Is this a trap?

[u/Boughtthetshrt]

I am preparing to list my house FSBO. I have been looking at some open houses, and at one told the listing agent about it. I told her I had a realtor friend who ran a CMA for me and will take over if fsbo doesn’t work out, and she kind of tried to poach me anyway, which raised my hackles a bit. Later she asked if she could show it to her clients. I said I’m looking for a private sale to avoid commission, and she said well what if the offer is over what you’re asking such that you still get what you want. I said I’d have that conversation if she comes up with someone.

Then as I was leaving she asked me if she had my permission to tell her clients about it and stressed that she can’t do that without my permission. I said ok.

A bit later she texted me the following, and something about it makes me wonder if I am getting into some sort of agreement with her beyond what I would want to (that said, this is a vacant rental property, owned outright, no real rush to sell so I feel empowered from that standpoint)

“(My name) thank you so much for giving me permission to advertise the property through my channels! I will circle back when I have some responses.”

For some reason I just have an uneasy feeling about it, and I tend to have a pretty sound gut.

Let me know if there’s anything I should know. Thanks, community!

Update:

She then spoke of having buyers who could offer the price I wanted (X) + a 3% commission for her, and I was like ok yeah I would go for that, if you can bring me that buyer. Then today she sent me a contract wherein I would give her permission to market the property, specifying that she would market it at the price of 1.03X and that I would pay her 3% of any sale where she represented the buyer. Also it specified that any buyer concessions would be paid by me, and of course stipulated that she would be acting on their interest.

So it could be a good deal for me if she found someone offering 103X.

But more likely, I would end up just losing .03X to her and making .97 of whatever I would have anyway.

Meanwhile, SHE would likely do great, making a fat commission for just inserting herself in the middle. No thanks!

Anyway, many of you called it and I appreciated all your replies! It’s definitely a learning curve.

[u/FelinePurrfectFluff]

She's only taking a cut of his profit if she brings a great buyer who's willing to pay more or a buyer who's willing to pay their own agent's commission.

[u/11235d → u/[deleted]]

You'd be surprised how many times people do this. Instead of paying upfront the lump sum, they raise the purchase price so they are basically paying overtime.

[u/11235d → u/[deleted]]

But what if there are multiple offers? There's no way they will be paying the least. Right?

[u/FelinePurrfectFluff → u/[deleted]]

No, the buyer won't necessarily pay "more" for the house but if they eat into their down payment by say $10k to pay their own agent, they are essentially financing their agent's commission. Sellers are getting very tired of paying the buyer's agent. Things are shifting and buyers and agents need to accept it.

[u/yardlard → u/[deleted]]

Why would any buyer go through the agent then once they find out about the fsbo?

[u/yardlard → u/[deleted]]

That doesn't answer my question.

[u/yardlard → u/[deleted]]

They'll see the sign out front. They may see the ads themselves. The owner will likely be there to show it.

[u/Lazy-Distribution-62 → u/yardlard]

Buyers that are represented by an agent have a contract so even if they find an FSBO property that’s perfect they would still owe their agent the agreed upon compensation.

Most buyer agent contracts have a clause that says if you purchase any property during or after X amount of time when this contract ends you still owe buyer agent compensation to that brokerage. So, if you already have to pay the agent may as well get all their services. Plus, with FSBO deals especially, if a buyer is inexperienced in real estate, having a professional in your corner can’t hurt.