Real Estate Reality Shows are a dime a dozen these days.  We all know there is a certain amount of staging involved.  Whether it's House Hunters recreating the search progress, or other shows pulling in Realtor comments from areas that they don't service, it's all fun in the entertainment world.

More recently, investor related shows have become very popular.  One show, A&E's Flip This House is one that takes you from start to finish on a project and shows you the ins and outs of the whole project.  Although, some "fudging" is allowed in TV, I'm pretty amazed at the lengths that Sam Leccima from Atlanta went to stage this whole show.

Fox 5 did a great job on their story.  Watch the whole thing, "It's TV, man."

"Written By: Minnie Bridgers

Last Modified: 5/2/2007 11:14:07 AM

You may have seen those "You Keep the Commission" billboards around metro Atlanta. They are paid for by real estate companies offering a-la-carte services. These so-called "discount agents" have become very popular as the housing market continues to cool.

So the bottom line is, if you want a full course menu of services and someone to wait on you -– hire the commission-based agent. If it is just as peachy for you to do the leg-work yourself and save some green along the way – give the discounter a shot. You can always hire the traditional agent later if you fail to sell your home the new-fashioned way."

• FSBO - Net 74% of asking price
• Discounter - Net 88% of asking price
• Full Service - Net (including commissions) 90% of asking price

The real AHA here should be while opinions can differ on what agents do before the sale, it's the negotiation skill that's worth the big bucks.  Bottomline, anyone can make a flier, but an experienced, skilled negotiator is worth their commission.