You're selling your home as a FSBO (for sale by owner) and you
get annoyed when real estate brokers call you, right? That's a
reasonable response when you're doing all the work to market
your property to save thousands of dollars in broker
commissions. However, when a "buyer broker" calls, you might
want to listen.
Why Listen
To understand why I say that, we need to understand the
functions of "listing brokers" and "buyer brokers." Real estate
brokers can and do serve both functions, though some specialize.
Some brokers who call you are interested in listing your home.
They want to market your home for you. The amount of commission
charged for this service varies, but where I live, most brokers
list homes for a commission of 6 percent of the sales price.
When the home sells, if another brokerage firm has brought the
buyer to the deal, the listing broker pays the selling broker
half or 3 percent.
When you're successfully operating as a FSBO, you're getting
folks to come and look at your house, or condo, or whatever, and
you don't need a listing agent. However, what if you've been
doing this for a while and none of the lookers has been
converted to a buyer? What then?
Well, if a broker calls you and says he or she is working with
buyers and they'd like to be able to show your home, maybe you
should consider it. They probably only expect about half the
typical listing commission. That still allows you to save
serious money. Perhaps you can even negotiate down a bit from
half. This is especially true if your home is appropriately
priced above the average price for a home in your area. In my
area where 3 percent to a selling broker is frequently
acceptable, I've seen brokers accept 2.5 or even 2 percent. It
doesn't hurt to ask.
As a bonus in that situation, you get someone who is
knowledgeable about the process with an interest in getting the
deal to settlement. True, they don't represent you. They
represent the buyer, but the buyer wants your home and the
broker wants a payday. In short, the buyer broker has incentive
to put an oar in when problems arise.
Don't misunderstand me. I'm not for one second suggesting that
you pay more than is necessary to sell your home. At first, take
names and phone numbers of "buyer brokers" who call you. Then,
if you find you need to, call back the ones who impressed you.
There is a middle ground between going it alone and listing with
a broker. If you find you need to, this middle ground can be
worth exploring through buyer brokers.
More Information:Visit
http://www.fsboamerica.org/ for more details.
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