Any thoughts on charging a retainer fee?

[Marilyn Casey]

Hi....everyone, with the increase of gas prices, and the uncetainty of would be homebuyers, is there anyone out there charging retainer fees that can / will be refunded once a home is purchased? There are a few of my collegues that are charging this fee and have been very successful. I am on the fence about this, and would welcome your comments. Thanks

[Gary Moore]

As a buyer, I'd never pay a retainer fee to a real estate agent or broker.

And as an agent or broker I am not sure why you would want to go through two sales cycles. You have to sell them on the retainer then you have to sell them on the house.

A better way would be to qualify a potential buyer before you waste your time and gas on them. Asking probing questions about their buying timeline, source of funds, ability to close, etc would go a long way to doing what a retainer would do.