If you do not want to pay the commission. Sell it yourself. Earn the commission for yourself. No problem, so simple. Just give it a try.

David, if I hadn't of just got back from Iraq and have to be in CA next month I might have given that a try, but I have to get things moving quickly and don't have the time to learn how to sell a house. The next house I sell I will likely sell myself.

Bill

I have no problem paying a top dollar commission to the movers and shakers. Remember, 95% of the homes are sold by less than 10% of the Realtors. Find those in this category, sign the agreement and let him/her do their thing.

quote:

Originally posted by DavidA:
If you do not want to pay the commission. Sell it yourself. Earn the commission for yourself. No problem, so simple. Just give it a try.

It typically doesn't work that way. Buyers are pretty savvy these days. They know a fisbo (for sale by owner) is saving on the commission, so they invariable start negotiating minus that amount.

Also, you have to contend with the paperwork yourself. That can be pretty daunting. If you miss something in the disclosures, etc, it can come back to bite you, big time.

There's also the advertising aspect. Realtors are automatically plugged in to every advertising venue under the sun. Fisbos usually get a sign for the yard and an ad buried in the paper.

Not a good idea.

quote:

Originally posted by tomhenry:


Also, you have to contend with the paperwork yourself. That can be pretty daunting. If you miss something in the disclosures, etc, it can come back to bite you, big time.

And I think that is the even bigger problem. It's like everybody in the county has their hand out for a piece of the action when you buy or sell a piece of property. Title searches and insurance are a good example. We all know that all they do is go look as far back as the last sale (if they even do that) For this you get charged multiple hundreds of dollars, as if actual work was done. Document preparation fees are another joke. All of it is virtually boilerplate that is stored on the hard drive. Yet you are charged like it is done by a bunch of monks drawing illuminati. Then there is surveys vs. GPS.

There is no logical reason that the disclosures should require any special knowledge of the industry. The real estate "industry" works extremely hard and bribes a lot of politicians to ensure that they remain concealed by smoke and mirrors. They liken themselves to alchemists.

bribes.....yeah "sure" thats what they do, lobby yes, bribe I think not.....but whatever makes you feel good

there can be some real work on some titles others are simple as can be

quote:

The real estate "industry" works extremely hard and bribes a lot of politicians to ensure that they remain concealed by smoke and mirrors. They liken themselves to alchemists.

I was being a bit of a smart Alec. I am retired now but was a Real Estate Broker (I did not sell or list property but was an Appraiser for years). Most recently I was a State Certified General Appraiser and held two designations from the Appraisal Institute. I was making the point that the selling Broker has knowedge and contacts that the "average Joe" does not have. The "average Joe' can do it but it will take lots of time and blood-sweat and tears. Don't degrade the Brokers too much. Try to negotiate a slightly lower commission. Semper Fi, mtb1bkr, I understand that you need or needed to get the property moved. If I were still an active Broker, I would have tried to help you out. Thank you for your service.

quote:

Originally posted by Landpimp:
but whatever makes you feel good

You are correct. I got sarcastic and for that I apologize. It is too serious an issue. Part of what caused that is I live in Memphis. If you come here, I can show you a veritable list of shady deals including one that was a supposed land swap of wetlands that caused the closing of a 100 yard public range. Now there are buildings on the former wetlands; nobody can seem to decide where the wetlands were that were "swapped for"; and a massive contribution was made by the developers/realtors to the campaign fund of the county mayor. That to me smells like a bribe.

Buying and selling a house is probably the biggest and most important financial transaction most individuals ever do. It should be an open and transparent process that inspires confidence in the customer. I truly do not believe that the state of the industry is such that the openness is there.

In 1994-1998 I participated in a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) move of a major military command. In the Command Climate Surveys following that move, real estate services came in second only to Tricare screwups as a dissatisfier. Tricare's excuse was it was new. Admittedly that was 10 years ago; however, I do not think there has been an intervening reformation of industry practice. The current mortgage banking debacle is pretty good evidence of status quo.

While the SEC certainly does not have that great a level of confidence and success, as an individual it would be gratifying to me to see that level of scrutiny applied to the real estate industry, and I include in that all of the hangers on, such as title, mortgage, etc.

That's my opinion and obviously differs from your. To be sarcastic again for a moment, I believe a lot more people share my concerns and doubts than ones who have their agents on their Christmas list.

Since I am part owner in a real-estate firm and I have a brokers license.I dabble in real-estate my forte is commercial stuff.
I also have a full time job that does not allow me the time to do real-estate full time. I have my own customers that are peat and repeat customers they call and ask for me. Usually they call me at home. I do a lot of work for a couple architects/developers they build turn key type stuff. Large shopping malls, office complexes, hospital complexes. My job is to find the land. Usually it is land that is not for sale or not listed for sale. The land that is listed for sale may not suit are needs, wrong location, property does not fit the bill etc. So I have to find the land and put the deal together. By doing this I meet a lot of people.
If you need any help just post plenty of knowledgeable people on the forum who are willing to help.

I have started looking at houses in CA so we can get an idea of what we will be looking at. Does anyone know if there's a way to search for the tax info on a house in CA. I know here it's puclic info, but I want to look at some of the places in CA. I haven't been able to find the info available online.

Thanks,
Bill

quote:

Originally posted by mtb1bkr:
I have started looking at houses in CA so we can get an idea of what we will be looking at. Does anyone know if there's a way to search for the tax info on a house in CA. I know here it's puclic info, but I want to look at some of the places in CA. I haven't been able to find the info available online.

Thanks,
Bill

Bill, go online and find a realtor in the area in question. They will help you with no strings attached. They can provide you with the information you request and will do so only with the hopes that you will utilize their services when you arrive. It's a no-lose situation for you.

They will find the information for you. Then, you can go ahead and purchase a home sans agent.

quote:

Originally posted by tennexplorer:

quote:

Originally posted by tomhenry:


Also, you have to contend with the paperwork yourself. That can be pretty daunting. If you miss something in the disclosures, etc, it can come back to bite you, big time.

And I think that is the even bigger problem. It's like everybody in the county has their hand out for a piece of the action when you buy or sell a piece of property. Title searches and insurance are a good example. We all know that all they do is go look as far back as the last sale (if they even do that) For this you get charged multiple hundreds of dollars, as if actual work was done. Document preparation fees are another joke. All of it is virtually boilerplate that is stored on the hard drive. Yet you are charged like it is done by a bunch of monks drawing illuminati. Then there is surveys vs. GPS.

There is no logical reason that the disclosures should require any special knowledge of the industry. The real estate "industry" works extremely hard and bribes a lot of politicians to ensure that they remain concealed by smoke and mirrors. They liken themselves to alchemists.

The paperwork to which you refer is a part of the overall closing process and is not a mechanism of the real estate agent. You're going to go through that in every scenario, except maybe for a total cash purchase price sale. If you go through a lending institution, there's going to be a lot of paperwork.

It also depends upon the type of financing. For example, a VA requires a mammoth amount of paperwork and rules.

But as for the rest, you're full of misconceptions. Real estate is currently one of the most severely regulated industries in America. That's because of past abuses. And, real estate agents do not bribe politicians to get concessions.

If agents were bribing politicians, we would see a heck of a lot more perks to being a realtor. As it is, it's a tremendous amount of work with not so great returns.

quote:

Does anyone know if there's a way to search for the tax info on a house in CA.

Try www.zillow.com

I own and operate a Real Estate Agency in Northern Maine. As in all professions there are good and bad agencies, and good and bad Real Estate people. Here are just a couple of tips to separate the two pretty quickly.

1. Try to make sure that the company you are enlisting to sell or buy a home for you is a member of the National Association of Realtors. As Realtors we are held to a higher degree of professionalism, and are held accountable for all of our actions. We also use standardized listing agreements, disclosure forms, Lead Paint Addendums etc.. This makes it easier for the closers, appraisers, and other agencies to determine condition, values and a host of other vairables that will ultimately lead to the stress free sale of the property.

2. Any commission is negotiable. The general rule of thumb is land is 10%. Commercial properties are 8%. Residential properties are typically 6%. You and your agent can however set any commission at all that is acceptable to both of you. We handle residentials for everything from a flat fee to the full rate. Some agencies discount, some don't. Ask before you sign.

3. The cheapest agency may or may not be the best. How many properties do they sell? Where do they advertise? How large is their internet presence. (90% of folks looking for homes use the internet, even locally.) (74% of the sales in our agency for the last 3 years came via the internet). What's their reputation? How does the agent look? Is he or she sharp? Well dressed? Interested in your most valuable possession? Do they have
a marketing plan in place that is tailored specifically for your home?
Are they a full service agency? Do they have a great chance of moving your property or are they just out to "Buy the Listing"?

4. "Buying the Listing" Some agents, and agencies just want to build up an inventory in the hopes that somehow, or someway, somebody will come along someday and buy your most valuable and cherished possession. A good Realtor will have prepared for you a CMA. (Comparative Market Analysis) This will show you comparative properties that have sold in the last few months, in your immediate area, the price, and exactly how long they were on the market, their condition, the agency that listed them, that sold them, and other important information. It will also show you what is on the market now and how it compares to your property. An agent out to "buy" your listing will tell you essentially anything you want to hear to get that listing. If you think your home is worth 300k and it's really only worth 250K, a good agent will tell you this, and back it up with solid facts. A poor agent may tell you "Oh, I think thats a little low, lets put it on the market for 320K We've got lots of buyers right now." YOu've just "sold" your listing to the agent who quotes you what you either wanted to hear, or more than the other agents told you it was worth. Probably about 3 months into the listing period when your home hasn't shown and your agent won't return your calls you'll realize you've been had. A good agent will back up what he or she says with solid facts and the Agency they represent will have a solid reputation and solid sales to back up that agent.

5. Good Realtors earn their commission. Typically a good agent can return you about 16% more than you can get yourself. Not every time, and not in every market, but usually. How? Several ways. First is advertising. My company is on 6 primary websites and on 12 secondary websites. We advertise in Newspapers and Real Estate handout publications like you see in restaurants, motels and such. We work with a lot of relocation companies. We post signs, We have a talking house program. We hold open houses, both for the public and other Realtors. We work with (co-broke) with all other agencies in case they have a buyer that we don't. We split commissions regularly and cheerfully. Our job is to sell your home as fast as we can for as much as we can. We tap buyers from literally around the world. We remove a lot of liability from the seller via meticulous paperwork and forms that clearly limit and protect the seller. We help the buyer by steering them to a variety of different financing institutions and many different financing mechanisms such as Rural Development loans etc. that they may not know exist. We protect the seller by having the buyer put down "Earnest money"deposits, by scheduling and attending appraisals, numerous inspections, secondary inspections, showings etc. to represent your interest. We will continue to show your property even after it's under contract in case your buyer backs out. (Yes, we tell the potential buyers that the place is under contract. Many aren't interested, but some want to be notified if something does go wrong with the buyer.) to
prevent a bad buyer we
will only show your home to qualified, pre approved buyers. No tire Kickers!!! WE
help
protect you and your family. We will not show a home unless somebodys pre-approved. We will not put a home "Under Contract"unless buyer is fully approved for their loan.

The above tips are just off the top of my head. Sorry for the long post but good Real Estate people really do work hard for their clients, they really do care, and they are out to build a reputation as the best. Word of mouth is the best advertisement anyone can have. Remember,
it's your home. You have control. Your agent should work WITH you and FOR you. Remember the agency only gets paid after you get paid.

The lenders are the ones who require and create all the paper work title searches, surveys, insurance, etc. Realtors could careless about that stuff. Unless I am the one doing the financing then I would check out the property. When I represent my clients I scan over the paper work(closing documents). If I find any discrepancies I bring it to the title companies attention. Most title companies are pretty good. However again it is the lenders who create this crap. As the broker I have to sign off on several things no big deal. Most of the closings I go to I am in and out in of the closing in 20 to 30 minutes tops usually less.