Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

You didn't say what?

You clearly suggested that realtors should be viewed in the same light as lawyers: "Look on them as lawyers instead of estate agents", and my opinion is that that's an inappropriate comparison.

I have another opinion now to: you're starting to reinforce to stereotype.

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

When a questions is posted on here it invariably generates a discussion and anecdotes which deviate slightly (and occasionally greatly) from the question. I will admit that when I posted the first reply (which was an opinion on the subject rather than a direct answer) and then I read your response I kind of reacted "Ooo, that was a little snappy". However, I am aware that at times I could easily do the same. The problem with a forum is that you can only see the written word, not all the other stressful things going on around a person. I therefore didn't see the need to respond to this.

Off the cuff remarks aside (and I really have taken no offence) I know that you are not inclined to post rude or abusive posts. Neither should you be the subject of any upsetting posts. I also accept that you are at liberty to ignore any of the advice that you receive from here, or anywhere else for that matter. When I ask a question, I read all the answers and then I take what is useful for me and use it. If the questions isn't fully answered I would ask for clarification.

It is a shame that what was presented as a perfectly reasonable questions has become a slanging match. I have the greatest respect for Canadian realtors, mine was brilliant when we were house-hunting. In your situation however, the commission does feel alot, whether it's 4 or 6%, it's just so much more than you would pay in the UK, there just doesn't seem to be much choice. Even if you go down the FSBO route, the purchasers realtor will be after their money, but at least you will only be standing out half of it.

I wish you luck selling you house. Personally, living in a small town where everyone knows who's house is on the market the FSBO route may well work. If you google FSBO+Ontario you should get a number of websites to look at.

I am sorry that you have been the subject of such disrespect. You really don't need that on top of everything else.:)

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

You clearly love the North Shore dearly and are often seen extolling it's virtues. No one can be critical of this. However, many people are leaving the UK, not just to live in a beautiful place, but to live in a different culture, one where people are more respectful of others, are friendly and helpful and live at a more relaxed pace. It's the whole package you should be selling, not just the pretty scenery and this comes across in the way you deal with others, not just how you describe your surroundings.

The North Shore is, I am sure, no Fall River. Neither is the Eastern Shore where I have chosen to live. That doesn't mean that those people who,live in Fall River don't love their surroundings and lifestyle just as much as you do. I have the greatest respect for that.

Our realtor did a fantastic job for us, and I would probably use her again in the unlikely event that we ever decide to move. She lives in Fall River. That doesn't mean that she is some sort of stereotype, and she didn't try to "sell" her community to us. She talked to us about what we wanted our life to be like and helped us the find areas that would suit us. She realized very early on that Fall River was not for us and moved on. The chances are that we would have paid much more for a house in Fall River, and she would have earned more. But then we would have not been so happy and would be less inclined to recommend her to others.

I agree that the job of a realtor is totally different to the UK estate agents (it really isn't quite a lawyer though). I also agree that some realtors want to sell you what they want to sell you and I am reassured that you don't plan to be one of these. You don't have to be "nicey, nicey" and let people walk all over you to get them as a client. It's just about respect and politeness. I wish you luck in your chosen career. For those who want to move to the North Shore, I am sure that you will try your best to do a good job. Just try to take a step back and have the courage to help people to look at other areas if their needs will be better met elsewhere. Also, you don't have to crawl to people, but there is really no need to provoke them either.

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

Paradisefound probably would. It would be hard to use a different realtor when your spouse is a realtor wouldn't it?

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

What slanging match? Maybe I've missed something.

Anyway, I can't come out to play today as I have to prepare for a presentation this afternoon at a house in Truro. I work around 12 hours a day, 7 days a week and love it.

When you are eating your Sunday dinner today bear in mind when you negotiate commission down you are taking food off peoples plates.

It is the concept that real estate agents do legal work I was trying to convey not that they are lawyers. So that conceptually the next time you have to swallow the bitter pill of commisssion it may not seem quite so bad.

DestNS you look to have bought a lovely house and got a very good deal - the commission when you come to sell is already covered. Just a thought.

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

by that last comment do you mean that any profit made on her house in the future should buffer the costs of selling and that is then ok? I am all kinds of not impressed with realtor fees having sold recently in NZ where the same system works and it is only 4% there. It is a cruel amount of money for a seller to part with and if you are able to sell countless properties a year, because of the area and the amount of easily sellable properties, then it seems like a license to print money. I assume if you are working in a smaller, less boyant area that yes, negociating on a commission is taking money from a realtor. I digress...........it is a lot of money for a vendor to spend, a brand new top end car in many cases, and if you asked many people to give one of those away to get someone to buy your house.....who would? Well we all have to I guess.

I am a little embittered to the process.

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

Paradisefound is married to Ontheboatout? I had no idea. Oooops

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

Sorry, my original point regarding DNS's house and future profit margin was not made clear. My point was that as much as the market may rise to reward DNS and all of us more equity, so do the other houses in the area and the other houses we choose to move to. So that extra equity - should it be earnt by a realtor in fees (split 3 ways, I understand that, but it is taken once in a lump from a vendor) or for the future for that family who have improved the home and lived in it?

Realtors are home owners, does ther exist fee breaks for you guys, or do you not opt to move often? I dont often need to part with $25000 for anyone's services and it is way too much in my opinion, regardless of why and where it then goes. The potential is of course there for liability, but the actual reality is surely that sales go smoothly, the standard forms are filled out with the individual clauses being familiar and simply some extra crossings out and signatures on a form. And how often would you ever have to come up with money at closing??

I guess if people choose to be realtors, they have already decided this is an ok method of working and getting paid. No-one is going to say it is harsh and a lot of money. What is the average wage in NS? If you sold 15 houses a year, how much 3%'s is that? More than I earn and likely many here in NS. I can only assume obviously, and only you can know, but it is a monopoly situation from the vendor's point of view.

:(

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

I would have thought that Realtors are fully insured against something like this, so saying that they have to charge large commission fees because of this is somewhat hard to swallow.

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

OK, so if you made $7,000 on a sale. Sold 15 houses over 12 months, and paid approximately 1/3 taxes, you will make $70,000 after tax.

I am a nurse, will be paid $30 an hour, working on a delivery suite where life and death can hang in the balance on any given day and I full time might expect to get $50,000 BEFORE tax.

In the wrong job for earning well, but in the right job for job satisfaction and contributing to the community well being.

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

Excuse me....how exactly do you know I "ignored it"? You cannot possible know what information I have retained either in my (feeble) memory, or on the notepad I keep by my laptop. I was trying to get an answer to the question I posed....not other suggestions, good as they were.
Also - please do not apologise for calling me a "old bag".......the apology should be for the way you posted your reply which was mean, nasty and belittling, but nothing to do with my name. Ther really is no need for that type of post - unless it was deserved, which IMO it wasn't. :frown:

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

This is a small town with very few properties on the market, so at the moment it is a vendors' market and a good time to sell. My query is regarding the high commission which never varies, and what exactly do the real estate people do to earn what seems a proportionately high fee. Might I ask what your job is....just as a matter fo curiosity? :)

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

And maybe not; maybe she took advice from the local real estate agents for a valuation. :)

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

Thank you for a very sensible reply....so refreshing :)

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

Remind me....how did you "rescue it".
So you admit you came on here just to "liven up the day"....I think you'd better stay on that boat and keep on sailing.............you might even fit in well in this town hmmmmmmmmmm :sneaky:

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

I don't think that it's a secret. Whether they are married or partners I don't know, but it is pretty clear from previous posts that they are together.

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

Just to throw my hat into this discussion. I was somehwat alarmed by this

http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/RBC:R-jl...mmissions.html

I'm in the "thinking about selling" stage, and came across this yesterday! It's that last little paragraph that has me running for cover. :ohmy:

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

Your alarmed and running for cover why?:confused:

We may not like it but GST is "Goods and Services Tax", nothing new there.

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

ON TOP of the commission?? Not one real estate agent I have spoken to has mentioned this little gem!

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

Think you are getting confused with what constitutes legal work. Lawyers do legal work, real estate agents complete documents that have been prepared by lawyers within a legal and regulated framework.

Realtors have no formal legal training or qualifications, nor are they allowed to undertake legal work or represent themselves as anything more than a property seller. I think you might find it is a bit harder to become a lawyer than a realtor.

To be a registered real estate agent or salesperson in Nova Scotia, a person must complete a 15-day licensing course or correspondence course offered by the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors (NSAR) and pass a final exam. How is that in any way comparable to a lawyer or being qualified to do legal work?

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

They are providing a "service" therefore tax is applicable, nothing new there, it should be no surprise.

I don't believe there is a legal requirement to inform you GST is applicable before the fact.

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

15 days is a long time in real estate.

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

Here in Manitoba we have 3 exams to pass and a background check before we are licensed by the security commision. Then during the next 2 years we have to pass a further 2 exams. Plus we do monthly professional development courses and an annual 2-day workshop.

We have to study both Contract law and Property Law and pass an exam in that.

We are not Lawyers, but in our own limited field we do have to have a good working knowledge of Property Law, as we are frequently required to devise our own wording for unexpected conditions to be inserted into Offers to Purchase. It's not just filling in forms with pre-approved clauses.

We as Realtors write the Contract (offer to purchase), the lawyers execute that contract. Both have their set roles in the North American Real estate market.

Its a system that has matured over the last 100 years, the Winnipeg Real Estate Board is the oldest in Canada (formed in 1903), and the system of co-operation between agents was started then, its this co-operation that make the buying or selling of a house so different here than in the UK. The MLS (multiple listing system) was in operation long before computers and the internet.

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

Fair enough.....I must admit to being naive and not having considered it at all! :blink: I agree with the OP, though, it's a helluva lot to pay, and the splitting of the commission is immaterial....it's still coming out of the vendor's pocket.

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

I was in the health service for over 20 years too. Yes, the pay is terrible for the benefit people receive.

I'm not sure on your figures - out of $7000 commission for a sale I would only get $1750 less tax and if I sell 15 houses I would be very pleased. I am told to expect around 5 in my first year if I am lucky.

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

Using a 6% commission rate this is a $467k house. Not too many of those in NS I suspect. In BC this would be an $800k house. Even then, this is not cash in their jeans as they have all their other business costs to pay out of this.

I also suspect that very few realtors sell 15 houses a year. Some do, for sure, but they work very hard to build up their business over many years, mostly by gaining a good reputation within their neighborhood. I don't begrudge them their success.

$30 an hour is $62,400 a year. Whilst I don't underestimate the value of the work you do, you have to compare apples with apples. You work in a protected, unionized environment with guaranteed terms and conditions of employment. A realtor lives by the seat of their pants and can work for days, even weeks or months, for nothing.

Good realtors make good money, bad ones make very little. That is the way it should be.

Look, this is the way real estate works in North America. Like car insurance, the sticker shock is enormous after being used to UK prices. But, the system serves the market well and we might as well work with it rather than against it.

I've seen places with FSBO signs. They are there week after week after week. A couple of months later the FSBO sign is replaced by a realtor's sign. The next week there is a bright new SOLD sticker on the sign. It is just how things work.

PS I am not a realtor. <Thanks God for small mercies> :)

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

One of the real estate people who came to see us on Friday told us she sold 40 houses last year and that she is named as one of the best 50 real estate agents in Ontario for the 3rd year running! The one who sold us the house a few years ago has been up in front of the ethics committee, or board, or whatever you call it. Hmmmm...

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

I was not born yesterday,i had 3 realtors value my house and i added $10,000on top of there highest valuation.So actually i am $42000 better off.

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

Wow! Good for you.......I must admit, I'm beginning to think it's the way to go. I've asked a third agent to come see us tomorrow, then we'll make The Decision. I'm going to PM you with a question.......:)

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

Property Developer/Business Advisor/Life Coach/Tourism developer/ member of many boards and associations.
If I choose to give up any of my time spent with my children, this is what I spend it doing, whether for payment or not. I have never seen anything I spend my time doing as work or a job. Life is too short for that.

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

Oh dear, pass me the Kleenex.

If you don't like the negotiation, you don't have to deal. Your roast beef and potatoes stay intact.

Are you looking for sympathy for working hard to earn a decent living :confused:

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

More than anything I was just speculating and not meaning to make it personal to you, but a reflection upon the whole process. I was taking a random number there. I meant the individual realtor took home after tax that amount, just as a speculative figure, based on a house sale in the $400,000's. I certainly dont want to bang on about my unease in the process, I had a bad experience in NZ and I dont want to be a seller for a very long time. All too fresh for me really. I guess what it boils down to for me, and I suppose the OP, is that regardless of the actual service (fantastic,great, good or indifferent)it feels like such a large lump is then parted with, by the vendor. Just as you may only expect 5 sales a year, there may well surely be people who come to you to be the finder of properties, and there you have that finder's fee. Though it is split into many hands and though realtors may be living on bread and water all year long (;)) waiting for a sale in a small community, it still feels hard to part with tens of thousands of dollars. I know you have to understand that feeling, even if you feel you can make a good reasoned arguement for why.

Nope, Healthcare is a real vocation alright, but well paid, no! :rofl:Although there are shades of grey and some do get a comfortable income even so, very few.

This thread has strayed a little - OP, did you get some ideas of what to do next? :thumbsup:

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

Well, it's not really. The selling price is simply 6% higher than it would otherwise be. For example in Germany, the listed price is before the commission is added (just like all prices here are advertised before GST is added) and the buyer pays the agents fees directly. Same difference at the end of the day.

Either way, if you are selling a house you bought recently, you need to sell it for (at least) 6% more than you paid to break even. 'Twas ever so.

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

So, really when an agent gives you a valuation, it isn't really a valuation of the property alone, but a valuation inclusive of the expected (5%) commission! Which should still be negotiable..... On top of that are the taxes...........PST & GST? Or just GST?

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

Hi Poppy2....yep...have a go at selling it ourselves! :)

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

I have my moments tho...........

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

!!! Do you ever sleep? ;)

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

[QUOTE=JonboyE;6168490]Using a 6% commission rate this is a $467k house. Not too many of those in NS I suspect. In BC this would be an $800k house. Even then, this is not cash in their jeans as they have all their other business costs to pay out of this.


sorry I don't understand your calculations - if it is 6% commission, then on a $467k house that would be a total of $28020.

I dread paying over $12000 to sell the house which I have had less than a year - I will certainly be getting quotes from everyone. Put it this way it might be money out the realtors pocket but it is money in mine to help settle my family in a new location and afford the house we want.

You are right though re the nurses salary, unless they work less than the normal 40 hours per week.


I have seen house in my area still be there nearly a year later or others who change from realtor to realtor and still don't sell - and this is quite often with some of the top sellers in the area..

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

oh my goodness, is there a "starving realtors in Nova Scotia" fund??

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

Re: Real Estate commission....is it negotiable?
 

That's how I would interpret it. I suppose the GST/PST thingy varies provincially though.