cNet is running an article on a For Sale by Owner site in Madison, Wisconsin providing some serious competition to the local realtor. Good to see a little free market creeping into what has essentially been a de facto monopoly, and definitely something that a few motivated people could potentially make a killing on should they decide to take something like that nationwide.
We did a FSBO home purchase, and I was absolutely thrilled to forego the 6% commission payment that, at least for us, would have provided little or no benefit. Considering we were looking at homes in the $100,000 range, $6,000 for the honor of walking us through the 5 properties that we’d even consider in the area seemed patently ridiculous. I’m sure there are realtors out there that bust their butts getting the best deal for clients/navigating their way through complex contract clauses/etc. and earn every cent of that 6%. But for us, buying our home wasn’t nearly complicated enough that it justified that customary charge – and I bet that the same would be true for the vast majority of home sales.
[tags]realtor, real estate, fsbo[/tags]
