Paul

As a Listing Agent, there is nothing I like better than a Buyer representing themselves. The first and most obvious reason: I get paid twice as much. I keep the Listing Side AND the Buyer Side of the commission. Second, odds are good that this Buyer hasn't bought and sold more than a handful of properties in their whole life whereas I have bought and sold dozens and dozens. Just like an inexperienced Realtor, they don't know what they don't know. There are many, many opportunities to overlook a minor detail, miss a deadline, neglect a crucial check. Even the experienced Realtors will miss the occasional uncrossed 'T' or an undotted "i". But when the stakes are high, I prefer to hire someone who has done this before many times rather learn on the job. I advocate for my Seller and if you don't think a home transaction can turn in to an adversarial process, spend some time reading the posts here. - Sat Jul 12 2008, 15:39

When interviewing a possible Buyer's Agent, ask them how much of their business is Buying and how much of their business is Selling. The REBAC people put on a nice class, charge for it, let you use the ABR after your name but the real learning comes from experience. Would you rather have some newly minted ABR grad with the required five (yes: 5) Buyer Agency transactions under their belt OR: a Realtor who does 95%+ Buyer Agency and has bought dozens of homes for millions in volume instead of 2 days of classroom time.
The questions should focus on verifiable, factual issues but the interview should leave you with a comfort level that you can live with during the entire buying process. Buying a house is hard enough if the hours spent touring houses are miserable, the interactions during negotiations are unpleasant and the residual feeling is resentment. Talk to people you know, call up a Realtor on the phone, don't go with the first one that you meet, talk to a couple. Wouldn't you rather do business with someone you know, like and trust rather than someone who has a cool website and 3 letters after their name? - Fri Jul 4 2008, 13:36

Looks to me like your house is somewhat overpriced. I'll bet the people that bought the house at 2754 Hollyhock considered or even looked at your house...but chose to close on 7/2/2008 for $380,000. Same size, about the same age, a 4-car garage. They have been trying to sell since 6/06 when they thought it was worth $425K.
It is true that the Buyer's Agent has to do more work to get a Flat Fee Listing to close, but once you have a Qualified Buyer, the path of least resistance is to find them the house they love at a price they like. That means showing them EVERYTHING and then some. I think what you are missing with your Mad City listing is someone telling you the cold hard facts about what it takes to get your house sold. There isn't anyone laying out the comps and giving you firsthand info on the harsh reality of this market. With so many houses to choose from, an overpriced listing is a liability to a Listing Agent. Our friends at the Flat Fee joint will be happy to take your money AGAIN when their current listing expires and they won't say BOO about the price you pick to list it at. They are merely clerks for an advertising service, not professionals with your best interest at heart. - Fri Jul 4 2008, 12:01