Hemi Dave

ummm, you're wrong. The end.

BristolUK

It might only be a small area of the market but there have been loads of comments (and PMs) on BE with recommendations for Realtors that people have used.

The one we used (three times) has his own website with a client satisfaction/recommendation page. I'll bet he's not the only one and presumably he sees some value in it.

JamesM

I know someone who opened a restaurant recently.

Before it opened he had 15 positive 5 star reviews. When I looked through the list they were all staff or friends of his.

SchnookoLoly

Our agent was wonderful. We were with her for a bit over a year before she found us the perfect house - and I say "found us" as it ended up not being listed, she knew the owners were going to be looking to sell, and that their house was exactly what we wanted, and was in our price range.

And we have kept in touch with our agent as well, she's now a friend. She's come over a few times to give us suggestions on renovations, and we are going over to her place for dinner on Saturday. She's met my parents, my husband's parents, and my best friend. I've met her husband and her kids.

I'd imagine real estate agents are a bit like teachers. Some of them you stay in touch with, others disappear after your business is done. It's a bit hit and miss.

As for recommendations, you always take it with a grain of salt, but you generally try to actually speak to people. We wrote our agent a recommendation on LinkedIn, and I have recommended her quite a few times to friends, and to a few people on here as well.

dbd33

Like plumbers, car park attendants and Hooters' girls.

SchnookoLoly

LOL. Exactly.

not2old

since this is a Real Estate (agent) question thread.

Something that I have never figured out & I would appreciate if someone could fill in the details - 'if its possible to negotiate the commission fee listing with a full MLS brokerage/agent'?

I see all kinds of ads on the web & in the media that brokers commission rates list from 1%, 3%, 5%, 6%,. Then a rate if the listing agents sells the property, a different rate if its another agent. There is non MLS listing or private listings which the seller pays the agent a different commission.

Since most listings are MLS, they can be found posted on realtor.com & other websites including the broker website. This gives the general public an overview of whats for sale.

Unfortunately unlike the US, the general public are not privy to what properties have sold for. That requires a call to an agent

dbd33

Yes. Last time around (two years ago) the agent opened with "4%, 3.5% if we find the buyer".

Oakvillian

I don't have statistics, but I know in one anectodal case how a single happy client as a buyer's agent can lead to additional business down the line. My brother-in-law used a buyer's agent (who was, incidentally, referred to him through a previous happy customer) about a decade ago. Since then, she has handled four purchases and two sales just in his immediate family, one of which was mine - and I know for certain has been recommended to at least four other individuals for either sale or purchase. If she treats all her customers as well as she treated us, and takes the time and effort to understand needs, wants, preferences, attitudes, etc, then I can imagine that the effort she puts in to do more than just sell "anything" have paid off by orders of magnitude more than the single commission payment from an unhappy customer.

And no, that agent wasn't HGerchikov (I hadn't had the honour of meeting her when we bought our house )

not2old

if its possible to negotiate the commission (prior to signing the listing agreement) - what can you negotiate, how & under what circumstances, how far down is the agent likely to drop the commission if you are only listing with them to sell the property & do not need them for a purchase, because I have seen & experienced agents that do the flat right 'no, its this %, take it or leave it'

Of course an experienced agent that has a high success rate selling properties in your area is the one you want to sell you property, not one from across town that doesn't know the area who is willing to drop the commission 1% from base just to get the listing

The precaution is 'are listing agents out for the quick list at 'what has sold in the area' price to get your listing, then be done with you?

As I see it, it involves a number of issues or variables as far as 'commission rate' - I could be wrong or totally off the mark

- The selling price $250,000 versus $1,000,000+ or it doesn't make a difference?

- That having them list your property, you will use them to find another one

- What the agent says they will do for you in terms of advertising (which costs money to them) & as a seller you want a quick sale at the highest price

- The agent that is just a straight 'listing agent' and couldn't give a crap, because they get paid anyway

dbd33

It all got very complicated, the listing agent was constrained by the need to split the commission with the selling agent (except where they're the same). I understood this to mean that 2% of the sale price was needed for that (regardless of the actual commission paid). It's usual in some parts of the country for the commission to be levied only on the first n dollars or at different rates by price band. In Ontario though it seems to always be a percentage of the whole price.

We ended up with a agreement that covered various combinations of agents (bought by client of independent agent, bought by client of agent from same brokerage, bought by client of listing agent). All the bidders for the listing offered something of the sort.

I suppose any arrangement is possible but what matters of course is selling the thing.

JamesM

I don't think I've kept in touch with any teachers.

Hooters girls on the other hand.....

not2old

thanks dbd33

So, some basic arithmetic....

Using $500,000 as a selling price for a single family dwelling (non condo) in the GTA

On the basis the agreed to commission is 5% (given full service name brand brokers want 6%), negotiated down, then the commission is $25,000 +HST.

As a seller, I want my property gone fast at the highest price & net maximum money in my pocket

We could list with a smaller brokerage, pay 1% less commission (from a 5%base), maybe have the property sitting for who knows how long & saving $5000

Or, we could go with one of those discount MLS brokerage, that basically list the property, sign in the lawn, its on MLS & save a few bucks in commission, with the variable 'did we get the maximum price'?

Since we've owned eight family homes since being in Canada, and at our age (less hassle the better) we're torn between the full monty agent or the cheapo 1% brokerage firm to save a few bucks on commission & possibly lower the price or accept an offer $10,000 less than we would if we went with a full brokerage .

JamesM

If you follow the logic in "Freakonomics" the agent isn't all that bang for your buck.

The value of your property will be determined by it's location and condition. As long as it hits MLS I wouldn't expect the agent to have any impact on value at all.

What I'd ask is if the agent is saving you any time for the various percentage rates and if the money is worth the time?

That being said I've never sold a home here (or anywhere) but I did enjoy some years of employment at UK's number one property website for properties for sale and to rent where I would deal with 200 Estate agents on an ongoing basis.

not2old

some logic in that, thanks James

At our age, we can ignore the agent's BS or hard sell to get the listing - of 'they being the best value for money' that the property wont sell if you don't use them', look at our stats & how big we are, or ' if listing with a discount brokerage the property wont sell'

The web has useful information, the MPAC property tax website the same, what you see on the many HGTV or real estate TV channels about 'staging a property' for sale, do a bit of fix up etc, as is speaking with neighbours or knowing over time what sells in your street at what price - to dialoguing with folks on forums like this one.

For us it may be slightly easier since we are not typical sellers, nor are we in a rush, no kids to move school or changing jobs

The 'listing agent' has a job to do, they get paid on what they sell - it serves a purpose for some folks

With input from above & JamesM .... sorted for us