I believe a Full-Service Realtor is more than worth the money and an EXPERIENCED, FULL TIME, LOCAL Realtor is worth their weight in gold.
If you’re trying to save money when buying or selling your home, you may consider using a limited service real estate company. While their lower fees are appealing to some, the reality may be that you lose money in the end. With so much information on the internet some Buyers and Sellers feel that they
do not need all the services that a traditional agent provides. A limited service Realtor will give you a price opinion and enter it on the multiple listing service. Some will charge as little as $99 for this service which is almost always paid up front. Remember that you are still paying a fee to the Realtor who brings the Buyer to the transaction. Additional services can be added on an hourly rate or billed as an up-front fee. Adding many additional services will end up costing the same as a traditional Realtor and these fees are traditionally paid up front instead of at the time of closing as is the case with Full-Service Realtors.
With a Limited Service Brokerage, it is most common that the Buyers Agent will be calling you for a showing. You will arranging for your own photos, writing your own ad copy, be negotiating directly with the Buyers Agent, reviewing paperwork, assessing qualifications, crafting counteroffers, doing town hall research, resolving building inspection issues and finding your own resources to answer your questions. Usually these services are an add-on cost if you want the Limited Service agent to do them. Some brokerages will charge 1-2% depending on the services you want from a check list.
A Full-Service Agent is paying for many costly services but more importantly, you are paying for the experience and expertise of the Realtor to anticipate problems, provide counselling on process and outline options. Their goal is to assess your motivation and goals and to make suggestions to get you the highest price with the least amount of stress to you. National statistics prove that working with a full time, full-service Realtor will net you more that you save. One reason is that you get more EXPOSURE and more exposure means a higher price in the long run. Social media boosts just listed postcards, placement on more internet sites and sometimes even TV and print ads.
The commission rate of a Full-Service Realtor is still negotiable. There are options within a Full-Service model. Personally, I give my clients a 1% reduction if I bring the Buyer to the sale. This is called a Variable Rate Commission. If I do not list the home but the Seller already has a Buyer, I might charge a flat fee or, if I have listed the home and the Seller finds a Buyer I might credit the Seller what I would pay out to a co-broke agent (Buyer’s Agent) just to manage the transaction. This happens more that you might think.
Most importantly, a Full Service Realtor will help you manage the stress of the move, doing everything from meeting repairmen, following up with showing feedback, presenting the pluses and minuses of one or multiple offers, following up with contingencies, providing resources from movers to trash hauler to arranging for snow plowing the day of closing and will take your calls on a Saturday evening. You are paying for the agent’s negotiating skills, communication skills, resources and for preparing you for what will happen next in the process. I recently met with a Seller for over an hour just going over the pre-closing process. I also recently handled all the details of pulling an underground oil tank, getting the remediation completed as it had leaked and keeping the Buyer calm during the process. And this week, I will be at the house for the move-in to feed the new owners and the moving crew and will continue to be a resource after the closing as they need to learn the area, find doctors, tradespeople and need decorating advice.
Yes, I believe a Full-Service Realtor is more than worth the money and an EXPERIENCED, FULL TIME, LOCAL Realtor is worth their weight in gold.