Hi. Looking for recommendations for a real estate broker in Clayton/Garner area to sell and buy. Houses are selling fast around us so wondered if anyone had used any "discount" brokers they might recommend. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!
Why would you want to use a "discount" broker? To save money? Would you use a discount dentist? A discount surgeon? How about a discount attorney? There is that saying of, "You get what you paid for" for a reason. A discount broker gets you discount service and since your house is probably the biggest investment you will ever make, it only makes sense to go with someone who is going to give you 100% of their attention and time. Let me ask you....where you work.....are you a discount employee? Would you work for two-thirds of your current salary?
Grinder must be a real estate agent or just likes spending his money. I guess Grinder doesn't buy things on sale or use coupons either as that would mean he was getting a discounted item. We used a "Discounted" broker to sell our house earlier this year. They were fully licensed real estate broker who just decided to market her business a different way. We sold our house in 3 days and everything went very smoothly. Services were same as we have had from "full service brokers" in the past and we saved about $7K. PM me if you would like the information Denise.
Agreed. Perhaps the seller knows a great deal about the industry already, but does not have the time. Perhaps the home is immaculate (inside, outside, and title) and they just need someone to run it through the basics of listing with no huge marketing effort. In some ways the Realtor thing is a somewhat of a rigged system with set commissions. Any competition is stifled as being subpar because the industry sets those rates. You see plenty of plumbers offering specific rates for different levels of service.
Actually, i am a land surveyor but i do also have my realtor's license here in Myrtle Beach. I just speak from my experience from people who list with discount brokers. I have seen a very different level of service from them as opposed to a non-discount broker. Many times they take your listing and put it up on MLS and then trying to get hold of an agent to get listing info or to set up a showing is often difficult and often you get minimal information. As for the other post describing me, believe it or not i almost always refuse to use a coupon for anything, much to the dismay of my wife. Just a thing i have about them.
Denise, just another option I would look in to is Flat Fee MLS Listing. Our home was only 2 years old and near perfect inside and out. I didn't want to give up the small amount of equity we had made to an agent when I knew the house would sell. We paid $399.00 to list the home and another $100.00 to use Centalized Showing Services. We had 6 showings in a week, and a full price offer. We ended up selling for $17,000 more than we paid just a year and a half ago. I know it all depends on your situation, but might be worth investigating.
I am not a "discount" broker but would be happy to give you my advice & help in anyway I can. I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for & like Grinder said this is most peoples largest investment and financial vehicle to wealth. We recently represented a buyer purchasing a house listed by a discount broker, honestly the seller negotiated more than I would have encouraged a seller in his position, and had no clue what to do when it came to repair negotiations etc. In the end, he gave up much more than what the commission would have been on his listing because he was out-negotiated. Unfortunately there are agents in our industry that do not reflect the level of knowledge, concern & professionalism we try to promote but I think that is with any profession honestly. Hope this helps & best of luck on your sale!
I trust Mama Ape. And knowing her personally and how she values her reputation and that of her families in the area, she'd not steer anyone wrong.
For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Statistics FSBOs accounted for 8% of home sales in 2015. The typical FSBO home sold for $185,000 compared to $240,000 for agent-assisted home sales. FSBO methods used to market home: Yard sign: 33% Friends, relatives, or neighbors: 21% Online classified advertisements: 10% Open house: 21% For-sale-by-owner websites: 7% Social networking websites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc.): 9% Multiple Listing Service (MLS) website: 13% Print newspaper advertisement: 3% Direct mail (flyers, postcards, etc.): 2% Video: 1% None: Did not actively market home: 41% Most difficult tasks for FSBO sellers: Getting the right price: 18% Preparing/fixing up home for sale: 13% Understanding and performing paperwork: 12% Selling within the planned length of time: 3% Having enough time to devote to all aspects of the sale: 3% Source
I've used and would recommend Tracy Riba from Carolina Realty 919-934-0118 x105. I don't think she is a discount broker but she is very good at what she does.
Speaking of real estate, have they changed the zoning laws or anything lately in Clayton? I never remember seeing houses on slabs before but now it seems almost all the new Developments around 40/42 are on slabs. I know they are faster and cheaper to build but wonder how they hold up on resale value compared to foundation houses?
40/42 developments are approved by Johnston County Commissioners. And yes there are houses built on slab in Town of Clayton also.
Foundation types are not controlled by zoning. Restrictive covenants for individual subdivisions would govern that. There is no evidence of any significant difference in values between crawl-type foundations and slab-type foundations. A great many people prefer slab foundations over crawl space these days.
