[quote=sdrealtor]What’s really funny is to hear a buyer suggest “menu pricing” when in reality they would fight this tooth and nail. Would you honestly pay someone to unlock/show you houses or research properties? Of course not. Even if you did, after spending a few hundred dollars looking at homes you didnt like you would be so disgusted with paying you would beg for the old system back.
As for control, agents need to control the transaction however the transaction only begins when an agreement is reached. The agent is just making sure all parties live up to the commitments they have agreed to. Once an agreement is struck the buyers side is in control of the transaction and agent/seller’s games are done.[/quote]
Yes, I would gladly pay someone to unlock/show us houses. We do our own research, are pretty knowledgeable about the areas we’re interested in, preview the houses ourselves (at least a drive-by, more, if it’s vacant), and only ask to be shown houses that we really believe we’d be interested in purchasing. Of course, if someone actually finds us a house that hasn’t been listed yet, or gets us an “inside” deal, or finds us a gem that’s going to auction, etc. then that person would be entitled to much more.
Simply unlocking houses and filling out contracts (which are so long mostly because they’re designed to protect the agents/brokers) does not warrant thousands of dollars in pay, IMHO.
