Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 exptools 1/6/84; site ihuxq.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!mgnetp!ihnp4!ihuxq!ken
From: ken@ihuxq.UUCP (ken perlow)
Newsgroups: net.invest
Subject: Re: REALTOR
Message-ID: <1199@ihuxq.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 7-Sep-84 13:59:28 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihuxq.1199
Posted: Fri Sep  7 13:59:28 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 12-Sep-84 03:00:01 EDT
References: <144@analog.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
Lines: 64

--
>> I am in the process of looking for a new home and would like to know the
>> advantages and disadvantages of using a realtor. Some of the questions I
>> have are:

>> Is their a way to write off the commission that a realtor would get if I
>> decide not to use one?

No.  If there's already one realtor involved, the whole commission goes
to him/her.  If you get one (different from the seller's), they
split the commission.  IMPORTANT NOTE:  Even if you are working with
your own realtor, this person is still legally an agent of the seller,
and honor-bound to work in that person's best interest, not yours!

>> What is the normal cut that a realtor gets? 

7% last I checked.

>> Who pays the cut in the long run?

Clearly you do.  Sellers figure a price based on what they want to
get out of the deal, so the realtor's commission is tacked on.
A good realtor, however, won't list a house at a price he or she
believes to be unreasonable.  But in that case, the seller has
been convinced to settle for less.

>> Should I expect to get a lower price by not using a realtor?

Of course.  And there's less sales hype too.  But you should go to
a realtor first to get a feel for the market.  They'll chauffeur
you around in their fancy cars, take you to see any place you want,
and you're under no obligation to make an offer.  Indeed, the
realtor (who, remember, is *NOT* working for you) is duty-bound
to present to the seller *ANY* offer you make for *ANY* price with
*ANY* conditions you want.  It's actually a good idea to make a
few outrageously low offers for practice.  And who knows? ...

There is also a middle ground.  In most states, in order to buy and
sell property for somebody else, you have to take a test and get a
license.  This makes you a "real estate agent."  A "realtor" (TM!) is
a real estate agent who belongs to the Board of Realtors.  This costs
no small sum, but provides said member with the weekly Multiple
Listing Service (MLS) book that has all the property listings in the
area and a lot of neat statistics about average prices and time on
the market.

A non-realtor real estate agent can charge a flat fee for the
service, or some other non-standard commission.  They're not as
easy to find as realtors, but might be worth seeking out.  Don't
ask a realtor to point you to one, of course--they can always
undercut the realtors, who therefore hate them with a vengeance.

How do I know this stuff?  I spent much of the 70's working in
co-operative housing, buying real estate with little or no money
for fellow hippies in the same condition.  My experience is limited
to Wisconsin, though.  I believe other states have quite similar
real estate laws.
-- 
                    *** ***
JE MAINTIENDRAI   ***** *****
                 ****** ******    07 Sep 84 [21 Fructidor An CXCII]
ken perlow       *****   *****
(312)979-7188     ** ** ** **
..ihnp4!ihuxq!ken   *** ***