5 ms·

It is, but incentives for the buyer's agent are already messed up. They want to close the deal, they don't really care about the price because the bump in their

It is, but incentives for the buyer's agent are already messed up. They want to close the deal, they don't really care about the price because the bump in their commission for a few extra thousand is nothing compared to the risk of not closing. Buyers will talk up their clients and seller will talk theirs down.

sgc 8y ago
It's not as crazy as it seems. Usually the best thing to do is compromise to close, since the Buyer wants the house and the Seller wants to sell it. Buyers and sellers often overestimate the other side's patience and wear it to the bone, then lose a home/sale pointlessly. Presumably everybody is in contract because they want to do the deal, and agents work to make that happen. Agents do have a fiduciary relationship with their clients, but if you enter into a real estate transaction don't be surprised if the people involved act as if you are serious about it and it's in your best interest to actually close. That said, of course there is a group of agents who sweep problems under the rug to close. In my experience, there is a higher than average amount of agents like this among the top producers. But the group is not that big.
- mindslight 8y ago
  This sounds exactly like a narrative used to justify an ongoing conflict of interest. For any piece of real estate, there's basically a price at which it would sell itself. People hire a real estate agent because they believe the agent will work to sell for more than that base price. In my experience, both real estate agents represent the buyer as it is the buyer who is supplying the money. Your closing attorney is the professional more likely to represent your interests.
  - sgc 8y ago
    There is a reason why 90% of homes placed on the market without an agent don't sell and wind up being listed with an agent. I think you overestimate the average person's capacity to navigate a transaction without losing a ton of money. I once thought more like you do, but have seen too many cases where people were just not capable of much of anything without a lot of help. Those people would be destroyed on the open market without an advocate, and every professional advocate will require payment. Agents earn about 1.5% per side once brokers take their commission. They are usually worth the money.

sgc 8y ago

It's not as crazy as it seems. Usually the best thing to do is compromise to close, since the Buyer wants the house and the Seller wants to sell it. Buyers and sellers often overestimate the other side's patience and wear it to the bone, then lose a home/sale pointlessly. Presumably everybody is in contract because they want to do the deal, and agents work to make that happen. Agents do have a fiduciary relationship with their clients, but if you enter into a real estate transaction don't be surprised if the people involved act as if you are serious about it and it's in your best interest to actually close. That said, of course there is a group of agents who sweep problems under the rug to close. In my experience, there is a higher than average amount of agents like this among the top producers. But the group is not that big.

mindslight 8y ago
This sounds exactly like a narrative used to justify an ongoing conflict of interest. For any piece of real estate, there's basically a price at which it would sell itself. People hire a real estate agent because they believe the agent will work to sell for more than that base price. In my experience, both real estate agents represent the buyer as it is the buyer who is supplying the money. Your closing attorney is the professional more likely to represent your interests.
- sgc 8y ago
  There is a reason why 90% of homes placed on the market without an agent don't sell and wind up being listed with an agent. I think you overestimate the average person's capacity to navigate a transaction without losing a ton of money. I once thought more like you do, but have seen too many cases where people were just not capable of much of anything without a lot of help. Those people would be destroyed on the open market without an advocate, and every professional advocate will require payment. Agents earn about 1.5% per side once brokers take their commission. They are usually worth the money.