Some Buyers and Sellers afraid to Pay...

I encountered a buyer and a seller today, neither whom wanted to pay a Realtor a fee for assisting them with a sale or a purchase. The seller stated that he would only work with Buyer's agents for whom he thought the purchaser (buyer) would be responsible for paying. Typically buyer's agents are agents who's specialty is working with buyers. In most cases the seller still pays the agent's broker a fee for the transaction. The seller in most cases will always be responsible for paying the Realtor fee. Of course everything is negotiable...but the fee will still be there. The buyer whom I showed a property to explained that she had a good friend who is an attorney and that with his help and research she would be able to buy a home without a Realtor. Good Luck! I am not an attorney, nor do I want to be. I believe that attorneys should do what they do and we as Realtors should do our job as well. I will never go to court and prosecute or defend as an attorney. I wish this one, for whom I do not know who he or she is, would stay in the courtroom as well. As for the seller, as I left he said that he wasn't in a hurry to sell. Then by all means take your home off of the market! There are enough sellers who really need to sell and having a bunch of folks on the market that don't have the need to sell only hurts those who do! There are hundreds of reasons I could list as to why a buyer and seller should pay a Realtor to assist them in their purchase. The most important is a Realtor is a licensed professional whose profession is that of real estate sales. Realtors are the oldest organized profession. Realtors maintain standards, ethics and lots and lots of continuing education so that they know how to handle the transaction. You wouldn't go to a mechanic for a broken foot would you?