The FSBO stuff about listing agents would hold water if every house that was listed with a listing agent was a gleaming gem, all prettied up, arranged, etc – that’s simply not the case. It’s more often NOT the case than it is the case in my experience.

Who knows your house better than you? A listing agent who never actually shows your house to someone? A buyers agent who “shows” your house but has never seen it before? I think the questions answer themselves.

True story: I was showing a client 5 homes in one community. One was a Quasi-FSBO. Initially I had no problem with it. But then the hassle began. The MLS remarks said to call first…

So Mr. FSBO, you might be brilliant and savvy, but all those other idiots out there ruined your good name.

Same applies to real estate agents – all of the other idiots out there have ruined your good name. :)

Look, if your claim that sellers who use full comissioned real estate agains (vs FSBO) net greater (and that is after an additional 3% cost) then as a buyer if I see a FSBO I should expect better value for the same house. This is just the other side of the same coin.

I’m not claiming FSBO is for everybody but things are definately different now. Too bad about your $100 MLS site…

Right now that statement is true, but its derivative with respect to time is a negative value.

I’m acquainted with all the arguments Frank outlined, and then some! By way of comment I’ll draw an analogy to my field: patients who use the internet prior to (or worse – instead of) seeing a physician.

I personally think it’s great for my patients to be as educated as possible about their symptoms, their diagnosis, possible treatments, side effects, etc… But there is literally NO substitute for 7+ years of post-graduate training and experience in managing someone’s health.

Unfortunately many folks feel that if the “do their research” (to borrow from Deanne) this somehow equips them to reach an accurate diagnosis and the correct treatment – very rarely the case. Even when they are partially right, believe me, they haven’t thought of everything. Same thing in real estate. It’s an agent’s JOB to do this all day, every day, and you’re paying for that expertise.

Now, just like in real estate, many people go to the internet for medical advice. Why? I submit that it’s because of bad experiences/perceptions of their doctor. How many of the following things are true for you? You can’t reach your doctor to ask questions; return calls take days; prescription refills require several prompting calls; when you’re in the office they seem rushed or busy; they’re not friendly; you have no way of evaluating their competence/experience; you feel like you’re just a number to them, one of tons of patients that day. Any of these sound familiar with regards to your perceptions of agents?

Just like you could have a mediocre doctor who doesn’t understand customer service, you can have an agent with all the same faults.

So how do you pick your doctor? Word of mouth referrals regarding their excellent expertise, bedside manner, office staff, track record, and reputation. Sound familiar?

And a final note – many people who’ve “done their research” and then come into see me are confrontational. They assume they already know the answer and want me to serve as a vending machine for what they want – as if I’m superfluous to the process. My impression is that that’s what FSBOs (flat fee or not) seem like t oagents – a possible marker of HASSLES (not always, just more likely).

In short – I still can’t believe that I almost did flat fee and made a costly mistake. I “knew” my market better than it’s possible for any lay person to know a market – I grew up where I live, followed the market religiously for comps for three years, etc… and still grossly underestimated my price. And finally, having a 3rd party go back and ask for more money from other agents is easier than doing it myself – delegate the awkwardness! Frank worked like a banshee for me and with tremendous integrity. I think in retrospect my considering flat fee was about not knowing a GREAT agent. My advice, spend the time/effort to find a great agent – totally worth it.

We just need to get traffic and it will sell. I have reduced the price even further so it should be a matter of time.

Fred