[OESY]

[American_Centurion]

In some situations a good realtor is worth their own weight in gold.

Unfortunately MOST realtors aren't anything close to good.

[Alberta's Child]

The real estate industry needs to be deregulated in a manner similar to what the securities industry went through in the late 1970s. Up until that time, brokerage fees were based on a fixed percentage of the value of the transaction, regardless of how many shares of stock were traded (sound familiar?). A customer who traded 10,000 shares of IBM stock paid a brokerage fee ten times higher than a customer who traded 1,000 shares, even the amount of effort on the part of the broker was no different in either case.

Changes in SEC regulations in the late 1970s allowed brokers to set fixed transaction fees regardless of the number of shares traded. Revenues in the securities industry collapsed almost overnight, as the big brokerage houses found themselves competing with smaller new operators in a deregulated environment. But this deregulation was almost certainly a major factor in the stock market resurgence that began in the 1980s.

I look forward to the day when a real estate agent is willing to turn his or her entire industry on its head by offering their sales services for a fixed sales fee of say, $5,000-$10,000. There is absolutely no reason why a real estate agent must get paid twice as much for selling a $400,000 home as he gets for selling a $200,000 home.

[Dudoight]

Until they clean up their act, impliment required 'standards' of service (like a marketing plan, etc) and have a set fee per house....they are not in the realm of "Professionals". They are simply parasites.

[devane617]

I buy and sell homes as my income producing job. In most "buy" situations provides nothing more than a key to open the door of the new home. In a "buy" situation, NEVER sign an exclusive with any agent. That will allow you to contact the "sellers/listing" agent. The sellers/listing agent in many cases will give a discount to a prospective buyer for using the same agent.

When "selling" a home, and agent can be much more useful. However, in many areas such as Florida you can find many very good agents that will list for less than 3% -- many will now take the listing for 2%. Here in Texas it is still a bit higher, but I see listing discounts popping up in ads recently.

Always remember, never sign exclusives! That is the key. I assure there is an agent that will take you own as a client in any situation for the chance of a fee.

[Dems_R_Losers]

The National Association of Realtors is the biggest legal organized crime syndicate in America. Not only are they rigging state laws to prevent competiton, they have bought many members of Congress and gotten appropriations riders to prevent the Treasury from enacting regulations allowing national banks to enter real estate brokerage or management. (The NAR is the largest trade association PAC in the country.) They successfully fought HUD regulations that would have forced them to reduce closing costs and cough up some of the profits from title insurance agencies that most large brokerages own. They run advertisements trashing even Republican congressmen who dare to oppose their cartel. They have been on a jihad for five years against Rep. Mike Oxley because he refuses to allow a committee vote on their bill to permanently keep banks out of real estate.

Not only are the realtors rigging the system politically to prevent competition, they are largely responsible for the housing bubble that has priced many ordinary Americans out of the market. They will set a sales price 5% higher than the last sale in the neighborhood, then tell all the potential buyers that prices are about to go up even more so they had better take that price or bid even higher. They are able to generate bidding wars and get buyers to sign escalation clauses that guarantee themselves larger commissions. They get 6% for doing nothing in most markets, because houses are selling themselves. I know people who have had threats made to them by realtors when they listed their home as For Sale By Owner. When they give market analyses to sellers, they will not include any FSBO sales because they almost always sell for less than homes sold by realtors. They take huge illegal kickbacks from mortgage brokers to get access to their buyers, or if their brokerage happens to own a mortgage company, they will steer the buyer to their mortgage company and lock out the mortgage broker who might have a better loan deal for the buyer.

I had to use a realtor when I moved last year because my company paid for my relocation and it requires realtors. I had a wonderful realtor and she ended up doing a lot of work because the closing got screwed up - in fact, the buyer's realtor screwed up by failing to inform us that the buyer actually had a contingency, which was not met before closing and so their loan did not go through. Our realtor found another lender that made the loan in a day. That is great service. But was it worth $36,000? I don't think so.

[nickcarraway]

This is going to anger a lot of real estate agents.

[pointsal]

ping

[floozy22]

I know there are good realtors. But I just don't care for the profession. In many instances, one can do "For Sale By Owner." Do some research and hire a good real estate attorney (which you need anyway).

[Doctor Stochastic]

Bought one house recently and sold another. I never want to deal with another realtor. In neither case were any of the papers correct; (wrong names, etc.) I'll try to live the rest of my life without moving. I'd rather go through the months I spent in the hospital with colitis than deal with another realtor.

[newgeezer]

I used to be naive enough to think the fact that they work on commission provides a real estate agent ample incentive to ensure the sellers get the highest possible price for their home.

Of course, once reality (and cynicism) set in, I realized the way they really make money is to move as many properties as quickly as possible. Volume is key. Time is money. Their hourly rate is by far the highest when they can sell a house with the least time invested, without any regard to the price. Thus, anytime an offer comes in from a buyer, it is in the agent's best interest to try everything possible to get the seller and buyer on the same page and make the deal happen without any regard to the price. Seller concerned that the price is too low? 'Good' agents have ready answers to placate sellers for every occasion.

Real estate agents do NOT represent their sellers' interests. They clearly represent their own interests. (Those who tout their sales volume as a reason to hire them are the ones who really make me laugh. The easiest way to achieve the highest volume is to move the most properties the quickest!)