03-20-2006, 10:08 PM
Yup. It amazes me how many people plan a house sale without considering it -- a friend of a friend is in a bind because the fee would eat the profit he thought he'd make by flipping a house. He's selling it FSBO, and it's over 120 days on the market now with not a single offer.
A good Realtor is worth the money. You might be able to do it yourself, or pay for some basic assistance, but right away you'll be reducing the number of people who'll consider buying your property. Somebody using a buyer's agent will probably never even hear about the listing.
A seller's agent can negotiate the fee. But remember, she has to give much of her commission over to her office/national chain. And if the buyers have an agent, they'll split that 6%. So maybe she'll get $2000, minus FICA and such.
On a side note, I don't get the taxes thing you and tenders are discussing. My sister bought a house last year, and after negotiating the price and terms, they also had to reimburse the sellers a prorated amount for the property taxes. It was about $5000. My sister thought she'd be able to write that off, but the guy at H & R Block told her no, she can't. Seems wrong to me, but I wouldn't know how to back up my gut feeling.
A good Realtor is worth the money. You might be able to do it yourself, or pay for some basic assistance, but right away you'll be reducing the number of people who'll consider buying your property. Somebody using a buyer's agent will probably never even hear about the listing.
A seller's agent can negotiate the fee. But remember, she has to give much of her commission over to her office/national chain. And if the buyers have an agent, they'll split that 6%. So maybe she'll get $2000, minus FICA and such.
On a side note, I don't get the taxes thing you and tenders are discussing. My sister bought a house last year, and after negotiating the price and terms, they also had to reimburse the sellers a prorated amount for the property taxes. It was about $5000. My sister thought she'd be able to write that off, but the guy at H & R Block told her no, she can't. Seems wrong to me, but I wouldn't know how to back up my gut feeling.