Everything you do today requires an expert. From drafting a will to selling a home, you spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars to people that have an advanced degree and know the rules. My reaction to this is I’d better learn the rules! However, is the world really this complicated or do these experts just make it seem that way? Hundreds of people sell their own home each year. Many people draft their own will. Do the experts provide value add or merely the comfort of knowing you got it right?
I’d argue that we need more of a tiered approach. Most of us are probably relatively satisfied with a standard format will. Most of us just need a realtor to show the house. Paying a full fee, whether it’s $250/hr to an attorney or 7% commission to a realtor is rather steep.
This topic came up when I was reading Realty Bites – Why do you still need an agent to buy a home? By Douglas Gantenbein. The author strongly believes that everyone should sell their own house in order to avoid giving large amounts of the profits to a realtor.