Do i really need a realtor?

[Brian Fowler]

Hello,

My family has invested in real estate ( vacant residential Properties ) in Florida. The Properties have been listed for sale on our company website as well as For Sale signs on the lots but never listed with a realtor or on the MLS. 6 months ago I started marketing 3 of the properties in a very fast developing area ( Poinciana, FL ). I have even offered a discounted price for a package of the 3. I have made a website , Made videos , Posted to Craigslist , Zillow, and everywhere i can think of. Every month I see More sales and Sales Prices going up. But it seems to me that Everything being sold is by Realtors. Now Lets think about this.. Its vacant properties so why would I need a realtor to show my property to somebody. Its not like they need a key to go in and look around. Are there no buyers out there for FSBO? I have put a signs on them and marketed everywhere but MLS and realtor.com. So Maybe is a flat listing on MLS what i need? Or should I really be with a realtor? Thank you for all Input.

Brian

[JD Martin]

When you say vacant properties I assume you mean raw land? 

For better or for worse, real estate tends to be an agent's game. No agent has any incentive to market your property sans commission. I would agree that more people today than in days past are apt to find the property themselves, then have the realtor show it to them, but there are still plenty of people that just show up to the realtor's office saying "I want to buy X, show me what you've got". 

While I think that many realtors suck, the commission shouldn't really be the deciding factor. If 6% of the sales price makes the property a loss, it's too marginal to begin with.