Less Real Estate Commission

In another article that I did recently, I talked about less real estate commission but from another point of view. The article was called Atlanta Discount Realtor. In that article I looked at the word discount and we found that Webster’s dictionary defines discount as “something that is less than retail value”. I pointed out that unless you are listing your home and paying an 8 or 10% commission, you are paying a discounted rate as 8 and 10% commissions are the highest rate of commission that I have ever heard of.

However, let’s talk about less real estate commission from a different point of view. Let’s talk about the math that has to happen for you to get you home sold. Most buyers in today’s market, or any other market for that matter, expect to negotiate the sales price that you are asking down to a lower price. That is regardless of whether that price is accepted in terms other than the sales price like the seller paying closing costs or giving discount points for the mortgage. So, with that being said, let me walk you through the average deal.

Most buyers offer 10% off the list price on the first round of negotiation. And, let’s say that you as the seller have agreed to pay the listing agent 6%. The first offer that you are looking at is now equal to 84% of your asking price. Is that acceptable? Most people say “NO”. Okay, so you negotiate further and you come to agreement at 95% net from your sales price. But then when you add the 6% commission that you agreed upon when listing it, you are now at 89% of your asking price. Most of the sellers that I talk to still say that that is way too much off the asking price. You see, the simple truth is that selling a home or condo is costing you way too much money these days.

89% of the asking price is 11% off retail value which was calculated based on a slight appreciation in most areas of Atlanta and represents 3 to 4 years worth of appreciation. Now remember, this whole time you have paid taxes and maintenance to be able to add the appreciation rate onto the home.

So, let’s talk about another way to sell your home. At Duffy Realty we sell homes for $500 and .0034 of the sales price at closing. This saves at least 2.5% of the commission on the listing side if your home is over or around 300K. If you home is around 800K and above, you are really saving money. The $500 is so low that it doesn’t move the percentage, so what you are really paying is the .0034 of the sales price when it sells, saving the seller even more money. And with Duffy Realty’s Buyer Magnet System, if a buyer comes to you, one that is not working with an agent, you have even more savings because you keep the commission you are offering out. And this is the 3% that most of my clients offer to the buyer’s agent in the MLS. So, in that case you save 5.5% of your equity. And you can drive a Mack truck through that spread, allowing you to accept more offers when they come in, quicker.

You have to view more details on Duffy Realty of Atlanta so that you can get the full scope of what I am talking about. It is important that you know how you can save at least 1.5 years of your equity just by being smarter about how you market your home.

The best part of my service is that you can experience the same results that my other 7,000 clients have experienced. These 7,000 clients have successfully sold their homes and saved thousands of dollars doing it. Quicker time on the market, more money in our seller’s pocket to realize more profits, or the ability to offer more concessions to the buyer or dangle more commission to buyer’s agents is what makes the deal work.

How To Make Money On Your Home

Making money on your home is key to many of you. My clients report that they simply would not consider owning a home that they did not make some profit on. The thought of taking a check to closing is repulsive. Here is what I want you to know about making money on your home.

The obvious things about home ownership that make you money…

 The whole time that you live in a home, if it is your primary residence, you are saving on your taxes. In other words, you can either use your money to pay for a place to call your own that you are buying, or you can pay more taxes.

 The home ownership experience lends itself to your higher self-esteem. Self-esteem will lead you to making more money in all aspects of your life.

 The home gives you a place to do all of your handyman experiences on your own dime with your own result of profit, or not.

 As your mortgage payments are made over the years, your equity stake in the investment in your home, in most cases, will rise and your debt will fall.

But, on to how to make money on your home…

 Keep your home maintained the whole time that you live there.

 Keep your home clean and especially clean it well when you are selling it. Clean homes make 3 to 4% more money than dirty homes.

 Market your home at a high price instead of what your naive neighbors or low-balling agent of the neighborhood recommends. Go with your gut and go high. You will never get a high price if you don’t ask for it.

 Sell your home with a listing company that has low listing commission fees. Most homeowner’s profit is used up in selling commissions. You now have alternatives.

 Sell your home Staged and maybe throw in some furniture.

 Get every tool available to make your home look its best on the internet. Virtual tours, Staging, Videos and anything else that you can find. The first showing to potential buyers is on the internet. By the time that the buyer comes to your home in person, it is really the second showing.

 Offer a home warranty in lieu of some of the inspection items. If this is not enough for the buyer, tell them that you will give them 5 service call deductibles to cover future costs.

 To make a good deal on the sale of your home, it is imperative to make a good deal when buying it. Use an experienced agent to help you buy. They are a valued resource and cost you nothing. In fact, in my company we split out our commission with our buyer clients for helping us find them the home.