No problem powayseller and I appreciate the exchange of thoughts. I work in an office (yes I actually go into my office everyday) surrounded by people that have been in the business for over 20 years. I hear the stories and have a fairly good idea of what can come down the line.
I’m a very analytical guy. My way of working with sellers is to do alot of analysis and provide them accurate data as to what is going on and what the trends are. Since most of my clients are well educated they can follow the data I provide them. Ultimately the choice as to how much risk they are willing to take is up to them but providing them an accurate picture is what I do best.
Interestingly, commissions seem to be trending up not down. While Help-U-sell and the other similar iterations of it have some good brokers most are pretty bad from what I see. I refer to the local guys in my area as Help-u-not-sell. Their success rates and falling and many of their claims are misleading. They post commission savings based upon 6% commission rates when 5% has been the market standard for the last 2 to 3 years. When you use someone like them you are saving 1 to 1.5% but generally end up with a overly priced property that is poorly marketed. When i take a listing, I invest about $1,000 the first week of my own money and continue spending on things that I know can directly influence the sale of said property. If it doesnt sell I lose. If the pay as you go, high volume guy fails you lose particularly in a softening market. The old timers tell me the discounters come and go every boom market. Without volume they perish and volume is declining. Real estate is nowhere near as profitable as the general public beleives and a very small % of realtors earn a decent living (over $50,000 net). Profitable real estate brokerages are even rarer from what I have heard. The big brokerages make their profits off ancillary services not real estate commissions.
As for me and my livelihood, I’m a pretty crafty guy. I am always on the lookout for business opportunities and am currently working on two small business ideas (one RE related and one retail business). I keep my costs low, live beneath my means and look forward to watching my children grow into good citizens of the world!
