My friend told me that if I listed my own home, Realtors with buyers will do all the work and I wont have to pay them? Is that true? It doesn’t sound right.

Thanks Bill for email.

“If it sounds too good to be true than it is”. I a homeowner lists their own home we refer to that in the industry as a FSBO (for sale by owner) 90% of the time a FSBO will offer to work with buyers agents. This means if and agent brings a buyer, the seller will agree to pay a compensation in the form of a commission to the buyers agent. In the case of the other 10% they say they will not work with an agent and compensation is between the buyer and their client.

It doesn’t sound right because, the FSBO who does not want to work with the buyers agent, puts all of the exposure on performance on the buyers agent who is now obligated to represent their clients interests and be fair to the FSBO making sure that contracts are explained and understood, procedures are followed, time lines met and that the seller complies with any additional addendum or requirements of the sale (such as repairs etc.) As a professional real estate agent, Realtor®, I would make sure all of this is done and have an agreement with my client that they pay me compensation for my representation.

At the end of the day the compensation is being generated by what they are willing to pay for the home so in the end the seller is ultimately paying for the compensation depending on sales price because his net proceeds is a reflection of what the buyer is willing to pay GROSS. Hope that makes sense!

Look Realtors® are like all professionals. They need to work to provide for their families. A commission is a % of transactions proceeds. Much like the sales of any item you purchase has some accommodation for profit over and above the cost of goods that a vendor is selling. From the “profit” there is a “gross profit” and a net “profit”. If a Realtor® generates $1000 in commission, they need to set aside federal and state taxes, deduct expenses directly related to that transaction & deduct brokerage fees (each broker has a fee schedule that they charge each agent on each transaction) so their net is going to much less than that of the whole amount.

As a Realtors® business and volume grow they also have an increase in expenses for advertising, infrastructure, assistance, office/storage space, travel, advertising for a realtor is working and marketing 7 days a week.

If you get buyers agents that don’t want to coordinate a deal if a FSBO is not working with agents don’t think of them bad agents. It is a lot of exposure legally if something is to go wrong and a lit of pressure treating all parties fairly while maintaining the fiduciary relation ship of their client. If everyone works with one another the trans action will be smoother and chances are there will be less issues resulting from unmet expectations or lack of understanding of the contract and its terms.

I strongly suggest if you are selling your own home that you spend a little money having an experienced real estate attorney look at any contract that is presented for you to sign.

Hope this answers your question Bill. I hope that you have a successful transaction. Don t forget to consult with an reputable full service real estate broker in your area to see all of the services that they can provide for you as your listing agents, Realtor® representative.

Let me know if you need a referral or have any further questions.

Regards

Bob Kenney, Realtor®

Reilly Realtors

Mobile/Text: 512-922-4922