Actually, I don’t think realtors are worthless. I think clients need them to various extents. But I also think that buyers and sellers don’t know enough about the process of a RE transaction to accurately judge whether representation is really needed.

Buyers are protected through a sellers disclosure form. I would certainly demand one, if it isn’t already required by law. Both buyer and seller is protected by the purchase agreement which specifies the deposit, contingenices (i.e. inspections and previous house sale), extra items that go with the house, and of course the timeline towards closure. Escrow protect the money and the title transfer itself.

Things can go wrong along this course, but there’s risk in lots of transactions. In RE, billions of dollars are changing hands to mitigate a risk that doesn’t occur that often, especially when buyer and seller are acting in good faith–and much of the time I believe they are.

I bet a good portion of the risk seminar involves the risk of not getting a commission, or a client feeling that s/he is not being properly represented. I think the relationship between client and agent is just as complex as the RE transaction itself, so there’s a risk of a lawsuit in that alone.

My expr. with FSBO as a buyer was actually pleasant. We both sat down, verbally negotiated all the terms, and I drew up a purchase agreement with contingencies and a timeline. We helped each other through the process because we knew that most of what needed to be done was just stuff dealing with escrow, the title company, and the clerk’s office.