djrobsd,
I really feel for you. The sad thing is, your same story could probably be told by thousands of others here in SD. Trust me, your likely better off with the 1% agent. Traditional full-commission agents are experts at reciting the BS party line mantra that “you get what you pay for”. 6% commissions are going the way of the dinosaur. With the rise of online services, NOBODY is able to add enough value to the process to justify full commission when there are plenty of excellent, experienced agents out there willing to list for 2.0, 1.5, 1, .5% (yes, I do know some good ones at that comission level) or even a flat-rate. You do, of course, need to be very careful and thoroughly interview and check references on any agent/broker you are hiring. Especially when you get down into the lower tiers of commission, you need to negotiate and agree in writing EXACTLY what services you are going to get. Even at the lowest commission levels you ought be able to get the services I described in my previous post (except you might have to pay for the Virtual Tour). The better ones won’t even lock you into a minimum listing term, as they are that confident in what they do. Another way to tell a good agent is that they are bluntly honest with you about the current market conditions, recommended pricing, etc. They should be very open and have a direct style. If their too slick, try to make promises or guarantees about your house selling quickly, or pump themselves up as a worlds greatest realtor, those are just huge red flags for me.
BTW, my impression is that most of the agents/brokers that contribute here on Piggington are discount brokers and well understand the fast changing landscape of RE business. Just the fact that they are on Piggington at all tells me they are thought leaders in their industry. What really kills me is just how out of touch, not to mention greedy, that your Coldwell agent was.
I wish you the best of luck in getting your property sold, you at least now have a better chance with your new strategy.
*Disclaimer: I am in no way employed in the RE industry, and the opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
