Trying to squeeze every last cent out of any transaction wastes a lot of valuable time and opportunity that could be used much wisely elsewhere. Transactions are much quicker and smoother if taken care of by individuals who basically own certain markets. My wife is a RE agent and when we buy or sell in her area, district, club, stomping grounds, syndicate, etc we use her. When we buy outside that area even 30 miles away we use the people who service that area. This is what builds teams and gets deals and deals done. When you try and cut someone out of a transaction you're only harming yourself.
I do not think this is a one size fits all type of business. What is right for you may not be right for me based upon my motivations. In my case, I was not trying to save money, but create a purchase. I could see that using local agents was not going to make that happen. They were not diligent, creative or proactive. In other words, I was not obtaining what I wanted.
Here are all the things I did to bring a potential client to my door:
1) Created a TV commercial and ran it in different target marketplaces.
2) Hired a local at $10.00 hour to stand with a sign on the main road pointing to a series of signs leading to the lot for sale.
3) Created a website for the lot.
4) Paid for Google advertising directing traffic to the site.
5) Paid for classified ads in local and Seattle papers.
6) Paid for my own ads in other real estate mags.
I am sure I am forgetting about a dozen other marketing ideas I either did or considered in trying to be creative. There is no agent who I could find who was going to do more then place the lot on the MLS and hope for a commission. In my case, it was about creating the sale not saving money. Why should I pay an agent a commission when I am doing all the hard work and investing the marketing dollars? I can take the process to a title company just the same as they can. Seriously, you think any RE you know is this much of a go-getter?
I also think if you are or have a relative in the RE biz you may not be as objective. As I said at the start one size does not fit all and YMMV.
- - - Updated - - -
Trying to squeeze every last cent out of any transaction wastes a lot of valuable time and opportunity that could be used much wisely elsewhere. Transactions are much quicker and smoother if taken care of by individuals who basically own certain markets. My wife is a RE agent and when we buy or sell in her area, district, club, stomping grounds, syndicate, etc we use her. When we buy outside that area even 30 miles away we use the people who service that area. This is what builds teams and gets deals and deals done. When you try and cut someone out of a transaction you're only harming yourself.
I do not think this is a one size fits all type of business. What is right for you may not be right for me based upon my motivations. In my case, I was not trying to save money, but create a purchase. I could see that using local agents was not going to make that happen. They were not diligent, creative or proactive. In other words, I was not obtaining what I wanted.
Here are all the things I did to bring a potential client to my door:
1) Created a TV commercial and ran it in different target marketplaces.
2) Hired a local at $10.00 hour to stand with a sign on the main road pointing to a series of signs leading to the lot for sale.
3) Created a website for the lot.
4) Paid for Google advertising directing traffic to the site.
5) Paid for classified ads in local and Seattle papers.
6) Paid for my own ads in other real estate mags.
I am sure I am forgetting about a dozen other marketing ideas I either did or considered in trying to be creative. There is no agent who I could find who was going to do more then place the lot on the MLS and hope for a commission. In my case, it was about creating the sale not saving money. Why should I pay an agent a commission when I am doing all the hard work and investing the marketing dollars? I can take the process to a title company just the same as they can. Seriously, you think any RE you know is this much of a go-getter?
I also think if you are or have a relative in the RE biz you may not be as objective. As I said at the start one size does not fit all and YMMV.
