I don't charge average commissions because I am not an average Realtor.   Sometimes the first question sellers ask me is how much I charge.  I can relate because I like to plan ahead and when it comes to expenses.  It is nice though when they at least know my name before they ask.

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Random callers like to ask what the average commission rate it.  I really can not answer that question because I don't know.   We (Realtors) are not allowed to discuss how much we charge amongst ourselves because it violates anti trust laws.  Discussion is the first step to price fixing so we don't discuss.

The important thing for a consumer to know and by consumer I mean a seller who hires and agent is that according to the Minnesota Department of commerce all commissions are negotiable. So negotiate dammit!  Don't ask me how much I charge and then ask me if that is average.

Here is a bonus tip.  There is a fee usually charged by brokerages that is above and beyond the commission.  It used to be called a broker admin fee but today it is called a broker commission.  It is a flat fee and it is also negotiable.  Most brokerages charge the agent the fee if the buyer or seller doesn't pay it they take it out of the agents commission check. 

Please ask questions, and negotiate where you can.  In most cases sellers do not pay anything until the property is sold and there is a successful closing.   

One of the easiest and least expensive things home sellers can do to get their homes ready to sell is to clean them up or hire someone to clean them up.Buyers can usually look past the mess but they automatically place a lower value on homes that need any kind of work even if it is just cleaning.  

Don't forget to clean the windows and remove the grime from the stove and microwave and while you are at it lets not forget to remove the magnets from the fridge and the spider webs from the front entry. 

Putting away extraneous stuff helps too and by extraneous I mean just about everything.   If you have lived in the same space for a decade or more you have twice as muh furniture as you should have in almost every room.  True I have not seen your house but I have been in about a zillion homes around town which is a enough for an educated guess or unscientific but accurate data.

My house is pretty much like yours.  Too much of everything but I am working on it. 

An exciting topic in real estate and one that is often misunderstood by consumers who think there is an advantage in buying a home through the agent at the open house.  That agent represents the seller.  

This post is a kind of public service message that I like to run once a year. 

Today is the day.  This applies to Minnesota, real estate is locally regulated so it may not work the same way in other  states.  There are five kinds of agency relationships in real estate recognized by the state of Minnesota:

1. Seller's Agent: representing and acting for the seller only. May be a listing agent, or any REALTOR® licensed to the listing broker, or a selling subagent.

2. Subagent: a broker or salesperson who is working with a buyer, but represents the seller.

3. Buyer's Agent: representing and acting for the buyer only. As with a listing contract with sellers, an agreement for buyer representation must be in writing.

4. Dual Agent: one licensee representing both the seller and the buyer as clients in one transaction, or two agents licensed to the same broker, one of whom represents the seller and one of whom represents the buyer in one transaction. This requires  full disclosure and informed consent of both parties. Dual agents have a limited role, must not advocate or negotiate for either party, and must not act to the detriment of either party.

5. Facilitator: a real estate licensee who works for a buyer, a seller or both in a transaction but does not represent either in a fiduciary capacity as a Buyer's Broker, Seller's Broker or Dual Agent. Facilitators may perform services for consumers, but do not represent them. Facilitators are bound by license law and common law, but owe only the fiduciary duty of confidentiality unless other fiduciary duties are agreed to between licensee and consumer.

Buyers and sellers both like to ask if I am a buyers agent, or a sellers agent.  Some of these conversations have revealed some mis-information about dual agency.   Dual agency happens only when an agent, or the agents broker, or more than one of the brokers agents  are working on behalf of that broker and representing both parties in the same transaction.

I am both a buyers agent and a sellers agent.   I encounter situations where I am asked to play both roles in a single transaction.   I have represented both parties in a transaction but I prefer not to.   Dual agency is a bit different in than buyers agency or sellers agency in that the agent can not advocate or negotiate for either party.  Takes the fun out of it for me, and I still believe that both parties are better off if they each have their own agent.

As an agent I find that my experience as a buyers agent and as a sellers agent helps me with both roles.  When it comes to negotiating an offer no matter which side I am representing I have a clear understanding of what the other party might want, or how they might be feeling about it all. 

Real estate is about people and buying or selling property is a large and important transaction, and there are always emotions involved.  Having experience with sellers helps me advise buyers and having experience with buyers helps me advise sellers and understand how to market their home.  I can see the home through the buyers eyes, just as I can see the buyers offer from the sellers point of view.

If I were choosing an agent I would not consider it an advantage to work with an agent that is not representing both parties in the transaction.    I would consider it an advantage to have my own agent representing my best interests instead of an agent who is operating in the dual agency role and representing both parties.  Like it says above:  

"Dual agents have a limited role, must not advocate or negotiate for either party, and must not act to the detriment of either party."

Buyers who go from open house to open house or the agent listed on each sign, to see each home,  run the risk of working with an agent in a dual role.  Get your own agent. There is still a myth out there that agents can only show their own listings.  We can show any home listed in the MLS, this is called "broker reciprocity".  It helps sellers because all agents are working to sell their home and it helps buyers because they can work with any agent from any company to buy any piece of real estate.

If you are  buying or selling a home that is within the city limits or St. Paul you need a truth in housing report.  The home owner pays to have an inspector who is a approved by the city do a complete inspection of the home.  

Here is a secret that many Realtors don't know.  Anyone can view a truth in housing report on the internet. 

If you are a buyer and want to know more about a home before going to see it look at the truth in housing report.  The older homes in St. Paul often have multiple comments or code violations.  Home owners are not required to fix anything except all homes must have a hard wired smoke detector.

Sellers can get a list of the most common deficiencies and fix them before the inspection. It isn't a bad idea for buyers to check out the list of common deficiencies so that the truth in housing reports make more sense.  I think I have seen a zillion of them.  

Uncommitted sellers are the sellers who tell me they will sell if they get an offer that is an even amount and arrives on a Tuesday.  That might be a slight exaggeration.   They want to sell but they are inflexible on several details which indicates to me that they are not motivated sellers.  They will tell me that they want to try selling and if it doesn't work out they will rent it out.  I don't like the word "try" when it comes to selling homes and I generally stay away from those sellers and avoid listing their homes because I work for free unless I sell the home and then I get paid if there is a successful closing.    I work in a high risk occupation and am generally unwilling to incur more risk. 

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Unfortunately when I represent buyers I have no way of knowing that the seller is uncommitted.  The buyer wants to buy the home, we write an offer and the seller won't negotiate.  When I talk with the listing agent I find out that the seller does not care if they have to take it off the market because they can't get what they want.  They usually want at least 20% more than the home is worth.

I usually wish the agent the best of luck and give my buyer the bad news.  Sellers can ask as much as they want but most people need some kind of financing to buy a home and that involves banks and appraisals so good luck getting more than the homes are worth.  Sellers do not have to accept any low ball offer but nothing has changed.  Homes are still not worth what sellers 'need' to get for them.  They are worth what they are worth. 

The best way to make the decision between selling your home or renting it out is to find out how much it will sell for by asking a Realtor and then finding out how much it will rent for and then make the decision rather than putting it on the market and hoping that you get the amount of money that you need.  

 It is true that more home buyers out looking and home sales are up from a year ago but having a lot of showings is not the same as getting an offer.   It is possible to have several showings each week and not get any offers.  I have had to explain this to buyers, sellers and some agents in the last couple of weeks.

Do not turn down a less than perfect offer on your home just because you have had a lot of showing.  Negotiate with the buyer.  You may not get another offer anytime soon.  Having buyers see your home is the first step in getting it sold and it is a positive sign when there are many showings on the home.  

I think the reason we are not seeing offers on some of the homes that are getting a ton of showings is because there are motivated buyers but the inventory of homes on the market is small.  Buyers have fewer choices but the savvy buyers will wait until the right home comes along because they know they don't have to settle. 

If your home is on the market right now in St. Paul and it isn't getting any showings there is something wrong.  It is either over priced or it isn't being marketed properly on the internet with a lot of beautiful photographs and some flowery words. 

I remember one of the first listing appointments I went on like it was yesterday.  There was the beautiful old brick house built in the 1920's.  When the owner called me she told me that she and her husband had made a lot of improvements and that the home was probably worth more than other homes in the area because of the improvements.

The improvements turned out to be what I call customizations.  They were made to suite their taste or their life style but most woud not consider the customizations to be home improvements.  They had put wood paneling in each room on almost every wall from floor to ceiling and the Mr. built a dark room in the basement. 

Most buyers would have rather had the home without the improvements and the sellers were so proud of what they had done.  I recall another seller who insisted his home would sell quickly even if it was over price because of the custom green mini blinds he had on most of the windows.   

We do all sorts of things to make our homes our own and they may make the home more valuable to us but less valuable to the buyers who start to factor in the costs of getting rid of paneling, painting it or converting the dark room into much needed storage.

Don't be too surprised if buyers won't pay top dollar for your home with all the improvements.