The Joneses

[Traff]

I just tried to list my home with The Jonses in Auckland and was told they are unable to cope with anymore listings untill end of December due to press latley and the amount they are saving clients .........So what should I do miss two months of the campaign and wait or go to another much higher comission based company who will rob me blind ?I have tried private with no avail so thats not an option

Comments and thoughts folks.

Cheers


Mark

[Jumpin]

Do the Joneses reach enough buyers to really get a good price for your house? My experience is that their open homes are not as busy as the "higher commission based companies who will rob you blind..."
Just a thought - anyone else have this feeling?
Is it possible to get median sales prices for individual RE companies?

[xris]

Hello Traff,

By your own admittance you have wasted time and money by trying to do it on the cheap.

My advice is to take the blinkers off, look outside the square, ask around and find the best agent (ie salesperson not agency) you can, ask him/her if they will sell your home for 0.1% above their standard commission rate, whatever that is. In the meantime you could continue buying your shoes from The Warehouse.
Hope this helps.

xris

[SuperDad]

A good agent will not "rob you blind".

They will help you achieve the best price for your house.
Whether or not you would have recieved more (taking into account the REA's commission) is unquantifiable. Having said that, we listed our last house with a top agent, and I am confident that the offer he negotiated on our behalf more than paid for his commission. (Again, this is unquantifiable.) By your own admission you have tried yourself without success. Now find the best agent in your area and give them your listing.

Let us know how you get on.

Paul.

[calmone]

Mark

Pm sent

Regards Dick

[Traff]

The Jonses

I dont mind paying for an acceptable outcome however and always agreived at having to pay to advertise the property whilst the agent pays for nothing ( except time)..Anyone had anyluck with agencies paying for advertising in Auckland rather than the seller ?

cheers

Mark

[hawkeye]

Hi

In my experience it is possible to negotiate the level of commission based on the sale price.

Let the agent value the property and tell you what their expectation of the selling price is. (You should already have a very good idea of this yourself from either a valuation (Warning valuer will be conservative) or from excellent local knowledge)

If they quote an acceptable level taking into account the level of commission you will be signing the agency contract at, then sign up. Make sure you sign for a time frame appropriate to you. I'd never give them more than a maximum of 45 days. Also make sure you understand what advertising you are going to get and how much it is going to cost you. Negotiate on this as they have some flexability.

If they achieve this price or better then everyone is happy. If they start to try and condition your expectations downwards and start to present lower offers then negotiate with them on their commission. I've found that agents would rather get something rather than nothing from a listing and they are usually pretty flexiable down to about 2% even if they originally signed for 4% plus $350 or whatever.

On other occasions we've managed to get an agent to sign a commision scale that got them 2% up to a particular level and then 10% of anything above that. It is an interesting excercise negotiating the break point where the 10% kicks in as it reveals a great deal about what the Agent really believes they can sell the house for.

If they sell themselves on their negotiating abilities and contacts in the industry then they should have no problems with having to get a good price to get a big commission.

My two cents worth.


Neil Hawkins

[tricky]

On other occasions we've managed to get an agent to sign a commision scale that got them 2% up to a particular level and then 10% of anything above that. It is an interesting excercise negotiating the break point where the 10% kicks in as it reveals a great deal about what the Agent really believes they can sell the house for.

My brain must be fried.
I don't understand how the breakpoint indicates what the agent really believes the house will sell for.
Can you give me some example figures, please?
thanks

[SuperDad]

I thought the agent would try to set the threshold lower.

If they said the house will sell for $300K, then at 4% they would be making $12K. At 2% + 10%, the threshold would need to be set at $225,000 in order to achieve the same commission on a $300K sale. If they try to set the threshold lower, this would indicate that they don't think $300K is realisitic.

[hawkeye]

I thought the agent would try to set the threshold lower.

If you've had the what is a realistic selling price discussion prior to trying the sliding commission scale then they will have already committed to a figure that is 'realistic'. Then of course they will try and maximise their commission but if they are backpedaling hard then their 'realistic price' was trying to 'buy' the listing.


The tactic probably only works on top end houses where the price range able to be achieved is larger in dollar terms.

[Waveindigo]

The Joneses

Personally, I've been really impressed with the service provided by The Joneses as a buyer. They actually seem to employ people that are passionate about what they do, rather than just out for their commission cut.
Having looked into selling too, I'd be quite happy with an $18k saving even if I do chip in three of that towards advertising. I reckon if they're that busy it's a damn good sign that other people think the same.

[donna]

When you say 'private sale' is that using Green Door or HomeSell?

I know a local Green Door Real Estate Branch in AKL that has a high success rate of private home sales - (it is ran by a successful property investor).

We ( Mobilize Mail) provide their property alert email function that pushes out an email weekly displaying their open homes, new properties etc - may be worth considering.

PM me if you their details.

Cheers,

Donna

[sheree99]

So the Jones on the North Shore

say they are too busy to list your property. Well I guess as a company that would depend on how many sales people that had there.e is only 2 salespople there they may think that 10 listing was busy. Also did you actually meet with a salesperson. I have known salesperple to turn down listing by saying they are too busy becasue they are not what they consider to be good listings.. usually becasue the see the vendor as not motivated and the house overpriced. Also at the present time there are many many houses coming on the market but not many selling so I know from my wellington discussion with Salespeople many Salepeople are getting many listings and yes others are being turned down or pushed onto newbie inexperience Salespeople.
I agree withthe other comments above you need to chose the saleperson you trust not just the company and in this competitive market you need to look for someopne who you feel will do the best job to get you the best dollar. With so many properties on the market salespeople can also pick and choose their vendors

[Traff]

The Jonses

NO I ran 0800 and spoke to them ,they wont take anymore istings regardless at present- which is honest and I appreciate.By private I mean on Trade me and a sign - not green door, Donna can I have those details please...

Mark

[GJB68]

Sounds like they need to sort themselves out if they are going to give the big agencies a run for their money. They may be busier because of the press they had but if this gets out people are going to think they are Mickey Mouse and avoid them