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Not sure about the rules in Texas but I'd look into the following:
I would suggest you look online for a discount brokerage - we used one and it saved us thousands. The rebated commission was offset against our closing costs.
We did all the legwork ourselves - viewed at open houses and directly with the listing agent.
We were constantly pressured to sign up with these agents (of course - they'd earn 6-7% commission!!!!!!!!) but resisted and found a great discount broker in a neighbouring town. He did a great job for us and charged us hardly anything.
The number one reason why FSBO is not effective in the majority of cases, even when the home is priced to sell, is that both the seller and the buyer expect to save the same 5-6%, above and beyond the " best price".
1-The hardest work is contract to closing. Any fool can open doors with a keypad. If there's a problem you need someone capable of troubleshooting. Most buyers mistake locating a home as all a buyers agent does when that's the easy part.
2-The buyer agent cannot control the total commission paid as that is an agreement between the list company and seller. The list company has agreed to a split with the selling company.
3-Hire the right person and you won't regret it.
There are a ton of areas to negotiate in a contract that most sellers will completely overlook because they don't think it makes a difference, but you can use some of these things to get someone out of a contract up until the day of closing. Using an unskilled agent that agrees to give you a kickback only to get the business will result in you not having quality representation and advice when something goes wrong in the contract, and 97% of the time, something pops up that needs to be addressed.
Does anyone have any insight into negotating something other than the standard 3% commission with their realtor when they are the buyer? My husband and I are relocating to San Antonio and have already done quite a bit of leg work. We've narrowed down our list to about 10 houses we'd like to see, and can probably narrow it down even further after we come down again and drive by some of the ones we've only seen online. We're hoping to move quickly, and basically just need someone to let us into a few houses and help negotiate the offer. Based on our price range, it doesn't seem like the amount of work we need done justifies a $12-18k fee. I know that the seller will pay the fee, but that seems like we're missing out on several thousand dollars that we could use to negotiate the price downwards.
We're definitely willing to pay a few thousand, but we don't feel comfortable with the idea of paying someone $12-18k for what will most likely be a couple of days work. Does anyone have experience negotiating a lower rate when they are buying a home (excluding using the same agent to buy and sell a home, as we will use someone in Dallas to sell our current home), or know of any realtors who would consider this?
Thanks!
Absolutely you can negotiate the buyer agent's fee. You and the buyer agent should negotiate the services desired and the rebate that will accompany it to effectively create the desired price for the services.
I wish that I had just retained a real estate attorney when we bought here. We did everything.....the real estate salesperson did nothing to help - well, she helped the Seller a lot! I even found the place - which was exactly in the small area we were looking - which factoid she was very aware of. I mean, hello???????
Anyway, I had a cause of action against her, the inspector, the Seller and the Seller's agent because of many non-disclosure items - but life is short and I learned a lesson. And I negotiated a good enough deal in spite of "my" real estate salesperson and my own misplaced trust.
I'll probably just go FSBO when I sell(if I sell) - and retain an attorney. But I might find myself having to use MLS, thus, need a real estate salesperson.
But I KNOW I'll retain my own attorney the next time I BUY....if there is a next time. And, yes, I know how much an attorney will charge.
PLEASE DON'T FLAME ME
I knew and dealt with competent and trustworthy Realtors (TM) in another city before my last experience which was here, OK? And I'm not dissing SA, OK? I'm just talking about my own experience buying and using a salesperson.
This is sadly the way the industry works. An agent has earned its commission -- per Realtor rules -- once "procuring cause" is established. Once this is accomplished, the agent has done his/her job according to the industry. The other work is really optional since it has nothing to do with procuring the sale -- and that is the basis for earning the commission.
I simply think a buyer should be able to choose who they wish to perform the negotiations for the entire transaction -- irrespective of this procuring cause issue. While on paper it seems that the seller is paying commissions, the buyer really pays for everything at closing through the sales price. Shouldn’t they be allowed to select what buyer’s agent receives the buy-side commission based on working in their interests?
This is sadly the way the industry works. An agent has earned its commission -- per Realtor rules -- once "procuring cause" is established. Once this is accomplished, the agent has done his/her job according to the industry. The other work is really optional since it has nothing to do with procuring the sale -- and that is the basis for earning the commission.
I simply think a buyer should be able to choose who they wish to perform the negotiations for the entire transaction -- irrespective of this procuring cause issue. While on paper it seems that the seller is paying commissions, the buyer really pays for everything at closing through the sales price. Shouldn’t they be allowed to select what buyer’s agent receives the buy-side commission based on working in their interests?
...says the discount broker.
You and I know that 99.9% of the time, if there's a buyer without an agent on one side, they're not getting that 3% off the house. Most of the time the listing agent will get both sides. And they should, as it's twice the work. If there's a discount broker on the other side, the buyer might get some of their commission refunded by that agent.
Most (notice I didn't say ALL) discount brokers are in that line of business because they can't make it as a full service Realtor and don't provide near the experience or expertise that a buyer needs to negotiate a good deal. Most discount brokers will get into that area, make a quick buck by a few buyers/sellers trying to save money, and go out of business.
My buyers know I'm worth every penny of the 3% I earn by working with them and they know that I negotiated them a deal that they wouldn't have been able to get by going with a lesser Realtor.
I dont agree with this what so ever. If a buyer feels that the home is over priced because of the commissions being offered, then offer a reduced price or source a cheaper home. Many people dont realize that when they think their agent is getting 3%, this isnt the case because it then has to be split with their broker and that could be a 50%split. So if someone is buying a $150,000 home their agent may only be earning $2250. When you consider gas, cost of dues for both NAR, local association, super key to get you into the house and mls dues which a realtor incurs throughout the year then a realtor isnt earning much on this depending on what they sell on average a year.
Alot of buyers believe that they can do the work themselves and if they believe that i encourage them to do so because as has been said before successfully getting a property to close is more than just getting access to some homes. It requires experience, knowledge and savy which joe blogs off the street doesnt have. Who is to say also that a buyer will actually go through with the purchase, i cant count how many times people back out of a deal. I tell my clients that if they want a reduced commission or a kick back if im not offering one then instead of a commission, then i will charge a set rate, regardless of whether they buy or sell. When they realize if they dont buy or sell they still have to pay me, the commission based on them buying starts to look attractive because if they dont buy we have wasted our time and resources for nothing and if ur the selling agent we have wasted money on marketing. Commissions can seem high, but that is because we take all the risk, otherwise pay my set fee which i will outline regardless. Just keep in mind on a 3 commission, we dont get all that, we have to split that with our broker aswell.
Quote:
Originally Posted by scgraham
This is sadly the way the industry works. An agent has earned its commission -- per Realtor rules -- once "procuring cause" is established. Once this is accomplished, the agent has done his/her job according to the industry. The other work is really optional since it has nothing to do with procuring the sale -- and that is the basis for earning the commission.
I simply think a buyer should be able to choose who they wish to perform the negotiations for the entire transaction -- irrespective of this procuring cause issue. While on paper it seems that the seller is paying commissions, the buyer really pays for everything at closing through the sales price. Shouldn’t they be allowed to select what buyer’s agent receives the buy-side commission based on working in their interests?
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