Quote:
Originally posted by notfarnow
Funny, I was just talking about this stuff the other day. When we bought our (first) house last year, our agent made the whole thing a very, very pleasant experience. I'd go as far as to say that if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have the house. The sellers were totally unrealistic, and he was able to talk them down... something no other agent had been able to do with these folks. He definately earned his commission.
On the other hand, my brother just bought a house and his RE agent was useless. She didn't want him to offer less than the asking price, and even tried to talk him out of having the house inspectedI looked at a couple house with him, and any time I pointed out issues (old furnace, sub-code wiring) she'd say "Oh that's no big deal". Now she's getting almost $5000. Must be nice.
|
Ugh, never underestimate the greed factor. Thanks to the low rates and easy access to cash the purchase boom has created a market that is definitely to the sellers advantage. As a result, the notion that the buyer's agent watches out for the buyer's best interest goes out the window.
That's the major flaw in the system- that the buyers and sellers agent are paid from the same pot, so it's to both realtor's advantage to bleed the buyer dry. If it was a situation where the commission as a buyer's agent was agreed upon and NOT PAID from the sale proceeds then it would be a different story.
You have NO IDEA how many times this year alone I've seen purchase and sale agreements written with no regard to actual value of the property - meaning, the sales price was so far out of whack the bank wouldn't buy it since the value simply couldn't be justified. You don't hear the buyer's agent complaining about the unrealistc asking price since they're thinking quick close & huge pay. They spend their time trying to convince the buyer to step up and crush the other buyers with high bids, with absolutely no advice to whether or not it's a decent or reasonable buy.
The 6% rule was created in an era when a house could be had for $40K. Ain't so anymore. Frankly, I think once the housing appreciation slows down a bit you'll notice that the commissons will drop, - the equity to pay 'em simply won't be there, and neither will the client willing to sell their property for serious profit.
If you ever have a problem with a realtor, remember that you can call their boss, the broker if there's anything you're displeased about. I do that once in a while when I have an unrealistic realtor - esp if they're asking me to cover something up.
rjp
rjp