Los Angeles Listing Agents

Why hire the Donohoe Group?

Nick and Shawn Donohoe are the premier real estate team in Los Angeles.  They work tirelessly to ensure their clients receive the very best representation possible. Experts in digital and social media marketing, Nick and Shawn, are proactive in driving the right buyers to your property.  In addition to their marketing savvy, the Donohoes are industry leaders in the art of negotiation and do not relent until their clients have received the upper hand. 

What is a real estate listing agent?

A listing agent is someone who helps you find a buyer when you sell your home. As the seller, you choose the price, determine the terms of the sale, and negotiate with the buyers. A listing agent will help you prepare your home for sale, show it to prospective buyers, negotiate offers and counteroffers, and handle all the contract paperwork until the deal is closed and you receive the proceeds.

What does a listing agent do?

A listing agent is responsible for getting the word out about your property so prospective buyers can see it and make offers. They will also market your home aggressively by using their network of brokers, buyers, and investors to advertise it in print and online, hold open houses, and do other things.

Once there are offers on your property, they work with you to evaluate them and negotiate terms for accepting one of them. Suppose there are multiple offers on your property, and you want to accept one of them. In that case, the listing agent will help you do so by helping you decide which offer(s) to accept based on how good they are and how they compare to other offers from other agents whose clients want to buy your house after seeing it advertised online or in newspapers and magazines.

What is the difference between a listing agent, a seller’s agent, and a selling agent?

A listing agent is the same as the seller’s agent. These terms are interchangeable. The selling agent is actually the buyer’s agent. It’s a confusing term that many real estate entities are trying to change. The terminology is that a selling agent represents the buyer, and a listing agent represents the seller. You can think of the buyer’s agent as selling the property because they bring the buyer into the transaction. The listing agent brings the inventory, the house, to the transaction.

Benefits of working with a listing agent.

Many homeowners mistakenly believe that listing agents only do open houses and put a for sale sign up on the lawn. But selling a home involves much more work than most people realize, and owners can benefit significantly from working with an agent. Let’s examine some of the most essential advantages of using a listing agent.

Listing agents recommend optimal list prices.

Ensure your home is priced competitively if you want to sell it quickly and for the highest price possible. Your profits will be constrained if your home is underpriced. If it is overpriced, it will probably stay on the market longer and raise doubts in the minds of prospective buyers.

Good listing agents are knowledgeable about the state of the market and can use this information to locate comparable properties and estimate the fair market value of houses. They can determine the value of your home by performing a comparative market analysis using the prices of recently sold homes in the neighborhood.

It’s a lot more than just looking at the current online for-sale listings and trying to ballpark a comparable value. First, you need to really understand the buyers in a location and how much they value certain factors. A listing agent thinks more like an appraiser and can accurately assess relative value based on sold (but never active) houses.

Pricing strategy is both an art and a science. Pricing too high is usually the worst mistake because you lose all new inventory enthusiasm. People don’t want what others don’t want—unless it’s on sale. So if you want a premium for your house, you must generate enough interest to go into contract within the first 30 days.

Pricing too low isn’t optimal, either. You will get artificially high tour traffic, but most of the prospective buyers won’t be qualified at the actual, higher market price. Secondly, people don’t like overbidding.

Imagine walking into a car dealership and finding the car you want to buy has a sticker price of $85,000. The salesperson walks over to you and says, “Sorry, that’s the last one we have, so we’re charging $15,000 over the sticker because of supply and demand.” That would bother most buyers. However, if the car had been priced at $100,000 and other customers were looking at it simultaneously, that buyer might be thrilled that they got it for $100,000 and beat out others who also wanted it.

Many people don’t like the feeling of competing to get a house, and while they may agree to a price above the asking price during the frenzy of excitement, that excitement fades in the following days. Add in the long timeline of a sale, inspections, and appraisals, and you have a recipe for contract re-negotiations and the possibility of falling out of escrow.

Ideally, your listing agent can recommend a price that’s both compelling enough to attract enough buyers and high enough to net you the best price. In the perfect scenario, you get multiple offers and accept a full-price or near-full-price offer.

Listing agents have access to the MLS.

The Multiple Listing Service, or MLS, is an online database where real estate agents both list houses for sale and search for listings for buyers they’re working with. This was briefly mentioned earlier. Your house will receive more exposure if it is listed on the MLS.

The more buyers see it, the more likely you are to sell it quickly and for a higher price. Only real estate agents are permitted to list properties on the MLS, as was mentioned in the section above. Therefore, you should work with a listing agent if you want as many potential buyers to see your home as possible.

Real estate agents negotiate offers intelligently.

Agents are skilled negotiators with a wealth of real estate transaction experience. They know that an offer’s terms can be just as crucial as its price, especially when there are contingencies. Agents are skilled at evaluating terms, deciding what to negotiate, and strategizing how to counter offer to get their sellers the best deal possible.

A listing agent protects the seller.

Under the sale contract terms, you must do certain things as the real estate seller. Once a valid sale contract has been made, the seller can’t change the terms of the sale without the buyer’s agreement.

The buyer has a lot more room to negotiate changes to the contract’s terms because many contingency scenarios (physical inspection, loan, appraisal, disclosures, etc.) let them back out of the deal without losing their deposit. It’s imperative that the listing agent know exactly what terms have been agreed upon and that these contract terms are favorable for the seller and make sense given the homeowner’s situation.

For example, will a seller need time to move out of the home after the sale closes? In most cases, the answer is yes. Was a CAR Form: Seller in Possession agreement executed before accepting the contract? If not, the house must be delivered clean and vacant the day it closes escrow. What about that chandelier they love and want to take with them? Was that explicitly excluded in the counter to the buyer’s RPA? If not, it has to stay with the house because it’s a fixture.

What does the exclusive right to sell mean?

An exclusive right-to-sell listing agreement is a legal contract between a seller and a real estate agent or broker that grants the agent the exclusive right to handle the property sale. Usually, the agreement spells out how much the agent will be paid, how long the contract will last, who can end it, and gives a detailed description of the property.

The exclusive right to sell listing agreement says the agent is the only one who can sell the property. This means that the seller can’t hire another real estate agent while the contract is in effect. It also allows the agent to make the necessary investments to market and sell the property. The seller pays them the agreed-upon commission once the property sells.

An exclusive right-to-sell listing agreement is beneficial for both parties. The seller gets an agency relationship with an agent who has been working on their listing for many months and can offer valuable insights about local real estate market conditions, making it easier for them to make an intelligent decision on the listing price and closing date.

Who pays a listing agent?

Through the listing agreement, the seller agrees to pay a commission to their listing agent and also to pay a commission to the buyer’s agent. You cannot put your home on the MLS without agreeing to pay a CSO (commission to sell office). How is this fair? The answer is that you pay no commission to any broker when you buy. So, when buying and selling real estate, you only pay brokers when you sell. Therefore, you should always use a buyer’s agent when buying a home in Los Angeles because that is the free part of the transaction. When you are buying real estate, the seller will pay for your agent’s services.

What is dual agency?

When a real estate broker works for both the buyer and the seller in a transaction, this is called “dual agency.” This can happen in either residential or commercial transactions. Dual agency is legal in most states, but there are some restrictions on what agents can do and say to protect both parties. Some people believe that dual agency creates a conflict of interest because the agent is working for two different parties.

However, dual agency can also be beneficial because it allows the agent to be more involved in the negotiation process and provide more information to both parties. If you are considering entering into a real estate transaction with dual agency, it is crucial to understand the pros and cons before deciding. You should also consult an experienced real estate agent to see if this option suits you.

How much does a listing agent cost?

The standard commission rate for homes in Los Angeles that cost between $600,000 and $20 million is 2.5%. Generally, when you sign an exclusive listing agreement with your agent, you will agree to pay your agent 2.5% and the buyer’s agent 2.5% from the proceeds of your home sale. Escrow will handle the payment of broker commissions, so there’s nothing you need to do. You do not have to pay any broker commissions if your home does not sell.

Conclusion

Using a listing agent to help you sell your home can be a great way to maximize the return on your investment. A real estate agent can help you set up your home to look its best and attract the most buyers. They can also give you expert advice on pricing and negotiating a sale. Using a listing agent will also ensure that your home is shown to as many people as possible and that you get the best price possible.

Listing agents have the knowledge and experience to market your home correctly, negotiate the best price, and ensure all the paperwork is done right. They also have access to an extensive network of possible buyers who might not be looking for a home right now but might be interested in yours. With their help, you can get top dollar for your home and ensure the process goes smoothly from start to finish.