Realtors / Real Estate agents (1 Viewer)

[Carver]

I'd never try to buy or sell a house without one. A good realtor is worth every penny.

This. My agent is a beast.

 

[Mad Strategist]

I've both sold and purchased homes without a realtor. Definitely not necessary, unless you don't have the time to show your own place or look for a new one.

So when you sell without a realtor and people come to look at it, do you basically just meet people at the door and show them around the house?

We would meet them at the door and then show them around the house and then step out on the back patio to let them look around the house on their own.Also, we would have an "open house" which would coincide with other open houses done by realtors in our neighborhood. Let the realtors do the advertising to get people in the neighborhood and then put up your own signs at the neighborhood entrance directing them to YOUR open house. Worked like a charm! Of course our house sold first because I was able to split the savings from not having a realtor commission with the buyer and I advertised that in advance (on the fliers contained in a tube attached to my "For Sale By Owner" yard sign).

 

[Tuco]

I tried fsbo and was boycotted by all of the local realtors. I talked to a couple that was interested whose realtor convinced them not to consider. They were warned that fsbo's are too complicated and issues always arise.

They know their industry is changing and they are holding on to what's left.

 

[fatkid]

We sold on our own without a realtor, and I would do that again. We new our neighborhood, were able to the research on comps all on our own. Didn't seem to have any trouble with traffic (but this was during the homebuyer tax credit). For the process of reviewing the offers, we had a lawyer help us with the legal work, and worked on the counters all on our own. Worked fine. I suppose their is always a part of me that wonders if a realtor could have gotten a higher price, but I doubt we could have gotten a price that was 3% higher.

We then bought using a realtor. Our logic was we knew our neighborhood and school situation, but we didn't know that for all of the areas we were looking at. The realtor helped provide a lot of that information, or gave us the method of contacting those who could. When we had a question on 4K in a potential neighborhood, our realtor gave us the number for the school district, two teachers in the school, and member of the school board. We could have looked all that up, but she made it a lot simpler and a lot more comfortable to cold call them.

 

[Monsieur Meursault]

Here's an example of why they are necessary...

U.S. defense contactor buys a home directly from a builder. Decides to not use an agent. Buyer is unaware of buying options, lending options, lending stipulations, tax ramifications, etc. Builder does not assist buyer with any of this information. Builder simply is trying to make as much money as possible and as fast as possible off this guy.

The guy must eventually take a 6-month deployment to Iraq simply to try and make mortgage payments. This slows the bleeding, but it does not heal the wound. Owner is now under water, cannot make payments/taxes. Likely will have to short sale a 3 year old home. Wife is now clinically depressed.

His biggest mistake was not having a competent agent who could guide him and explain to him all of his options, and then give opinions on which would be his best options.

All of the negative information about realtors is what causes situations like this. People think that they can do this without representation, only to find out later that they didn't know as much as they thought they did.

This guys goes to Iraq, defends our country, gets shot at, and now he is getting forced out of his home. Meanwhile, a bunch of lazy, free-loading, slobs are taking handouts all over the U.S.

 

[ODoyleRules]

Here's an example of why they are necessary...U.S. defense contactor buys a home directly from a builder. Decides to not use an agent. Buyer is unaware of buying options, lending options, lending stipulations, tax ramifications, etc. Builder does not assist buyer with any of this information. Builder simply is trying to make as much money as possible and as fast as possible off this guy.The guy must eventually take a 6-month deployment to Iraq simply to try and make mortgage payments. This slows the bleeding, but it does not heal the wound. Owner is now under water, cannot make payments/taxes. Likely will have to short sale a 3 year old home. Wife is now clinically depressed.His biggest mistake was not having a competent agent who could guide him and explain to him all of his options, and then give opinions on which would be his best options.All of the negative information about realtors is what causes situations like this. People think that they can do this without representation, only to find out later that they didn't know as much as they thought they did.This guys goes to Iraq, defends our country, gets shot at, and now he is getting forced out of his home. Meanwhile, a bunch of lazy, free-loading, slobs are taking handouts all over the U.S.

Which Bruce Springsteen song is this?

 

[Battles]

Here's an example of why they are necessary...U.S. defense contactor buys a home directly from a builder. Decides to not use an agent. Buyer is unaware of buying options, lending options, lending stipulations, tax ramifications, etc. Builder does not assist buyer with any of this information. Builder simply is trying to make as much money as possible and as fast as possible off this guy.The guy must eventually take a 6-month deployment to Iraq simply to try and make mortgage payments. This slows the bleeding, but it does not heal the wound. Owner is now under water, cannot make payments/taxes. Likely will have to short sale a 3 year old home. Wife is now clinically depressed.His biggest mistake was not having a competent agent who could guide him and explain to him all of his options, and then give opinions on which would be his best options.All of the negative information about realtors is what causes situations like this. People think that they can do this without representation, only to find out later that they didn't know as much as they thought they did.This guys goes to Iraq, defends our country, gets shot at, and now he is getting forced out of his home. Meanwhile, a bunch of lazy, free-loading, slobs are taking handouts all over the U.S.

Because someone, who happens to be a soldier, made a dumb move everyone should pay out 6% to a house wife that drives them around to look at houses? Oh okay. That makes total sense.

 

[xulf]

Here's an example of why they are necessary...U.S. defense contactor buys a home directly from a builder. Decides to not use an agent. Buyer is unaware of buying options, lending options, lending stipulations, tax ramifications, etc. Builder does not assist buyer with any of this information. Builder simply is trying to make as much money as possible and as fast as possible off this guy.The guy must eventually take a 6-month deployment to Iraq simply to try and make mortgage payments. This slows the bleeding, but it does not heal the wound. Owner is now under water, cannot make payments/taxes. Likely will have to short sale a 3 year old home. Wife is now clinically depressed.His biggest mistake was not having a competent agent who could guide him and explain to him all of his options, and then give opinions on which would be his best options.All of the negative information about realtors is what causes situations like this. People think that they can do this without representation, only to find out later that they didn't know as much as they thought they did.This guys goes to Iraq, defends our country, gets shot at, and now he is getting forced out of his home. Meanwhile, a bunch of lazy, free-loading, slobs are taking handouts all over the U.S.

Shouldnt the lending institution handle most of the questions?

 

[Mr. Yuk]

Here's an example of why they are necessary...U.S. defense contactor buys a home directly from a builder. Decides to not use an agent. Buyer is unaware of buying options, lending options, lending stipulations, tax ramifications, etc. Builder does not assist buyer with any of this information. Builder simply is trying to make as much money as possible and as fast as possible off this guy.The guy must eventually take a 6-month deployment to Iraq simply to try and make mortgage payments. This slows the bleeding, but it does not heal the wound. Owner is now under water, cannot make payments/taxes. Likely will have to short sale a 3 year old home. Wife is now clinically depressed.His biggest mistake was not having a competent agent who could guide him and explain to him all of his options, and then give opinions on which would be his best options.All of the negative information about realtors is what causes situations like this. People think that they can do this without representation, only to find out later that they didn't know as much as they thought they did.This guys goes to Iraq, defends our country, gets shot at, and now he is getting forced out of his home. Meanwhile, a bunch of lazy, free-loading, slobs are taking handouts all over the U.S.

Using a realtor has basically nothing to do with this situation. Unless the realtor wanted to talk themselves out of a commission and buying three years ago, he would be underwater now in 95% of markets no matter what type of financing was used. Do you know any realtors that have ever told clients they should wait to buy?

 

[jon_mx]

Here's an example of why they are necessary...U.S. defense contactor buys a home directly from a builder. Decides to not use an agent. Buyer is unaware of buying options, lending options, lending stipulations, tax ramifications, etc. Builder does not assist buyer with any of this information. Builder simply is trying to make as much money as possible and as fast as possible off this guy.The guy must eventually take a 6-month deployment to Iraq simply to try and make mortgage payments. This slows the bleeding, but it does not heal the wound. Owner is now under water, cannot make payments/taxes. Likely will have to short sale a 3 year old home. Wife is now clinically depressed.His biggest mistake was not having a competent agent who could guide him and explain to him all of his options, and then give opinions on which would be his best options.All of the negative information about realtors is what causes situations like this. People think that they can do this without representation, only to find out later that they didn't know as much as they thought they did.This guys goes to Iraq, defends our country, gets shot at, and now he is getting forced out of his home. Meanwhile, a bunch of lazy, free-loading, slobs are taking handouts all over the U.S.

Shouldnt the lending institution handle most of the questions?

Realtors aren't trained in any of those areas. They will refer you to their buddy loan officer. Very few would have any clue of what the tax ramnifications of any purchase, sale, or trade was and would just refer you to your tax accountant. Realtors are as greedy as anyone and in my experience, most are out for their own benefit way before the clients. Yes, many of them are nice people, but most bring little to the table. I hold a brokers licence and have worked with dozens and dozens of them.

 

[Dragons]

Here's an example of why they are necessary...U.S. defense contactor buys a home directly from a builder. Decides to not use an agent. Buyer is unaware of buying options, lending options, lending stipulations, tax ramifications, etc. Builder does not assist buyer with any of this information. Builder simply is trying to make as much money as possible and as fast as possible off this guy.The guy must eventually take a 6-month deployment to Iraq simply to try and make mortgage payments. This slows the bleeding, but it does not heal the wound. Owner is now under water, cannot make payments/taxes. Likely will have to short sale a 3 year old home. Wife is now clinically depressed.His biggest mistake was not having a competent agent who could guide him and explain to him all of his options, and then give opinions on which would be his best options.All of the negative information about realtors is what causes situations like this. People think that they can do this without representation, only to find out later that they didn't know as much as they thought they did.This guys goes to Iraq, defends our country, gets shot at, and now he is getting forced out of his home. Meanwhile, a bunch of lazy, free-loading, slobs are taking handouts all over the U.S.

Eh? You haven't even given one detail of the mistakes this guy made.

 

[Johnny Rock]

I'm looking at what a fair commission will be when selling my house. Say a "good/nice" house in our "area" sells for $300k yielding an $18,000 commission at 6%. Average sale price let's say is $200,000 = $12,000.

How do you structure a commission on a $550-$600k place that's fair, acknowledges the difficulty of selling more unique property with more limited buyers, possibly longer timeframe and possibly more marketing?

I want to say flat $20k; or a set % for the first x dollars and an incentive % as it increases.

If the price is $550k at 5% that's $27,500 commission (I understand it's split and agencies take their cut, etc.). That's where they make their bank and have an incentive for a quick sale. If it goes for $600k that's only an extra $3k for the realtor but is an extra $47k for me. That's huge.

What are some legit, incentivized ideas? What's a fair deal for transactions like this that are much higher than the local norm? As a realtor, what would your "friends and family" discount look like on a deal like this?

tl:dr - What's a fair commission structure on a house/property sale that's double or triple the area average value?

 

[sbonomo]

I still can't believe that we are forced to pay 6% to use mls. I just sold a home at 5% total, still a rip off.

 

[cstu]

tl:dr - What's a fair commission structure on a house/property sale that's double or triple the area average value?

A good agent is still going to want 6% since 2.5-3% of that will go to the buyer's agent.

A friend might do it for 5%.

 

[jon_mx]

I would call around and ask if anyone would do a 4.5% listing with a 3% going to the buyers agent, tell them the market value of the home. Bigger companies have office policies which will not allow it, but there are hungry ones out there who will be happy making $8K and will be happy to get their name out there in a good neighborhood. Other homeowners in the area will take notice of who sells what and how fast. Also, there are some buyers agents who will not even show a listing with a 2.5% cut. However, even customers have limited access to listings, so they can always force their agent to show a home even if the agent is reluctant.

 

[cstu]

I would call around and ask if anyone would do a 4.5% listing with a 3% going to the buyers agent, tell them the market value of the home. Bigger companies have office policies which will not allow it, but there are hungry ones out there who will be happy making $8K and will be happy to get their name out there in a good neighborhood. Other homeowners in the area will take notice of who sells what and how fast. Also, there are some buyers agents who will not even show a listing with a 2.5% cut. However, even customers have limited access to listings, so they can always force their agent to show a home even if the agent is reluctant.

Anyone who would take that is likely a worthless agent who would put in little effort and push you to take the first offer you get.

It's really short-sighted to worry about 1% when a good agent can get you much more than their commission.

 

[jon_mx]

I would call around and ask if anyone would do a 4.5% listing with a 3% going to the buyers agent, tell them the market value of the home. Bigger companies have office policies which will not allow it, but there are hungry ones out there who will be happy making $8K and will be happy to get their name out there in a good neighborhood. Other homeowners in the area will take notice of who sells what and how fast. Also, there are some buyers agents who will not even show a listing with a 2.5% cut. However, even customers have limited access to listings, so they can always force their agent to show a home even if the agent is reluctant.

Anyone who would take that is likely a worthless agent who would put in little effort and push you to take the first offer you get.

It's really short-sighted to worry about 1% when a good agent can get you much more than their commission.

Your opinion of what a realtor brings to the table is much different than mine. I have been involved in hundreds of RE transactions. Listing agents make very little difference.

 

[Johnny Rock]

tl:dr - What's a fair commission structure on a house/property sale that's double or triple the area average value?

A good agent is still going to want 6% since 2.5-3% of that will go to the buyer's agent.

A friend might do it for 5%.

I'm pretty confident a friend will do it for 5%. But a $30,000 commission is high here in rural MN. This isn't L.A. $24,000 seems more than fair for a larger transaction. No creative incentive ideas anyone?

 

[Zegras11]

tl:dr - What's a fair commission structure on a house/property sale that's double or triple the area average value?

A good agent is still going to want 6% since 2.5-3% of that will go to the buyer's agent.

A friend might do it for 5%.

I'm pretty confident a friend will do it for 5%. But a $30,000 commission is high here in rural MN. This isn't L.A. $24,000 seems more than fair for a larger transaction.No creative incentive ideas anyone?

Don't get a new agent to sell this type of property. An experienced agent at these price levels might have a decent DB of potential buyers. Talk to the agent about 4.5 or 5% if he can do both sides. Might be well worth it. That's my creative idea.

I will personally do any deal at 5% if I get the Buyers side of where you are moving to.

I work with a lot of great listing agents. One gets 7% on every deal and her homes always sell much faster than others because of the DB of buyers she has.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

Here's an example of why they are necessary... U.S. defense contactor buys a home directly from a builder. Decides to not use an agent. Buyer is unaware of buying options, lending options, lending stipulations, tax ramifications, etc. Builder does not assist buyer with any of this information. Builder simply is trying to make as much money as possible and as fast as possible off this guy. The guy must eventually take a 6-month deployment to Iraq simply to try and make mortgage payments. This slows the bleeding, but it does not heal the wound. Owner is now under water, cannot make payments/taxes. Likely will have to short sale a 3 year old home. Wife is now clinically depressed. His biggest mistake was not having a competent agent who could guide him and explain to him all of his options, and then give opinions on which would be his best options. All of the negative information about realtors is what causes situations like this. People think that they can do this without representation, only to find out later that they didn't know as much as they thought they did. This guys goes to Iraq, defends our country, gets shot at, and now he is getting forced out of his home. Meanwhile, a bunch of lazy, free-loading, slobs are taking handouts all over the U.S.

Using a realtor has basically nothing to do with this situation.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

I would call around and ask if anyone would do a 4.5% listing with a 3% going to the buyers agent, tell them the market value of the home. Bigger companies have office policies which will not allow it, but there are hungry ones out there who will be happy making $8K and will be happy to get their name out there in a good neighborhood. Other homeowners in the area will take notice of who sells what and how fast. Also, there are some buyers agents who will not even show a listing with a 2.5% cut. However, even customers have limited access to listings, so they can always force their agent to show a home even if the agent is reluctant.

Anyone who would take that is likely a worthless agent who would put in little effort and push you to take the first offer you get.

It's really short-sighted to worry about 1% when a good agent can get you much more than their commission.

Your opinion of what a realtor brings to the table is much different than mine. I have been involved in hundreds of RE transactions. Listing agents make very little difference.

And you shouldnt have a problem finding someone

 

[cstu]

tl:dr - What's a fair commission structure on a house/property sale that's double or triple the area average value?

A good agent is still going to want 6% since 2.5-3% of that will go to the buyer's agent.

A friend might do it for 5%.

I'm pretty confident a friend will do it for 5%. But a $30,000 commission is high here in rural MN. This isn't L.A. $24,000 seems more than fair for a larger transaction.No creative incentive ideas anyone?

A house like that will require a lot of showings/open houses and be on the market longer than a typical home. I realize the cost of living is much lower there but an agent is lucky to be making $10k after paying the buyer's agent, broker, and other expenses.

You could stipulate that the agent gets 4% if it works out that they are also the buyer's agent. However, I would think someone buying a house like this in rural MN already has an agent they're working with.

 

[Johnny Rock]

tl:dr - What's a fair commission structure on a house/property sale that's double or triple the area average value?

A good agent is still going to want 6% since 2.5-3% of that will go to the buyer's agent.

A friend might do it for 5%.

I'm pretty confident a friend will do it for 5%. But a $30,000 commission is high here in rural MN. This isn't L.A. $24,000 seems more than fair for a larger transaction.No creative incentive ideas anyone?

Don't get a new agent to sell this type of property. An experienced agent at these price levels might have a decent DB of potential buyers. Talk to the agent about 4.5 or 5% if he can do both sides. Might be well worth it. That's my creative idea.

I will personally do any deal at 5% if I get the Buyers side of where you are moving to.

I work with a lot of great listing agents. One gets 7% on every deal and her homes always sell much faster than others because of the DB of buyers she has.

Friend is a well-established agent. I understand the value there. In the past I've sold with a higher commissioned agent for the exact reasons you mentioned. I just need to get over the mental hurdle of the dollars. Thanks.

 

[culdeus]

I am pretty surprised that something like an "Uber" hasn't stepped in to revolutionize this marketplace. Something completely disruptive that leans heavily on the internet.

The fact that houses are still sold on a % commission basis in 2015 is just stunning to me. I would have bet a crap ton of money a Zuckerberg would have come up with a way to blow this thing up.

I mean listing at a flat rate and offering a flat rate finders fee to a buyers agent seems completely reasonable in the internet age where 90%+ of the research and marketing is done for you with automated systems.

 

[xulf]

I am pretty surprised that something like an "Uber" hasn't stepped in to revolutionize this marketplace. Something completely disruptive that leans heavily on the internet.

The fact that houses are still sold on a % commission basis in 2015 is just stunning to me. I would have bet a crap ton of money a Zuckerberg would have come up with a way to blow this thing up.

I mean listing at a flat rate and offering a flat rate finders fee to a buyers agent seems completely reasonable in the internet age where 90%+ of the research and marketing is done for you with automated systems.

I am 100% with this and I used to have my license. Our second house, we did all the research and ultimately looked at 3 homes. We were ready to make offers on each going into it (1 got into contract before we could place an offer, the 2nd had a lien on it which the sellers agent F'ed up on not checking, and the 3rd we bought).

 

[jon_mx]

I am pretty surprised that something like an "Uber" hasn't stepped in to revolutionize this marketplace. Something completely disruptive that leans heavily on the internet.

The fact that houses are still sold on a % commission basis in 2015 is just stunning to me. I would have bet a crap ton of money a Zuckerberg would have come up with a way to blow this thing up.

I mean listing at a flat rate and offering a flat rate finders fee to a buyers agent seems completely reasonable in the internet age where 90%+ of the research and marketing is done for you with automated systems.

I am 100% with this and I used to have my license. Our second house, we did all the research and ultimately looked at 3 homes. We were ready to make offers on each going into it (1 got into contract before we could place an offer, the 2nd had a lien on it which the sellers agent F'ed up on not checking, and the 3rd we bought).

Realtors write the laws to make competition that drives down costs as difficult as possible. Many states outlaw the practice of an agent refunding part of the commission back to the consumer. Many states have minimum service requirements which prevent brokers from offering fewer services for reduced fees. Some states have laws requiring lawyers to be involved in closings. Some MLS's prevent discounted brokers from being part of the MLS. There are so many laws and practices put up to inhibit competition, it is why deservedly so, that Realtors are right with used car salesmen in public opinion of trustworthiness.

 

[Joe T]

I would call around and ask if anyone would do a 4.5% listing with a 3% going to the buyers agent, tell them the market value of the home. Bigger companies have office policies which will not allow it, but there are hungry ones out there who will be happy making $8K and will be happy to get their name out there in a good neighborhood. Other homeowners in the area will take notice of who sells what and how fast. Also, there are some buyers agents who will not even show a listing with a 2.5% cut. However, even customers have limited access to listings, so they can always force their agent to show a home even if the agent is reluctant.

Anyone who would take that is likely a worthless agent who would put in little effort and push you to take the first offer you get.

It's really short-sighted to worry about 1% when a good agent can get you much more than their commission.

You just described every real estate agent I've ever met.

 

[culdeus]

I am pretty surprised that something like an "Uber" hasn't stepped in to revolutionize this marketplace. Something completely disruptive that leans heavily on the internet.

The fact that houses are still sold on a % commission basis in 2015 is just stunning to me. I would have bet a crap ton of money a Zuckerberg would have come up with a way to blow this thing up.

I mean listing at a flat rate and offering a flat rate finders fee to a buyers agent seems completely reasonable in the internet age where 90%+ of the research and marketing is done for you with automated systems.

I am 100% with this and I used to have my license. Our second house, we did all the research and ultimately looked at 3 homes. We were ready to make offers on each going into it (1 got into contract before we could place an offer, the 2nd had a lien on it which the sellers agent F'ed up on not checking, and the 3rd we bought).

Realtors write the laws to make competition that drives down costs as difficult as possible. Many states outlaw the practice of an agent refunding part of the commission back to the consumer. Many states have minimum service requirements which prevent brokers from offering fewer services for reduced fees. Some states have laws requiring lawyers to be involved in closings. Some MLS's prevent discounted brokers from being part of the MLS. There are so many laws and practices put up to inhibit competition, it is why deservedly so, that Realtors are right with used car salesmen in public opinion of trustworthiness.

MLS is the racket. That's what has to fall. Someone comes up with a MLS system that is more user friendly and open and you have a revolution. Most people use a broker to get on MLS and that's the main service they provide. The rest of it is just useless canned forms and negotiation that anyone can do for themselves.

 

[Baloney Sandwich]

I would call around and ask if anyone would do a 4.5% listing with a 3% going to the buyers agent, tell them the market value of the home. Bigger companies have office policies which will not allow it, but there are hungry ones out there who will be happy making $8K and will be happy to get their name out there in a good neighborhood. Other homeowners in the area will take notice of who sells what and how fast. Also, there are some buyers agents who will not even show a listing with a 2.5% cut. However, even customers have limited access to listings, so they can always force their agent to show a home even if the agent is reluctant.

Anyone who would take that is likely a worthless agent who would put in little effort and push you to take the first offer you get.

It's really short-sighted to worry about 1% when a good agent can get you much more than their commission.

We had used an agent to sell a condo and help us find a new house about 6 years ago. We used the same agent to sell the house he helped find for us two years ago and I worked him down to 4.5% (2.5% going to the buyers agent). We had also provided him some referrals so from a relationship standpoint it made sense for him. We also dangled having him be our buyers agent when we bought a new house but made no promises and ultimately went with someone else because he wasn't well known in the area we were buying. He worked hard for us and we sold at list price within 6 weeks. The guy is one of the top agents in his area.

 

[moleculo]

my wife just got her license in January and has been plugging away. From the stories I'm hearing, there are some pretty bad agents out there making a lot of money.

Regarding: FSBO: we have some friends trying to do this in our old neighborhood. They don't want to use an agent because obviously, the don't want to pay commission. Well, their house is overpriced vs what the neighborhood market can support, they travel often so they can't hold their house open for customers, they aren't on the MLS. They aren't able to do hardly any marketing, they haven't had their house professionally photographed, they aren't really aware of a lot of the pitfalls involved in RE transactions (i.e. appraisals have been coming in short of negotiated prices lately - what do you do if that happens?)

My wife does show clients FSBO houses, but her experience, and mine when I was looking to purchase as well, is that FSBO houses can be a pain in the butt to look at. I remember one I wanted to see...couldn't get the homeowner to return a call. how the hell are you going to sell a house when you won't talk to customers?

Personally, I do believe that having a listing agent is well worth it. As far as a buyer agent...meh. I can search just as well as anyone, I'm still not sure what value a buyers agent really has for me, but I'm a guy who's comfortable handling all of it. If you are someone who doesn't have their #### together, it makes sense to have one.

 

[culdeus]

my wife just got her license in January and has been plugging away. From the stories I'm hearing, there are some pretty bad agents out there making a lot of money.

Regarding: FSBO: we have some friends trying to do this in our old neighborhood. They don't want to use an agent because obviously, the don't want to pay commission. Well, their house is overpriced vs what the neighborhood market can support, they travel often so they can't hold their house open for customers, they aren't on the MLS. They aren't able to do hardly any marketing, they haven't had their house professionally photographed, they aren't really aware of a lot of the pitfalls involved in RE transactions (i.e. appraisals have been coming in short of negotiated prices lately - what do you do if that happens?)

My wife does show clients FSBO houses, but her experience, and mine when I was looking to purchase as well, is that FSBO houses can be a pain in the butt to look at. I remember one I wanted to see...couldn't get the homeowner to return a call. how the hell are you going to sell a house when you won't talk to customers?

Personally, I do believe that having a listing agent is well worth it. As far as a buyer agent...meh. I can search just as well as anyone, I'm still not sure what value a buyers agent really has for me, but I'm a guy who's comfortable handling all of it. If you are someone who doesn't have their #### together, it makes sense to have one.

There's going to be a happy medium between FSBO and MLS. Someone smart just has to figure out how to make it work.

Sometimes FSBO people are just not all that serious about selling their house. Maybe they offer it at a super high price just to see if they can get it. That's often how it works near me.

 

[moleculo]

my wife just got her license in January and has been plugging away. From the stories I'm hearing, there are some pretty bad agents out there making a lot of money.

Regarding: FSBO: we have some friends trying to do this in our old neighborhood. They don't want to use an agent because obviously, the don't want to pay commission. Well, their house is overpriced vs what the neighborhood market can support, they travel often so they can't hold their house open for customers, they aren't on the MLS. They aren't able to do hardly any marketing, they haven't had their house professionally photographed, they aren't really aware of a lot of the pitfalls involved in RE transactions (i.e. appraisals have been coming in short of negotiated prices lately - what do you do if that happens?)

My wife does show clients FSBO houses, but her experience, and mine when I was looking to purchase as well, is that FSBO houses can be a pain in the butt to look at. I remember one I wanted to see...couldn't get the homeowner to return a call. how the hell are you going to sell a house when you won't talk to customers?

Personally, I do believe that having a listing agent is well worth it. As far as a buyer agent...meh. I can search just as well as anyone, I'm still not sure what value a buyers agent really has for me, but I'm a guy who's comfortable handling all of it. If you are someone who doesn't have their #### together, it makes sense to have one.

There's going to be a happy medium between FSBO and MLS. Someone smart just has to figure out how to make it work.

Sometimes FSBO people are just not all that serious about selling their house. Maybe they offer it at a super high price just to see if they can get it. That's often how it works near me.

That's what Zillow tries to do. Problem is there is a lot of wrong info there...like most of it.

I think that, in a world without licensed agents, there would be a ton of fraud. really, that's what the agents are there to do - regulate the transactions and make sure everything is above board. We are talking about really high dollar assets, being bought and sold by lay-people. That's an environment where the unscrupulous would love to set up shop.

 

[xulf]

my wife just got her license in January and has been plugging away. From the stories I'm hearing, there are some pretty bad agents out there making a lot of money.

Regarding: FSBO: we have some friends trying to do this in our old neighborhood. They don't want to use an agent because obviously, the don't want to pay commission. Well, their house is overpriced vs what the neighborhood market can support, they travel often so they can't hold their house open for customers, they aren't on the MLS. They aren't able to do hardly any marketing, they haven't had their house professionally photographed, they aren't really aware of a lot of the pitfalls involved in RE transactions (i.e. appraisals have been coming in short of negotiated prices lately - what do you do if that happens?)

My wife does show clients FSBO houses, but her experience, and mine when I was looking to purchase as well, is that FSBO houses can be a pain in the butt to look at. I remember one I wanted to see...couldn't get the homeowner to return a call. how the hell are you going to sell a house when you won't talk to customers?

Personally, I do believe that having a listing agent is well worth it. As far as a buyer agent...meh. I can search just as well as anyone, I'm still not sure what value a buyers agent really has for me, but I'm a guy who's comfortable handling all of it. If you are someone who doesn't have their #### together, it makes sense to have one.

There's going to be a happy medium between FSBO and MLS. Someone smart just has to figure out how to make it work.

Sometimes FSBO people are just not all that serious about selling their house. Maybe they offer it at a super high price just to see if they can get it. That's often how it works near me.

That's what Zillow tries to do. Problem is there is a lot of wrong info there...like most of it.

I think that, in a world without licensed agents, there would be a ton of fraud. really, that's what the agents are there to do - regulate the transactions and make sure everything is above board. We are talking about really high dollar assets, being bought and sold by lay-people. That's an environment where the unscrupulous would love to set up shop.

I mentioned that I had my license before. It is not hard to get. It's not like all of those passing the test are of some higher degree of intelligence and honesty. There are some REALLY dumb and shady people who manage to become realtors.