All Forum Posts by: Jacob Bindler

While i am totaly agree with Patrick about need to sometime hire "true professionals" I am not buying the unspoken premise that this professional must be an agent. Lawyer would do this for less money and better. 

I have not worked with sell side people. Buy side fees in NJ, NY are from 1300 to 1800 depending on complexity. Your area is probably different. I woukd just call 4 people and asked for the fixes fees.

You will need an attorney anyway. Your state might not require it, but you really should use him/her to go over contract deal with escrow, closing and so on. So, I would go ahead and pick an attorney for the transaction telling him that the offer letter is a part of the deal. Get a fixed price for everything payable at closing. 

in my area tenants are used to paying brocker's commission, so when I get lazy I go with them. Being a bit paranoid I usually make sure they do their marketing job by verify that the postings are up and pictures are good.  If I think that the unit is priced high and I want to make it easier for the tenant financially I try to do it on my own. In addition to what you mentioned I post fliers on the poles and place adds in local papers. You can hire someone to distribute fliers for very little on one of the freelancing sites like taskrabbit or thumbtack.

Are you selling or renting? I am developing a platform to help people sell without an agent. It is not live yet, but i would be happy to give you my 2 cents. 

"racketeering" is pretty strong word for an industry where agents have no monopoly or market power. I would bet a good bottle of whiskey that in the history of this country there was not a single agent convicted or even sued for talking about it. 

Bill should have just said that he does not want talk about it. 

Brett, not sure i understand how giving this advice is any different for insurance purposes from what you do as a matter of business. I also am 100% sure people would do it for the right pric

Brett, let me ask you a question. Would you consider advising a potential FSBO seller on how to price the house if he offer you one time fee? Kind of rhetorical question because you obviously will at the rite price. So, what is this price? Let's set you know the area and all you need to see the place and possibly a bit of research. Would it be 300, 500, 1000, 5000, %?

I do not usually get representation on buy side and deal with the listing broker directly. Usually it means double commision for him/ her and i get the best treatment and most likely the property ( even if there are bidding wars and myltimple offers). So, thr next step aftervi gotvit is to go to the contract and contingencies. This is when I try to play double commission game: I use inspection results to come up with something and ask for credits for the seller. If the seller refuse I suggest the agent gave up a piece of his compensation. The piece has to obviously be reasonable, make some justification and be less then buyer's part. I got it in two instances. The agent will face a choice to risk more. Depends on your negotiating skills.

What do you know about compensation structure for the agents working for discount and flat fee brokers that invest in promote their brands? Are they compensated more as base salary or commission is still the bulk?