 Posted 2/21/2008 12:31:46 PM
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As most others on this board have figured out, the age of being a "Realtor" is coming to a close. The high fees they demand for the services they "perform" are pushing more and more people to FSBO and a good real estate lawyer. I'm on my second FSBO home, and this second go-around has been much rougher than the first.
To say that "Buyers Agents" are greedy is an understatement. I don't want to contradict FSBO Guru right off the bat, but 1% is more than fair for many of these individuals, as most FSBO's already have already done their marketing (MLS listings, newspaper, multiple free postings online, flyers at the local shopping center, etc), and it's their CLIENTS, not the Buyers Agents, who find out about the house and ask to see it. A good FSBO will have the sale contracts already drawn up and ready to sign -- heck, they may even have a Title Company picked out!
So what is the Buyers Agent really doing for the seller, to collect this fee? They are printing out an online description of the home and holding the Buyer's hand. Well, if that's the case, then the cost should be shifted to the Buyer.
Let's face it folks, this is not rocket science. If we were discussing business-to-business deals, that may be different, but these are generally home sales, and simple ones at that.
The truth is, if you get a Buyers Agent who calls you up and tries to baddger you into paying more than 1%, tell them to take a hike. They need to get the message that they should start looking for new jobs, because with the onset of easy online advertising of homes for sale, and the surge in use of online sites for Buyers to research available homes, even the mighty MLS will soon errode to the coming onslaught of free home listing sites. The Age of the Buggy Whip is here for Realtors, they just don't know it yet.
I've had more than a few people contact me through Craigslist, and they tell me that's the only source they are using for a home search.
Bob
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