All Forum Posts by: Jason V.

Sure... another legalized RICO practice.  Excessively inflated charges because they know they can bill health insurance companies and Medicare, in particular, WHATEVER PRICE THEY WANT.  Uhh... yea....

Just as I avoid realtors and DIY for myself, I will also drive myself to the hospital too if I actually need surgery and ONLY if I need surgery.  Everything else can be fixed with iodine & time.  And $500 MY ARSE!  They were charging $8,500 for a 9-mile ambulance ride a decade or two ago.  Actually had a medical emergency with our baby last year.  We didn't need an ambulance whatsoever, but the wifey saw a cop and wanted to get his attention so that he would turn his lights on and get us to the hospital faster, safer.  What did he do?  He told us to wait for a ****ing ambulance, which delayed us 30 min.  No ****ing thank you.  DIY all day, every day.  Surgeons are the only real professionals.  Even attorneys can eat ****.  Another practice of knowing how to win every case from every side, but the "code of conduct" prevents them from telling anyone anything until they pay up.  Legalized RICO practices all around.

:sigh: I'm not saying that $500 is the appropriate answer, but that it's a possible deal maker.  She should be looking at that chart I posted above WITH her client... and they should be the best ones to determine how much she should be earning.  It's not my job.  I'm just showing the potential payouts between buyer and buyers agent that makes the deal go thru.  I'm counting 26 shades of signed, money-making contract there.

I think you guys are missing the flip side of this.... there's another realtor who spoke with me.  His clients are looking for something in this price range -- $100k.  He's been showing houses for 3 or 4 months.  He said he's "too invested" to just work for 3% and wanted more like 6%.

No. No. No.  If you can't make a living as a real estate agent by negotiating your commission downward to escape these "woulda, shoulda, coulda" moments, then they definitely don't need to be begging for more than 3%.  THREE is just a number.  Every homeowner and home buyer seems willing to negotiate to some degree.  Buyer budged around $8k so far.  I budged about $10k and avoided a typical listing broker in order to save myself ~$3,000... doing most listing agent work myself.  To say that the real estate agent couldn't budge to make her clients happy and get move onto her remaining clients, ventures.... is extremely short-sighted.  Don't look a gift horse in the mouth??  A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush??

If it weren't for MLS listing services, there'd really be no need for buyers agents. I'd just call the seller directly, because I could see their phone number. This "extra work" that realtors are doing is self-inflicted thru a legalized Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO). Transparent listing services are honest services.  Concealing is the nature of fraud.  Yadda... yada... Didn't mean to come here to rant, but who are buyer's agents really working for, again?

Buyer gave me a low-ball offer.  Then they came up to $95k all cash, saying that's the best they could do.  OK.... Well, I said $99k was the lowest I would go, considering the buyer's agent commission % is really coming off the top, right?  That would leave me with $96k.  I've determined I could budge another $1.5k, but I need $94.5k after everything's said and done.  Period.  So that means $97.5k is the lowest offer I can accept.

Even if the buyer & seller won't budge, the buyer's agent could simply agree to a 0.5% commission, close the deal, and buyer & seller would both be happy.  But there's really a whole range of percentages that the buyer's agent could agree to that are likely NEVER considered to be on the chopping block.  If a buyer's agent could drop to 1.4% commission in this case, then the buyer would only need another $900 which seems reasonable.  Everybody would be sacrificing to make the deal work.  Does anybody ever try negotiating the agent commissions when you're within a couple percent price difference??

I've come down as far as I realistically can.  $10k below asking.  Is asking the buyer to come up $1000, and the buyer's agent to come down $1,000 too much to ask for?  I mean... really, it comes down to how invested the buyers agent actually has been.  How much work did they really do?  What is their time worth?  $35/hr for 56hours = $1,960.  Buyer coming up $1,500 to cover that and buyers agent dropping commission to 2% could save her from another 56 hours of work...

Like I said, tho... there's a whole range of variable percentages that get us all to my rock bottom price.  Can I get anymore outside the box than this?!?  I'd imagine most negotiations aren't this tight.

After thinking about this.... if the inspector does actually find termites in an area localized to a known area of rotten wood, then we should just deduct the treatment amount from the contract price, no???  Treating rotten wood before selling seems silly, no?  They were already under the impression that the house is being sold "as is", needing some TLC work.... simply deducting treatment cost seems like the better choice so the work can be done correctly.

Am I right??

Concrete slab.... Brick or concrete exterior walls.... HVAC Inside Air Handler in the closet, not attic.... Prefer 1-story only...  Solid roof... Tight seals all the way around.... Wide enough sewer pipes to prevent blockage?

Had a cash buyer submit a low offer *and* they wanted me to pay for a termite inspection.  I told them to raise the offer and they pay for the termite inspection.  Their price is still more than $10k below my asking price, but they are now paying for the termite inspection.

It *should* be a non-issue... however, shortly after replacing my roof last year, I noticed a small, golf ball sized hole in a piece of soffit in the rear.  I ignored it for a month or so and then whadda ya know, a friggin' raccoon tore that hole open to the size of a fist (or maybe softball?  Haven't seen it in a year...).  I just patched it with a piece of plywood screwed around the hole after removing the coon & her babies last year and am now attempting to sell the home AS IS.  All potential buyers are very aware that all interior walls and rear wall outside need to be repainted, as well as the soffit and 2 or 3 pieces of exterior trim that will also need to be replaced.  I would rather them do it all, but they WILL NOT forgo the termite contingency even tho it'd only be $500?? for them to treat the localized area (if it's even a concern, which it might not even be a concern yet), which would almost be silly since they already know they have to replace that soffit and fascia anyway, which should solve the problem anyway, no??

My thoughts and concerns on the matter are....

- If the buyer pays for a termite inspection & there *are* termites in that localized area (the only area I'd expect them, seeing as how it's the only wood on the house I've known to ever be wet)... 

 (1)  Will a $500 treatment be enough to solve the problem, considering the buyers are aware that the soffit and fascia in that localized are already need to be replaced??  Replacing that wood is already on their list of things THEY will need to replace on their own, which would seem to me the real solution to the problem, not a treatment.  But how likely is it that a termite treatment alone on the local area would be enough to satisfy them?

 (2)  Would I possibly get a better deal with a potential termite treatment if I am the one paying for the inspection and shop around first?  I'll definitely be shopping around if it's found that there are termites, but should I just try to nudge the price higher and pay for the inspection myself, securing the same termite crew to inspect and do potential work.  Seems like that would be the better route, for continuity's sake.

But anything to save a buck, right?  There are so many ways to haggle, I didn't really see it coming down to termite inspection & buyer's agent commission coming down to the make or break point.  Thinking of asking the buyer's agent to consider dropping her commission in half if neither buyer nor myself are willing to budge on price.  For example, I've provided a number that is my bottom dollar $94.5k *after* buyer's agent commission, but they offered $95k *before* buyer's agent commission of 3%.  Neither of us are budging, so the only way to make the numbers work is if the buyer's agent agrees to a 0.5% commission.  Very likely she won't take it, but I'll see tomorrow.  Trying to figure out the best way to handle this termite inspection & potential treatment first, however.  Any tips or suggestions to smooth this process along??  Was trying to forgo painting, repairs, etc. to make things EASIER on me, but I don't know if that's actually happening.

I just signed up with the cheapest Flat Fee MLS site that was essentially just a "referrer" to ListWithFreedom.com ... but the referrer's site actually saved me around $50 over going directly with the main host site. In fact, I paid for 25 photos but was actually able to upload 48 without issue, which is a feature that costs $300 when purchase straight thru said broker... meaning I saved $150 in some ways, as the extra photos was the only feature I would've paid more for.

It's a PITA to fill out all the info & disclosures required for the MLS... however, I'd assume that I'd be filling out most of that info with a realtor anyway.  Need to know county, city property tax breakdown, dimensions of a few rooms, parcel ID #, etc.... but again, this is information that a listing agent will frequently leave up to the seller anyway.  I find it much more intelligible to just do the work directly myself.

One thing I'm really not sure of (but would like to know).... is how far is the Flat Fee MLS broker's "reach" over my ability to sell thru alternative avenues outside the MLS listing service that I'm paying them to list on??? If I list with them, they are for sure the "exclusive broker" for anything sold thru the MLS, and it's pre-negotiated that the buyer agent's cut will come directly out of the agreed upon price. They also made me sign TWO of the very same contracts that I cannot place a FSBO sign in my yard, it can only be the Listwithfreedom sign, which I can buy from them for $50. Understood, because I have a contract with them to exclusively use their sign and not a FSBO sign. However.... if I list my house for sale on Craigslist, FB Marketplace, Zillow/Trulia, etc.... am I still obligated to follow their rules of ME paying the buyer's agent commission?? I'm not sure if this is a grey area or not but would be sweet if someone could clarify.

BTW, it's apparently common knowledge that the buyer's agent commission sells more homes at the 2.5% to 3% mark.  Anything less doesn't motivate those realtors, and anything more doesn't really help you out anymore.  Once your commission rate is set, there's a site that says the buyer agent's commission is non-negotiable, however, I think it technically is if you go back and change it.  It could take 12 to 48 hours for them to update it, tho?  I dunno...

I have such indifferent thoughts to using a listing agent that I fail to see the value they bring to the table. It's my house. I cleaned it up. I took the pictures. I typed up my description, posted it to Zillow so far. Now that the wholesaler thing has fallen thru, I'll be using a flat fee MLS service to list it... in addition to FB Marketplace & Craigslist. Will probly even pay for a Pro membership here in order to list it in the classifieds here. Wouldn't mind an offer from a wholesaler that puts up $10k in earnest money.

And I will probly add $8k to $10k to the price since the MLS listing means I am including 3% for the buyers agent and the obvious lowballers. Simply getting it on the MLS will likely sell VERY quickly, as there's NOTHING that's really available, much less homes for under $200k. I will up my listing price to a whopping $112,700 minimum...

And for those asking if it's properly valued, I would say it is... but comps might be slightly lower for lesser properties.  Only 1 way to know, tho.  But I do know that there's hardly any properties in either of my local MLSes that are actually available.  Think that's good for me, even if interest rates are rising.

I can do everything a listing agent can do, but better and with less slack & less miscommunication.   I can list to TWO different MLSes for $350 total, Craigslist, FB Marketplace, and BiggerPockets classifieds for, what, $30 to $40?   $400 total and the property will get a legit offer, versus paying $3,750 for a listing agent to likely list on just ONE of the local MLSes.  Welcome to the 21st century, guys!!  I will take liability of the contracts into my own hands for a $3,350 savings....

@ Mike Hern,

Here's my Zillow listing.... Easier for me to just link there than filter out pics and attempt to upload them here.

https://www.zillow.com/homedet... 

His contract is extremely simple and one sided.  I see why he doesn't need to see the property, as he's attempting to retain the sole ability to cancel the offer up until the the day of deed transfer (seller has no right to cancel! Hahaha!!!)... and of course, he's trying to retain "unqualified right to assignment of third party" without any earnest money.  Looks like this offer isn't going to happen.

Good stuff.  He says title company can be from anywhere, doesn't need to be from state the property is in.  He also sent me a DocuSign contract that I haven't opened but will be reviewing tonight.

And you are 100% right... He's a "virtual wholesaler", and even specifically used the word virtual a couple times in reference to me asking if he was going to come look at the property in person or have somebody else do it for him.  He said my photos were fine (I had almost 60, from as many angles as possible).  He told me that he was interested in flipping it but after seeing that the comps are relatively low in the neighborhood, he said he'd buy it anyway and just rent it out.

Will definitely be looking out for those things in the contract, but you've got my gears turning about the earnest money.... who would hold that if there's no broker/ agent?!  10% seems rather high... but hell, why not?!  Seems like I'll need to be extra careful of the assignable contacts and proof of funds tricks, tho.   That knowledge is definitely worth a 6-pack of the finest beer, my friend!!

I'll be back after I finish reviewing the "virtual" contract.  I'm surprised it's not an NFT.  These are some incredibly weird times we live in.