This is a sponsored guest post.
When you are selling your home, you will probably want to find the perfect buyer who is going to offer you the price you are asking for. Of course, doing this without the help of a real estate agent is tricky, especially when they have contacts and information about how the market works. For this reason, many sellers find themselves hiring a real estate agent and paying high commission fees.
The good news is that it is possible to save money on real estate commissions, as long as you know what to do. Find out some of our tips for doing this here in this article.
What Are Real Estate Commissions?
Before you even think about saving money on your real estate commissions, you need to make sure that you understand how real estate commissions work. A real estate commission is a fee that a seller will pay for the home sale transaction. The buyer will not usually pay the fees as it will be the seller who pays the brokerage company who lists their home. This is then shared with the buyer’s brokerage company. This is something that you need to consider carefully when agreeing to the commission rate.
Real estate commissions can differ between agent to agent. It is important that you realize that these agents work on commission rates and so need the large commission to get paid. They don’t typically get an hourly rate or a salary and so they need to set commission rates to suit their lifestyles. There aren’t any set real estate commission rates that you should expect to pay so it doesn’t hurt to shop around.
Find a Discount Broker
One of the best ways to save money on real estate commissions is to find a discount real estate broker. While these might be a bit harder to find and not the typical route that people take, they can save you a lot of money. Many people are tempted to sell their home on their own, but this can lead to decreased sale prices and a trickier process.
When you choose to sell with a discount broker, you can get the best of both worlds with low rates and the same services that a Realtor would offer. If you can find a discount broker to sell your home for you, we suggest that you give this a try. Have a look online today and you might just come across a company that suits your needs without the large price tag attached.
Try to Negotiate
You will find that not all agents are willing to negotiate their fees with you, but some might. If you are serious about using their services and you are reasonable with your negotiation, you might just be able to save some money on the commission. Just like many other things in life, it doesn’t hurt to ask. At the end of the day, if your real estate agent is defensive and annoyed, you might be better off using a different company anyway.
Consider negotiating with the agent and you could save you some money that is better spent on decorating or even renovating your new home. If you don’t have much experience in negotiating with vendors, we suggest that you get some advice online. Don’t chicken out – negotiate and you could end up saving yourself a lot of money in the end.
Shop Around
As we have previously mentioned, real estate agents don’t always charge the same level of commission. The last thing you would want to happen is that you choose the right real estate agent that you find and end up paying much more than you should have. You should always be willing to shop around in order to find someone that is affordable and that will do a good job, like buyers agents Melbourne.
When shopping around for a real estate agent, you should look at some other factors on top of the commission rates. This includes the agent’s reputation and any previous sales that they have made. If you are happy with what you find, you should save some money and have a good experience. Don’t forget to tell the agent that you are shopping around as this could cause them to reconsider the rates that they have previously quoted you and could help you to save some money.
Check What You Are Getting
The final tip for those who want to save some money on their real estate commissions is to check what you are getting for your money. A real estate agent might quote you a high commission but is this worth it? Often, agents charging higher commissions are offering a better service and could actually get you a higher sale price in the end. Perhaps they are advertising your home in a luxury publication or they have contacts with a lot of money.
However, it should be noted that a higher commission rate does not always indicate a higher level of service. This is why checking what you are getting for your money is so important. If you can understand why the commission rate is so high and are happy to go with this, that is your decision to make.
Use These Tips
If you are planning on selling your home this year or next, we advise that you take on board all of the tips that we have given you in this article. Think about how you can spend some time researching local real estate agents in order to find one that is within your budget. If they are willing to negotiate on their price, this is something which you should do. We would always advise you to tell potential agents that you are looking at other companies.
Once you decide on the right real estate agent or broker for your home, you should be happy with the result. Don’t waste money on high commission rates as you’ll regret this in the future.
Images: Pixabay
