“No.” Short answer. End of story. Quit reading now.
Still reading? Then I have a more complicated answer: “It depends.”
People buy and sell houses all the time without a Realtor. Some of them try to do it entirely on their own, or to make it easy they use a Transaction Coordinator. In addition to being a Realtor, I also serve as a Transaction Coordinator for my clients.
A Transaction Coordinator is a licensed RE agent who does not act as an agent for either the buyer or the seller. They only provide the services to complete a real estate transaction.
So when is it a good idea to use this service? Suppose you want to sell your home to your child, your sibling or a friend. You’ve agreed on a price. They have the funds or are qualified for a loan. You can trust them. In this case, I can handle all the paperwork and verify everything is done legally as your Transaction Coordinator for only 1-2% of the purchase price.
Sounds easy right?
Unfortunately, negotiating is often the most difficult part of a Real Estate transaction. Even when it comes to family and friends, you’re still going to have to negotiate something.
I recently concluded a transaction where the seller interviewed 6 agents (overkill for sure) to sell his home. Although I was delighted when I was chosen, not long afterwards he told me he had found his own buyer. They were good friends, and they had already negotiated the price between them. He asked me to resign as his agent and become their Transaction Coordinator.
Again, sounds easy right?
Actually, the entire transaction took over 4 months and cost the seller thousands of dollars. For example:
- The home did not close on time due to the buyer not actually being qualified to buy (he promised he was). Therefore, the seller had to close on his new, out of state home with a larger loan (including higher interest and fees) because he had to own two houses.
- As the Transaction Coordinator, I could not represent the seller in negotiations. Since he had already moved out of state, the seller had to hire an attorney to act on his behalf.
- Needless delays due to the buyer’s insufficient credit forced the seller to make three additional house payments (plus taxes and utilities) before closing.
- To finish the deal, the seller had to pay all closing costs because the buyer did not have enough cash on hand.
In the end, the total out-of-pocket cost for the seller was over $18,000, more than double what the typical real estate fee would have been. As the Transaction Coordinator, my hands were tied. My job was not to represent one party over the other, nor could I qualify the buyer, interview the lender, attend home inspections, coordinate the appraiser or inquire as to cash to close status. This must all be done by the seller.
A Transaction coordinator will work fine if you hand pick a buyer that you know well enough to know they have good credit, money in the bank and are willing to do the work on their end to get it done.