I can see the sense in what the article says...sort of. It would make sense to bill for services similar to the way an attorney bills for his or her services. Charge the clients for actual costs, and charge the client for time. Even if they don't buy a house or sell a home. However, there is a problem. When many buyers and sellers first start talking to agents, they are often uncertain whether they are going to buy or sell a home. They aren't going to want to pay for services when they are uncertain about what they are going to do, especially when they are used to getting those services for free. I suppose you could set it up so that, like many attorneys, "the first consultation is free." This still ignores a key aspect of the real estate professional's job. While much of the real estate agent's job can be compared to that of a professional representative like an attorney or a CPA, it also involves having to sell a product to someone. This is what makes the job different than practically all others. The professional agent has to balance a fiduciary duty with the fact that he or she is also a salesman. Selling real estate involves persualsion and is a series of "minor closes," all of them done in the interest of the client, but the client may not realize it at the time. If a potential buyer calls on an ad, the first "minor close" is to get them to be prequalified by a lender, or meet with the agent. Then the agent has to persuade them to actually look at properties, and it goes on from there - one step at a time. The client does not know they are going to buy a home at first - they are not certain if it is in their best interest. Since they don't know what they are going to do, they are not going to be willing to pay a fee based agent who is intent upon collecting a fee whether they buy something or not. My conclusion is that fee based services could possibly work for the listing agent, but I don't think it would work for the selling or buyer's agent. Not if you intend to collect a fee whether they buy or not.

Back to Previous Post Printer Friendly Version | E-mail This Article to a Friend