Buying or Selling a Home/selling agent bonus

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Expert: - 9/19/2004


Question
We are listed w/ an agent but wanted to get a second opinion.We live in Georgia in an area where there is a lot of houses for sale in our price range.  WE were thinking of offering a 2,000. bonus to the selling agent because we hear alot of times well we ran out of time and didn't make it to your house.  I am being told that you can not list a selling agent bonus on the MLS or FMLS listing.  Would we be better to on the MLS and FMLS to up the commision to 5% for the selling agent from the 3% that it is listed, or does that not really make a big impact.  Do they really look at the % of commision they earn before showing a house?  My husband thought mabey  we should just get new flyers printed with the 2,000 selling agent bonus listed and then go around to different agencys dropping off the flyers.  Would be interested in your thoughts.  Ot other creative ideas. Thanks

Answer
Distributing flyers to the agents is a very good idea.  I think that it highlights the bonus aspect and there will be no mistake about the commission.  You might also offer a split of a bonus to the selling agent and an incentive to the buyers if they buy this home by a certain date.  For example, you can offer to pay up to $1,000 closing costs if they close by November 25th!

Since MLS rules vary from one area to another I don't know if they will allow this in the listing information but I would think that this could go in the Remarks section.  One other thing...make sure that you are priced competitively and that the listing stands out for something unique.  Remarks are so important.  Make sure your agent is marketing the property adequately by stating something about it like: "One you shouldn't miss"..."priced lower than competition"..."limited time for buyers to take advantage of this price"...."this offer"...."this incentive."  You get the idea.  Then, ask your agent to follow up with the other agents before they come out to let them know what a truly special property this is or how well-priced it is, etc.  

I hope that this helps. Good luck.

Sincerely,
Jessica Bryan
Managing Broker
House to Home Realty Services

Buying or Selling a Home

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Jessica Bryan

Expertise

buying and selling process such as:
General questions from first time buyers
How to market a home
Why choose a REALTOR
How do I find a REALTOR
Should I consider buying or selling without a REALTOR--how much can I save
Should I remodel or move
How much can I expect to gain by fixing up my home before selling
Helpful tips when selling
Helpful tips when buying
finding a good mortgage loan
what is the difference between banks, mortgage bankers, and mortgage brokers
Questions from the general public, people thinking about getting their real estate license, newly licensed.
Fellow professionals who have interests in networking and how to get started
What is a market evaluation and how does it differ from an appraisal what are the different loan programs
services a REALTOR can perform
when to use a lawyer
when to use escrow
what are the regional differences in the buying and selling process
what is the MLS and how does it work
how can the layman access information on the web--listings and other information
These are just a few of the questions. I can suggest that if I am unable to answer a question I will refer the inquiry to a source that can.

Experience

Anyone who is in this business and who dedicates oneself to professionalism has continued to take classes and along with it,additional credentials, awards and honors. I can list a host of them, but my greatest accomplishments happen to be those of getting first time buyers (who didn't think they could afford to buy a home)into a home of their dreams. The look on their faces when I hand over the keys is worth all of the hard work.

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