Why Use A Realtor                                           

That's what Josh does. He is a professional and does it well. He has invested hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars in formal training (and licensing) to be qualified and proficient. And is also required to continue this educational process (an ongoing time & financial burden) in order to retain his licenses and to keep abreast of the ever-changing laws & requirements related to real estate. This is an extremely valuable service, without which sellers (and buyers) can be at significant risk and/or may consummate a “deal” that is not in the best interest of either or both parties.

There are many common misconceptions out there about people in the Real Estate profession.

As with any business where large amounts of money can be involved (buying automobiles, services rendered by the medical and legal professions, buying/selling real estate, and many others), someone, for whatever reason, will have a “sour experience”, and the natural tendency in telling others about what happened is to embellish or exaggerate. This is how stigmas become attached to certain people and professions, and how all those jokes and stories get started. Real Estate professionals are not immune to this evolutionary process, and have also been portrayed in negative ways that do not reflect the extremely high ethical standards to which all licensed Realtors® are held.

Here are a few commonly-held views & misconceptions about Realtors® and the Real Estate profession as a whole:

View: Sales commissions paid to Realtors® are excessive, and bypassing them (as a FSBO) will put more money in the seller's pocket (by keeping it out of the Realtor's® pocket).

Fact: Sales commissions compensate the Realtor® and the brokerage in which they work for significant expenses they incur (on the seller's behalf) in the aggressive and broad-based marketing of the property. Realtors® receive no compensation whatsoever if they fail in their marketing program, but they still bear all expenses. However, when successful, the end result is typically more money in the seller's pocket, due to the Realtor's® experience and expertise in marketing, negotiation and transaction process management, at a higher selling price, closely aligned with true fair market value (rarely achieved as a FSBO).

View: All Realtors® are greedy, overpaid, and rich.

Fact: This perception is partly fostered by promotional advertising messages, such as “Multi-Million Dollar Producer”, intended to suggest that the Realtor® is a “hot shot” and can serve you far better than anyone else. Unfortunately, this message is frequently misinterpreted as representing something related to the Realtor's® own income level. In fact, this simply reflects the Realtor's® gross annual sales volume (total value of all properties sold in a year), and with typical industry commission structures (with a percentage of the Realtor's® commission also going to the brokerage), the individual Realtor's® actual gross income from $1 Million in sales might only be somewhere in the $25,000-$30,000 range. Not exactly “overpaid”, and this is before taxes and expenses (paid by the Realtor®). Undeniably, a few Realtors® are very successful & productive, and enjoy good incomes, but the vast majority have very modest earnings.

View: Realtors® don't work very hard or long for their money.

Fact: Much of what Realtors® do is “invisible”, representing many hours of work “behind the scenes”. This includes preparing listing presentations & documentation, MLS data entry & updates, preparing, submitting and monitoring (and paying for) all forms of advertising/promotion, managing access to properties (keys, keyboxes, security), coordinating all showings & appointments, working with prospective buyers (directly or through other agents/brokerages), coordinating all negotiation & documentation aspects of the offer/counter-offer/contract process, coordinating all action items associated with the escrow/title process, and assuring that their client's interests are protected. It makes little difference whether a small $25,000 property or a large multi-million dollar property is involved, since the process is essentially the same, and the same considerations apply to the transaction's documentation and management. Most people are surprised to learn that the overall listing/marketing/escrow process can represent over 60 hours of work for the responsible Realtor®, spread over a period of many weeks or months.

There are many other misconceptions & assumptions out there, but suffice it to say here that the vast majority of Realtor®-managed transactions are trouble-free and yield the best possible result for the client, while the majority of FSBO transactions encounter numerous snags, surprises, liabilities and unnecessary complications with questionable financial results.

To use a Realtor® or not… the decision is not about money… it's all about risk management.