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Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps
We tried listing our house like 1 or 2 years ago. I didn't feel like the realtor really brought anything to the table. All he really did was list it online and show it whenever someone would request to see it. I can pay a photographer and list it online myself. The thing for me I guess would be doing all the paperwork etc, but I'm sure you can hire a lawyer or someone who does that without having to give up 6% or whatever it is.
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Totally agree. I do not understand the cost of realtors given the level of effort and knowledge (i.e., lack there of for most of them). It's pretty damn easy to the realtor license too. I understand that there is time spent showing and listing homes, doing the paperwork (though much of it done by in-house people, not them), etc. There is time and cost involved and I get that. I just don't see how in the world what they're doing constitutes making 3% on a home sale. That's $15K on a $500,000 home and they're netting about $9-10K of that after taxes, the realtor company cut, etc. 10 sales a year and you're making really good money for most parts of the country.
I'm an environmental consultant and work largely in environmental compliance and commercial/industrial property transactions. I'm required to understand the federal AND state regulations for the states and countries I do work in as well as building systems, how to read plat maps, real estate, and transaction documents.
We've been looking for a new home for 1.5 years now, the search area confined generally to one county. As a realtor, I would think you'd want to know the basics about homes like a general understanding of mechanical and electrical systems, how septic and sanitary systems work/servicing, availability of utilities to the property, the city/dept that has control over building permits and contact information for them, etc. I've never come across a realtor that knows these details. I just get blank stares followed by a "let me look into that". In the end, I'm the one doing all the legwork because I know how to find the information quickly because of my job.
I get the sense that most realtors saw the dollar signs and put in minimal effort. They also avoid digging in too deep to not identify potential deal breaker issues. For example, what is the trend and zoning of the surrounding area? Your client might be pissed to find out that the vacant ag land across the street is zone commercial and will be a brightly lit Walmart or a 1/4 mile away is a mine with permits to mine under the property because the title to the property you're looking at doesn't include mineral rights.
As a home buyer, you really need to do your due diligence because chances are your realtor won't or they'll intentionally miss it. Finding the zoning can easily be found on country GIS databases and development on nearby properties done with a Google Earth review.