What Rhode Island home owners get when they sell their home as For Sale By Owner

The good news is that home owners in Rhode Island can sell their home at 98% of list price vs. Realtors at 97% of list price. The bad news is that 2014 statistics collected by specialists with the National Association of Realtors have found that FSBO (for sale by owner) home owners are selling at a median price point of $208,700 vs. $235,000. So you must agree that it's worth "losing the 1%" and using a Realtor. 

Statistics show you will net the following amount in each scenario

List/Sell $100,000/$98,000 FSBO or $113,000/$109,610 w/Realtor at 6%  +$5,033.40with professional representation
List/Sell $200,000/$196,000 FSBO or $226,000/$219,220 w/Realtor at 6% +$10,066.80with professional representation
List/Sell $500,000/$490,000 FSBO or $565,000/$548,050 w/Realtor at 6% +$25,167.00with professional representation

When hiring an agent you have options. In Rhode Island there are well over 3,000 agents ready to assist you. Now when we focus on the second word in the first sentence of this paragraph, you see "hiring". You are in control. When you go for a job interview, they can choose to hire or not hire you upon many items being, professional appearance, knowledge of market, education, personality, etc. Employers have a predetermined set of questions to ask you because they know that these questions are vital to their companies success when looking for talent.

Now you may say... "Emilio, where are you going with this?" It's simple, why don't you have a set of pre determined questions ready for your Realtors that you choose to interview? So, I know you're thinking.. "umm I've never sold a home before", or maybe "I've sold two homes but it was years ago, so how would I know what is important when selecting a Realtor in 2014?" Hey, great question!! I love questions, it means you're listening!!

Here are questions ALL professional and full time agents should know when interviewing with you for the job! If you see someone scratch their head like a monkey thinking how he is going to get his next banana... you may want to say "NEXT!!"

1.) What % of list price are homes selling for in my neighborhood? This town? & the State?
2.) What % of list price are you selling homes for in this town & this state?
3.) How many homes are on the market in this town? In how many days are they selling?
4.) How many listings do you have? How many days are they on market for?
5.) Do you have any other jobs? (Basically using this question to find out if they are full time! If they are busing tables on Friday night when a buyer is trying to reach them to decide wheater to place an offer on your home or not- well.. yea this is kind of important that they can take the call and negotiate the sale for you!)
6.) Do you have an assistant to help you with your work flow? (If they say, "no, I'm really not that busy right now" or "no way, I'd much rather do it myself", you can imagine that they may not be busy, meaning that they may have less experience and worse, a smaller pool of potential buyers and not to mention, less tools to help procure a buyer).
7.) Where do you get your leads from?
8.) What is your sales goal for next year?
9.) How many homes have you sold in the past 12 months?
10.) Do you study for your career? If so, please explain. (Agents have access to seminars, books, audio books, blogs and a zillion other forms of information - if they can not answer this.. they may not be as savvy, or up with the current times, technology and they may not be enthused by their work! Would you not want an agent who loved what they do? People do a better job when they love and care about what they do and the people they do it for!).

After selecting your agent, you will be able to get back to what makes you happy. If selling homes makes you happy, consider yourself lucky because I'm hiring enthused agents who love what they do! If selling homes does not make you happy and spending time with your children does, then you may want to sit back, pay an agent and start living again.

What do agents make?

Well, our rate is 6%. Our commission is simple, it's non-negotiable. Some agents will charge you 5% and even others a discount rate of 4%. Just remember that old saying that 'you get what you pay for'. With commissions at 5 or 4%, you may want to check Their marketing plan and budget, never mind their ability to negotiate (Don't you agree that a great salesperson should ask for more than they intend to get... ahemmm.. how about your "list price"?! Secondly, if you say you do not feel you have to pay 6% and they do not attempt to negotiate.. what will happen when an offer less than list price comes to the table?) . Another point is that your agent should be splitting half of their commission with a "co-broke" which is another licensed real estate agent with a buyer. Almost all deals are done this way. So isn't important to make sure you give incentive to someone who lives off a commission to bring buyers to your "product"? YES!!!

Look, please don't be too hard on our agent friends out there! Many of them are great people who love what they do and believe in the American dream of home ownership and freedom to invest in what you wish!

If you're curious to learn more, you can contact us with your email address to receive useful real estate information like this and listen to my radio shows on Sundays between 9 and 10 starting in January 2015! If you do not want to wait that long or wish to get answers to questions now you can contact me directly at 401-359-2338.

Would love to hear your comments and please follow my blog if you found what you heard interesting!! Thanks!

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Statistics obtained through Realtor.org and are through the National Association of Realtors. Please visit their website at www.Realtor.org for details. 

About the Author: Emilio DiSpirito Licensed Rhode Island Real Estate Agent Licence #S35582 Realtor/Team Leader with The DiSpirito Team at Prudential Gammons Realty Located in the center of Rhode Island at 461 Main Street East Greenwich RI 02818. Cell 401-359-2338 email emiliodiv@gmail.com and www.MyDreamHomeNow.com. Emilio, has been featured on WPRO, LiteRock 105.1 and will be Rhode Island's newest radio show host on The Round Table, "Real Estate Simplified" (Station details expected by 12/15/14). The DiSpirito Team is in the top 1% of agents in the state for listing sales volume.