Selling your house
What you need to know:
• What kind of market you're in. In a seller's market, you may decide to consider offers only with no conditions and to engage in bidding wars. In a buyer's market, you can't be so picky.
• One of the things real estate agents build in to their commissions is the length of time it could take to sell your house. Remember that they want to sell your house as fast as possible, so, for example, the more disrepair it is in (and therefore harder to sell), the more likely they are to set -- and stick with -- a higher rate.
• Both your agent and the buyer's agent split a percentage of the sale price of your home. Between three and five per cent is common.
What you need to do:
• Decide how much you want out of the deal and tell your agent that number. Then let her negotiate with you. (If you're also buying a house with this agent, she may be more willing to negotiate.)
Most people can't afford to buy before they sell. If you're in this position (and need the sale money to finance any subsequent purchase), sell first and buy later, or make your purchase conditional on the sale of your home.
What you need to say:
• "What percentage of the commission do you have to split with the company that employs you?" You need to know how much she'll make on the sale because that's the amount that's negotiable.
• "Tell me the things you want done, such as painting, odd jobs and staging, and I will do them, but I want you to take them into account when setting the sale price of the house."
• "If you can't change the commission percentage, can you commit to more open houses?" (Hosting open houses is work for the agent, but the more you have, the better your odds of selling your home.)
Page 2 of 3 -- Get the best deals on home and car insurance with our expert advice on page 3
