You can't stop the tides. It's that way with alternatives to full service brokerage too. What you can do is, like so many opportunities in business, recognize and understand the trends and adapt. Buyers and sellers of real estate will ultimately get what they want in the way of services at prices they are willing to pay. However that looks, the buyer representative has huge opportunities to profit from the trends.
With for sale by owner (FSBO) listings on the rise, and with more brokerages offering discounts that impact the buyer side of the commission, it's time to make lemonade. Present a buyer representation or agency agreement to your prospect as a huge benefit and great service. You'll be showing them not only the properties listed on the MLS at full coop commission, but also those others will not show because of low coop commissions. You'll also ferret out FSBO homes that aren't easily found because the sellers don't know how to market them properly. Present it properly and they'll definitely sign it.
However, then we all start to get that little nagging fear that grows. It's the specter of writing a purchase offer on a FSBO or MLS only listing, and being caught in the trap of providing service or advice to the unrepresented seller. Implied agency must be avoided. No legal advice is intended here, and I'm not a lawyer, and check the laws in your state. First, no matter how nice I want to be, I don't offer the seller help, advice or interpretation....not even a little!
Our job is to bring together buyers and sellers. I want to do that, even when the seller wants to make it difficult. I owe it to the buyer. I ran my thoughts past our state Association attorney and came up with a form that makes it clear to the seller what I WILL NOT do for them. It seems a tad unfriendly, but just explain it in a friendly way.
