Real Estate Commissions

Sammy · 09-11-2009, 10:33 AM

I know it's negotiable but what is the going real estate commission in the lakes region?

fatlazyless · 09-11-2009, 07:42 PM

Believe it is six percent which sometimes gets "discounted" to five percent.

As you probably know, that 5% then gets split into four 1 1/4% shares between the listing and selling broker/sales person, and their realty office partnership, and other shareholders such as MLS or something.

tis · 09-12-2009, 07:17 AM

I think the most common rate is 5. Some are six. I know of one that is 4.
Most of them do not want to negotiate much at least in the beginning.

BroadHopper · 09-12-2009, 11:55 AM

I've heard of rates up to 8. Mostly around 5 in this area. This is tough to negotiate as there are fixed costs that RE brokers have to pay to the office. If the property is really expensive, i.e. Waterfront mansions, you can ask for 4 or even 3. But this is rare.

jrc · 09-13-2009, 06:46 PM

Negotiate and shop around, there are some very hungry agents out there.

TiltonBB · 09-13-2009, 06:55 PM

Two things you should remember when listing your house:

1. Sure you can negotiate a lower commission but which house do you think that the realtors are going to steer their customers to? Will it be the one that pays them less or the one where they will make more money?

2. Realtors commission splits with their office are negotiable. They make their own deal when they get hired and the split may change during the course of their employment. Not all realtors at the same firm have the same split.

Commissions may also change based on the price of the house. Typically the very high valued houses may have a lower commission rate.

Ropetow · 09-13-2009, 07:35 PM

Based on our experience buying and selling property, having an agent you can trust, and one that trusts you, is the key. We bought-and-sold three properties in the Sunday River area of Maine in the past 12 years and used the same agent for all six transactions. It got to the point where she could read my mind (admittedly a short book). The last transaction, last year, we just wanted 'out' as instead of using it as a year-round vacation home we were spending all our free time from May through the end of October on The Big Lake. We asked her what we needed to lower the price to (it had been on the market for maybe 5 months) for it to be 'gone'. She told us and said she'd have a firm offer in a week. She was wrong. She had multiple offers and we got a tad above our final asking price. Develop a positive working relationship with your agent and you are more than halfway home.

codeman671 · 09-13-2009, 08:39 PM

I have noticed that if you negotiate for a low rate you may suffer by lack of advertising. Some agencies such as the ReMax model pays the agents high commission rates depending on experience and the deal they cut when they signed on, but they have to cover their own advertising expenses and seat fees. If it is coming out of their pocket up front especially when things are slow you may not get a lot of advertising.\

Speaking from experience...

fatlazyless · 09-13-2009, 09:33 PM

Co-exclusive: fsbo & broker?

Is it possible to set up a listing contract so's the seller can try to sell his property fsbo, and also with an agent at the same time, so the owner is not liable for the broker's commission if it goes sold fsbo?

Stuck into the front yard, side by side, two signs for the same property; one a fsbo, and the other a local broker. Something you do not see too much!

Fsbo......do it yourself.....no 5% commission.

Broker.....better sale-ability......yes, 5% commission.

Bob M · 09-13-2009, 10:06 PM

We moved from Laconia to Gilford last summer. On the house that we bought in Gilford the seller received a 4% commission because the house was sold by the listing agent. On the house that we sold we had a 4 / 5% commission agreement. If the house was sold by the listing agent the commision would be 4%. If sold by another agent, even one from the same agency, the commission would be 5%. In our case another agent from the same agency found the buyer so we paid the 5% commission. I was prepared to negotiate a lower commission rate as I thought that 6 or 7% was the general rule. When I was offered the 4 - 5% arrangement I was quite pleased and felt that no negotiations were needed. The agent held a brokers open house as well as a general open house for the public. Our house was listed on the internet and was advertised in the local papers. The lower commission agreement had no bearing at all on the effort made by the agent or agency to sell our house. Our house was sold in just over three months and would have been sold even sooner had some work that we were having done been completed sooner. I will be happy to give you the name of the agent and agency if you send a private email.

LIforrelaxin · 09-14-2009, 10:39 AM

My 2 cents here. Having known several people in real estate over the years.... 5 to 6 percent is the normal commision...... Now your best bet is not to fuss to much over this, and I will tell you why...

1) as others have stated real estate agents have cost of advertising, being a memeber of their respect firm etc.

2) like most people they will do more if properly compensated.

3) Any good real estate agent when push comes to shove and a deal is incredably close, are willing to change the commision rate to get the deal closed. I have even seen real estate agents takes care of expenses to fix something.... a neighbor had a unsightly shed that needed to come down, a prospective buyer wanted it gone, the seller was not going to remove it..... this was all that was seperating the deal.... the buyer and selling agent, went in together and had the shed removed.... however if you have cut there commision rate ahead of the game, they are going to be less likely to help close the deal.......

ossipeeboater · 09-14-2009, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrc

Negotiate and shop around, there are some very hungry agents out there.

Make sure that you are choosing a hungry(ie aggressive) realtor not a hungry(starving for money) realtor. The one whose starving may offer you a better commission deal but I'd guarantee you in this market you will sell the house quicker and for more money from an aggressive sales person. Guy who works for me just sold his second home in 3 days for $30,000 more than the starving realtor he first talked to wanted to list it for because he chose the best and most aggressive agent in the market.

meredith weekender · 09-14-2009, 01:10 PM

In real estate you get what you pay for. You can find an agent / broker that will list your property right now for 4% and would probably list for whatever price you want. The bottom line is that the property will still be on the market in 6 - 9 months and then you will have to drop your price.

When selling you want to find an agent that has been selling properties in your area and/or subdivision. They will have the best knowledge as to what price you can get and what type of marketing it will take to get the sale done.

I have been buying and selling for 21 years now. I always list what we are selling with the agent that has performed the best in the area. I also offer to pay them 6% if they have to co-broke with another agent or 5% if they sell it in-house. An agent wants to make money and I agree with the fact that agents will steer buyers towards certain properties.

Marketing is key and you want to know up front what the agent has planned for the next 45 days to promote your property. If you are going to pay a good commission you want results.

jrc · 09-14-2009, 08:02 PM

OK, I guess negotiate is a dirty word in the real estate industry.

I had a lot of dealings with real estate agents and commission rate was almost never correlated to quality.

Although I'm sure some agents steer to properties with higher rates, in the end they just want to make the sale.

Get a fresh eager agent with a point to prove and a family to feed, price your property a competitive price and they will find a buyer. Just my opinion based on my experience.

Sammy · 09-15-2009, 01:35 PM

I would like to thank all of you for your advice. Two more questions:
Does any one know who the legal advisor is for the Town of Alton?
Can you recommend an attorney familiar with real estate transactions in Alton?
Thanks Sammy

Long Pine · 09-15-2009, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Can you recommend an attorney familiar with real estate transactions in Alton?

For our Alton property, we used Randy Walker from Walker & Varney in Wolfeboro. Fairly straight-forward transaction, but I was pleased with him and would use him again.

ishoot308 · 09-15-2009, 03:33 PM

One suggestion I could make is don't get locked into a 6 month contract with any realtor. Lock in for three months max then if you are not happy with their motivation or the way they are adverstising your place, you can find someone else.

Dan

09-11-2009, 10:33 AM	#1
Sammy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 73 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts	Real Estate Commissions I know it's negotiable but what is the going real estate commission in the lakes region?

09-11-2009, 07:42 PM	#2
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,527 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 296 Thanked 957 Times in 698 Posts	Believe it is six percent which sometimes gets "discounted" to five percent. As you probably know, that 5% then gets split into four 1 1/4% shares between the listing and selling broker/sales person, and their realty office partnership, and other shareholders such as MLS or something. __________________ ... down and out, liv'n that Walmart side of the lake!

09-12-2009, 11:55 AM	#4
BroadHopper Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Laconia NH Posts: 5,512 Thanks: 3,118 Thanked 1,090 Times in 784 Posts	RE rates. I've heard of rates up to 8. Mostly around 5 in this area. This is tough to negotiate as there are fixed costs that RE brokers have to pay to the office. If the property is really expensive, i.e. Waterfront mansions, you can ask for 4 or even 3. But this is rare. __________________ Someday may never be an actual day.

09-13-2009, 06:55 PM	#6
TiltonBB Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Gilford, NH and Florida Posts: 2,897 Thanks: 644 Thanked 2,153 Times in 900 Posts	Not Exactly Two things you should remember when listing your house: 1. Sure you can negotiate a lower commission but which house do you think that the realtors are going to steer their customers to? Will it be the one that pays them less or the one where they will make more money? 2. Realtors commission splits with their office are negotiable. They make their own deal when they get hired and the split may change during the course of their employment. Not all realtors at the same firm have the same split. Commissions may also change based on the price of the house. Typically the very high valued houses may have a lower commission rate.

09-13-2009, 07:35 PM	#7
Ropetow Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Rochester, NH / Bartlett, NH Posts: 322 Thanks: 228 Thanked 33 Times in 13 Posts	the agent is the key Based on our experience buying and selling property, having an agent you can trust, and one that trusts you, is the key. We bought-and-sold three properties in the Sunday River area of Maine in the past 12 years and used the same agent for all six transactions. It got to the point where she could read my mind (admittedly a short book). The last transaction, last year, we just wanted 'out' as instead of using it as a year-round vacation home we were spending all our free time from May through the end of October on The Big Lake. We asked her what we needed to lower the price to (it had been on the market for maybe 5 months) for it to be 'gone'. She told us and said she'd have a firm offer in a week. She was wrong. She had multiple offers and we got a tad above our final asking price. Develop a positive working relationship with your agent and you are more than halfway home.

09-12-2009, 07:17 AM	#3
tis Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 6,411 Thanks: 719 Thanked 1,381 Times in 957 Posts	I think the most common rate is 5. Some are six. I know of one that is 4. Most of them do not want to negotiate much at least in the beginning.

09-13-2009, 06:46 PM	#5
jrc Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: NH Posts: 2,689 Thanks: 33 Thanked 439 Times in 249 Posts	Negotiate and shop around, there are some very hungry agents out there.

09-13-2009, 08:39 PM	#8
codeman671 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 3,360 Thanks: 210 Thanked 764 Times in 448 Posts	I have noticed that if you negotiate for a low rate you may suffer by lack of advertising. Some agencies such as the ReMax model pays the agents high commission rates depending on experience and the deal they cut when they signed on, but they have to cover their own advertising expenses and seat fees. If it is coming out of their pocket up front especially when things are slow you may not get a lot of advertising.\ Speaking from experience...

09-13-2009, 09:33 PM	#9
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,527 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 296 Thanked 957 Times in 698 Posts	Co-exclusive: fsbo & broker? Is it possible to set up a listing contract so's the seller can try to sell his property fsbo, and also with an agent at the same time, so the owner is not liable for the broker's commission if it goes sold fsbo? Stuck into the front yard, side by side, two signs for the same property; one a fsbo, and the other a local broker. Something you do not see too much! Fsbo......do it yourself.....no 5% commission. Broker.....better sale-ability......yes, 5% commission. __________________ ... down and out, liv'n that Walmart side of the lake!

09-13-2009, 10:06 PM	#10
Bob M Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Gilford, NH and DeBary, Fl Posts: 51 Thanks: 1 Thanked 10 Times in 6 Posts	4 or 5 percent We moved from Laconia to Gilford last summer. On the house that we bought in Gilford the seller received a 4% commission because the house was sold by the listing agent. On the house that we sold we had a 4 / 5% commission agreement. If the house was sold by the listing agent the commision would be 4%. If sold by another agent, even one from the same agency, the commission would be 5%. In our case another agent from the same agency found the buyer so we paid the 5% commission. I was prepared to negotiate a lower commission rate as I thought that 6 or 7% was the general rule. When I was offered the 4 - 5% arrangement I was quite pleased and felt that no negotiations were needed. The agent held a brokers open house as well as a general open house for the public. Our house was listed on the internet and was advertised in the local papers. The lower commission agreement had no bearing at all on the effort made by the agent or agency to sell our house. Our house was sold in just over three months and would have been sold even sooner had some work that we were having done been completed sooner. I will be happy to give you the name of the agent and agency if you send a private email.

09-14-2009, 10:39 AM	#11
LIforrelaxin Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Long Island, not that one, the one on Winnipesaukee Posts: 2,827 Thanks: 1,017 Thanked 881 Times in 515 Posts	My 2 cents here. Having known several people in real estate over the years.... 5 to 6 percent is the normal commision...... Now your best bet is not to fuss to much over this, and I will tell you why... 1) as others have stated real estate agents have cost of advertising, being a memeber of their respect firm etc. 2) like most people they will do more if properly compensated. 3) Any good real estate agent when push comes to shove and a deal is incredably close, are willing to change the commision rate to get the deal closed. I have even seen real estate agents takes care of expenses to fix something.... a neighbor had a unsightly shed that needed to come down, a prospective buyer wanted it gone, the seller was not going to remove it..... this was all that was seperating the deal.... the buyer and selling agent, went in together and had the shed removed.... however if you have cut there commision rate ahead of the game, they are going to be less likely to help close the deal....... __________________ Life is about how much time you can spend relaxing... I do it on an island that isn't really an island.....

09-14-2009, 01:10 PM	#13
meredith weekender Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Meredith / Manchester Posts: 373 Thanks: 87 Thanked 83 Times in 56 Posts	In real estate you get what you pay for. You can find an agent / broker that will list your property right now for 4% and would probably list for whatever price you want. The bottom line is that the property will still be on the market in 6 - 9 months and then you will have to drop your price. When selling you want to find an agent that has been selling properties in your area and/or subdivision. They will have the best knowledge as to what price you can get and what type of marketing it will take to get the sale done. I have been buying and selling for 21 years now. I always list what we are selling with the agent that has performed the best in the area. I also offer to pay them 6% if they have to co-broke with another agent or 5% if they sell it in-house. An agent wants to make money and I agree with the fact that agents will steer buyers towards certain properties. Marketing is key and you want to know up front what the agent has planned for the next 45 days to promote your property. If you are going to pay a good commission you want results.

09-14-2009, 08:02 PM	#14
jrc Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: NH Posts: 2,689 Thanks: 33 Thanked 439 Times in 249 Posts	OK, I guess negotiate is a dirty word in the real estate industry. I had a lot of dealings with real estate agents and commission rate was almost never correlated to quality. Although I'm sure some agents steer to properties with higher rates, in the end they just want to make the sale. Get a fresh eager agent with a point to prove and a family to feed, price your property a competitive price and they will find a buyer. Just my opinion based on my experience.

09-15-2009, 01:35 PM	#15
Sammy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 73 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts	Thanks I would like to thank all of you for your advice. Two more questions: Does any one know who the legal advisor is for the Town of Alton? Can you recommend an attorney familiar with real estate transactions in Alton? Thanks Sammy

09-15-2009, 03:33 PM	#17
ishoot308 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Gilford, NH / Welch Island Posts: 5,932 Thanks: 2,290 Thanked 4,942 Times in 1,917 Posts	One suggestion I could make is don't get locked into a 6 month contract with any realtor. Lock in for three months max then if you are not happy with their motivation or the way they are adverstising your place, you can find someone else. Dan