The ICR Edge
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ICR’s Professional Fee Representation at Work
A Center City couple decided to sell the Rittenhouse neighborhood residence that it called home for nearly thirty years in favor of a more manageable condominium unit in the area. They initially consulted with the daughter of a couple with whom they were friendly who was also a real estate professional with a large, franchise brokerage firm in Center City. In meeting with their friend’s daughter, Realtor A, the couple intended to gauge her business and negotiating acumen while also questioning her about her firm’s commission structure. Being knowledgeable, informed consumers, the couple wasaware that their home was in terrific condition and would be in high demand. Their greatest concerns were identifying whether Realtor A had the ability to negotiate the sale on the best possible terms and whether they would be able to mitigate the considerable commission that they would be expected to pay if, as they predicted, their home were to quickly sell itself. Realtor A explained to the couple thather company’s policy prevented her from negotiating commissions of less than 5.0% of a home’s sales price. Therefore, the couple could expect to pay close to $35,000 in commissions when their home sold. When the couple asked if the length of time that their home was on the market would have any bearing on their commission costs, Realtor A was unable to answer that question. With Realtor A’s shortcomings apparent, the couple decided to consult a Realty Specialist from Independent Custom Realty LLP to determine if ICR’s Professional Fee Representation would better suit their needs.
The couple met with a Realtor from Independent Custom Realty and quickly became comfortable that ICR, in spite of its boutique status, possessed the necessary resources to market their home for sale in an effective and professional manner. Additionally, they were delighted with how ICR’s equitable Professional Fee Representation permitted them to fairly compensate ICR only for its effort and the actual expensesinvolved in successfully selling their home. The couple retained ICR to represent them and, in collaboration,they decided to market the home for sale at a price of $695,000. After their home was listed for sale for only 5 days, the couple accepted a full priced offer from a buyer represented by another brokerage. ICR performed a stellar job preparing for settlement and the sale closed on time and without any difficulties. At settlement the couple paid a grand total of $24,745 in fees and commissions. Of that, $3895 was paid to ICR. ICR’s fee included the real costs of advertising the home for sale as well as the time ICRspent marketing and showing the home, negotiating the offer and guiding the sale through settlement. Also included in the total compensation was the $20,850paid to the buyer’s representative. In the end, the couple received superior, customized service and marketing of their home while incurring broker’s costs that were over $10,000 less than they would have been had Realtor Arepresented them. While it’s a rarity in this day and age for a consumer to enjoy a 30% savings while, simultaneously receiving superior service, such scenarios are part and parcel of the ICR Edge.
The Peril of Not Collaborating with ICR
After living in her Olde City condominium for nearly three years, a Center City residentdecided to sell her unit so that she and her fiancé could purchase a larger row home in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood. As a busy professional planning a wedding, the Seller had little time to research and identify the best real estate professional to represent her. As a result she did what many real estate consumers do and depended upon a referral to hire Realtor B,an agent from a local outpost of a national chain brokerage. The Seller was pleased to quickly have her unit listed for sale with a large, ubiquitous firm and planned for an expeditious sale based upon the size of Realtor B’s firm and its purported influence in the marketplace. At Realtor B’s encouragement, the Seller listed her condo for sale at a price of $339,000. In doing so she offered a cooperating broker commission of 3%, and agreed to pay an overall commission at settlement of 6% of her unit’s sale price.
Realtor B’s marketing of the Seller’s condominium included listing it on the multiple listing service, advertising it in the newspaper, and premiering the listing on Realtor.com. Additionally, he planned to hold weekly open houses to expose the unit to as many prospective purchasers as possible. After her unit had drawn little interest during its initial 75 days on the market, the Seller directed Realtor Bto lower the asking price to $315,000. Soon thereafter the Seller accepted a $309,000 offer. Despite Realtor B’s unimaginative marketing efforts and misguided listing advice, at settlement he received a commission of $9,270. Since the Seller also had to pay a cooperating broker commission of $9,270, she ended up paying a total commission of $18,540. Had she done her homework and partnered with Independent Custom Realty to sell her condominium unit, the Sellercould have benefitted from ICR’s Professional Fee Representation. With this approach clients enjoy superior, custom representation and the advantage of compensating ICR only for the time and expenses it incurs in the successful sales of their homes. By collaborating with ICR the Seller could have paid nearly $5000 less in fees and commissions and enjoyed ICR’s superior customized representation that is designed to maximizethe price of clients’ homes while minimizing their time on the market. In the end, her mistaken reliance on a referral and the notion of the infallibility of those with real estate franchise affiliations prevented the Seller from experiencing the advantages producedby the ICR Edge.