The economic downturn has pumped up unemployment figures and sent a significant number of aging baby boomers fleeing to the only consistent bright light in this economy – real estate.

However, unlike the veteran salesperson who has been in the business for more than a decade, today’s real estate professional now has a menu of alternatives – ranging from full service to signage – that were absolutely taboo 10 years ago.

The Internet has been a boon to consumers who can now shop for homes and loans online, and even have agents and lenders compete for their services. The Web has allowed consumers to do some of the work in the real estate transaction. At the same time, it has saved brokers time and money by letting their customers choose – online – the homes they would like to see.

Now, consumers are offered “a la carte” services by some agents, and pay for only the specific services they receive. However, this a la carte practice has become a little more complicated than just paying an agent an hourly wage or consulting fee to put up a yard sign or write an attractive magazine ad – especially when it involves a multiple listing service.

For example, some real estate companies are charging consumers a flat fee to have their home listed for sale in the “multiple” – a huge regional warehouse that shows all the homes for sale in an area. Many of these listings are “exclusive agency” listings, which allow the homeowner to sell directly to a buyer.

In some cases, consumers have seen these listings online in the multiple, called the buyer directly and made a deal with the seller – after firing the agent that had been working with them.

In other cases, agents have found themselves jeopardizing their agency relationship. That’s because the “listing” agent, who has been paid a flat fee to enter the property into the multiple, walks away after performing that one service. The agent with the buyer who is ready, willing and able to buy the property ends up doing all the work, including holding the deal together, because no one is truly representing the seller.

“I have no problem with people who want to sell their homes by themselves,” said Vesna Somers, attorney and a veteran agent for Windermere Real Estate, the largest realty in the Northwest which also has branches in British Columbia, California, Nevada and Arizona. “But when they start using tools that we pay for as professionals, then it becomes a different matter.”

Some agents will counter Somers’ comments by saying the consumer paid the listing agent to use the tool – in this case the flat fee for the multiple listing service exposure. But Jack Johnson, president and chief executive officer of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, said the seller’s liability could extend far beyond a flat-fee service for entering the property into the multiple.

“Some sellers believe that after they have signed to get their property on to the MLS, that they can still sell their property any way they want to,” Johnson said. “This is not always the case. The listing agreement states that if the cooperating brokerage – really any industry-related vehicle – introduces a buyer to the property that the seller is bound to pay a commission.”

Agents argue that MLS listings are viewed on independent Web sites – for example, Windermere, Century 21, RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker, etc. – but consumers still are able to deal with the seller directly.

“I went to present an offer to a seller and was aware there was a competing offer,” Somers said. “The upsetting thing was not only were my people going to have to pay a higher price [the competing offer had no agent representation] but that the seller was giggling. She thought it was funny the other people fired their agent so that they could make a lower offer.

“That type of situation puts us all in a bad position.”

Johnson, who has seen the peaks and valleys in his 27 years in the multiple listing business, said more action is now being taken to address the complaints about limited service providers.

“We’ve got to do a better job of communicating to the listing broker what the responsibility of the seller really is,” Johnson said.

There also should be a refresher course on the appropriate way of doing business. There are tools and rules that can work for everyone.

Tom Kelly, former real estate editor for The Seattle Times, is a syndicated columnist and talk show host. Send questions and comments to news@tom

kelly.com.