Do real estate companies...

budge on coming down on the % they make? We have a girl who is very interested in our place. I told her that I'd have to wait until July for our contract to be up. She said that she'd be willing to pay some more $ if we went through Foxtons and maybe worked a deal for a lower commission.

Any info would be helpful...TIA...

Re: Do real estate companies...

I dont see why they would budge if you already have a contract. If you were negotiating the commission before signing... maybe.

But they are in the drivers seat now. They are guaranteed their comission. Why lower it?

Re: Do real estate companies...

Yes they will but keep in mind other brokers (for the buyer) may not want to show your place if they have to split a lower commission.

I've known my agent for over 20 years but he said if he came down too much other agents wouldn't tell their clients about the listing. He posted a 3.5% commission and then agreed to take less than that. Turns out our buyer didn't have a broker so it wasn't split. He wound up taking a 1.25% which was as low as his boss would let him go. We saved thousands as my house sold for $465K

Re: Do real estate companies...

Well I advertised on Craigslist and that's how this other girl found out about my place. So she doesn't have a broker. She would just be going through Foxtons.

If this girl didn't propose the offer, Foxtons wouldn't be getting squat from me. I was going to wait until my contract was up so I could sell it without them. I thought maybe they would be willing to lower the commission...it's either that or I wait and they get nothing.

I'm very confident that I can sell this place quickly.

Re: Do real estate companies...

If I were you and you can do it, I'd wait it out until the Foxton's contract is up. If you are sure you can sell the place. Try it on your own until mid August and if not then go with a better broker and a contract you are happy with.

Re: Do real estate companies...

can't hurt to try-since there is no co-broker they are making more than they would with that setup (1.5%) I would call the person I gave you last time and tell her you wuld be willing to pay 2 or 1.75 and see what happens-that or nothin!

Re: Do real estate companies...

It doesn't hurt to ask. When my dad bought his current house he wasn't willing to come up to what the seller was beating him over the head for so he told his broker to take a cut in her commission...and she did.

That said, Foxton's already has a lower commission rate than other broker's.

I'm kind of confused though...if you're listing with Foxton's and she doesn't have a broker - there is no splitting of commission. You just deal with the one broker (that's what we're doing with the house we're buying).