Seller Commission Savings

 

 

Do you think Realtors charge too much? We do. We provide all the same services as a Realtor (without the gimmicks) and we do so for a lot less money. A listing broker will likely charge you at least 6% – that’s $33,700 (includes their $700 junk fee) on a $550,000 home. Our total costs if there is no buyer agent will likely be around $8,700 (including out of pocket costs for appraiser measuring service, photography and abstracting*). With Realtors, if there is no buyer agent they will charge you the full $33,700.   

 

Sale Price of Home: $550,000

 

Our Fee: $8,700 (includes out of pocket appraiser measuring service, professional photography, and abstracting)

 

 

Buyer Broker is Paid 2.5%: $13,750

Our Fee: $8,700

 

We have had 2 transactions in which our clients saved over $100,000 in commissions each.

 

We don’t have to split our fees with agents. Doug Miller owns the brokerage firm. And yes, we know how to market a home. And yes, we play nice with Realtors. We provide more and better service than Realtors (and we will never subject you to dual agency), and we have all the same tools that they do (auto scheduling, comp analysis, and so much more).

 

We detest Realtor open houses because they exploit sellers. Open houses do not sell homes – the statistics are abominable. And Realtors know this. They are nothing more than a platform for Realtors to engage in self-promotion to find buyers and sellers of other homes.

 

Now consider client-hosted open houses in which you, the seller, are looking for unrepresented buyers. If you find an unrepresented buyer (and our clients find a lot of them), you could save $24,000 on a $550,000 home. We don’t put signs all over the neighborhood. Instead, we strictly advertise open houses on the internet to buyers who are seriously looking to buy a home. If you find an unrepresented buyer (any buyer who has not signed a buyer representation agreement), you send them to us, and we refer them to a real estate attorney. We will do all the drafting and put the entire transaction together as your attorney. And unlike a Realtor, we do not charge extra for unrepresented buyers. There really isn’t that much more work.

 

Brokerage firms have a huge financial incentive to limit the marketing of your house to increase the chances of collecting a double fee. Let’s rephrase that. Realtors and their brokers will actually earn nearly a double fee if they limit the marketing of your house to just their firm.  “Office Exclusive” or “Private Network” listings are one of the most anti-consumer traps in all of real estate. Can you imagine a Realtor “advising” you to limit the marketing of your house? They will have all kinds of scripted and false reasons to lure you into these traps too. They will tell you that this is a way to try “aspirational pricing” or “test market” your house prior to putting it on the MLS. Don’t fall for it.  These are tricks to try and collect a double fee. It is their hope that they will sell your house during the “private network phase” of the listing and collect a double fee. Run away fast if your Realtor tries to sell you on this “exclusive service.” 

 

*Plus, typical out of pocket costs of $165 to have house professionally measured by an appraiser (few Realtors know how to measure a house and often advertise homes with incorrect square footage), $50 in abstracting (Realtors are not licensed to examine title – I am and I don’t charge extra for examining the abstracting work), $300+ for custom professional photography, and staging if you choose to hire a stager. We do not charge an “administrative” fee like Realtors do (typically $500-600).