All Forum Posts by: Jesse Smith

 You're correct... I am trying to skirt the system, because I believe it to be broken.  Sellers shouldn't have to pay 3% of their sale price because buyers chose to have an agent do their work.  A system exists until enough people say "enough."  

 $10,000... approx 3% of our list price.

I've heard this argument a few different ways. It seems that lower FSBO prices would involve sellers who don't know much about the local market. I'm very confident that we have listed at the top of the appraisal range for our area, so the house couldn't sell for more (unless to a cash buyer).

Why not just remove the charade, have buyers and sellers pay for the services they deem beneficial, and let the market normalize?

 This is a $300k+ owner occupied house.  Would cost us ~$10k in buyer agent commissions... seems like a serious premium to pay.

 This is true, but my frustration stems from agents who refuse to show the property if I don't agree to pay their commission.  Instead of bringing motivated buyers, they are withholding them.  This actually seems like a breach of their fiduciary duty to act in their clients' best interest.  

We have priced our house at fair market value, based on recently financed (and appraised) properties within a couple blocks.  Agents have tried to sell me on the "we will get 6-10% more for your house," when I know that doesn't work.  No lender will issue a loan, if the house doesn't appraise.  

@Russell Brazil  I still struggle to understand how this became an expected practice.  With available technology today, a buyer can readily access a list of homes on the market.  They can do the research and contact the seller or seller's agent and negotiate the price/terms.  If they don't want to do that, they should have to PAY a buyer's agent to perform these tasks on their behalf.

 It definitely makes the market more liquid... because buyers are getting a free service at the cost of sellers who have accepted this odd practice as "normal."  It's definitely the path of least resistance for real estate agents, since the money is flowing toward the seller.  They can just skim the payment off of the top. 

 How do you communicate this?  When agents call me, I've basically been telling them that we will not be paying buyer's agent commissions.  That leads to them getting short with me or telling me to contact them when I'm ready to "get serious about selling."  

I'm in the process of selling my primary residence FSBO. We are in a very popular neighborhood, so for now, we won't be going through a listing agent. We are also real estate investors, and we've been on the buy and sell side of many transactions. I won't need help navigating the offer/contract/closing/etc process. However, I get constant calls from agents asking to list, or asking for commission if they bring a buyer.  

I understand the value added by a listing agent - the have access to the MLS and marketing tools that I don't have. I also understand why a buyer's agent is valuable to to the buyer.  They help the buyer find a suitable house and walk them through the process of the transaction.  

So, my question is - Why are sellers expected to pay for a service for the buyer, especially when the buyer's agent's fiduciary duty is to the buyer?  If a buyer wants someone else to do the legwork for them, shouldn't they be the one to pay for that service?  

@Caleb Heimsoth - Thanks for the response.  It will all be long-term capital gains, since we have held these investments for over a year.