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As an experience buyer, I would like to get buyer agents' share of commission (~3%) to myself by dealing with listing agent directly. With house prices high, this chunk of money is sizable.
By searching the forum, I get the impression that it is hard to get the listing agent to give you that share of commission as credits at the closing.
I also did a search on how to get licensed to be a realtor. It is actually not that complicated. All I need is to get around 60 credit hours of real estate course, pass state license exam and I am licensed! It may take me less than 1000 bucks and a couple month to do.
After I get my state license, I can be the buyer's agent for myself (working as an independent real estate agent). Can I get the ~3% commission this way? I know I need to pay income tax on this commission.
Am I missing anything here? Am I pipe dreaming somehow?
I don't know what State you are from but in Tennessee a licensee has to be affiliated with a local real estate brokerage in order to get any commission from a real estate transaction. There are expenses related to this affiliation. Additionally, any commission you generated would go to the brokerage with you getting whatever percentage of that commission you previously agreed to with the brokerage. It might also be difficult to affiliate with a brokerage if you are upfront about why you are doing this.
If you are a strong negotiator and thoroughly understand the process, you may be able to accomplish saving the money you are trying to save by just negotiating a lower price on the house rather than go the route you are considering.
As an experience buyer, I would like to get buyer agents' share of commission (~3%) to myself by dealing with listing agent directly. With house prices high, this chunk of money is sizable.
By searching the forum, I get the impression that it is hard to get the listing agent to give you that share of commission as credits at the closing.
I also did a search on how to get licensed to be a realtor. It is actually not that complicated. All I need is to get around 60 credit hours of real estate course, pass state license exam and I am licensed! It may take me less than 1000 bucks and a couple month to do.
After I get my state license, I can be the buyer's agent for myself (working as an independent real estate agent). Can I get the ~3% commission this way? I know I need to pay income tax on this commission.
Am I missing anything here? Am I pipe dreaming somehow?
Why don't you simply use a company like Redfin (if they operate in your state) or a similar discount broker as your "buyer's agent".
You won't get the full 3% commission back but you might get the excess over, say, $2,500-$3,000 back.
On a $250K house:
Full price buyer's agent - would take $7,500 commission
A discount broker - might take $3K commission, rebating you $4,500.
Alternatively you could try and negotiate a reduced commission with a full price buyer's agent but it's unlikely you'd get much of a discount (if any).
You could agree an hourly fee with your agent: Agents, would you accept this deal? - probably best suited for confident, well-informed, pre-approved buyers who are prepared to do a lot of the legwork themselves.
Or you can do the whole "taking realtor exams route" you mentioned - the realtors here can best tell you how that option might work out.
Your choices will vary depending upon which state you're in so you should check that out too.
As an experience buyer, I would like to get buyer agents' share of commission (~3%) to myself by dealing with listing agent directly. With house prices high, this chunk of money is sizable.
By searching the forum, I get the impression that it is hard to get the listing agent to give you that share of commission as credits at the closing.
I also did a search on how to get licensed to be a realtor. It is actually not that complicated. All I need is to get around 60 credit hours of real estate course, pass state license exam and I am licensed! It may take me less than 1000 bucks and a couple month to do.
After I get my state license, I can be the buyer's agent for myself (working as an independent real estate agent). Can I get the ~3% commission this way? I know I need to pay income tax on this commission.
Am I missing anything here? Am I pipe dreaming somehow?
You aren't missing much. You can go get your license, which in most states is fairly easy. Then you can become a member of the MLS that serves your area, buy your lockbox key, and have at it.
Keep in mind that you will not get the entire 3%. Or whatever percentage is being offered to buyer agents on the house you end up buying. In order to practicve real estate, you will need to be affiliated with a broker. That buyer agent fee actually gets paid to your broker, who then pays you according to some agreed upon formula. Half is a fair estimate, though every company has their own setup.
A few things to consider; is there a broker in yoru area that will bother taking you on for what you want? What would they stand to gain by doing so?
Is your time (the 70 hours or so you would need to put into the class, whatever it takes you to take the exam, and various small bits of time filing paperwork & other clerical tasks) easy to give up & worth less than the dollars you would get in return?
Are you sure that you know everything you need to know? Market trends, pricing models, local info, where to find out what you need to know , etc, etc. I'm not saying you don't, just cautioning you to be sure.
Another option that might work for you, and would save you tohe time energy, effort & cost of getting yrou license, would be to find a limited services type company, that will basically open doors for you and show you the stuff you might not know. As they aren't offering full service, or accepting liability for fiduciary service, you might be able to find one that takes a much reduced fee, or rebates a portion of their fee back to you.
Why would you take 64 hour course if you already know so much. I know a lot and wouldn't be a realtor...what would be the difference...you can do your own deals anyway and save the 3% so basically you make the 3% if you want or get a buyer faster by giving it to the buyers agent.
Also if you aren't a realtor you have less liability....and since the bad ones still haven't completely weeded out, do you want to become one of the .....or wait till the bad ones finally have left and join a group of experienced good professional realtors.
Thanks guys. I guess I missed the "affiliation with brokerage" part :-) And yes, it is going to be a lot of hassle to take this extreme route.
Another question. If I go to an open house and put my name on the sign-up sheet and later decided to make offer on that house. Can I bring in a buyer's agent to handle the offer and everything afterward, will the buyer's agent get paid in this case?
Another question. If I go to an open house and put my name on the sign-up sheet and later decided to make offer on that house. Can I bring in a buyer's agent to handle the offer and everything afterward, will the buyer's agent get paid in this case?
It may be different all over, but in Atlanta, more and more agents are either refusing to cooperate or significantly lowering the amount of commission they will pay to a buyer's agent if that agent is not the one to show the buyer the house. Builders are especially aggressive about this. If you go into a model home without an agent, they may flat out refuse to pay any commission to your agent.
Thanks guys. I guess I missed the "affiliation with brokerage" part :-) And yes, it is going to be a lot of hassle to take this extreme route.
Another question. If I go to an open house and put my name on the sign-up sheet and later decided to make offer on that house. Can I bring in a buyer's agent to handle the offer and everything afterward, will the buyer's agent get paid in this case?
Check your state laws for a provision that you can represent yourself without broker affiliation, if you do not advertise yourself in any way to represent others.
You may be able to do what you are proposing.
I question that it will be worth it if you are seeking to buy one home, though.
As an experience buyer, I would like to get buyer agents' share of commission (~3%) to myself by dealing with listing agent directly. With house prices high, this chunk of money is sizable.
By searching the forum, I get the impression that it is hard to get the listing agent to give you that share of commission as credits at the closing.
I also did a search on how to get licensed to be a realtor. It is actually not that complicated. All I need is to get around 60 credit hours of real estate course, pass state license exam and I am licensed! It may take me less than 1000 bucks and a couple month to do.
After I get my state license, I can be the buyer's agent for myself (working as an independent real estate agent). Can I get the ~3% commission this way? I know I need to pay income tax on this commission.
Am I missing anything here? Am I pipe dreaming somehow?
It would cost you way more than the commission in Texas, but nice try. Hey maybe you will like Real Estate and join our wonderful profession.
It seems to me you have dollars on the brain but are making little sense. I know, we make it look easy, but it's not. Read the forum about how anxious buyers and sellers really are.
There is no Realtor exam. You take a prelicense course, pass the prelicense test, make an application with the state for a license. Hire on with a brokerage, join the local Realtor Association, join the MLS, maybe you need to pay for Errors & Omission Insurance, and add the brokerage to your auto policy as an additionally insured...then you can represent yourself in a real estate transaction.
You also have to disclose to a seller that you have a license. See how much of a negotiator you can be, with the seller knowing you have a license. They become more guarded.
There is no "threshold rule" with regards to a commission. There is an unbroken chain of events that lead to an offer, acceptance and closing.
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Not in Texas
