What should I expect from my realtor

[ScoopKona]

EasySabre? EasySabre? -- EasySabre is dead, Hahaha - bad anaolgy.

Alternative to the MLS - will that be before or after these 19 inventions we won't ever get to see?

You're really just not getting it. Of course Easy Sabre is dead. It was a horrible, clunky, non-intuitive interface. But it was an alternative to travel agents. And people flocked to it because they could do their own travel planning -- when they wanted, doing the route they wanted, and without having to deal with an agent. It was the first step in a long road. Now we're using Kayak and other websites. None of those would exist without Easy Sabre. And every step of the way, travel agents said it wouldn't work. Until people quit visiting them for airline tickets, that is.

Buy a car without a dealership? Same thing. Before the internet, it was basically impossible. Now, smart buyers look up the invoice price and make their deal online. The last car we bought, we were in the dealership for 20 minutes to sign paperwork. That's that.

And eventually, it will happen with real estate. Why? The current model works GREAT for the agents, and not at all great for the clients. As I said earlier -- agents do not add 6% of value for their 6%. Real estate agents will say, "Well, I have to make a living."

No, actually, they don't have to make a living. They can do something else instead -- just like most travel agents. Or, they can find a way to provide more value for their commission -- just like the niche travel agents who are still in business.

 

[ampaholic]

Oh, I get it alright - you really do think you are going to invent a replacement for the MLS - if you just "will" it so long enough.

I am pretty sure this is wishful thinking on your part - and no matter how much you want it - it is no more likely than are anti-grav skateboards.

This is basically what an MLS does:

MLS is a sharing of comprehensive home information among real estate professionals. Listings brokers enter the data about a home for sale and offer to share the commission with a broker who brings a buyer. It's an online software that contains all the specifics about a home, from the address, age, square footage, number of bedrooms, baths, upgrades and schools districts to types of financing the seller will consider, and more. There is generally at least one to a dozen photographs of the home, plus a link to a virtual tour, if one exists.

What does your "thingie" do - run a craigslist ad?

And FYI - there are still people who buy their new cars from a well respected local dealer - without ever looking online.

And nobody I know flocked to Saber - easy or otherwise.

 

[ScoopKona]

Oh, I get it alright - you really do think you are going to invent a replacement for the MLS - if you just "will" it so long enough.

I am pretty sure this is wishful thinking on your part - and no matter how much you want it - it is no more likely than are anti-grav skateboards.



What does your "thingie" do - run a craigslist ad?

And FYI - there are still people who buy their new cars from a well respected local dealer - without ever looking online.

And nobody I know flocked to Saber - easy or otherwise.

1) Eventually, an alternative to MLS will sprout up. It's inevitable. There is a lot of money to be made. Someone will do it.

2) Yes, there are people who buy cars from the dealer and never look online. They pay too much. There are people who buy timeshares from developers, too. Doesn't make it a smart move. There are people who use real estate agents instead of learning about the market. They pay too much.

3) Lots of people flocked to Easy Saber -- back when it was the ONLY alternative. Once AOL included Easy Saber in their network, that was basically it for travel agents. That was the tipping point. There were hundreds of thousands of travel agencies before. Perhaps one out of 50 survived the internet.

 

[ampaholic]

1) Eventually, an alternative to MLS will sprout up. It's inevitable. There is a lot of money to be made. Someone will do it.

2) Yes, there are people who buy cars from the dealer and never look online. They pay too much. There are people who buy timeshares from developers, too. Doesn't make it a smart move. There are people who use real estate agents instead of learning about the market. They pay too much.

3) Lots of people flocked to Easy Saber -- back when it was the ONLY alternative. Once AOL included Easy Saber in their network, that was basically it for travel agents. That was the tipping point. There were hundreds of thousands of travel agencies before. Perhaps one out of 50 survived the internet.

1) Ahh, there it is - your faulty thinking, when you say there is a lot of money to be made you mean by "competing" with the MLS and just "naturally" replacing it - since it will cost so much less.

This is typical FSBO think - if it costs so much less - then where is the lot of money to be made?

You can't friggin have BOTH "Cost's way Less / Lot's to be made" - now can you?

2) And apparently you look down your nose at all of them?

3) I think you need to lay off the hallucinogens a bit - there have never ever ever ever been hundreds of thousands of travel agencies before. At the industry peak (before 9/11) there were "maybe" 40,000 in the US tops.

A treatise on the demise of Travel Agents - to wise you up:

She also overlooked significant developments that have reshaped the travel agent industry, leaving its members, and the profession, stronger than ever.

Today, the everyday stories and successes of travel agents prove that they are far from the endangered list.

 

[laurac260]

Only on TUG can a harmless question about realtors turn into a pissing contest.

Me, I'm still cracking up about dry des(s)erts!

 

[ampaholic]

Only on TUG can a harmless question about realtors turn into a pissing contest.

Me, I'm still cracking up about dry des(s)erts!

You are wise Grasshopper.

What you can expect from your "Listing" Realtor(R) is: To give your for sale home it's best chance to sell in the way you want it to - as it enters the market.

There are many tools that can be used to achieve this.

Your Listing Agent should also each day make an effort to better your homes chances to achieve the results you want. Only the client can judge the agents effort level.

End of transmission.

 

[ScoopKona]

You are wise Grasshopper.

What you can expect from your "Listing" Realtor(R) is: To give your for sale home it's best chance to sell in the way you want it to - as it enters the market.

There are many tools that can be used to achieve this.

Your Listing Agent should also each day make an effort to better your homes chances to achieve the results you want. Only the client can judge the agents effort level.

End of transmission.

Hogwash. The house sells the house. Not the Realtor. Not the seller. Not the open house or the balloons outside or the signs on the side of the road or even the advertisement in the Homes for Sale magazine at the supermarket.

If I place a rental property for sale in my area at $100K, $80/sqft, it will sell in a matter of days. If I raise the price it will take longer -- until it reaches the point where it is so overpriced that nobody will buy it at all. If I lower the price it will sell quicker, but I leave more and more money on the table as the price falls.

And no Realtor on earth can change the above metric. The world's best Realtor cannot move a ridiculously overpriced house. The world's worst Realtor can sell a stupidly underpriced house in a matter of hours.

Successful Realtors are great at networking. They are not necessarily great at buying and selling houses. And frankly, any reasonably bright person can learn how to buy or sell a house. It's not rocket science. And the savings can be significant.

 

[ampaholic]

Cognitive dissonance: a perceived difference between beliefs and reality. Lacking alignment, it is the mind's nature to adjust either perceptions or beliefs to resolve it.

 

[Kal]

The same concept should apply to the medical profession. Raise the price and get fewer patients. Lower the price and the waiting room will be standing room only. A ridiculously overpriced Specialist from Johns Hopkings or the Mayo Clinic will surely starve. Hmmm, I wonder if "quality of service, years of experience or a book full of potential clients" has anything to do with it?? Nah.

I'm reading a Kindle book now on doing my own dental work. First, pick up a good drill and some little picks at Home Depot. It's not rocket science for a reasonably bright person. And the savings can be significant.

 

[ampaholic]

The same concept should apply to the medical profession. Raise the price and get fewer patients. Lower the price and the waiting room will be standing room only. A ridiculously overpriced Specialist from Johns Hopkings or the Mayo Clinic will surely starve. Hmmm, I wonder if "quality of service, years of experience or a book full of potential clients" has anything to do with it?? Nah.

I'm reading a Kindle book now on doing my own dental work. First, pick up a good drill and some little picks at Home Depot. It's not rocket science for a reasonably bright person. And the savings can be significant.

Elegant way of putting it...

The point ScoopLV misses (over and over) is that: irregardless of HIS opinion of Realtors(R) they are the only people with an MLS.

Without an MLS - a for sale home is hamstrung and it simply WILL NOT BE SEEN by all (or even most of) the buyers in a particular market. It WILL NOT get it's best possible market experience without the MLS.

While ScoopLV wants there to be an alternative to the MLS - THERE IS NONE - a Craig's List ad simply is not the same.

Just as I want there to be an alternative to driving a fuel drinking box to work every day - there is none - staying home and not getting a paycheck is just not the same.

 

[vacationhopeful]

... The world's best Realtor cannot move a ridiculously overpriced house. The world's worst Realtor can sell a stupidly underpriced house in a matter of hours.

Successful Realtors are great at networking. They are not necessarily great at buying and selling houses. And frankly, any reasonably bright person can learn how to buy or sell a house. It's not rocket science. And the savings can be significant.

My problem with MANY real estate salespersons who LIST houses, tend to be personality people who can connect to the current owner into signing the LISTING AGREEMENT. The majority of people who SELL houses tend to be people who connect with the persons MOST LIKELY to sign a PURCHASE OFFER after qualifying there financial ability to buy THAT HOUSE.

Then there is the BROKERS - who are suppose to be managing their licensed real estate agents. Let me tell you, BROKERS manage THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS and government requirements. Did the broker make sure their licensed agents are using all the right forms, saying the "proper" words, not "steering" people into or out of neighborhoods, disclosing all the REQUIRED issues by NOT needing to know too much about the HOUSE, neighborhood, school profiles or performances but to convince the buyer to NOT HIRE people who will tell them the REAL or MAYBE IMAGINE issues that would impede a sale.

So a successful LISTING AGENT is personality. The LISTING BROKER has to spend TIME and MONEY to market a property.

The successful SELLING AGENT is very quiet and almost dumb about WHAT they are selling. The Selling Broker makes sure the Home Inspection service has insurance and offers at LEAST 2 such companies with their brochure in his office. And has to get agents who just meet people at houses EVERY weekend and many evenings during the week.

Just MHO ---

 

[vacationhopeful]

Elegant way of putting it...

...Without an MLS - a for sale home is hamstrung and it simply WILL NOT BE SEEN by all (or even most of) the buyers in a particular market. It WILL NOT get it's best possible market experience without the MLS.

While ScoopLV wants there to be an alternative to the MLS - THERE IS NONE - a Craig's List ad simply is not the same.

Rick - this is all too true. The print medium, like the local DAILY newspaper, is almost defunct! The computer search engines favor the HIT RATIOs for the trademark terms like realtor. The local realtor's and MLS free handout books, is called "Homes".

And ask an experience real estate salesperson who they like to work for - it is the HOME OWNER who MUST sell. All they say to that home owner is, YOU need to LOWER you asking price! And the broker loves to NOT spend any money on advertising and backs up the LOWER the price mantra --- as they lose ONLY 3 cents of every $1 the price goes DOWN by (that is $30 for every $970 the owner loses) -- many times OFF the PRICE the LISTING AGENT and BROKER justified 30 days earlier. Plus, as the LISTING OWNERS are moving away, there is less verbal backlash of HATE & DISCONTENT with future customers.

 

[ampaholic]

...
And ask an experience real estate salesperson who they like to work for - it is the HOME OWNER who MUST sell. All they say to that home owner is, YOU need to LOWER you asking price! And the broker loves to NOT spend any money on advertising and backs up the LOWER the price mantra --- as they lose ONLY 3 cents of every $1 the price goes DOWN by (that is $30 for every $970 the owner loses) -- many times OFF the PRICE the LISTING AGENT and BROKER justified 30 days earlier. Plus, as the LISTING OWNERS are moving away, there is less verbal backlash of HATE & DISCONTENT with future customers.

Selling a home can be many things, some sales get pretty ugly, but many go quite well - perhaps (I like to think) I had something to do with the sales I managed going generally pretty well.

Do all List agents make all their sales go well - no, but deciding to forgo a list agent on the chance they will not be able or willing to make the sale go well - is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

The sale of a home is often one of the most emotional times in the family's existence and the list agent often has to manage emotions, expectations and perceptions as wrong headed as ScoopLV's are.

 

[flexible]

Very interesting and helpful thread.

 

[PearlCity]

My husband is an agent part time with his family's company. My advice to the op is,read your contract. I don't think my husband uses a contract as we live in a community where reputation is everything. They cover all advertising costs and staging if required, and do open houses as necessasary, though my brother in law says like Ron, that they aren't needed in most cases. However I live in a location where prices are high so even a condo transaction, my husband will net some cash in the end. I have seen him help clients buy and just to make the contract close, he gave up so much of his commission he got nothing. There is a lot going on behind the scenes that, if you have a good agent, you the buyer or seller never sees. Issues with lenders, scumbag buyer or sellers agents, etc, it's not as,simple as listing in the,MLS.

Do you need an agent? Not always. It's up to the,seller. I bought my first place through my now brother in law, but is was a for sale by owner. He found it from an open house and took me.

To the op good luck. If you do break your contract, interview agents, get references from friends, make sure you are going with someone reputable. It will make your life and transaction easier.

 

[ScoopKona]

Elegant way of putting it...

The point ScoopLV misses (over and over) is that: irregardless of HIS opinion of Realtors(R) they are the only people with an MLS.

Without an MLS - a for sale home is hamstrung and it simply WILL NOT BE SEEN by all (or even most of) the buyers in a particular market. It WILL NOT get it's best possible market experience without the MLS.

While ScoopLV wants there to be an alternative to the MLS - THERE IS NONE - a Craig's List ad simply is not the same.

Just as I want there to be an alternative to driving a fuel drinking box to work every day - there is none - staying home and not getting a paycheck is just not the same.

I have NEVER, EVER said that there is a viable alternative to MLS. Only that someday there will be. It is inevitable. Fact facts, there are a lot of people who do not like dealing with Realtors. Just like there are a lot of people who do not like dealing with timeshare salesmen, car salesmen, and door-to-door missionaries.

You might think your profession is great and enjoys a high level of customer satisfaction. The truth is that there are an awful lot of people who don't think Realtors are worth the percentage they charge. And for every "sale went smooth because of me" anecdote you wish to post, I can find a "sale was a nightmare because of the incompetent commission wh*** who listed my house" anecdote to counter.

There is no alternative to MLS. And the NRA is shoveling money at congress to keep it that way. But for the same reason that the Internet killed classified advertising in newspapers, and is currently killing car dealership sales, it will kill real estate agency as we know it.

Incidentally, I drive to work in a truck that does not use gasoline. It costs less in energy, and in overall operating cost. There are alternatives.

 

[ondeadlin]

My realtor has helped me buy or sell three houses and has become a good friend. He's one of the most successful realtors in our area, former head of the board of Realtors, etc.

He has also said that open houses do not sell houses and are mainly designed to (1) make the seller feel like something's being done; and (2) allow the Realtor to meet people who might turn into new business.

 

[ampaholic]

I have NEVER, EVER said that there is a viable alternative to MLS. Only that someday there will be. It is inevitable. (Dream on) Fact facts, there are a lot of people who do not like dealing with Realtors. Just like there are a lot of people who do not like dealing with timeshare salesmen, car salesmen, and door-to-door missionaries. (or DENTISTS - yet they go)

You might think your profession is great and enjoys a high level of customer satisfaction. The truth is that there are an awful lot of people who don't think Realtors are worth the percentage they charge. (about 6% of the population try to sell their own home and over half end up returning to an agent after their FAIL) And for every "sale went smooth because of me" anecdote you wish to post, I can find a "sale was a nightmare because of the incompetent commission wh*** who listed my house" anecdote to counter.

There is no alternative to MLS. And the NRA is shoveling money at congress to keep it that way. But for the same reason that the Internet killed classified advertising in newspapers, and is currently killing car dealership sales, it will kill real estate agency as we know it. (I call BS - while it is your dream - I have shown you how it will never happen - no money in it)

Incidentally, I drive to work in a truck that does not use gasoline. (don't be a dumb bunny - I said it uses fuel - if you are riding in it it uses fuel) It costs less in energy, and in overall operating cost. There are alternatives.

1.) there are no alternatives to the MLS - except NO MLS - period.

2.) there are no alternatives to using fuel - except using NO fuel - period.

3.) Opinions (and anecdotes) are easy - it's fact that are hard, Scoop 1.) and 2.) are just facts - get over it.

 

[ScoopKona]

1.) there are no alternatives to the MLS - except NO MLS - period.

2.) there are no alternatives to using fuel - except using NO fuel - period.

3.) Opinions (and anecdotes) are easy - it's fact that are hard, Scoop 1.) and 2.) are just facts - get over it.

I remember a newspaper publisher telling me in 1996 that newspapers would NEVER be affected by the internet. "People want to do the crossword," he told me. "They want the actual physical paper. And besides, there is no substitute for classified ads."

I once did computer work for a travel agency. I was the only one in town who knew unix. This was also in the 1990s. "People will NEVER use the internet to book travel," they said. "Computers aren't smart enough to find the best price. We save travelers money, and they will keep coming to us forever."

I have a friend who once made a living selling ads for the Yellow Pages. "People will ALWAYS need the phone book," he said. "I'll have a job for life."

Face it, as soon as there is something besides the MLS, people will flock to it.

NOBODY wants to pay six or seven percent for essentially no reason. On a modest $350K house, that's almost $25K. You say there's no money in a MLS replacement. I say there's so much money in it that it's amazing nobody has started one.

Bypass the MLS AND conduct the transaction without an agent? Win-win if you ask me.

You keep going back to comparing DIY real estate transactions with DIY dentistry. Illusions of grandeur if you ask me. Dentists hold a doctorate and are paid for their years of expensive education and training. There are many agents who have vast knowledge and experience. I don't deny that. But there are many MORE agents who are fresh out of Real Estate school, and know less about buying and selling a house than I do.

There are also plenty of agents in my area who are ethically challenged, and would throw their own mother under the bus if it meant a commission check. I put offers on properties at least once a week here in Las Vegas. Half the time, I am dealing with listing agents who have a cavalier attitude about "fiduciary responsibility." They will tell me EXACTLY what the homeowners will accept. And I use this information to my advantage. There is no reason for me not to. There is EVERY reason (legal and ethical) for the Realtor to not do that to his clients. But tough luck for the clients. They should have picked a better agent.

I am hardly in the minority in my feelings about real estate agents. The forums of the Internet are rife with stories about lazy, unethical agents, and how they cost home buyers and sellers a lot of money from their actions (or inaction).

 

[Elan]

FWIW, I bought my first house FSBO. The seller paid, IIRC, $1995 for the paperwork, consultation, etc. I sat down with him and filled out forms for about an hour, we negotiated a few things (I asked that he include the fridge and garage workbench), and that was effectively it. It was totally painless.

From what I can tell, it takes about 90 hours of class and a test to become a sales agent in my state. Make of that what you will..........

 

[vacationhopeful]

....Face it, as soon as there is something besides the MLS, people will flock to it.

NOBODY wants to pay six or seven percent for essentially no reason. On a modest $350K house, that's almost $25K. You say there's no money in a MLS replacement. I say there's so much money in it that it's amazing nobody has started one.

Bypass the MLS AND conduct the transaction without an agent? Win-win if you ask me.

You keep going back to comparing DIY real estate transactions with DIY dentistry. Illusions of grandeur if you ask me. Dentists hold a doctorate and are paid for their years of expensive education and training. There are many agents who have vast knowledge and experience. I don't deny that. But there are many MORE agents who are fresh out of Real Estate school, and know less about buying and selling a house than I do.

There are also plenty of agents in my area who are ethically challenged, and would throw their own mother under the bus if it meant a commission check. I put offers on properties at least once a week here in Las Vegas. Half the time, I am dealing with listing agents who have a cavalier attitude about "fiduciary responsibility." They will tell me EXACTLY what the homeowners will accept. And I use this information to my advantage. There is no reason for me not to. There is EVERY reason (legal and ethical) for the Realtor to not do that to his clients. But tough luck for the clients. They should have picked a better agent.

I am hardly in the minority in my feelings about real estate agents. The forums of the Internet are rife with stories about lazy, unethical agents, and how they cost home buyers and sellers a lot of money from their actions (or inaction).

ScoopLV - what a GREAT summary of my feelings exactly.

The only thing I will add is, you are much more at the MERCY of a real estate agent and the broker when YOU are SELLING your property. A buyer can and should bring in BOTH a lawyer BEFORE signing any sales agreement and a competent HOME INSPECTION.

 

[Kal]

You betcha! All you have to do is plant a sign in the yard and within a few minutes there's a bidding war between 15 buyers.

There's no need to understand staging or pricing. I've seen prices of other houses so my price is the right price. And for certain I don't need anybody else's communications network to enhance the selling opportunity. My network of experts in manufacturing and selling muffler bearings is the right ticket to success. My keen negotiating skills of "take it or leave it" will work fine in countering with any buyer.

Don't need no stinkin' realtor vampire :annoyed:

 

[mspeggysue911]

I have only read through the first 30 or so responses so excuse me if someone has already said something similar.

I use to be a Realtor up until about 7 years ago. I was a nurse and a realtor and retired from working all together. (SAHM)

Things were different back when I sold houses. We had MLS but the major internet boom in real estate had not taken off as much as it has now where agents have their own personal web pages with all the listings and pictures on it.

MLS was still mainly a website for agents to find listings for their buyers. It wasn't quite as public as it is now.

When I was a listing agent we would run print ads in the paper telling what houses we had for sale. Our broker/whoever we worked for paid for the paper ads.

If we advertised a specific ad like an open house ad we had to pay for that ourselves.

The only open houses I ever had were for the other agents. I never had open houses where the public came in. there is too big a risk of damage and theft. And unless you have other ppl there assisting you and watching every room you just can't have that many people going in and out of an occupied/furnished house.

I had in the past had an open house for a house that was completely unoccupied and had no belongings or furniture in it. The person who ended up buying that house never attended the open house.

I have never had an open house sell a house for me.

It did get other agents into the house so that they could see it and know about it and it caused them to show it more to their buyers.

But I am the one who had to pay for the food and drinks for that open house. You couldn't just have an agent open house you had to have FREE FOOD to get them there. And it usually needed to be catered because they weren't going to show up for some homemade finger sandwiches and chips.

At least that is the way it was around here. And that catered open house would usually cost me OUT OF POCKET about $400-$500 whether your house sold or not. It cost me that money whether you chose to stay with me after the 6 month contract ran out or not.

Real estate is a cut throat market place if you have ever worked in it you know. It is full of agents trying to steal other ppl's clients and do backdoor deals so sometimes it is hard to make yourself put out much of your own money like that not knowing if you will ever get it back.

Agents don't make a salary. They ONLY make money from selling houses.

Agents are not in the business of marketing so NO it is not the agents job to market your house. If they put out that kind of money on every listing they would be on food stamps within 6 months.

The agent gets paid for listing your house, for being available to buyer agents or seller agents when needed. They get paid for negotiating with other agents and for wheeling and dealing and getting you the best deal whether you are they buyer or the seller.

When I was an agent I have turned down MANY MANY listings because the seller wanted to way overprice their house. And as an agent you KNOW if the seller wants way more for that house than you know it will sell for then you are wasting your time and the sellers time by taking on a listing you know won't sell. I don't want to spend the next 6 months trying to talk you into lowering your price every 6 weeks. That just makes for hard feelings.

I have had ppl SHOCKED that I would ACTUALLY turn down their business. but I had to explain to them...just because you think your house is worth 200,000 dollars doesn't mean you will get that for it. It might be worth 150,000 at most. So I can't waste my time or money on this I'm sorry.

Eventually once enough agents turn them down they will come to see the light.

An agent that blows smoke up your behind and tells you your house is worth more than they can get for it is either inexperienced and desperate for business or they just don't know better.

And once you have had your 6 month contract expire and haven't sold the house yet they will want to move on to a new agent. They think you can work miracles.

Even when the real estate market isn't in the crap hole sometimes houses do not sell within the first 6 months.

As for the agent wanting you to have your house perfect...you need to have it as perfect as you can get it. First impressions are everything and if someone doesn't like the outside they wont' even come inside. Once they are inside if they don't like it they will leave.

If your house isn't spotless or if it is all cluttered up with a bunch of knick knacks or stuffed full of personal belongings it will seem small and claustrophobic to them and they won't like it.

They need to be able to imagine their stuff in your house and see themselves living there. They don't need to see all the stuff that is wrong with it.

And as for the air conditioner...if the agent asked you to turn it on and leave it on then that is exactly what you need to do. They know what they are doing.

ETA: I don't think real estate agents are out for themselves... When I was an agent if I was the seller's agent I tried to get top dollar for the listing, not give away very many concessions and pay as minimal as possible on further expenses and repairs as possible. If I were the buyer's agent I tried to get every single thing wrong with the house fixed at the sellers expense, I would try to get them first time buyer's financing through Ameridream (downpayment program) and I would try to negotiate the seller paying most if not all the closing costs. So whatever side I was working for is whatever side I was trying to get the best deal for.

If I was the listing agent and you called to ask me to show you the house and you did not have your own agent I would show you the house but I was still acting as the seller's agent because I had them first. I would also let you know if you decided to buy that house through me and not have your own agent that I WAS the seller's agent. I don't mind taking the whole 6% for myself but I always told them it was in their best interest to have their own agent and that it didn't cost them a dime to have an agent. Only the seller pays the agent fees. I could not negotiate to get the buyer the best possible deal if I was acting as the seller's agent.

As an agent I know what goes into listing and selling a home and I would never buy or sell a property without an agent.

 

[ScoopKona]

You betcha! All you have to do is plant a sign in the yard and within a few minutes there's a bidding war between 15 buyers.

There's no need to understand staging or pricing. I've seen prices of other houses so my price is the right price. And for certain I don't need anybody else's communications network to enhance the selling opportunity. My network of experts in manufacturing and selling muffler bearings is the right ticket to success. My keen negotiating skills of "take it or leave it" will work fine in countering with any buyer.

Don't need no stinkin' realtor vampire :annoyed:

You betcha! If the house is priced properly, it will sell. And if the house is nice enough, yes there will be multiple offers. Some people really do need an agent. They aren't capable or interested in learning to conduct a real estate transaction. They don't have the means or ability to learn their market (all markets are different). Or they're in a big hurry.

But that doesn't mean that EVERYONE needs an agent. The best real estate transactions involve no agents whatsoever. Just the buyer, seller, and an escrow and title company. Better for everyone involved.

 

[heathpack]

Well, definately for the last house we sold, our realtor was invaluable. We lived in a desirable neighborhood, the kind where well-to-do yuppies would buy modest houses, knock em down and put up McMansions. The house next to ours was a corner double lot owned by an 80-year-old man who had already had one stroke, was in the hospital and maybe never coming home. There was a decent chance that a contractor with some cash to spend would be able to buy both modest houses, knock them down, split the lots and put up three McMansions.

We met with 3 realtors before signing with the one we went with. We thought the house was worth about 5-8% more than we had paid for it 3 years prior and the first two realtors agreed. We even offered (on our own before we met with the realtors) to sell the house to a contractor who was knocking another house down in our neighborhood- we had suggested the 8% mark-up over our orginal purchase price. The contractor passed on our offer.

Third realtor said to list it at 30% higher than our purchase price. He acknowledged that the comps suggested it should be way lower, but rattled off a number of reasons why he'd list it for way more. Most of the reasons had to do with the psychology/motivations of the yuppie buyer looking for a house in our neighborhood. He also had a very clear and specific game plan for marketing the house (which centered as I said previously on creating a sense of urgency with the open house, he thought there was about a 50% chance the house would sell at the open house). What he said made sense to us but we did not have the market insight to know if it was correct.

Maybe it was blind luck but he sold the house at the open house on the first day it was listed for the full list price. Even after real estate commissions were paid, we cleared an extra $35,000. Not chump change. We were impressed.

We've worked with lackluster realtors and some real dynamos. So far everyone we paid a commission to has earned it IMO.

H