ARE DISCOUNT REAL ESTATE BROKERS REALLY A BARGAIN?

Everybody wants a bargain. We all want to pay less for food, airfare and clothes so we go to shopping clubs, on-line and to shopping outlets, respectively, to buy discounted products and services. These are true bargains because we get the same brand name products for a lower price. But have you ever considered going to a discount dentist, doctor or lawyer? Probably not. When it comes to professional services, most of us feel that you get what you pay for.

Glenn Elliot, a consistent ERA Justin Realty Leadership Circle achiever, broker and Realtor agent suggests, “Let’s take real estate services, for example. If you consider that the most costly purchase in your life is going to be your house, it makes the most sense to use the best real estate professional you can find to buy or sell it. Not in every case, but sometimes sellers may be attracted to a discount broker whereby sellers may pay a lower commission to sell their home, based on services offered. While many discount brokers advertise that they provide the same level of service as a traditional real estate broker, they do so only to some extent, and some at a higher commission rate than offered. For the lowest commission being offered, sellers may get little more than their house being listed with some photos on the discount broker’s Internet sites. This rate may not include marketing it with the local Multiple Listing Service, nor on Realtor.com®, both of which facilitate greater exposure to buyers. Sellers may also be instructed to show their own house to potential buyers because, at a discounted commission rate, an agent may not accompany the buyer on the showing.”

By contrast, when you select and hire a local full service real estate agent to sell your home, you should seek and get a professional with experience and extensive skills in local value, marketing, financial advisory, sales, negotiations and overseeing the many tasks from the sale through title closing. Sometimes helping with clients’ anxieties and finding local contractors, attending inspections, helping to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy to the list, and you get the picture that real estate services go well beyond providing customers with just a listing or an online virtual tour of homes for sale.

While the discount broker concept may rely on a possible out-of-the-area-agent, who may drive a distance to show a buyer in order to offer lower commissions, in reality, the lack of local agents who are expert in the local marketplace may translate into inexperienced agents with no firsthand knowledge of the local community.”

Elliot continued, “Internet-based discount brokers, in particular, fail to attract buyers who need a Realtor® with a local presence. The greatest flaw in their discount broker concept is that they alone can attract buyers, which is the primary reason for selling your home through a local Realtor® in the first place. From the buyer’s point of view, there is absolutely no advantage to using an Internet discount real estate broker since the seller, not the buyer, pays the commission. Why not take advantage of all the services we offer to them, free of charge, such as previewing properties, visiting neighborhoods and homes together, helping them obtain mortgages from local lenders, finding good contractors and services in the local community and much more. Our ERA Justin real estate professionals are often the first person a buyer knows in the neighborhood, and is an invaluable resource to new homeowners. In addition, full service real estate professionals rely solely on commissions for their compensation, similar to an attorney who takes a case on contingency. The Realtor® has great incentive to work hard for their clients. By contrast, some discount brokers generally pay their “consultants/agents” a salary and a very small commission. Once again, you get what you pay for.”

All ERA Justin Realty full service agents can be reached at either of their two Rutherford offices at 118 Jackson Avenue and 57 Park Avenue. By office phone (201) 939-7500, (201) 438-0588 or (201) 438-SOLD. View 1000’s of homes at their website at www.ERAJustin.com and www.ERAJustinRealty.com.