"It is however, unfair for you to call an agent to simply show you a house with no intention of using that agent. If you want to see some homes, pick a buyers agent that you want to work with. That agent can show you whatever homes you want to see." What is unfair about the OP looking for properties for her son? There is no law that says you have to hire someone to hold your hand in order to look at a property on the market. Why waste two person's time (buyer's agent/ seller's agent) if you can do some of the footwork yourself? "Your son--not you--should engage the services of a buyer's agent and list his criteria with them. Let them do the legwork instead of you. You can still go and view some properties during the week through your son's agent-- if your son wants the additional help. Really, you're trying to do a real estate agent's job without any of the information readily available to an agent." She said that her son doesn't have time to look. Why involve a stranger who knows nothing about what her son wants when she has the time to do it herself? As for information 'readily available to an agent'. What information do they have that one can't find on their own over the internet? I'm in the process of buying a house. I found it without using a buyer's agent. I looked at listings, drove around, found comps on the internet and got the rest of my information from the county as well as the various departments in the town where I am purchasing. I called for a showing, liked what I saw and had my real estate attorney draw up the contract. They accepted the offer. The reason I'm doing it this way is because I have had too many bad experiences with the real estate cartel ganging up on both sides (buyer's agent/seller's agent) to get that sale. Previous buyer's agent's didn't give a hoot about what I wanted. No one cared if I bought a property with mold, high radon, contaminated well, etc. It cost me over a $1,000.00 to get out of one deal because the buyer's agent purposely withheld information about the inspection so that I would miss the deadline to back out. Do you think she offered to pony up any of the money I had to pay an attorney to get out of being forced to buy a toxic dump? No! So much for being a 'buyer's agent'. Even this transaction is having its 'moments'. The seller's agent in this transaction tried to encourage me to use one of the agents from their realty to handle my end of the deal. When I told them I was using a real estate attorney they tried to trick me into signing a dual agency disclosure anyway. I told my attorney that I wouldn't sign it. He had to dig up another doc that stated as much. The owner of the agency was so PO'd he called my attorney and told him he wasn't getting any of the commission. I'm paying him out of pocket anyway so why would he feel the need to rub it in? To me it was just another reminder of why I'm using an attorney instead. If Jane_ny wants to shop for a house for her son, she'd shouldn't have to involve anyone else unless she wants to.

ur realtor has done a great job and in two months we have had a lot of lookers but no offers. I really don't think it is over priced but she is talking about lowering the price. Our competition is new construction and some have gone to that. The two things people don't like so much are the smaller 3 bedrooms and a smallish entry which we cannot change.It would bring a new set of lookers. Almost all of the lookers we have had were from her realty co...tho not all from her office. So if we were to go with another large co. does it stand to reason there would be another whole set of lookers? I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love this site because it gives me a window into the minds of sellers. Mar-cia, WOW! You have read on here the nightmare stories that sellers have with their agents. For the most part, the people that post here are unhappy with them. Their pictures, their advertising, the lack of activity, they arent doing enough etc. YOU have an agent who you are happy with, she does alot, she advertises, she gets people to look at your house, you yourself said she has done a great job but you want to change realtors because she hasnt brought an offer? NO ONE, can make someone buy your house. All she can do is market it to the right audience. It sounds as if she's getting them there and they are choosing new construction. That in itself means your price is too high. If they can get new construction the way they want it, the colors they want, the cabinets they want, the room sizes they want, for the same price as yours, they are going to go for it. Your buyer pool has just been limited to someone who wants something "newer" but can't wait for new construction. The next "new" agent that you sign with will most likely want to lower the price too because it didnt sell. If you are in the MLS system, you are already reaching the other offices. Just my opinion, but your house looks on the cold side to me. I would warm it up with some warmer neutral tones and reduce the price like your realtor advises. The longer you are on the market, the lower the price goes. You could reduce now and sell for higher than if you sat at your price for another 2 months.

"...but the buyer must remember that the realtor is representing himself/herself first." If there is a contract of agency between the buyer and agent, this is against the law and the quickest way to lose a client and your license to practice. berniek, this happens all the time. I'm sure you've seen it if you are an experienced agent. Both the seller and buyer really need to look out for their own interest. An experienced agent won't do anything illegal or much that anyone could claim was not in the client's interest, but all agents work to close the transaction (that is a good thing) . An agent may see some bad "signs" but won't mention to their client, nothing illegal or especially "bad", but why upset the client (unless it is your mother) and risk losing the closing. I'm sure all agents do it or see it, it is naive to say it doesn't occur. The old "buyer beware" is still true in RE.

I just re-read the OP and remembered this regarding calls by Realtors trying to list your FSBO home - If you are on the National Do-Not-Call Registry, Realtors are not supposed to call you unless they have a buyer interested in your home. If they do call you, they are subject to fines, which may take something to pursue, but just get their brokers' names and take it up with them, and then the local board if they don't or won't. That's an easy start. The one thing about Realtors is that they are all easy to find on the internet and their broker and local board, if they are legit, licensed, and actual Realtors or even Real Estate Agents. Brokers all have to have some sort of do-not-call procedure to prevent this from happening. You can also put a single sentence in your ads that states the fact that you are on the Do-Not-Call registry and that solicitation calls will be reported, that sort of thing. Not sure if you tried this, but it should be some relief from the onslaught of soliciting listings. Here is a link that might be useful: Article from Realtor magazine