Real estate brokers respond

I was extremely disappointed by the slanted aspect of “Don’t be afraid to sell home alone” (Your Money, Sept. 16). Buried deep in it was a nod to the competence of the full-service brokerage, which was hastily refuted as the writer pushed on to make the point that limited-service brokerages and online ad services are the best approach to selling in today’s market.

The full-service brokerages -- including Coldwell Banker -- are experiencing a flight to quality as consumers reach out to us to protect their best interests in the buying and selling of the largest investment in their lives. Properly consulting and guiding a client through the anxieties of a purchase contract is possible only with experience, education and a strong sense of “doing the right thing” for the buyer or the seller.

Our sales associates are in it for the long term, and expedient tactics are disdained. Our sellers also can be assured their properties have been thoroughly exposed to the largest number of potential buyers through the most extensive Web presence of any real estate firm.

Next time you report on the topic of limited service or do-it-yourself efforts, point out the negatives, too, including narrow marketing, lack of skilled negotiators and unfamiliarity with the market.

Betty Graham Greater Los Angeles President and Chief Operating Officer Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Los Angeles

Since the Internet seems to be offering so much to buyers and sellers, why not take it a step further? The Times makes a great deal of money in advertising from the real estate industry. Perhaps we should think about shifting that marketing to the Net? If that was the only place we advertised, that’s where the public would go. Perhaps the public should dispense with newspapers and get their news off the Net as well. It may actually be more fair and unbiased!

Richard von Ernst Sotheby’s International Realty Pasadena