Author Topic: Most of the work is done... Do i Need a sellers agent?  (Read 1320 times)

GoldenCoStache

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Most of the work is done... Do i Need a sellers agent?
« on: February 14, 2018, 06:03:54 PM »
Ive received (about to accept) a good offer and Im way out of town... Is there any benefit to paying an agent 2% to finish the sale?

Villanelle

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Re: Most of the work is done... Do i Need a sellers agent?
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2018, 10:23:08 PM »
If you have an accepted offer, you can likely get someone to do it for much less than 2%. 

When I bought a property from my father, we paid an agent to help with paperwork, setting up the lien (privately financed from him to me), etc.  We paid a flat fee of a couple thousand dollars, IIRC, which was far, far less than a 2-3% commission would have been. 

Jon Bon

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Re: Most of the work is done... Do i Need a sellers agent?
« Reply #2 on: February 15, 2018, 05:57:30 AM »
Lol,

You have already done most of the work!

No you don't need an agent. The title agency is going to finish the sale, just like they would if you paid an agent 3%.  So don't pay a guy 3% to do nothing!

Granted I dont know where you are, in my state you would not need one.

Finallyunderstand

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Re: Most of the work is done... Do i Need a sellers agent?
« Reply #3 on: February 15, 2018, 01:57:26 PM »
Title companies don't generally draw up and finalize contracts.  At least not in my area. 

You could contact a local attorney who would probably be able to do it cheaply and then send the finalized contract to a title company.  If you pick a national title company you should easily be able to coordinate closing in two separate locations if you're out of town. 

Rich on Money

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Re: Most of the work is done... Do i Need a sellers agent?
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2018, 02:30:32 AM »
If you have a buyer, then there would be very little to pay the sellers agent to do.  They are supposed to find the buyer, draw up the offer, and negotiate or your behalf.  If you have the buyer, you should be able to figure out how to do this by using an attorney that specializes in closings.  If you've bought houses before, this will be easier.

Now if a real estate agent reads this thread, you will get a different answer, one that puts money in their pockets!  If you use one, they would be doing very little work and getting a lot of money!  I would love to be that agent!

Linea_Norway

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Re: Most of the work is done... Do i Need a sellers agent?
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2018, 04:11:09 AM »
I my country you can get lawyers and estate brokers to give you a fixed price for setting up a contract and handling the sales of a house. That is nowhere in the vicinity of the 2%.

Jon Bon

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Re: Most of the work is done... Do i Need a sellers agent?
« Reply #6 on: February 16, 2018, 05:46:43 AM »
Do you have a signed contract yet?

Most states have a fill in the blank contract that everyone uses for residential real estate sales. If you have that filled out you 100% should not get a realtor. All you do is give said doc to the title agency and they handle the rest. In 60-90 days they give you a large check. Don't make that check smaller by including people who will just take money from you!

Good luck out there.

-JB

CowboyAndIndian

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Re: Most of the work is done... Do i Need a sellers agent?
« Reply #7 on: February 16, 2018, 09:49:59 AM »
When I sold my rental to my tenant, I did not get any real estate agents involved.

I did get a lawyer involved who talked to the tenants' lawyer, set up contracts, handled the escrow etc. BTW, this was in NJ, where it is traditional to use a lawyer.

My advice not to get a real estate agent. They are of no use since the buyer and seller have already met. You will just waste your money.

Using a lawyer (approx $1k cost) saved me so much of trouble. All I had to do was to show up at the closing and drive away with a check in my pocket!!

Fishindude

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Re: Most of the work is done... Do i Need a sellers agent?
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2018, 01:49:56 PM »
I have bought and sold a number of properties without realtor involvement.  The local title company typically handles everything for very fair charges.

Michael in ABQ

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Re: Most of the work is done... Do i Need a sellers agent?
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2018, 01:57:45 PM »
My parents sold an old farm to the neighbor recently and ended up paying a lawyer maybe $1,000 to draw up a contract on a $75k property. They called a few local realtors but all of them wanted at least $1,500 - $2,000 for essentially filling in the blanks since they had already negotiated the purchase price. The standard contracts that many people use are created by the realtor association so they couldn't find a free one to fill out online.

Finallyunderstand

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Re: Most of the work is done... Do i Need a sellers agent?
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2018, 03:48:49 PM »
Now if a real estate agent reads this thread, you will get a different answer, one that puts money in their pockets!  If you use one, they would be doing very little work and getting a lot of money!  I would love to be that agent!

I am a real estate agent going on ten plus years.  You can see how I responded above your response.  ;).  Not every agent is out to just get commission.  Some give good advice.