NJ real estate process (flat fee, for sale by owner, lawyer)

[NJresex]

I was wondering if anyone else had bad experiences with realtors from some of the wealthier towns in NJ. We have had a series of bad experiences in Short Hills. We are at the point where we believe it is all driven by realtors trying to drive up prices or double up commissions. They range from multiple double booked showings on houses that did not sell (where on two different occassions separated in time the same other realtor brought the same other family, and then seemed horrified to see us), to overhearing our offer being used to drive prices up after it was rejected, to most recently having an agent send us conflicting emails for days and then later discovering our offer (which would have been highest) was never presented at all. It seems so prevalent that I cannot imagine others have not experienced anything similar, and makes it next to impossible for an honest buyer who is not willing to play a certain type of game that allows realtors to maximize their commission and price to succeed and purchase a home they want, whether it is going directly, using their team on both sides, or otherwise.

I did not grow up in the area and never encountered this type of behavior from realtors. They were people providing a service, and here I now competely distrust them. Appreciate any thoughts and suggestions since we are feeling quite down right now.

[vision33r]

Your problem is that you're looking to buy into wealthier areas where supply is limited and the sellers can afford to keep the houses on the market longer until they get the price they want. Agents make money on commission and volume while they like to push prices higher they don't really want a long bidding war and lose buyers. They like to move quickly and push both side on a deal. They don't get paid showing people properties.

The salesagents get paid very little compared to the listing agent which gets the bulk of the commission.

[NJBoy3]

Find a realtor you have confidence in.

[JG183]

There are 2 types of agents -- bad, and worse.

The whole "percentage commission" structure is obsolete, and as you inferred, the existing cabal of realtors are doing everything they can to keep it going.

When a property sells for $350K, the agent expends no more labor than they would for one that sells for $700K. So why should they get double the commission ? I dare say that the higher the property value, the easier the job is for the agent, since the buyer of said property is usually well-heeled, and won't present any surprises during the sale process.

It is long overdue to change to a FLAT FEE commission structure. Anyone can be a tour guide to a property, and say "this is the living room, this is the kitchen, this is the dining room..." -- on a $700K property, why should the seller pay $35K for that?? You're going to use a lawyer anyway, so there is very little value to having not one, but 2 agents to pay for.

But hey, if you have the money, and not the time, then go ahead and pay those commissions.

Moral of the story -- hunt for For Sale By Owner properties.

[Carlbuy]

I think the issue could be demand is not as good as the realtors make it out to be. Take a look at zillow right now for Short Hills. Most of the listings have dropped in price, and some of them multiple times. Perhaps the realtors are more desparate to sell. You can even find open houses scheduled on Easter Sunday. Maybe they rush to move fast on a really hot property and are doing anything possible to get interest on others just sitting there. This is just a guess, but would seem to go along with your comments.

[JG183]

The demand is unquestionably present. At the stratospheric price levels, less so... but it's still there.

Agents want their listings to sell quickly for 2 reasons:

-- they get to boast that their listing sold in only xx days.

-- "their" expenses are reduced.

I put their in quotes because they (agents) have no expenses, YOUR commission is paying for everything. The longer a listing sits, the more it eats into their profit on YOUR commission payment.

[argraves]

A realtor is much more than a “tour guide” for a property. That’s like saying all a conductor does is wave a baton. And for the record, most for sale by owners end up using a realtor. I’m sorry that your experience has not been good thus far. I suggest you seek a reputable realtor through word of mouth. The low inventory market in NJ has made the process difficult. All the more reason to be represented by a professional! Good Luck.

[Buyernj12]

I have a related question since I have seen some of these behaviors from agents that had good reputations. The bulk seem to be pretty bad. Is an agent compensated differently if they sell to someone from another firm, or themselves, or have a team that sells it. How does dual agency work if they push you to have a member of their team submit a contract even when you contacted them directly? I had this happened, and wondered if this meant they could share everyting I told them with the seller, and perhaps somehow get paid more since they had two names on the contact rather than one.

[Enerrexter]

Is the inventory in NJ really that low? There seems to be a lot of houses listed right now. The higher the price the higher the taxes. Even more so in some Essex County towns like Short Hills. Buyers could be getting smarter too.

[NJresex]

Thank you for all the comments and the replies. Many of them make sense. These were reputable people, and were so comfortable not being honest. The buyer and seller both seem to lose. It is unfortunate this behavior is so acceptable.