formerhick76 Wrote:
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> leeches: do you have a citation for the 1%
> commission your claim is the norm in most
> countries? also, what else might be different in
> the process of buying a house in foreign countries
> that most americans find unpalatable?
>
> i'll agree the existence of agents -- then brokers
> -- creates a two-tier system whose utility is
> somewhat doubtful, imo.
a good example is the UK where there are selling agents but no buying agents
'estate agents' are usually on the high street of every town, often next door to each other for ease of browsing, and have photos and details of all of the houses on their books, most offer web access and increasingly 3G mobile phone access (great when you're stood outside the house)
usually they will ask for about 2% but normally this can be negotiated down to 1-1.5%
e.g.
http://www.theadvisory.co.uk/estate-agents.php
a range on low cost, regulated full service companies are now charging 0.5-1.0% e.g
http://www.halfapercent.com/
the UK does not have the equivalent of an MLS but that could be readily run by a regulated or non-profit
the current US system represents bad economics and adds friction to the market as well as transferring wealth away from the working public
having buying agents who are paid for as a hidden element of the purchase price by rolling into long-term debt provides perverse incentives and undesirable market behaviors
its an expensive anachronism