I ran across a new listing in my neighborhood that puzzled and interested me. It?s about half a mile from where I live, 3 older homes on 38 acres for $1.1MM but the listing Broker had a Carlsbad Ca address? 3% commission to the selling office, which is nice, many $1MM listings pay 2.5% (5% total, split between listing and selling offices). This is a ?Flat Fee? broker, she charges $199 and puts your listing on the market and sends you the standard California forms. It does not appear from her website that she sends the disclosure forms that are particular to Sonoma County. The price may well be a good one, there isn?t really enough information provided by the seller to tell. There are a few potential problems for an agent who makes an offer on behalf of a buyer. One big one is liability, you are not dealing with an agent who just got her first listing and who is backed by an office with a transaction coordinator and a broker who can catch any mistakes, that puts the buyers agent in a position of watching the deal go south or acting in a capacity of dual agency. Acting as a dual agent is an invitation to a lawsuit from one or both parties, years of pain and expense. You are also dealing with someone who is penny wise and pound foolish. And perhaps someone who thinks all Realtors are crooks, not a good basis for making a deal. The seller is ?Saving? 2% but assuming a lot of risk, an unknowable amount of risk. What is the seller not getting? Expert advice. With a property like this I would have a well test, a pest inspection and a septic inspection posted as attached documents on the MLS at a minimum. Since this is likely to become a vineyard I would really like a soils report. I would also have it on the Broker?s tour, that gets the word out to people with qualified buyers. Those agents also know me and my shop, they can feel confident that I will return their calls and provide answers to any questions that arise promptly and accurately and that my Brokerage will stand behind any deal. Would I show this property to a serious buyer? Yes, but I would have my managing broker involved from day one and would be spending a lot of effort protecting both my buyer and myself from any potential problems. It isn?t a property that agents will make a point of showing and that is likely to cost the seller both time and money.
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About Tom Stone
I am a Broker Associate and Notary public with the Wine Country Group by Better Homes and Gardens (Mason McDuffie) in Sebastopol Ca. My father was an Appraiser and expert witness based in Oakland Ca for many years and I grew up having the basics drilled into me. I enjoy what I do and I am good at it. I managed income property in Oakland for a number of years and was licensed to run a collection agency for more than a decade. I have also worked as a credit manager and as the senior collector at the test center of a Bank . I have been commenting for years at "Calculated Risk" and on other Real estate Blogs including the defunct "Sonoma Housing Bubble" Blog. The best job title I ever had was "Chief Garbler".
View all posts by Tom StoneSource: http://bayarearealestatetrends.com/2012/02/15/mls-entry-brokers-and-fsbo/
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