Should we buy an overpriced property?

Better offer 10% more.

I have to stick up for at least some realtors here. We were probably lucky when selling our apartment to have gotten a decent one. We were definitely glad to have him. Depending on demand, there are a whole lot of viewings and subsequent correspondence. Then they want to know, what kind of windows are those, which furniture is included, and so on and so forth… plus all the idiots for whom apartment viewings are just a way to kill time. And then the idiots who think they can tell you how the sale is supposed to go. I admit, we didn’t feel like dealing with that. Also because of the little one, who had been neglected far too much in recent years anyway. It was nice that someone else took care of all those things. During the viewings, we went shopping, for a walk, or whatever, and the realtor handled everything. In the end, the desired sales price was achieved. What more could you want?

Being a realtor is a shitty job. For the houses you sell without any problems, you get criticized because you make so much money from it. And the houses that nobody wants, where you go with potential buyers 100 times, the buyer doesn’t see that 99 people were there before him. Classic cross-subsidization. It also strongly depends on the area whether it’s a buyer’s or seller’s market.

We didn’t look at many houses back then, but for one I know exactly that the realtor complained about how often she had already been to the property.

Classic cross-subsidization.

That is wrong. With hard-to-sell properties, the agent quickly drops out as soon as the effort exceeds the potential commission. The agent does not guarantee that the respective property will actually be sold.

I have to speak up for at least some realtors. We were probably lucky to get a decent one when selling our apartment. We were definitely glad to have him. Depending on the demand, that means a whole lot of viewings and subsequent correspondence. They want to know, what kind of windows are those, which furniture is included, and so on and so forth… plus all the idiots for whom apartment viewings are just a pastime. And then the idiots who think they can tell you how the sale should go. I admit, we had no desire to deal with that. Also because of the little one, who had been neglected far too much over the last years anyway. It was nice that someone else took care of all these things. During the viewings we went shopping, took walks or whatever, and the realtor handled everything. In the end, the desired sale price was achieved. What more could you want?

I can even understand that, but then the beneficiary should also pay. And that is the seller.

I have to stick up for at least some realtors here. We were probably lucky to have found a decent one when selling our apartment. We were definitely glad to have him. Depending on demand, that means a whole lot of viewings and subsequent correspondence. Then they want to know, what kind of windows are those, which furniture is included, and so on and so forth… plus all the idiots for whom apartment viewings are just a pastime. And then the idiots who think they can tell you how the sale should be conducted. I admit, we weren’t up for that. Also because of the little one, who had been neglected far too much in recent years anyway. It was nice that someone else took care of all these things. During the viewings, we went shopping, for a walk, or whatever, and the realtor took care of everything. In the end, the desired sale price was achieved. What more could you want?

From the seller’s perspective, the realtor definitely serves an important and legitimate function. Then the seller should (mostly) pay him for that. As a buyer, I don’t understand why I should have to bear at least half of the realtor’s costs when the realtor just sends me documents on hand, I even found the exposé myself on one of the well-known real estate portals, and only view the house once for 30 minutes. For that, I as the buyer am supposed to (or rather MUST) pay 10, 15, 20,000€ or more?

There is no equivalent contractual relationship between the parties. Why, for example, should the realtor make an effort to negotiate a better, cheaper price for me as the buyer? Since the realtor’s pay is ultimately based on the total cost of the transaction, the realtor logically has no interest in that at all.

No idea if I’m thinking wrong here, but I don’t like it.