[quote=sdrealtor]It isnt rocket science and you dont need an agent. However, a good agent will protect you and help you make better decisions. If you go directly to the listing agent it is important to consider their primary allegiance is to the seller not you. The listing agent is also under no obligation to share any of the commission with you and many wont. With all that said feel free to go direct, it may work out for you better and it may not. You wont know for sure until you know for sure.[/quote]
sdr speaks wisdom as usual.
I don’t think it’s realistic for Joe Consumer to operate without professional help (I tried for a while), but that doesn’t mean you have to go the “full service” route. When I bought my house last year, I negotiated a commission split with my agent and did all my own research.
It worked out well for both of us: he showed me exactly one house rather than driving me all over creation, and I got the benefit of his experience and–above all–persistence throughout the annoying long short sale process … along with a check for about 1% of the house’s value.
Prior to engaging my agent, seller’s agents had flatly refused to discuss commission splits with me.
