Real Estate Buyer Fee?

[Rhodeislander]

Originally Posted by fauve

^^ A buyer's fee does nothing to stop tire kickers.

Going through flat fee MLS services results in better deals for both buyers and sellers.

I'm sorry if this is your profession. This is just my opinion.

Who do you think owns the MLS?

[fauve]

You just proved my point. The only leverage that realtors have had is a monopoly on the listings for both buyers and sellers until fairly recently. Flat fee agents takes some of the sting out of prices for the sellers, should they choose to go on their own. Thanks to Realtor.com, buyers can browse through properties on their own and can contact selling agents directly, who often have an arrangement for lower fees (in the 4% range) when they bring the buyer. In a flat fee case buyers who contact a seller directly often get an immediate 6% discount off the top.

Ya gotta love the internet. Realtors and travel agents are dying breeds. Sorry.

[Rhodeislander]

Originally Posted by fauve

You just proved my point. The only leverage that realtors have had is a monopoly on the listings for both buyers and sellers until fairly recently. Flat fee agents takes some of the sting out of prices for the sellers, should they choose to go on their own. Thanks to Realtor.com, buyers can browse through properties on their own and can contact selling agents directly, who often have an arrangement for lower fees (in the 4% range) when they bring the buyer. In a flat fee case buyers who contact a seller directly often get an immediate 6% discount off the top.

Ya gotta love the internet. Realtors and travel agents are dying breeds. Sorry.

I agree, as a buyer I would contact the sellers agent. Because we all know the sellers agent will do the right thing by the BUYER. Actually, I love when they have no agent I dont have to pay 3% out to them. I charge a discounted 4-5% and make more money!
The flat fee case is not so popular, reason being nobody wants to pay for print ads. If it just gets dumped in MLS, the flat fee company(a Realtor by the way) still get paid for doing nothing. (What thats not mold...lead paint? Noooo, its all set.)
Just what I want is a seller telling me about his house, and me spending the most money in my entire life with no professional help. Great idea.

Should there be higher standards of education for real estate agent, yes. Should there be less agents overall,yes.
Will you always need an agent,yes.
FSBO's are 2% of the sales in my state. I did 3.9 million in sales in 08, my company did 80mill plus. Thats in the worse year ever in real estate, I'm not worried.
Funny, the real estate market has a slowdown, the country falls apart. Real estate an important part of the economy? Ya Think?

[fauve]

In Florida, ALL agents represent the transaction - both the agent who brings the buyer and the listing agent. The buyer and seller are both on the losing end to the agent who just cares about what's best for the deal. We are referring to them as buyer and seller's agents here just to put a face on who's working closer with whom, but there's no loyalty.

Yes, a flat fee agent is a realtor who does nothing - who's disputing that? For a price that's one percent of the traditional 6% fee, it's a tremendous marketing deal. They also can pick up on the deal when there are offers on the property, should the seller not be comfortable negotiating directly with the buyer's agent

I have news for you - the housing downturn is unprecedented in South Florida - realtors who used to advertise in the newspaper weekly and put a pretty picture are now holding them to once every few months with no picture. The last "selling" realtor I had sent buyers and their brokers to the house when I was home and let me show it. I sold that house in less than 2 months too. Whenever I've seen houses, 9 times out of 10 the selling broker isn't there. So, no one to answer questions. And mold? Hire an inspector.

Realtors share a great part of the blame for the problem this country now finds itself in. You hear about the crooked mortgage brokers who did liar loans, but I assure you, realtors deposited these folks on their doorsteps and took a cut of the deal in the process.

Oh and another advantage to flat fee services....the seller can choose to pay a full 6% to any agent working with a buyer, thereby motivating an entire community of realtors into helping them sell their homes.

[tankev]

When we were looking in Weston for a home I was shocked that in almost every home we looked at, the selling realtor was there to greet us. In my experience, this never happens in NJ or PA. I looked at over 60 homes in PA and not once do I remember a selling realtor at the home I was looking at. Also, the realtor I was using in PA did charge a $200.00 fee which she was against but her company charged it. She waived it once the sale went through for all clients. She says this is her gift to the buyer. My realtor in FL did not charge a fee.