All Forum Posts by: Arthur E.

@Jay Hinrichs, this house is located in Michigan.

Thank you, @Richard Recuset.  I pretty much agree with everything that you said.

@Richard Ball, yeah, my lawyer over there is a real estate lawyer.  I've worked with her several times.

"BUT as a Realtor I am 1000% confident that there has been at least 1 (probably more) deal that you've bought where she has worked her tail off for a commission that did not reflect her hard work." 

Interesting, @Richard Ball. I've only ever bought two houses in my life and only one of them was from her. We should have bet on this!

Also we haven't agreed on anything yet.

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@Joel Owens, for the time being I likely won't have any future business transactions with this agent.  I don't see myself buying any property in that area again.  The reason I went to this agent and began this discussion with her is because she's the agent I used when I bought the house and I really like her.  I don't know anything about the ins and outs of working with a title company or processing a purchase order, so that's why I posted this thread.  I want to make an informed decision.  If it's in my best interest to use the agent because she's going to be able to look out for specific things then I want to do that.  However if there's not justification for that and $550 paid to my lawyer gets me to the same place then I really need to do that.  I really need every penny I can get right now.

@Joel Owens and @Russell Brazil, the sale price is $175,000. 3% of that is $5250.  The person buying it has lived there for over 5 years. All we need is the transaction processed.  All of the negotiating has already been dealt with. What I'm doing with the money after I sell or why I'm selling right now isn't really relevant to this conversation. I need to sell it because I'm broke and I bought a dilapidated 4 family in a different state where I now reside. My lawyer says she'll charge me $550 to "deal with a closing which includes drafting the purchase agreement, dealing with the title company and reviewing closing documents." So my question is what is the justification of paying an agent $5k to do what my lawyer says she'll do for $550? If there are justified reasons, I really want to know what they are.

@Joel Owens, I appreciate your enthusiasm!  Please know that I posted this topic because I wanted to figure out what the community feels is appropriate for my situation.  This includes getting input from brokers and agents.  Going into this I didn't understand what was involved with processing a sale after it was all negotiated.  All the back and forth on finding a buyer and negotiating price has been taken care of, so I'm sure you could imagine that from my perspective I need to make sure I'm paying my agent appropriately for what she's going to do for me.  3% of this deal is $5250.  Do you believe that is the correct amount of money to be paid to an agent that's going to process the purchase agreement and work with the title company?  I just got a response from my lawyer about how much she would charge and she said "I charge $550 flat fee to deal with a closing which includes drafting the purchase agreement, dealing with the title company and reviewing closing documents."

In the end, I want to do right by my agent.  I like her very much.  But I also need to protect my bottom line because I'm absolutely struggling financially right now.

Honestly, how much do you really think this transaction is worth?

How many hours of work do you think that would be, @Neal Collins?

It should also be said that I have a very good relationship with this agent and I am very interested in making sure that she's paid correctly. I don't want to do FSBO...I don't have time to learn how to do a 4th job.