When it comes time to interview a real estate agent listen carefully to what they have to say. Most will be seasoned professionals, or so we hope, with the experience to help market and sell you home. I recently went on a listing appointment, a listing which I did not get or want, where the homeowner knew everything, having bought a home once.
I decided to monitor this listing to see how it went. It didn't, and is still available at a much lower price but with that added stench of staleness attached.
The mistakes he made were numerous. First, he wanted to give the buyers agent 4% and the listing agent 2%. The buyers agent is not a decision maker and should not be rewarded with bonus commission. After all, the buyer is really paying that commission and might be urged to overpay by an unscrupulous agent. Most experienced agents smell a rat when offered above the norm commission rates or incentives. It screams "I am overpriced". Supply and demand determine prices, not commissions.
This seller got himself a weak agent who was dictated to by the seller. The seller got what he paid for. After starting at a way too high price, they played the price change game. This is a tactic, often employed by dopey agents, whereby a change in price prompts it to appear on an MLS update, putting it back front and center. This is fine for a legitimate price reduction, but these guys drop it buy $100 here, $500 there, sometimes raising it up, then back down again the next day.
To the experienced agent, these tactics telegraph the fact that the seller is an idiot, and that the listing agent is a spineless dope. Does that sound like an appealing duo to be in escrow with? I didn't think so.
So be careful what you wish for and remember; you pay peanuts you get monkeys.
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