| As others have said, when buying having an agent is a no brainer since it is no cost to you and they can coordinate multiple showings where you just literally show up. How many phone calls with the realtor or owners does it take to get that scheduled? I don't care since they handled that headache. As a seller one thing to consider is the laws about selling a home and things you should/should not do. I'm thinking discrimination laws specifically. One mis-worded sentence or comment to someone walking through your home and you could have a lawsuit on your hands. A realtor will basically never let you know any demographics about potential buyers. Agents/Realtors also act as an emotional buffer between the parties. As far as disruption goes, the pain points for independently buying/selling are: 1. Local/State laws and paperwork required to file with county/towns. 2. Getting access to MLS systems for metropolitan areas - this costs money usually 3. Emotional / legal buffer between parties. Some states will require money to be escrowed until the close of the sale at certain points. Getting the two parties to agree on a price and any additional items (seller pays $X closing costs, appliances included, pending inspections, buyer wants home warranty, etc.) 4. Ensure all parties (buyer, seller, attorneys, inspectors, banks, town/city, etc.) move things along. I don't think a system can take care of #4 above, that can require a lot of coordination if banks or lawyers are slow to respond. |