Information Archives - East Texas Real Estate Group

How Commission Works

Commission: Everybody Wants a Piece

When you go to sell your house and see an agent’s expectation for a 6% commission, it might strike you as ridiculous. On a $300,000 house, 6% is $18,000 dollars! “This agent is ripping me off and getting rich!” you might fume. But that’s not the case, and the infographic below does an excellent job of breaking down just how much money each agent actually makes from a single house sale.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”#dd1f1f” class=”” size=””]Spoiler: it’s not as much as you think. [/perfectpullquote]

A typical agent could expect $4,500-6,300 dollars of the $18,000 from our example, before expenses and income taxes. And the self-employed tax is brutal, by the way.

It’s also worth noting that agents don’t get paid for their time in the office. Because they are self-employed, there is no salary or hourly wage.

So Who Pays What?

When it comes to paying commission, there is a ‘norm,’ but no statutory standard. Sellers typically pay the 6% commission fees that are normal in our area, making the buyer’s agent ‘free’ to the buyer in the sense that they don’t pay their agent directly.

However, contracts and negotiations can change who pays various fees if both parties so choose. For example, for a buyer to pay their agent’s fee, they would need to sign an additional form in their buyer’s representation agreement stating their intent to pay the agent’s commission. And while buyer’s agents could theoretically incorporate ‘flat fees’ of some sort into their buyer’s representative agreement, this is extremely uncommon, if not unheard of.

For more information or a deeper explanation of commission’s ins and outs, feel free to give us a call at 903-734-2235, or send us an email at peggy@remaxlakecountry.com.

Infographic by Point2.

Staging Your Home To Sell: Cosmetics

Cosmetics

When it comes to selling your home, appearance matters. We humans think with our hearts and buy with our eyes, so perfecting the cosmetics of your home can drastically reduce the time it takes to sell and even help your bottom line. I know there’s rarely time for these changes during normal life, much less while preparing to move, but let’s take a minute to imagine an ideal world: this is what you would do.

Remove the Personal

The key to successfully selling a home is creating an environment where prospective buyers can imagine themselves living. Part art, part science, good staging makes your space a blank canvas others can paint themselves into.[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”#dd1f1f” class=”” size=””]The key to successfully selling a home is creating an environment where prospective buyers can imagine themselves living.[/perfectpullquote]

But if Fido’s dog bowl that your kid painted is sitting out beneath ten frames of the family Christmas, buyers feel like they’re invading a personal space. Pack the photos, take down the turkey handprints on the refrigerator, and store the kids’ medals. I know it’s hard, and a good Realtor understands your emotions. But this is what it takes.

Declutter

We all have clutter. Everyone’s guilty. And we all know it’s unattractive, so do everything possible to clear the shelves, refrigerators, counters, and other visible flat surfaces. But don’t stop there. Consolidate, donate, pack, and organize until those baseboards you haven’t seen in years are visible once more. Which leads us to the next step: cleaning.

Clean

Now that parts of your house are visible that haven’t seen daylight in years, it’s time to grab a rag, mop, broom, and whatever else you can find. Wipe off baseboards, clean floors, dust, and vacuum until the place shines like Mr. Clean’s dome. Consider hiring it out if you can’t find time to do this yourself.

First Impressions

We all know the sayings about first impressions, but do you know that science backs them up? “Before we can finish blinking our eyes, we’ve already decided whether we want to hire, date, hate, or make friends with a person we’re encountering for the first time,” according to psychologists. So how long do you have to sell someone on your home? The front door. Speaking of front doors, how does yours look? Paint or replace it if the years have left it scarred or faded. [perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”#dd1f1f” class=”” size=””]So how long do you have to sell someone on your home? The front door.[/perfectpullquote]

Polish the front porch, perfect the entryway, and take down any warning signs (dogs, soliciting, trespassing, etc.). This is your home’s handshake and smile as it meets prospective buyers. Don’t leave it with a limp wrist and dirty teeth.

Bonus: Paint!

If you’ve made it this far, you might need a nap just thinking about all I’ve said. But for the strong-willed, highly-motivated, or over-achievers, one of the best, most cost-effective improvements you can do is paint. Fresh paint brings a home to life like nothing else.[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”#dd1f1f” class=”” size=””] Fresh paint brings a home to life like nothing else.[/perfectpullquote]

And if you’ve lived in a rainbow, consider repainting with more neutral colors. For extra sharp corners and less stress, pay a professional. You’ll likely recover at least part of your costs in your listing price, not to mention the shorter time on the market.

Staging

Wrapping Up

Buying, owning, and selling a home all require effort. That’s not to say you can’t sell a cluttered, dirty, dinged-up house. You can. But you can’t reasonably expect top-dollar prices when all someone can think about is how much work is needed before they can live there. On the other hand, by doing these cosmetic updates, your home will likely sell faster and for more, which is always a huge relief. If you need help with selling your home or have questions, feel free to give us a call at 903-734-2235. We’re always happy to help.

Why You Should Hire a Realtor: Emotions

Hire a Realtor Because Emotions Happen

Of all the reasons to hire a real estate agent, the emotional value they bring to the table may be most compelling.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”#dd1f1f” class=”” size=””]Nostalgia makes my home priceless to me, but does nothing for new buyers.[/perfectpullquote]

When I discovered my parents were selling my childhood home, I wilted inside. The tin barn had sheltered several hundred hay bales thrown by hand over seventeen years. The diving board above our pool launched my siblings and I to many a happy summer day, and how can I describe the walls that gave shape and solidity to my childhood?

If you’ve ever lived in a place for some length of time, you know what I mean. Our memories put roots in the soil where we live, but the trees we find so meaningful don’t exist for new home buyers. To them, our barn is rusted, not magical. The diving board is dry-rotted, the house old, and the walls might even lean. The memories that knot in our throat can swell our price. Nostalgia makes my home priceless to me, but does nothing for new buyers.

Objectivity for the Objective

Realtors provide an objective point of view during this incredibly emotional process so you can accomplish the objective: selling your home. They provide a balanced estimate of value based on comparable sales in your neighborhood and hold your hand as you enter a new stage of life. The list of duties involved in the title “real estate agent,” goes on for many miles, but it should include “counselor” as you say goodbye to the place you raised your kids, or buried your dog, or hosted Christmas each year.

And as you turn from the past, eyes brimming with tears and hopes for the future, an agent will help you create reasonable expectations. It’s been written that “hope deferred makes the heart sick,” and finding your beloved dwelling worth less than you thought proves it.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”#dd1f1f” class=”” size=””]Realtors help you dream in tandem with your financial reality.[/perfectpullquote]

Agents can help you see endearing faults tied to fond memories for what they truly are: obstacles to selling your home. What should you repair? Where will your dollar work hardest? A Realtor will know.

Looking to the future may help you move on, but doing so without being informed can lead to further disappointment. Discovering your dream home is $50,000 beyond your buying ability can be crushing. Realtors understand house finances, credit, and specific loans to fit your situation, helping you dream in tandem with your financial reality.

Remember: Realtors Understand Emotions

My parents’ barn has new tin on it now. The pool is covered, the walls repainted. I can almost pretend the kitchen isn’t the same place I sat after basketball games to review every play with my dad. But deep down, it will always be, as Miranda Lambert says, “The house that built me.”

My mom cried when she read this post. Letting go of a home stirs emotions in all of us. But her experience as a real estate agent has enabled her to make the changes needed to get the best price. So when it’s time to buy or sell, call an agent. Let us be your objective sounding board so nostalgia doesn’t keep you from selling a home. [perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”#dd1f1f” class=”” size=””]Let us give you good information won from years of experience so you can plan a dream that’s possible to achieve.[/perfectpullquote]

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