A good Realtor's value is mostly in their address book. If something is wrong with any part of the house from foundation to roof to title to surveying, a good agent should be able to come up with a couple of choices of contractors who are vetted and available to do the work. Also movers and cleaners.

They should also be able to make suggestions of how to spend a little money that will pay for itself at sale: trim lower branches of a pine tree to improve the light to the house, for example.

I have sold three houses within the past 6 years. It makes me sound like a developer or something, but two of them belonged to my parents before they passed away. Those two were in cities other than where I live and it would have been very difficult for me to sell without an agent.

The traditional commission in the U.S. is a total of 6%: 1.5% each for the seller's realtor, the buyer's realtor, and the seller's and buyer's brokers. These days there are lower commission realtors out there, especially if you are willing and able to do some of the legwork yourself.

 

I sold a house FSBO... would I do it again?... probably not.

 

In California (at least) it's legal for a realtor to represent both buyer and seller. This is incomprehensible. Here's one of the purported benefits of "dual agency" as listed by realtor.com:

"Dual agency can certainly streamline the home-buying process. Think about it: If both buyer and seller have their own separate agents, there will be four people's schedules that must be consulted before the property can be shown. Cut one agent out, and it makes scheduling 25% easier. Or thereabouts."

Unbelievable.

 

In my experience of buying 3 homes and selling 3 homes..
BUYING is easy.
SELLING has been very problematic.
We all know realtors are interested in their commissions.... I don't have a problem with that..
But Selling is when you find out just how little concern any realtor has for guarding your interests

 

In a hot seller's market, it can be in a buyer's interest to work with a realtor, as they may go to pre-sale shows and learn what properties are about to go on the market. Then the buyer can think about it ahead of time and be ready to pounce.

 

I also am amazed that anyone accepts a broker rate of 6%. Maybe Australia is different, but every house I have sold here in the last twenty years it was easy to negotiate the dealer's commission to under 2%. On two occasions I did my own advertising and subsequent conveyancing, just to see if I could get the results I wanted without the overheads.

Having said that, a really good agent who listens to what you say, tells you specifically how to present the place for the clients they want to bring, and who has real marketing skills is more likely to get top price for your property.

 

There is a famous radio talk guy named Bruce Williams. He gives mostly monetary advice, but on one thing he was always adamant. Get a lawyer to represent you when you buy a house.

Tom

 

Buying a house is an incredibly powerful position. you can make the seller do almost anything.

Selling one, you feel like a slave.

 

Glad to hear things worked out in such amazing fashion for you - however, I must say that many of those tasks** that you were able to negotiate are not within the scope of the functions that are traditionally offered by a **realtor**.

Also note that the intent of my original post was not to bash the realtor profession as it was more a self-pat on my back of how things turned out in my own situation. As many have observed, the **value** of a realtor is not perceived the same by everyone. Moreover, I suspect Sellers and Buyers will have a very different perspective about this particular **value**. In my situation, there was nothing close of **value** to the extra $25K+ that would have been added to my closing costs. Again, in any group/profession, we'll always find the good, the bad and the mediocre.

 

They are if you negotiate them in as part of the service.That was my point.

 

This statement is in the same line as **all realtors suck ** - as the bargaining position of Sellers/Buyers will vary depending on market conditions and locations.

 

This is the future of the market - this is still one of the high touch markets that has not been completely disrupted by tech but I bet someone is working on it

 

This is why you need a realtor
https://omegaforums.net/threads/free-dead-body-with-purchase.109089/

 

Having a lawyer or a conveyancing agent to undertake the formal work of property checks and transfers is essential. However lawyers are not all the same animal: when I was buying my first house from the property developer who built it, I asked their solicitor to suggest some names of other solicitors in the area I could ask to act for me.

To my astonishment he suggested that he could act for both the vendor and for me, on the basis that the property transfer would go through more efficiently. I was gobsmacked - if there had been any sort of dispute between me and the vendor, who would the solicitor have represented?

 

I'm a huge fan doing it yourself. Last two properties I purchased were direct, no realtor. And last few I sold, I listed myself and paid the buyers agent 3%. It is a much smoother transaction when fewer people are involved.

It comes down to price. Theses days it is much easier to get access to the comparable sales so that you start with a solid asking price. Of course you also need to have the time to do all the things a agent would do for you to complete the sale. So if you don't have the time, then you may be better off using an agent.

And congratulations on doing it yourself.
@alam