Talked to a seller the other day that "could not afford a Realtor®"

I was working the phones as I do everyday and calling on nice folks that had their listings expire with other agents. And one of the folks I talked to was a guy that had his home listed with a friend at a price where he felt he would be able to pay all the commissions and fees to break even or a little less.

He felt his agent did a good job and that his agent was keeping him informed of other comparable properties in his neighborhood that were selling or coming on the market. Mr. Seller told me felt he was going to need a major price drop to sell, and that he was in the process of moving into his new home. (We all know it's never good to put the cart ahead of the horse) He said he was fine with paying 2 mortgages and was not in a situation for a short sale. He also stated he may be interested in the future of hiring a MLS only broker. But would not be willing to pay a whole commission, and that the price drop alone should get it sold.

Now, I am thinking to myself how I really do empathize with the situation, but at the same time in this market can you really afford not to have a Realtor? I did not want to discourage him against a bare bones service, but could not help thinking in this kind of market folks need really good agents that will pull out all the stops to get people through the door and to write an offer.

Some of the questions I asked were:

if he ever had to make a sacrifice that paid off in the end?

Or if the home did not sell on time, how much more he could possibly lose in carrying costs, before coming around and pricing correctly with a real estate agent. (He felt he had to at least try)

And I admire that, so with that I wished him the best and told him I would keep in touch.

There really are alot more reasons I could have brought up, but I decided to end there.

We are all see this more and more, and I'm sure most of you are strongly advising against sellers purchasing another home before their current home is sold. I'd be interested to hear how others are dealing with the situation as sellers or agents.