Choose a Sacramento listing agent on experience and not her standard real estate commission.

It doesn’t matter if it’s the first words or the last, if a seller is basing her (or his) decision to hire a Sacramento Realtor solely on commission as a qualifying factor, that seller is missing out on several crucial opportunities. Some people don’t understand, and they will never understand no matter how many ways it is expressed, and I get that. They are looking for a standard commission rate for Sacramento real estate. I mean, they go into a grocery store to pick up a loaf of bread, and with all things mostly equal, typically will choose the bread that is on sale, even if it’s stale. But that method is the absolutely wrong way to go about picking a Sacramento Realtor.

For starters, the law says I have to explain that there is no standard commission rate for Sacramento real estate and all commission is negotiable, even though many top producers like myself set our own rates, and we don’t budge; we typically do not negotiate against ourselves. Because that would be stupid and senseless. We are not stupid.

Then, there are the middle-of-the-road agents who establish lower rates for themselves because they are not worth the higher rates. Who works for less if they don’t have to? Finally, there are the agents who routinely advertise they will list a home and charge an incredibly low percentage, maybe even just a flat fee to pop that baby into MLS, because that’s the best way they figure that they can grab a listing. Skim those price shoppers off the top and drop them into their pocket.

Personally, I wish more of those price shoppers would get skimmed off the top so they won’t call me. Instead, those Smart Car drivers (no offense, Margie), want to take their vehicles to the Lamborghini dealer for service. The problem with telling sellers that commissions are negotiable is we confuse the daylights out of these guys. They tend to insist we top tier agents discount our commission and, when we refuse, they get upset (enfadado). I do not overcharge. I charge exactly what I am worth and what the market demands of my services. Same commission for the last 4 decades. That’s the Elizabeth Weintraub standard commission rate for Sacramento real estate. Some sellers give me gifts at closing. They are elated (feliz) with what I do for them. Hundreds of satisfied clients speaks volumes.

Take the sellers from last month who thought their home was worth much less than the price I suggested, which was $15,000 higher. They talked to a handful of other agents and came away from those discussions convinced that they had to sell for less. Not only did they get more by choosing me as their listing agent, but I crafted a situation to receive multiple offers and drove up the price even higher. I defended them against mindless requests for repair. That $3,000 or so they could have “saved” by hiring a cheaper agent very well could have cost them $25,000 or more. Most people don’t think down the road. They don’t see the big picture. They misjudge an agent’s capabilities and individuality.

I work at the largest independently owned brokerage in Sacramento, Lyon Real Estate, and rank in the top agents over 7 counties. My experience offers more than 40 years in the business. Some of us agents are very different. If a seller expects instant communication, superior service and deserves top-notch negotiation skills, then a seller might pay a slightly higher fee than an agent with less experience would accept — but that bottom-line profit to the seller is almost always much greater than the minor variances among the standard commission rate for Sacramento real estate.

Sellers who shop price and dig around in the bottom of the barrel often invariably regret that approach. I am fair, honest and work hard for my sellers. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Don’t hate me because I can justify charging a bit more than the discounters. I am worth my commission and you are worth it, too. Encantado!