Rental Property Investor · Lubbock, TX · Member since 2015 · 455 posts · 182 votes
Today, I got a call from an agent who "had a client interested in buying my property that was FSBO." I know realtors are trained to pick up listings, and I told him I would be open to a non-exclusive agreement with him if he could bring a buyer.
I asked a lot of questions to get a very clear picture of where he was coming from, and I realized that his "clients" were simply people who had called his phone number instead of mine from my listing on Zillow. -____- This guy now calls them "clients" and wants me to fork over $3,000 if his "clients" buy my house. That's ridiculous.
I told him I'd take my chances on them being serious enough to find the right number and get in touch with me themselves.
It wasn't a big deal, but he really poked me in the wrong place. Something about the way he operated was very disgraceful. Sure, I turned away a potential client, but I would rather not work with someone who comes in being so greedy like that.
Real Estate Agent · Dover, NH · Member since 2015 · 5 posts · 7 votes
10y
Hey Austin, I know you're mainly upset with the way he handled himself and that blows. Something to consider is that most buyers want a real estate agent to represent them and it's less likely for the buyer to purposefully call you instead of reaching out to a realtor. Realtors can be shady, though FSBO's can also be shady, and because realtors are governed, most buyers feel safer having a licensed professional on their side instead of a seller who they are completely certain they can trust. It's a tough situation to be in.
Also, regardless of his attitude, he wasn't asking for $3000 referral fee for doing nothing and simple receiving a phone number from Zillow, he was going to charge $3000 for successfully navigating a buyer through the purchase of your home.
At the end of the day you shouldn't be surprised if 90% of people go through an agent on Zillow instead of you.
Cedar Park, TX · Member since 2015 · 377 posts · 200 votes
10y
@Austin Hughes
Like Russell I have seen people come here for advice, not get what they wanted to hear, get angry and argue.
You did not ask for advice but showed some maturity in seeing a theme in this thread and acting on it. Tough patches don't last long when you behave that way.
Residential Real Estate Agent · Austin, TX · Member since 2015 · 105 posts · 23 votes
10y
For anyone in this situation I would suggest getting a low cost flat fee listing in the MLS. You can then take control of the situation. You can set the exact dollar amount you are willing to pay another agent for bringing you a buyer. It will cut out a lot of the fuss and get you a lot more eyeballs via the MLS.
P.S. I imagine that you get a lot of traction on your posts from the Austin TX crowd than you might imagine due to the email alerts on your name :).
Residential Real Estate Broker · Austin, TX · Member since 2014 · 146 posts · 21 votes
10y
Hi@Austin Hughes I'm glad you were able to get this worked out with the agent. I understand why you thought the way you did. In all likelyhood this agent would be doing more that just listing your property in zillow to find buyers. If you dig into it and find out that's all he's doing then, by all means, you might decide to not work with him. But, as i said, he's probably doing more to market your property. If he does bring a buyer through his marketing efforts then he deserves the commission.