“Why should I pay a buyer’s agent to sell my house?”
“All you do is show a couple homes and write a contract. Why should I pay someone 3% to do that?!” To which I wanted to respond, “are you kidding me?”; I refrained from doing so.
I’ve come to realize that the actions of real estate agents are commonly misperceived. The dialogue above was the recent conversation between me and a FSBO call I made. I called to solicit the listing when I found out her marketing strategy contained a buyer protection and compensation of 2.5%. The FSBO was telling me that as a Buyer agent we get paid entirely too much; a Buyer agent provides too little service for so much money. Instead of lashing out (which could have been very easy to do) I responded with “I wonder why agents are leaving the business if it is that easy?” She didn’t know how to respond.
You see, the thing is, agents don’t just show a few homes and write an offer. In her mind that was probably the perceived value of hiring a real estate agent and her experience with her Buyer agent in the past. If you’re reading this blog you know the immense amount of time you’ve put into this business in order to add a buyer to your list. Sure, some come easier than others, and then some take months or years to develop relationships with. If you are like me…. You see this business as something that doesn’t just provide for you immediate results. This is a business that (at best) may take years to start growing.
When I see this FSBO on the market in a year or two I’ll have a laugh; I guess some people are just too smart for their own good. Maybe in time they will consider that they should have hired a listing agent who understood the value of compensating a cooperating Buyer’s agent 3% (or more).
Tyler Rackley
804.545.4458
The 20/20 Team – Keller Williams Realty
Richmond, VA and surrounding areas
