[Craig T]

Originally Posted by notfarnow

If I was only willing to deal with clients who took all my advice, I'd be out of business pretty quick.

^^^ This was my assumption. Many clients don't perceive realtors as a value-added service, just a necessary evil. If the real estate license requirements were tougher, and all real estate brokers would (if it's legal) demand a $5K or $10K retainer and compete on a track record for their services in a value proposition, clients would take their advice more seriously. The seller has nothing invested in the relationship. How could "seller performance" be anything but bad.

It's the same in investment banking and M&A representation. My firm wins contracts with a high retainer when others presenting are charging just half, or even nothing, upfront. The seller perceives a higher quality service and with an investment in the game perform better throughout the transaction.

Unfortunately, the barrier to entry into being a real estate agent is too low and they're walking all over each other in vast numbers, bringing down the quality and price of their service. This hurts the good ones, like notfarnow.