Sellers turning to finders not brokers

Property owners looking to sell their homes are increasingly offering finder’s fees in lieu of hiring traditional brokers in an effort to save money, according to the Wall Street Journal. Unlike brokers, finders simply recommend buyers to a property and do not help negotiate the terms of the deal. But in an era when Craigslist and other social networking tools make it easy to broadcast available homes without the help of a traditional listing, many sellers feel they can bypass brokers and be just fine. Not only are brokers more expensive than finders, who are typically offered either a flat fee or around 2 percent of the final sale price, but brokers with exclusive listings can be limiting in terms of their reach. Finders are most common in the residential world, but according to Harpreet Bagga of Long Island real estate development company Cimran, “it is a noticeable trend in residential properties as well as commercial leasing. Residential and retail property owners are hurting the most.” [WSJ]