Why should homeowners have to leave for showings?

They shouldn’t.

Can you identify the issue with the following reasoning?

Realtors when working with sellers:

“Sellers should really leave the house for showings.”

The same Realtors negotiating their commission when working with buyers:

“I deserve a 2.5% commission as the buyer’s agent because I had to show them a bunch of properties before they settled on yours.”

The issue is, Realtors created the very problem they then point at to justify their steep fee. Requiring sellers to leave also requires Realtors open the door.

Bundling is when the consumer is charged for what they want and what they don’t want, by virtue of the inferior business model.

For example, Blockbuster late fees versus Netflix on demand.

Blockbuster: Rent DVDs by coming into our physical locations.

Also Blockbuster: You owe us late fees.

Consider how the middle-man real estate industry imposes costs on homeowners under the guise of good business…

Homeowner Chris updated his property, he really spared no cost updating and upgrading his house. It sold itself, buyer’s found it online, he doesn’t want to give the buyer agent a twenty one thousand dollar finders fee.

The agent representing the buyer argues for their 2.5% commission by saying,

“I’ve been showing my buyers homes for six months. I must have shown them thirty properties or more. What’s fair is fair.”

Ask yourself, what does that have to do with Chris and his home? It seems the agent is bundling his fee with their past efforts. Why should he be penalized? He didn’t tell the homeowners they would have to leave their home, requiring the agent to open 30 doors.

Don’t be naïve, what benefits middle-men does not benefit the consumer.

The whole, “You can’t see the buyer in their wedding dress until settlement” is a tradition that serves the interests of the middle-man industry.

Consider, a seller stays home for showings and greets the buyers at the door. She answers all their questions about where the bus stop, school system and the average utility bills. They really hit it off and agree on price. The buyers love how turn-key their home is and don’t want to lose it.

The seller can’t help but wonder… Why in the world are we paying these Realtors forty-two-thousand-dollars to push the paperwork?

There is no value argument that can be made; “The buyers can speak freely about the home”, “It makes the buyers more comfortable”, etc., that is commensurate with commissions costing thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars.

Gallup polls show the majority of consumers do not trust Realtors. The entire ibuyer / instant offer industry is made possible because homeowners are fed up with all the headaches invovled with selling a home.

Do not leave your house for showings, and do not waste your hard-earned equity on an inflated 5/6% commission. Do what’s right for you, listen to your financial advisor or an asset manager, not a salesperson.