FL MORTGAGE BROKER: LIST property to sell fast and save too

[Account Closed]

As a Florida Mortgage Broker for a long time now and like other Mortgage Brokers who've been in the business since the 90s, I've been involved directly or indirectly, on many thousands of purchases deals.

In this seller's market, if you can't or don't want to do a FSBO, here is what you do.

Instead of listing a bunch of steps in this initial post, I'll number them as we go.

STEP 1  

Contact a Buyer's Agent who does not have to split the 3% listing or 3% buyer agent sides of transaction with their Brokerage.  

So called "Experienced" agents that are still surrendering 25%, 30%, 40% , 50% to their Real Estate Brokerage are generally either new, part-time or don't have the mindset for this way to help investors sell property quickly and save too.  I ain't seen too many Employee millionaires and a 25%, 30%, 40% or 50% commission split with their Real Estate Brokerage will have an Employee Mindset as well.

Furthermore, serious investors should not be penalized & limited by a realtor's choice to work where they have to give up so much of the 6% Realtor Points to their Brokerage.

Contact a successful agent who doesn't have to split the Realtor Points with their Brokerage.  All they have to pay is a $300 to $500 per deal Transaction Fee or a $500 mo. fee to hang their Lic. and they keep 100% of the 6% Realtor Points Pie!

[John Thedford]

A seller MAY list with a discount brokerage. However, if an agent intends to work with a buyer, they ARE going to look at how much they are paid. I don't know any that want to work for pennies. I see new agents trying to play the low fee game, but the established agents aren't going to. Show me a rich agent that works for pennies:) In fact, show me agents that have LOTS of money unless they are investors themselves.

[Account Closed]

@John Thedford, keep an open mind.

Step out of your Realtor shoes and look at the following steps I'll be posting from an Experienced Investor's shoes, who needs to sell property quickly AND save a lot in Realtor Points too.  

[John Thedford]

 I did. There are plenty of flat fee no frills no service brokerages. However, if on the buyers end there is no money to be made, why would an agent try and sell the property. A full service may change say 6%, but flat fee maybe $500 for the listing but pay the sellers agent a fee of 3% or so. BTW--I make my money owning rentals and work less than most agents in my office, and probably gross more:)

[Account Closed]

@John Thedford, don't jump the gun, there's more to come and it works like a charm! 

[John Thedford]

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

@John Thedford, don't jump the gun, there's more to come and it works like a charm! 

 Really NOT concerned. As I stated, I don't work at brokering, but do work at buying income streams!

[Account Closed]

@John Thedford, understood.  Remember, this is for non-realtor Investors on BP to show them a new way to sell faster and save too

[Account Closed]

STEP 2

Once you have shopped realtors and a few you like, tell them you want to do a 3 month listing, with Buyer's Right to terminate Listing Agreement after 1 month.

[Account Closed]

STEP 3

$500,000 listing

Typical way sellers think they must list their home:

3% $15,000 Listing Agent (6 mo. listing contract)

3%$15,000 Buyer Agent

$30,000Tax Free Equity = approx. $45,000 of Gross Income

Better ways to list, sell and save

1%  $5,000   Listing Agent

3%  $15,000 Buyer Agent

2%  $10,000 Seller Saves

1%    $5,000  Listing Agent

3.5% $20,000 Buyer Agent

1.5% $7,500   Seller Saves

1%     $5,000   Listing Agent

3.5%  $17,500 Buyer Agent

0.5%  $2,500   Credit towards Buyer's Closing Costs

1%     $5,000   Seller Saves

1%   $5,000   Listing Agent

4%   $20,000 Buyer Agent  

1%   $5,000   Seller Saves

Fact: the vast majority of listings are sold by Buyer Agents who look through the MLS for listings in the area.Therefore, when Buyer Agents are searching a zip code and see that unlike all the rest, your property is offering 3.5% - 4% vs. the standard 3%, you can imagine the increased activity this can create.

[Account Closed]

disregard above

STEP 3

$500,000 listing

-

Typical way sellers think they must list their home:

3% $15,000 Listing Agent (6 mo. listing contract)

3%$15,000 Buyer Agent

$30,000Tax Free Equity = approx. $45,000 of Gross Income

-

Better ways to list, sell and save

1% $5,000 Listing Agent

3% $15,000 Buyer Agent

2% $10,000 Seller Saves

--

1% $5,000 Listing Agent

3.5% $20,000 Buyer Agent

1.5% $7,500 Seller Saves

--

1% $5,000 Listing Agent

3.5% $17,500 Buyer Agent

0.5% $2,500 Credit towards Buyer's Closing Costs

1% $5,000 Seller Saves

--

1% $5,000 Listing Agent

4% $20,000 Buyer Agent

1% $5,000 Seller Saves

--

Fact: the vast majority of listings are sold by Buyer Agents who look through the MLS for listings in the area.Therefore, when Buyer Agents are searching a zip code and see that unlike all the rest, your property is offering 3.5% - 4% vs. the standard 3%, you can imagine the increased activity this can create.

[Account Closed]

STEP 4

If your property is already listed, and you are not receiving Realtor Rebate on the Listing side, and need to increase traffic, before you follow the worn out advise to Drop your price, consider doing the following:

• Increase the Buyer's agents commission to 4% in the MLS 
• Enter a Buyer agent Bonus in the MLS
• Enter a Seller Credit to pay borrower's closing costs

When Buyer Agents are doing a zip code search and see that 4% and a Bonus,  it could be the Amityville Horror house on a sinkhole, you can bet it will be on their list to show! ha

Talk about a no brainer strategy to increase traffic!    

[Mike Cumbie]

@Account Closed,

If you are going with trying to find a listing agent who is only really going to put it on the MLS, then why not just pay a $500 flat fee listing service? Seems a whole lot cheaper to me than offering up 5K to the selling agent?

[St. Clair Grosvenor]

Great thread Steve. I have a question for you, not sure how familiar you are with different types of creative financing deals. I'm looking to get into lease option assignments, where I would be the principal in the transaction by having a signed lease option memo by the seller/owner.

 I want to do this remotely and I'm trying to understand how would recruit a knowledgeable, investor-minded real estate agent to be my 'boots on the ground' to show the properties that I would have an equitable interest in, into potential tenant buyers. 

What type of agent would I contact? How would I compensate the agent out of my option assignment fee? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Account Closed]

Don't be a naysayer until you try the above.  Oh, it works alright, and works really well too!

The only obstacle will generally be the listing agent.  Its always interesting when borrowers ask me to arrange this thru listing agents I've never met before.

It's common sense if you want to increase the traffic.

EXAMPLE: Instead of dropping the price in the MLS $5000 on a 300k listing, ...instead...try increasing what the listing pays in the MLS from 3% to 4% to ANY buyer's agent and their payday goes from $9,000 up to $12,000 and list $2,000 Bonus

Try it for 2 week and if doesn't work, then drop your drawers $5,000 in price Grandpa McRory!

[Account Closed]

@St. Clair Grosvenor, that is a lot to explain, but I do know exactly what to do and what not to do.

The issue always is, people try to 1/2 donkey it.  

Best you get with a Real Estate Attorney

[Mike Cumbie]

@Account Closed,

My point being, why don't you just pay a flat fee service $500 to put it on the MLS and offer 3.5 or 4% to the buyers agent? It is kind of why those services exist, they have been around for quite sometime.

If you still actually want someone to represent you..... do you want someone who couldn't get over a 30 day listing agreement as your "representation"? Anyone with 5 minutes of experience will tell you that all sellers believe that their house will be selling in 3 days for over asking. I tell FSBO's all the time to try and sell it for a couple weeks, then give me a call. If I find someone in the meantime I will bring them in if they agree to a buyers agent commission. If they put it on a flat fee service I work with it the same as a FSBO.

I guess I just don't know what you are gaining by hiring someone to sell it at a bargain basement price over a flat fee listing service? 

[Account Closed]

@Mike Cumbie, this is Florida in 2018.

There are 60 million baby boomers retiring and they ain't looking to move to your state for the cool winters!

BTW- Sunny outside here and can walk around in shorts, t-shirt and flip flops right now...how bout where you are? 

[Mike Cumbie]

Um.... That's great @Account Closed

But it doesn't answer why you are suggesting someone pays an agent to really just list it for $5,000 on the MLS when they can do that for like $500. There are flat fee services and full service companies. It sounds like you are creating a hybrid here. Which is fine, I am just curious as to what this hybrid you are designing does?

[Account Closed]

@Mike Cumbie, this is a quick process to sell this way. The rebate listing agent don't need to do too much after entering in the info into the Menu call the MLS as when the other many hundreds of buyer agents see 4% + Bonus,

...they'll be calling to bring their buyers to see the property!

Again, this process is simple.  Just consumers have been  "Trained"  like sheep, but once they do it, they're hooked on this saving startegey

[Tom Gimer]

Your groundbreaking idea for listing brokers is to reduce the listing side to 1% and bump the selling side?

In the other thread your big plan for selling brokers joining the Donner Party was to rebate most of the commission to the buyer.

[Account Closed]

Good morning @Tom Gimer,

Have you ever seen me advise lowering the 3 Points paid to any one that could bring a Qualified Buyer? No.  

This is for Listing a property, requiring a different strategy.  Instead of the Realtor Rebate savings from the Buyer Agent side, this is the same savings in Realtor Rebate on the "Easier Side", the Listing Agent side. 

The Realtor Rebate savings on the Listing side is what enables the seller to be creative on the buyer agent commission showing up in the MLS and all the other listing sites out there.

And we all know that when Buyer Agents see even 3.5% offered in the MLS, they'll find reasons to show the Amityville Horror house on a sinkhole! ha

Can you imagine when they see 4.00% offered and with a Bonus too?!

...OR

Stick with the old, worn out,..."look at me world, I'm desperate" strategy of Dropping the price!   

[Tom Gimer]

@Account Closed There is nothing new in your advice.

What's the story? You seem more interested in trying to tell REALTORs how to buy/sell homes than originating loans.

[Account Closed]

What are you even talking about @Tom Gimer ?  

This advice is NOT me trying to tell Realtors how to buy/sell homes.  Go back and read.  

All my advice if for the BP Investors, showing them different strategies using the massive savings available to them via Realtor Rebates when buying and selling real estate.

And you being a Title Agent, the next time you have a client whose purchase loan is falling apart due to lack of reserves or a seller who has a lien that pops up out of the blue and is tapped out on funds to close, I'll bet you that the very first thing you're going to think of in your mind will be....What?   Realtor Rebates!

That's right, for the rest of your career as a Title Agent, when you're part of a 500,000 purchase, you'll now look at the 800 pound Gorilla in the room sitting on a mountain of bananas, that 6 POINTS in Realtor Commission = $30,000  on the CD (closing disclosure) and always think to yourself... "D%^&m It, come on, time to come off some of those bananas Listing and Buyer Agent as Realtor Rebate can save this purchase!"

[Tom Gimer]

I would agree with you, sir, but your public position has been that REALTORs are egotistical morons who make too much money. 

It's tough to tell somebody they're an idiot and then in the same breath ask them to help you close your loan.

[Mike Cumbie]

"Have you ever seen me advise lowering the 3 Points paid to any one that could bring a Qualified Buyer? No. "

Just offering 3 points plus then giving them back to the buyer. So I guess in theory no you haven't.

I realize you have never sold a house for anyone else and in theory your ideas sound like they make sense, however they do not work in real life. This business fails out over 80% of the agents in year 1 and of those still around 80% fail in year 2.

If it was really just "stick it on the MLS and offer buyer agents another .5% while only taking 1%" do you think so many would fail? Trust me, if I could sell houses for $50 each and stay in business I would. If the way to do it was to undercut the competition, I'd be the lowest priced guy out there. The fact is its real work to sell houses.

I realize you think we are all in cahoots to charge 6% and sit around in fancy meeting rooms organizing how we can rip off people, but in reality any of us would undercut our competition if we could. It costs alot of money to be in this business and it takes alot of time and money to sell a house. If it was as easy as you say wouldnt everyone be successful as a FSBO? Would our industry even exist? Would less than 5% of agents still be around in 2 years?

[Account Closed]

Again @Tom Gimer, I'm not speaking to the realtors on BP.  

I think that why you can't understand how a Mortgage Broker could be pulling back the curtain on Realtor Rebate Savings is your assumption that I depend on realtor leads.

Just because all the Mortgage Brokers you have ever known are 100% dependent on realtor referrals, don't assume we all are.

I was able to shed those chains years ago!