When you are in sales you should recognize there is always competition. A person wanting to sell their home has SEVERAL OPTIONS. Meeting with one realtor and agreeing to whatever that person believes is a fool's errand. You should have 2 or 3 realtors come to your home to evaluate your property. Sometimes, one of the realtors has a buyer lined up for your type of home and it will sell in one or two days. Sometimes, a realtor over estimates his/her ability and the home sits on the market for months. Some have been working the area for many years. While others are newbies. etc.... IMO, it is always wise to speak to several realtors.

As I said, I wouldn’t expect them to take money. But I think it’s fair to offer compensation for their time. I suppose if the seller is up front then it doesn’t really matter.

FWIW I’m not in the business. I have a family member in the business. She works harder than anyone I’ve ever known. Seeing the frequent realtor bashing on this forum bothers me because those bashing realtors have no idea how demanding the job is. It is a 7 day/wk job with no downtime until the phone gets turned off at bed time if you’re lucky.

I didn't bash any real estate agents. But, the nature of the business is that agents work for commissions, not by the hour. No successful real estate agent would accept or propose an hourly payment for a market analysis.

Not you in particular, just in general. And again for the 3rd time, I wouldn’t expect an agent to take payment for a market analysis. I just said it would be reasonable to offer one if you want their services without hiring them.

I 100% agree. I never read a post in which someone was bashing realtors. Agents chose to work in a sales profession. They should understand THE BUYER and SELLER'S needs are more important than their own.

In real estate, a person can choose from several options: FSBO, the use of a buyers agent, or dealing direct with the listing agent. If an agent gets let out in the cold, it is not bashing. That is how sales works. You win some, you lose some!

When you buy a car do you deal with the first salesman you meet or do you continue to look at other options? It is the same with realtors. No need to work with the first one who knocks on your door.

Of course, I agree. Assuming the intent to hire one.

Regarding the bashing of realtors it was Normal post that bashed a bit in this thread. But I see it a lot in the forum. I didn’t mean to accuse you guys of it and I apologize for sounding that way.

I guess I should have stated in my first message that we have someone interested in purchasing our home. That is why we don't plan to use a realtor. But we would like an appraisal so we could ask a 'fair' price for our sake and the buyer's sake.

We do appreciate all of your comments!

Why don't you ask the prospective buyer to make a written offer? In my experience, verbal discussions rarely result in an actual sale.

Randall55 and Normal have great suggestions. It appears that many other responses have their own agenda. Zillow has listings that can help get you in the range of Listing Prices and some may be within blocks of your home. Good Luck!

Bashing
 

I certainly don’t mean to come off as bashing anyone. I rarely take things personally so I likely need to be more sensitive. I do apologize if any realtor took it that way, it just doesn’t make sense to me to have realtors. I should realize that we all aren’t cast from the same mold. More power to realtors, it just doesn’t seem logical to me to inflate prices to pay for a realtor therefore making it more difficult to accomplish the original intent of selling a home.

You can’t group all realtors the same I would measure; just like you can’t group all landlords together. Situations are different for all.

A fair price is what the market will bear. This is why it is important to look at similar homes that recently sold in/near your neighborhood. Use these recent sales to negotiate with your buyer so that BOTH of you feel it is a good deal. An appraiser or realtor will find comparables to determine the home's present value. Just as I have suggested. It is quite easy to do yourself.

If your buyer is getting a mortgage, the bank will determine the value. If this is the case, getting your own appraisal is a waste of money.

The buyer may want a home and termite inspection. If the buyer is paying cash, you will need the help of a title company or real estate attorney to do a title search, transfer of deed and recording. These are the professionals YOU MUST HIRE. If buyer is getting a mortgage, the bank will take care of all this. No cost to you. The buyer will be charged by the bank .

I disagree with broker’s market assessment from experience. Sold a house up in NH. Zillow had $350k. Broker had $175k. Appraisal had $150k. Appraisor uses the same process which a bank will underwrite the mortgage to the buyer. House sold for $149k after sitting with no offers for a month at $175k.

Brokers can inflate prices to get sellers to sign.

Get both is my answer but I am not a cheapeskate when it comes to large $ items where 1% difference can mean $5000 in time or money. Ie never be a motivated buyer, and never utter those words to a broker