3 Myths That Convince Sellers To Pay Too Much Commission

REALITY:  Data from the San Diego Multiple Listing Service (MLS) reveal that OVER 93 of EVERY 100 HOMES SOLD ARE NOT SOLD BY THE LISTING AGENT!  In reality, buyers come from other agents who have buyers looking for a house, and that other agent finds your house on the MLS.   Conclusion: selling a house has almost nothing at all to do with the agent’s fancy “marketing plan”.  The agent totally knows this, but he will still try to convince you that HE is the one going to find a buyer, and he’ll play his hand to his advantage employing this common consumer misconception so he can get the listing and a higher listing commission.  You should only pay about 1% to list your house, not the 2%-3% that most agents charge.  After all, they don’t have to work that hard after it’s listed and the sign has been installed - they just sit around until another agent brings the buyer.
 

 MYTH #2:  IT’S BETTER TO USE AN AGENT WHO IS A “NEIGHBORHOOD SPECIALIST” TO SELL A HOUSE 

REALITY:  See #1 above!  Agents take advantage here as well.  The fact is that any agent can place a listing in the MLS  from Fallbrook down to San Ysidro -  it makes no difference where they say they “specialize” in since the agent listing the house is not bringing the buyer anyway.  Therefore, the data prove that no special neighborhood knowledge is useful or beneficial for selling, so don’t overpay to list your home for sale.  

 
REALITY:  According to the National Association of Realtors, only a few percent of homes are actually sold from open houses.  Agents know this, so why they do it?   TO GET MORE CLIENTS!  Insider secret: All major real estate brokerages teach agents to sit at open houses so buyers and neighbors will come through the house.  The agent then tries to entice buyers to use him in their search for a home, or entice neighbors to list their homes when they are ready to sell.  The agent kicks you out of your home for several hours on a Sunday afternoon solely to further his career and scavenge for fresh clients.  You get a bunch of strangers wondering through your personal items (maybe helping themselves while he is distracted talking to another visitor).  More proof?  Whenever we list a house, we get calls from other agents offering to hold it open.  It is not even their listing!  They have been taught that this is how to troll for new clients.  We will gladly hold your house open if you request it, but please realize that OPEN HOUSES ARE FOR THE BENEFIT OF AGENTS, NOT SELLERS.