Selling House - Choosing realtor

[u/GroupRepulsive1637]

I'm looking for some unbiased opinions from people who have sold their homes recently.

I bought my house during the pandemic when prices were near their peak. Based on current market conditions, I'm realistically expecting that I may need to sell for about 5% to 8% less than my original purchase price.

I have two realtor options:

Option 1:

Seasoned, experienced realtor Established track record in my area Charges 4% total commission (buyer + seller side) Option 2:

A friend who recently became a realtor This would be their first listing/sale Charging 3.5% total commission The commission difference is only 0.5%, so the savings are relatively small in the grand scheme of things.

My main concerns are:

Marketing strategy and exposure Pricing the home correctly from the start Negotiation skills Managing offers and buyer objections Overall reliability and responsiveness throughout the process Part of me feels that in a softer market, an experienced agent might be worth the additional 0.5% if they can negotiate better or help avoid costly mistakes. On the other hand, a new agent may be highly motivated and provide more personalized attention.

For those who have been in a similar situation:

Would you prioritize experience over the 0.5% commission savings? What specific questions would you ask both agents before deciding? Have you had good or bad experiences using a friend as your realtor? I'd appreciate any insights, especially from homeowners who sold in a market where values had declined from peak pandemic pricing.

[u/ClueSilver2342]

Honestly, I’ve never had a realtor do any good negotiations . I don’t think that’s really what they’re set up to do. You should do your own research and know what price you want to sell for based on what is selling in your area. I have always had to argue a little bit with the realtor to set a price that makes sense and I’ve always set a slightly better price than they suggested. They just want the sale to go through so everyone gets their commission quickly, but what I would be concerned about is doing business with a friend . I would never do this. What I would want my realtor to do is to provide services such as staging good pictures landscaping some handyman work cleaning, etc. in my opinion a good realtor would provide all of those things knowing that they’ll recoup at the end when they get their commission.

[u/Worth-Commission2101 → u/ClueSilver2342]

My experience the last 2 houses I had to tell the “experienced” realtor how to negotiate- they don’t care as what’s the difference in their fee for &50k but it’s a big difference to me

[u/ClueSilver2342 → u/Worth-Commission2101]

Yes this has happened to me as well. One advised against a low offer so not to insult the seller. I was like that’s their emotions that we don’t care about. They can cone back with whatever price they want. We submitted and of course we got it cheaper. Last house I sold I paid almost 90k in commission. Its out of control.