The cold Arctic air continues to rip through the Prairies thats responsible for reduced sales and new listings so far in 2014. The odd thing is that if the sellers decided to list now than wait for the spring it would have little effect on the market and their sale price. Theres thousands of buyers lined up ready to buy but for some reason the sellers think that the cold weather will reduce their net worth. Ive studied trends in other industries with some sort of negative influence affecting them and like I said above, it all works out in the end. I wonder how many lucky people are somewhere hot right now sipping a cool beverage as I continue to slug it out, warming up my car in the mornings hoping it doesnt get stolen while the seats at least are warm enough to sit on. How embarrassing that would be to have to call a client and tell them that my car was stolen while it was warming up and I quickly came back in the house to get some paper work. Ever pull up in a taxi cab to a potential listing because something happened to your car? Its never happened to me personally but Ive known colleagues who have. Oh course the person youre seeing is understanding but must have other ideas of what happened going through their heads. My car was just stolen, can we reschedule LOL Now Ill talk a little about how I operate when dealing with commission rates for selling houses. First, a lot of people dont understand how it works. For example, a common commission is 5%. The listing company collects that money from the sellers lawyer after a completed sale and everyone is happy and deposits the grateful check into the Brokers Trust account. The check cant just be cashed by the agent it has to come from that account. If there are two brokerages involved, then the information will appear on the deal sheet and the officer at the listing brokers company will distribute the funds without delay. For some reason in Manitoba the Land Titles makes realtors and the home owner sometimes 6 weeks until they get their money while in other provinces, the money is collected on possession date. I think I like that better considering the advertising is all on my Visa and they dont care when I get paid LOL. There is a new way of avoiding this and its called closing by Western Canadian Protocol. That guarantees title of the property and bingo, the check is produced by the listing company lawyer. Im not too concerned about it as I try to budget property year round so when XMAS comes I dont have to tell my family I spent all my money on Pac Man at Falcon lake eating ice cream bars since it was hot! Ive also changed the way I offer commission. Im allowing customers to choose their own commission. Ok, dont get too excited, you cant pick 0% Thanks. But what I did do which is totally fair is I say you can choose between 3.9 % and 5%. These commission are split. So if I list your house and pay for all the advertising, set up the listing, take pictures, write ads that captivate people interested in your house, my fee would be 2.5% and the other agent if they sold it would be 2.5%. So, now I have asked people to pick what they think is fair. Also, this is just me. Other agents can do what they want. Some list at 6% and they offer 2.5% and keep 3.5%, Is this in the best case of the seller? Not sure, as I dont want to make comments that could have me answering calls from the Manitoba Securities Commission about price fixing. Thats the idea that all agents get together and set one price. Ridiculous in my opinion and for one, I would never take part of such a crazy scheme and secondly, its not fair. Ok, did I make my self clear? Agents, RE/MAX agents, other agents and even agents from space can all do what they want but I just wanted to disclose that because I am sticking to my new idea. Oh, heres a good disclaimer I just thought of Salespeople in Manitoba are allowed to charge a lower rate or a higher rate then me. The bottom line is that I need that money to market your house. Some people think I profit the full amount, but such is not the case. Theres many expenses accused along the way to consolidate before I can use the proceeds for my own personal use. Groceries is number 1 in my house because if I dont have any food in the fridge then my problems are greater than this nasty weather. Hang in there every one, things are going to be great this year! Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my post and take interest in my real estate business. If anyone would like to to do me a favour, please pass along YourHouseIsWorthIt.COM to find out how much houses are selling in your area. Darren Bates Winnipeg Real Estate
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 03:10:28 +0000
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