OK I know that is a bit of an odd title for a RE bear. However I do have a lot of friends who sell real estate and one thing I have seen over the years is how unfair it can be for those representing the buyers, in a hot and a cold market.
Let me explain. Lets say you have a prospective buyer in a sellers market. You take your buyer around, send them info, give them advice and then get repeatedly out-bid and have to start all over again.
In a dropping market, things are even worse. Buyers want to see everything out there, they often get cold feet and pull offers or put impossible conditions with multiple 'escape' clauses in.
Then one day you find out your buyer went to an open house and cut a deal with the listing agent who was 'double-ending it' and poof, your client and the many hours you spent working with them disappears.
What I heard some Realtors doing is charging a $500 fee to at least cover their gas money. If the buyer completes the transaction through that realtor, they refund the money. However if they don't or change Realtors then they forfiet the money.
What do you folks think about that? Would you be willing to pay $500 to get better service.
I think it is a good idea. It removes the time wasters. In truth the listing realtor often does less work than the one representing the buyer. I see some Realtors with dozens of listings. There is no way they can be marketing each one. They market themselves and then listings come to them since they are known as the high priced condo realtor... or the waterfront realtor.
The Realtors with the buyers then have to show up and sell their inventory for them.
