Beware: There's a Difference Between Discount Brokerage & Unbundled Fee-for-Services - Part III

As a seller, accessing unbundled services from a real estate professional may appear to be the best of both worlds --- the perfect combination of what you need, when you need it, paying what it's worth. Even though a la carte differs from discounted-price real estate services (as seen in the previous two installments of this article), there are equally important up front questions to make sure you're not sacrificing needs at the altar of price savings.

QUESTIONS TO ASK AN A LA CARTE BROKER/AGENT:

1. Is there a way to determine the professional services I will need as well as those I can do without? If you're talking to a company that offers unbundled services, they should have a system in place to determine what you, the seller, need. This could be determined by speaking with you at length to gauge your home-selling experience level. Or the process could be more focused by asking you to complete a short evaluation questionnaire or quiz to determine what you should be able to navigate on your own and which parts of the sale you'll need help with. Absent some type of evaluation process by the company or agent you're considering, you may have different expectations about your working relationship and therefore, divergent outcomes using the unbundled services approach.

2. Are there any services that can't be unbundled and must be sold as a whole? If a company has done its homework, it would realize that there are several groups of services that can't be unbundled. These could include the components of negotiating the sale as well as well as gathering information about the property and performing the “due diligence” paperwork (including the property disclosure form). If a company lets you decide on your own what to unbundle, it's a signal that they may be the weak link in the transaction and you'd be best advised to find another brokerage.

3. What services are available and what do they cost? Unbundled services are a tailor-made and potentially cost-effective way to obtaining services as a seller. Likewise, there are a variety of ways to pay for them (depending on the individual brokerage) including flat fees, hourly fees, retainers plus percentages, etc. If you need one or more services, it's good to ask for a price based on re-bundling the unbundled services into new packages! This can prove cost-effective for you and the brokerage as well as potentially time-saving in moving towards the end result---selling the house.

4. If I later determine that I need to “add on” additional services, is it possible to move to a more cost-effective pricing schedule? Unlike discounted services, additional unbundled services are usually available from the brokerage should you later find you need them. However, one consumer' concern is that added together, the cost of the unbundled services could possibly exceed the cost of full-service brokerage assistance. Make sure that the agreement you have with the brokerage/agent states that “should additional services be required by the consumer, the consumer can exercise the option to move to a more cost-effective pricing plan to obtain them (if available); additionally, payment for same shall not exceed the cost of full-service brokerage assistance, or “X”. Whether it's discounted-price services, unbundled/a la carte, or full-service brokerage assistance, it's all about options---options that make the seller an equal controlling partner in the real estate sales transaction.

Published: October 13, 2000

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Julie Garton-Good, DREI “The Frugal HomeOwner™” As a syndicated newspaper columnist, author and international speaker, Julie Garton-Good DREI, C-CREC™, is called “America’s Home Affordability Expert”, addressing more than 25,000 persons annually on topics of real estate industry trends and home affordability. She is the author of five real estate books and is the sole two-time recipient of the international "Real Estate Educator of the Year" award from the Real Estate Educators Association. In 1997, The National Association of Realtors® nominated Julie as one of the fifty most influential people in the real estate industry. She shared the list with only three other women.