I am not trying to instigate anything. I just wanted to share an outsiders view of the industry. Again, I hope to be an agent by this fall.

Paul: I'll grant you that maybe the inspector was bad. In the end no one consulted me on how to interpret the report. Remember, my sale was 7 months after my purchase. I went back and reread my report and the hvac unit was not putting out the temp differential it was supposed to according to my report when I bought and the report when I sold. Someone should have informed me of all this and what to ask for and what not too. It was my first home and I had no idea how to read and interpret the reports. Point is, no one helped me. The average consumer will blame the agent as I did. How do they earn their commission if they didn't do anything but write the contract? I got no consulting on any part of the deal. I never said it was the agents decision but that they should consult me and let me know what everything means and what actions I could take.

changeagent: Realtors are supposed to be the experts that is what the commission is for. Why blame me? I signed an EBA expecting that I would get the fiduciary responsibility I was prepared to pay for. I'm a very informed person but I can't know everything. That is why I hired an expert. My experience is very typical these days. All of my friends feel the same way. I have a BS and MS in Accounting and Information Systems, I'm not dumb. I hired a rep for my deal. I got zilch for representation. The guy didn't even know what I should ask for and he sold over $8 million per year. This was back in 1999 before the market doubled in the Fairfax, VA area. He wasn't

Again, blaming me when I hired an EBA is ridiculous. I did my due diligence, even got referrals on the agent. In the end blaming the consumer is exactly why the man on the street has low opinion of Realtors. There is a disconnect between what Realtors think average consumers know and what consumers think Realtors are for. In the end it is the job of the Realtor to educate the consumer.

Since this sale I've finished out over 2500 sq ft with my own hands. I do my own plumbing, wiring, HVAC, tile, wood floor, framing, trim, insulation, decks, etc. I am a much smarter consumer now but many are not.

We, and I say we because I plan to be one, must understand the average consumer's frustrations or we will not succeed. I want to make 6% so don't think I'm bashing it. My plans are to do my own brokerage down the road so 6% sounds good to me.

I plan to work hard, learn, and then apply that to my trade. I believe that the job of the Realtor is to educate the buyers/sellers in every phase of the transaction. Explain the forms, reports, etc.

estatereal I thought you do rebate your services now to go and get ALL that you can? I may be confused.

As I was reading, all of this one thought popped into my head about something that happened to me. For years I cut my own hair because it was long, and in general just needed to be trimmed. But when it came time for it to look better than just alright because I went into real estate and I needed a more professional look.
Initially I went to a discount hairdresser and came home crying. After it grew out(I actually wore clip on pony tails for a few months while it grew out) I went to a better salon. The hairdresser this time did a wonderful job and I will stay with this salon as long as possible. And in many cases this is true in real estate. So in the beginning I was like a FSBO, then we went with a deep discounter, and then found the right person to do the job.

We just dealt with a former FSBO after they realized it was not as easy as it looked but first went to a "friend in RE who discounted", and then became unhappy after it did not even get one look. They withdrew the listing from the friend, came to us and we sold it quickly .

But you know in this market these people who think they can do it themselves will find out the hard way because it is no longer a seller's market.