the Cost of Seller's Real Estate Agents

We hired a real estate agent to sell a home we own. After calling several different companys and inquiring about their services, we decided on a particular company that is considered a "discount" real estate company. Their commission policy is as follows; they have two different programs, the first one is a multiple listing service program where your home is listed on the local multiple listing service and also on various internet sites. The commission for that is 4.5% of the sale price of the home. The other program is a flat fee program; the home is not listed on the multiple listing service, but is on the company's website and advertised in various real estate books and magazines. The cost for that program is a flat fee that is based on the sale price of the home. If you list your home in the multiple listing service program and one of their agents actually sell the home, they will waive the 4.5% commission and only charge a flat fee. They do not charge extra for anything else and you only pay the commission or the flat fee when the home actually sells. After doing a lot of research we feel we chose an excellent company to list our home with. We chose to list it on the multiple listing program for more exposure in this slow market.

So far we are very pleased with the service we have received. During the initial phone call to this company, the agent we spoke with asked us many questions, such as, why we were selling, description of the house, if we had made any improvements, etc. She then made an appointment to come by our house to meet with us and discuss further the marketing plan and to further explain their different programs. She came by the next day and first took a tour of the house, making comments as she went along as to things we should change before listing. We then sat down and went over the comparable market analysis she had done to determine our asking price. Of course we thought we could ask a little more than what she suggested, however, after looking at the prices of our closest competition we realized she was right. She then took photos of all our rooms and took room measurements. She also took notes of things we told her, such as, new hot water heater, several rooms were recently painted, etc. We signed all the necessary paperwork and hammered the sign into the front yard. Our home has not sold yet, but we have had many showings and love the communication we get from the company. They send us post cards everytime we're advertised and always call us with feedback from recent showings. The market in this area is very slow, however we feel we made the right decision in picking this company.

I would have to say my number one tip would be to check with several agents at different companys and go with your instincts. Request that they back up the "salesman" spiel by putting everything in writing. The company we went with gave us a lot of paperwork explaining everywhere we'll be advertised, how they handle showings, how they communicate with other agents for feedback, etc. Some of the other real estate companys I spoke with just sounded like used car salesmen and when I asked if they had any literature with everything they were telling me in writing, I got a blank stare or they handed me a brochure that just said how great the company was! I also did not like how some other agents acted in an unethical way by bad mouthing other companys. Another tip would be to listen to your real estate agent. She had quite a few tips that I never would have thought of. One tip was to paint our tired looking front door and maybe put in a new light fixture on the porch. She explained that besides the "make a good first impression" rule, the buyers are always standing on the porch staring at the front door while the agent gets the key out of the lockbox. If the front door looks old and worn, they may assume that the rest of the house will have that same feel.