patrick.net

I have bought 3 houses without a Realtor, 1 was a military guy who was transferring and I talked to him before he listed, another was a teacher friend of my wife who I also talked to before she listed. The 3rd was the house I am in now, which I bought direct from the builder. Price comes way down when you have no Realtor and are paying cash.

However, when I sold off the houses I rented out for a while, I was unable to sell without a Realtor. I did get the commission down to 4.5% on two I sold. The problem is that the overwhelming number of serious buyers get a buyer's agent because they are unfamiliar with the buying process. Just for grins I tried to see what "We Buy Ugly Homes" would give, and it turns out to be about half of what the house is worth, plus they want the seller to pay the loan closing costs. They must be looking for some twit who just inherited his mom's house, and will sell for half price just to get the cash today.