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Old 08-12-2009, 10:00 AM
 
913 posts, read 4,325,208 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alaskaneric View Post
The commission is normally paid by the seller, not the buyer. Make your offer no matter what the seller has to pay. If the seller declines your offer and counters at, say 1.5% above your price, and you can't pony up this difference, then counter with another offer at his latest asking price contingent on commission being reduced to 4.5%. You can always try. It is rarely accepted as far as I've seen but for very expensive properties.
Think for a moment: Where does the money come from for all commissions etc? FROM BUYERS POCKET! From your and mine pocket. :-) At the end of the day, whetever you call it, it still is a part of what you pay for your house.

Now, does it harm to refund some of this money? No. Is it possible? Yes. My friends did it. Many smart agents, if not too greedy, agree to discount their fees if the Buyer has already found his house.
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Old 08-12-2009, 10:00 AM
 
Location: Houston, TX (Bellaire)
4,900 posts, read 13,663,551 times
Reputation: 4186
You do not pay the Buyer's agent. The seller pays the Buyer's Agent. I think what you are saying is you will make a deal with the seller's agent to get the buyer's agents commission back off the price for not using one. I doubt the sellers agent will refund back the full 3% but could be. Also if you go this route you will need to hire a real estate attorney to go over all the documents so there is that additional cost to you. The question then: is the money you save, being whatever rebate you can get from the seller's agent less your cost for a real estate attorney, worth the risk of trusting the seller's agent to take care of everything. Also you will need to make sure you use your own inspector, appraiser and title company because you can not depend on whoever the seller's agent refers since of course they have a vested interest in keeping that agent happy and making sure the sale goes smoothly.

That is my thoughts on the matter. You do whatever you want since it is your money.
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Old 08-12-2009, 10:08 AM
 
913 posts, read 4,325,208 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dcoolbro View Post
but I had concerns about getting screwed from the seller.
In what way you think you can be screwed? Pls elaborate.
My knowledge tells me:
- offers and contracts nowadays are standard. If however questioned an attorney can always be hired for $200-400.
- Inspectors can be hired for house checks

What else?

I have at least 2 living people, who bought their houses with no Buyer Agent. And they are happy with what they have. Oh, and BTW - they have shaved 1.5% off the commissions, which is $3000-4000. It's like a new granite counter all over your house. Or steel appliances. Just a little more work on your side...
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Old 08-12-2009, 10:11 AM
 
2,639 posts, read 8,245,070 times
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I dont think you understand...the buyer doesnt pay a realtor anything and you get the services and experience a dealing with inspections ,negotioating repairs etc...The seller pays the commissions not the buyer!
Why pay an atty for something a agent will help you with.
You do not seem to understand that you pay inspections then you will have to either accept the property or negotiate repairs. Surveys and title fees are negotiated thru the contract..the agent doesnt pay for your title insurance!
The contingency clause is there for YOUR protection. If you do not like what heppens in the inspections you have the option period to decide if you wish to proceed. You also have a time period to get financed. If financing cannot be secured you do not have to proceed and escrow returned.
You really need an agent to explain this to you. And guess what it wont cost you a dime!
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Old 08-12-2009, 10:13 AM
 
2,639 posts, read 8,245,070 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by behtypa View Post
Think for a moment: Where does the money come from for all commissions etc? FROM BUYERS POCKET! From your and mine pocket. :-) At the end of the day, whetever you call it, it still is a part of what you pay for your house.

Now, does it harm to refund some of this money? No. Is it possible? Yes. My friends did it. Many smart agents, if not too greedy, agree to discount their fees if the Buyer has already found his house.
The agents commisoon is built into the price set by the SELLER! who has to pay the commissions. If the seller is in the hole it is he (not you) that has to bring money to the closing table.
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Old 08-12-2009, 10:22 AM
 
913 posts, read 4,325,208 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chris_ut View Post
You do not pay the Buyer's agent. The seller pays the Buyer's Agent.
Ah, I love when someone says that. :-) Where the money for the house come from? From your, Buyers, pocket. So who actually pays 6% commissions at the end of the day? You and me do. We just don't realize that. (Or some don't want to)

Quote:
Originally Posted by chris_ut View Post
I doubt the sellers agent will refund back the full 3% but could be.
Not 3%, no. But you can split 3% Buyers commission with the Sellers Agent. In a condition, that you have found your house and your (now a Buyer/Seller) Agent does not have to spend anymore time looking for a house for you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by chris_ut View Post
Also if you go this route you will need to hire a real estate attorney to go over all the documents so there is that additional cost to you.
A real estate attorney is always a good bet when your agreement is beyond the standard "fill in the blanks" kind of contract.


Quote:
Originally Posted by chris_ut View Post
Also you will need to make sure you use your own inspector, appraiser and title company because you can not depend
That's right. Is it that hard to find all of them if you have time? I do. I want to trade 4 hours of my time (it's that little) for $2000.

OK. It seems to be the "best kept secret" of the RE industry. Believe it or not. More and more people cut one middle man (there're 2 of them, remember) if they have found the house with no agents help. This is not hard, just know a RE business a little bit and watch har.com listings.

I have already found a few RE agents (not even one) willing to share their commissions. Just ask them nicely. Because smart Realtors understand it is better than not having your business at all.

Last edited by behtypa; 08-12-2009 at 11:14 AM..
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Old 08-12-2009, 10:25 AM
 
2,639 posts, read 8,245,070 times
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personally when I was a Realtor I would run from clients like you...because you think you know more than the licensed agent when in reality you will probably end up screwing yourself
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Old 08-12-2009, 10:30 AM
 
913 posts, read 4,325,208 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by westres1 View Post
The agents commisoon is built into the price set by the SELLER! who has to pay the commissions. If the seller is in the hole it is he (not you) that has to bring money to the closing table.
OK, hold on. But where the money come from? From you and me, as buyers. Open your eyes, people. :-)

1. Buyer pays the Seller
2. Seller pays commissions to Agents
3. Seller closes and hands over a house

Where do the commission come from? From a thin air? :-) They are part of your price. And you can shave off some of it back.
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Old 08-12-2009, 10:35 AM
 
913 posts, read 4,325,208 times
Reputation: 782
Quote:
Originally Posted by westres1 View Post
personally when I was a Realtor I would run from clients like you...because you think you know more than the licensed agent when in reality you will probably end up screwing yourself
It is up to anyone to have business or not with anyone. I am not trying to do a firemans job. I am trying to save on things I can do myself - and i can do them as well as the buyers agent. Because finding a house at har.com is not a rocket science. Most other things will be done by the sellers Agent.

You are taking it too personal. The market changes, more buyers cut the middle man. I know at least 2 ppl who have done that and they are happy they saved 2-3K.

Last edited by behtypa; 08-12-2009 at 11:10 AM..
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Old 08-12-2009, 10:43 AM
 
913 posts, read 4,325,208 times
Reputation: 782
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mommy/Artist/Lawyer View Post
Lets be honest though, a buyer's agent doesn't have much incentive to help a buyer get a deal on a house. The more a house sells for the higher the the commission is for both agents. So ultimately it is in both agents interest to get you to pay more for the house. In my opinion a buyers agent is a good idea if you haven't found a house yet or if you have never bought a house before. It makes it much easier to look at multiple houses if you have a buyer's agent and the first time around it helps to have someone point out standard practices and the items you should expect the seller to foot the bill for. (Practices like how much to pay for an option period and how long it should last). If you have already found a house and you are a sophisticated buyer then a buyers agent is kind of redundant. The benefit as the OP pointed out of not having a buyers agent is that you can potentially negotiate a lower price. The commission is between the seller and the seller's agent, but if there are not a bunch of other buyers waiting in line and the agent wants to make an immediate commission they might be willing to settle for 3 percent of a bird in hand rather than hold out for a possible 6 percent of a bird in a bush. Make an offer less the 3 percent commission and mention to the seller in writing why you have done so. The rest is up to the seller and his agent. The agent will either agree to help the seller out by lowering the commission or they won't. Also the paperwork is all boiler plate and the seller's agent should be willing to provide you with the necessary documents. Just use the documents from any previous home purchase as a guideline. I bought my last house without an agent and it worked out perfectly.
Exactly!
I finally hear a voice of reason. :-)

In my particular case I have a perfect story for the seller:
- all cash (no mortgages)
- prior buying experience
- I know how the pocedure works
- I have located the house
- I can spend time locating inspector, attorney, etc.

So why pay Buyers agent? Just to look into his blue eyes?

Last edited by behtypa; 08-12-2009 at 11:09 AM..
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