On 2008-10-03 00:36:54 -0700, cporro <cporro[at]gmail.com> said:

- quote -

One of the first things you should do is find out exactly what those
"6% closing" and "7% tax" figures mean. Either could refer to a real
estate agent's commission, but not to the incidental closing costs
associated with a sale nor to real estate transfer taxes. If you could
be specific about what those costs actually include, people here could
tell you whether or not you are being overcharged. At any rate it would
be a good idea to contact a second realtor and a lawyer.

The "help-you-sell" and the "1%" realtors are not a bad idea if you
want to do some, but not all, of the work yourself. The 1% figure on
the signs is a sales gimmick, and you would probably end up paying more
than that, but certainly nothing like 6% or 7%. And take your time, if
at all possible! One of your greatest enemies in real estate sales (and
purchases for that matter) is being in a hurry!

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i just talked to her. her new number is actually worse. 13%!

6% in closing and 7% in some type of tax. i'm going to try and check
out her agent and the company. any ideas on where to look?

she is upside down on the house. bought for 312 selling for 310. but
i'd guess the house is valued lower now. she bought it about 2 years
ago.

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yeah, i wanted to look into sale by owner for our house. we just sold
about 6 weeks ago. but everyone else was pitching the realtor to me as
if a person needed some advanced degree or specialized skills. you'd
think my wife worked for the realty company. on a house in san
francisco the realtor's cut is a lot of money. then there is "help you
sell" they have a flat rate...i think 10k. but i don't know much about
them.

my sister is in a fine mess. not only will it cost 13% to sell
according to her realtor. but she is in california. all kinds of lousy
stuff has happened since she has been out of state. realtors cranking
the ac ($400 bill), water leaks in the sprinkler system running for
weeks, renters destroying property, bad realtors....

i'm just trying to figure out how she can unload this liability. i
think she's crazy to hold it.

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On 2008-10-01 19:21:09 -0700, Don <dwzimm[at]telus.net> said:

- quote -

Sorry for the error in that last post. I should have said the amount of
the commission is $21,630, not $2163. So it comes to $1081 per hour,
not $108 per hour. (I thought that first figure was too low!) Even if
you had to spend 100 hours of work selling the place, you still would
be making $216 per hour. I wonder how many agents spend 100 hours
selling a property.

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On 2008-10-01 01:16:52 -0700, cporro <cporro[at]gmail.com> said:

- quote -

The 7% figure is typical of a real estate agent's commission in many
areas, not taxes. It means 7% of the sale price of the house. A couple
of decades ago it used to be 6% in a lot of places, but it seems to
have sneaked up a bit in recent years. All real estate commissions are
negotiable. Try a few more agents if necessary and you could probably
get it down to 6% or 5%. If you are able to go the FSBO (for sale by
owner) route that is becoming increasingly popular, you could pay 0%
and save many thousands! It takes time to do it yourself, true, but
think of it this way: Suppose you have to put in 20 hours of work doing
what is needed to sell the house yourself. Now, 7% of 309k is 2163, and
2163/20 is $108.15. So by selling the house on your own you would be
saving/earning $108.15 per hour. If you could do it all in 10 hours
that amount would be doubled.
That hourly wage is not bad, considering that most of the work is paper
work and answering the telephone, not back breaking labor.

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cporro <cporro[at]gmail.com> wrote:

- quote -

I've sold many a house in Texas. There is no 7% tax. Get the agent to give a
detailed, written breakdown of the selling expenses. If the agent won't, get a
new agent.
-- Doug

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On Oct 1, 1:16*am, cporro <cpo...[at]gmail.com> wrote:
- quote -


Don't know anything about Houston, or the specific area of Houston. I
know that a city near us has a transfer tax for selling real estates,
based on the sale price. So 7% tax may or may not be fishy.

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"cporro" <cporro[at]gmail.com> wrote
- quote -

It is customary (and possibly required by law where you are)
for the realtor to break down all the costs and present them in
writing to the seller.

I can say that the transaction costs for a home sale I am
considering are about 7.5%. Five points of this is the
realtor's commission.

Taking your words literally, I have doubts there is a 7% tax
on a home sale in Texas or anywhere.

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"cporro" <cporro[at]gmail.com> wrote
- quote -

How long can you leave the money invested?

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"cporro" <cporro[at]gmail.com> wrote
- quote -

It is customary (and possibly required by law where you are)
for the realtor to break down all the costs to the seller
and present them in writing to the seller.

I can say that the transaction costs for a home sale I am
considering are about 7.5%. Five points of this is the
realtor's commission.

Taking your words literally, I have doubts there is a 7% tax
on a home sale in Texas or anywhere.

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cporro <cporro[at]gmail.com> writes:

- quote -

Perhaps she needs the broker's commission? That's usually on the
order of 6%, though it may be negotiable, or even avoided if one
doesn't use a broker.

If that's the case I have no idea where that $15k is coming
from - most of the rest of "closing" costs are borne by the
buyer. Is she upside-down on the loan (ie. does she owe
more than the house is worth? If that's the case, she
needs to come up with the difference to pay off that
mortgage, too. That's the only thing I can think of which
could come out to more than a percent or two on top of
the broker's commission).

There have been, at different times and in different parts
of the country, real estate transfer taxes. Not every
locality has them, and such taxes are typically more
like one half of one percent.

The transaction costs for real estate are outrageously
high, but generally not as high as what you're suggesting.
Something's fishy in your numbers. Even with a full service
broker, if he or she were paid 7%, the rest of the costs
shouldn't add up to more than another percent or two.


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my sister told me she needs to pay a 7% tax on top of 15k closing to
sell her home? the grand total is about 35k on a 300k sale. is this
fishy? i tried searching for this 7% tax and couldn't find anything.

anyone have an idea? seems absurd. its like 12%, and she can't come up
with it to sell.

on another note, anyone have an idea for her? she is renting at
present at a loss to cover the mortgage.

please, no lectures on fiscal responsibility, i almost made her cry
today with mine.

thanks.

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