[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Realtors black ball properties that are not listed by another agent. This is common practice.

"Blackball" vs "not waste our time with". It's a fine line, and showing for sale by owner properties can be a HUGE huge PITA with little (sometimes no) payoffs. I wrote about that here: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/524131-offer-realtor-2.html#post5167080

Originally Posted by Tobra

Last time I was looking for a house, the agent showed me all her listings first, about half did not satisfy my minimum requirements and I did not even get out of the car to look at them.

that is poor form, I hope you ditched here ASAP

Originally Posted by Tobra

I do not personally know anyone who had a good experience with a realtor.

No one? Really? How are these people chosing Realtors?!

Originally Posted by Christien

I like the idea of an a-la-carte system, where you'd be able to pick and choose what services you want from a realtor. If I were trying to sell our house, I'd start with as much DIY as possible, see how it goes, then pay for more and more services as required, based on viewings, offers, etc. I would definitely pay for an MLS listing, but probably little else beyond that, to start. You can learn anything you want about staging and presentation from HGTV or the countless magazines in line at the grocery store. Then, if traffic isn't coming or offers aren't rolling in, I'd look at the next step the realtor could do for us.

This process wouldn't work if you needed to sell fast, but if you need to move fast, then I guess you have to pay up for full service.

Yep, I think this will work REALLY well for consumer looking for tiered service like this. Not my kind of business, but someone will fill that gap for sure.

Originally Posted by Eric Coffey

As a listing agent: I would never consider a limited-service "flat fee". My Company wouldn't let me if I wanted to anyway. There is far too much liability to have your name attached to a transaction that you have limited/little/no oversight of. Doing so also promotes the (further) deterioration/marginalization of the industry and dilution of service. I would never give discounts on full-service commission either, and actually stipulate more than the industry standard (say 7% or 8% vs. 6%). By doing so I can offer a buyer's agent a greater incentive, cover extended (out-of-pocket) marketing efforts on the back-end, and still give myself enough incentive to take on the listing. I have happily turned down (or referred-out) countless listings from clueless/irrational sellers.

Sounds like we are on the same page. I am moving towards MORE service, and higher commission, rather than getting involved in the race to the bottom. I am currently focusing on listings more than buyers, and see FAR more satisfied clients (and subsequent referals) from the group who are willing to pay a higher commission for more service. It gets easier as I get more of a portflio.

Originally Posted by Eric Coffey

As a buyer's agent (my primary focus): While not a fix-all, an up-front buyer-broker compensation agreement solves many of these "issues". The problem is that most agents are too afraid to ask for them, or they lack the skills required to tactfully articulate their function. If an agent knows that their efforts are not going to be in vein, they will be more likely to give you their full attention.

The way that works: You agree to pay X amount/percentage for services rendered ONLY if a commission is not offered by a seller (or you agree to pay the difference if the amount offered is less than specified in your buyer-broker agreement). That way if you buy a FSBO, you know going in that you will be on the hook for the commission if the seller won't negotiate one. On the same token, you may be able to make it up by negotiating the purchase price down by that amount (or more) on such a transaction.

I would be VERY interested in hearing more about this, and how your buyers react to it. Buyers agency contracts are not the nowrm up here, but we will see a LOT more of them as the no-service and flat-rate listings pop up.