Working with a Realtor
Why a Listing Realtor would want to work with a creative deal:
With a regular deal, the total Realtor commission is usually 7% on the first 100k and 2.5% on the balance – let’s say average 3% on the total. They will have to split that with the Buyer’s Realtor which means that they will only get 1.5% less what they have to give their broker. Besides that fact that we are likely trying to help this Realtor make a sale on a property that may not sell at all, they may end up with more with our offer. Because the price may not be clear in a creative deal until the end, we usually offer flat fee (up to $2,000 depending on value of the property) up front, or 10% of the profit at the end. With the flat fee of the commission up front, they get paid right away but you will have to figure out how to get the funds to take care of that. The other option is to pay them at the end when we complete the sale. We can also be creative in how we manage the payments of the commission to the Realtor and perhaps offer to pay the flat fee when we receive a deposit from a tenant/buyer .
It’s a whole lot better than the Realtor:
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Turning away a potential buyer;
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Having the seller just rent the home out because they can’t sell it;
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Losing a listing because the seller blames them for their home not selling.
Getting paid sure is nice when they otherwise would have lost the listing.
Example of how you can discuss the issue with a Realtor:
“If you help us presenting our offer the the Seller, we can pay $2,000 up front on a signed deal, or 10% of profit on the close. Usually our offers are more creative and distance to the closing date is much longer. We can usually put together an offer quickly and we take care of all the paperwork. We prefer to present our offers direct but you would certainly be welcome to present.