because of their terrible attitude. I can't speak for NZ plod but there are shit loads of bad cops in the UK and the US. There are some good ones too. Alas we never really hear about good realtors or good cops eh?

MrsFychan

oopps seems I left a k out,$3k just to get course then licence that then needs to be renewed every year