Housing.com News, Analysis & Opinion: What Your Real Estate Broker Won't Tell You

From Yahoo, here are the first two of "10 Things Your Broker Won't Tell You":

1. "Your open house is really a party for me."
Hire a real estate broker to sell your home and one of the first things he'll likely suggest is hosting an open house, so potential buyers can casually check out your property on a weekend afternoon. While open houses are promoted as a great way of finding a buyer, a National Association of Realtors study found that their success rate is a mere 2%.

No matter. Having an open house serves another important purpose - for the broker. "It gives him a database of clients," says Sean McNeill, an independent real estate broker based in New York City who says that he doesn't like open houses, preferring to match clients with appropriate buyers. "At open houses, you get all kinds of people walking in. Some are [trying] to see how much they should sell their own places for; others just want to get a look at what's out there." All are perfect pickings for a broker looking to increase his roster of buyers and sellers. "Think about it," McNeill says. "The broker is devoting a couple hours of a weekend. He won't do that unless it helps him in a big way."

2. "My fees are negotiable."
Brokers like to make it sound as if their fees are engraved in stone, but that's rarely the case - especially in a brisk market, when brokers fiercely compete for properties they can unload fast. This past summer one broker in the Midwest says he lowered his fee by a full percentage point because there was so much demand for good properties that he needed leverage. Indeed, says the broker, who asked not to be named, sellers should shop around for broker's fees. He suggests these negotiating tactics: "If somebody's willing to commit to me for selling one place and buying another, I give a discount. If you're in a particularly desirable neighborhood with a house that will bring a lot of traffic" - say, at an open house - "that can be used, because the broker will use the flow of people to get potential customers. And with some [smaller] brokers, all you need to do is ask and they'll lower the commission."

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A friend recently directed me to an interesting piece of information he found browsing Yahoo Finance. This serves as an excellent 'heads up' for those considering a home sale or purchase and intend to use a real estate broker. On either side of the transaction, the bottom line is beware of what you say and who you say it to. And, as always, do your own homework and learn to ask the right questions: From Yahoo, here are the first two of "10 Things Your Broker Won't Tell You": 1. "Your open house is really a party for me." Hire a real estate broker to sell your home and one of the first things he'll likely suggest is hosting an open house, so potential buyers can casually check out your property on a weekend afternoon. While open houses are promoted as a great way of finding a buyer, a National Association of Realtors study found that their success rate is a mere 2%. No matter. Having an open house serves another important purpose - for the broker. "It gives him a database of clients," says Sean McNeill, an independent real estate broker based in New York City who says that he doesn't like open houses, preferring to match clients with appropriate buyers. "At open houses, you get all kinds of people walking in. Some are [trying] to see how much they should sell their own places for; others just want to get a look at what's out there." All are perfect pickings for a broker looking to increase his roster of buyers and sellers. "Think about it," McNeill says. "The broker is devoting a couple hours of a weekend. He won't do that unless it helps him in a big way." 2. "My fees are negotiable." Brokers like to make it sound as if their fees are engraved in stone, but that's rarely the case - especially in a brisk market, when brokers fiercely compete for properties they can unload fast. This past summer one broker in the Midwest says he lowered his fee by a full percentage point because there was so much demand for good properties that he needed leverage. Indeed, says the broker, who asked not to be named, sellers should shop around for broker's fees. He suggests these negotiating tactics: "If somebody's willing to commit to me for selling one place and buying another, I give a discount. If you're in a particularly desirable neighborhood with a house that will bring a lot of traffic" - say, at an open house - "that can be used, because the broker will use the flow of people to get potential customers. And with some [smaller] brokers, all you need to do is ask and they'll lower the commission." From Yahoo, read the entire piece: "10 Things Your Broker Won't Tell You"