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We have been working with a realtor for a few months already. My wife and I had made an offer to buy a house in our neighborhood but we just could not come to an agreement with the seller.The house was aboslutely stunning, but it had some drawbacks as well (not large of a backyard, small master, etc) On our last offer, we ended up $6000 away from buying the house. To our surprise, the sellers did not agree to our "final" offer. Basically, the seller was asking $400K and we had offered $360K. They countered at $390K and we countered at $373K. They countered at $387,500 and we made our "last" offer at $379K. They countered with their "final" at $385K and that was the end of that..
Many of you might question walking away from a house (of that price) for $6000 (eventually $3K) , but based on comps, we did not feel confortable going above $373K let alone $379K. The house is in the same neighborhood where we are currently renting and keeping the kids in the same schools and friends would have been worth the extra "premium". We just could not believe the sellers and the realtors would not work it ($$$, commissions) to get this deal done. Keep in mind these back and forth counters were extremely stressful and quite intense (one week of no sleep) ...We never personally questioned our realtor about "giving" a little because it is really not our call to question someones income. However, We were quite dissapointed with the overall process and the inability of our agent for not "get it done". As a final attempt our realtor called to say the Seller was willing to "meet us half way. The deal should have been done wihtout having to call us for one "last offer" However, we decided to walk away because of frustration, greed, and overall value. We had sold our house in Florida last year, and all I can say is that being a seller in this market is not fun. We could not wait to sell our house. We now feel like we have the upper hand as a buyer.
Having said all that, another neighbor found out we were interested in buying in our community. They put is touch with another family who is thinking about selling their home as well. We went to see it and we loved it. It happens to a better house and we would not be settleting for anything. The question now is what do we do with our realtor if we end up negotiating with the seller. We are not sure they are interested in paying a commission. IT would be a BY OWner situation with us unless tehy eventually list the house with a realtor. Those conversations have not taken place yet not any offers have been made... We would hate to screw a realtor of their commissions. Yet, We were a little unhappy with our last experience. We would not mind getting a better deal, especially when you consider the times we are living. SHould we offer a 1% comm. out of our pocket for overlooking at the deal and makin sure the paperwork is done properly? Would that be insulting? We think a 3% comm is unrealistic when we are the ones who found the home...... We could easily say nothing other than "thank you" but we found the home on our own. We want to do was right, but when we look back at how our last deal ended, we were quite dissapointed how the nobody was willing to compromise... and here were....... Pehaps things work for the better.. What do you think? Thanks
If the home is listed, the commission will be paid anyway. if not then i guess you are free to negotiate yourself. the agent can provide you insight in to value, sometimes they know of issues affecting properties and inspections and so forth.
I can tell you first hand it sucks when you work so hard with people and they do something without you. when all they had to do was ask or bring it up. buyers too often do more than they need to on their own.
I guess I would say if its listed use them, if not take your chances. I would also drive a harder deal if I didn't use the agent.
We are not necessarily interested in screwing the agent altogether. We know she has put time and energy for us. Perhaps she could have been more aggresive in getting the other deal done.... We own our company and we will do whatever it takes to get a deal done (legally and ethically) even at the expense of making much less money. We feel they failed......That house is still available and I am sure the seller is regreting it. Sometimes you first offer is your best offer!!!!! But we now have this other oportunity and it might end up being the better fit.......
This new situation would be an advantage to the new seller. We already live in the community and they will not have to deal with showings and nonsense. The new seller does not owe anything to our agent, but we as buyers feell like we owe her a "moral" obligation. The question is what is a fair price to pay that agent? Do we have the seller call her and say "hey I know you have been working with so and so and we would be willing to pay you $$$ to you for overseeing the deal? " ?????
We are not necessarily interested in screwing the agent altogether. We know she has put time and energy for us. Perhaps she could have been more aggressive in getting the other deal done.... We own our company and we will do whatever it takes to get a deal done (legally and ethically) even at the expense of making much less money. We feel they failed......That house is still available and I am sure the seller is regretting it. Sometimes you first offer is your best offer!!!!! But we now have this other opportunity and it might end up being the better fit.......
This new situation would be an advantage to the new seller. We already live in the community and they will not have to deal with showings and nonsense. The new seller does not owe anything to our agent, but we as buyers feell like we owe her a "moral" obligation. The question is what is a fair price to pay that agent? Do we have the seller call her and say "hey I know you have been working with so and so and we would be willing to pay you $$$ to you for overseeing the deal? " ?????
Been thru the same situation when I sold my home, had tried to sell thru a realtor, 90 days, no luck. listing expired. A couple looking a the house next to mine for sale spoke with me and stated too bad my home was not for sale they liked the layout better then the one they were looking at. Well to make the story short we did come to a price that was acceptable( without the realtor) went to an escrow company , opened escrow, they had already talked with the Bank, and sold my home without a realtor. Do they owe the realtor ? i say no . The realtor did show a lot of property but did not complete any deal so there was no commission due. no different then when I worked in the automotive shops many people came into the shop for an estimate on the repairs , time was taken , some times hours if the car was badly wrecked. Only to have another shop get the job . Do they owe for the time spent ? no . that's part of the process. you get paid for what you do , not for what you go thru the motions of doing . ( win some loose some that business).
We are not necessarily interested in screwing the agent altogether. We know she has put time and energy for us. Perhaps she could have been more aggresive in getting the other deal done.... We own our company and we will do whatever it takes to get a deal done (legally and ethically) even at the expense of making much less money. We feel they failed......That house is still available and I am sure the seller is regreting it. Sometimes you first offer is your best offer!!!!! But we now have this other oportunity and it might end up being the better fit.......
This new situation would be an advantage to the new seller. We already live in the community and they will not have to deal with showings and nonsense. The new seller does not owe anything to our agent, but we as buyers feell like we owe her a "moral" obligation. The question is what is a fair price to pay that agent? Do we have the seller call her and say "hey I know you have been working with so and so and we would be willing to pay you $$$ to you for overseeing the deal? " ?????
Did you sign a buyer's agreement with your realtor? What does it say?
We are not necessarily interested in screwing the agent altogether. We know she has put time and energy for us. Perhaps she could have been more aggresive in getting the other deal done.... We own our company and we will do whatever it takes to get a deal done (legally and ethically) even at the expense of making much less money. We feel they failed......That house is still available and I am sure the seller is regreting it. Sometimes you first offer is your best offer!!!!! But we now have this other oportunity and it might end up being the better fit.......
This new situation would be an advantage to the new seller. We already live in the community and they will not have to deal with showings and nonsense. The new seller does not owe anything to our agent, but we as buyers feell like we owe her a "moral" obligation. The question is what is a fair price to pay that agent? Do we have the seller call her and say "hey I know you have been working with so and so and we would be willing to pay you $$$ to you for overseeing the deal? " ?????
Did you sign an exclusive agency agreement with your Realtor? What did it say about sellers that do not intend to pay commission? Will you still legally owe them a commission? You may have more than a moral obligation on your hands.
You are in effect asking your agent to do all the work of two agents for 1% when in a normal dual agency situation they will receive 6-7% depending on what the listing agreement says.
Similar situation happened - but we were the sellers. Signed listing agreement and before the yard sign was in, or the property was even listed in FMLS - our neighbor purchased our home, sans agent. We ran the deal through our agent and paid both sides of the commission (we negotaited a bit lower). We can sleep at night knowing we didn't attempt to screw anybody out of a few dollars.
In your case as buyers, if you are not contractually bound then I wouldn't even worry about paying the realtor. KEEP IN MIND, their 3% +/- also covers the broker's charges, paperwork, liability insurance, etc. etc. If you use them to guide you through negotation/paperwork/closing, etc., then PAY THEM the full rate. They might only see half of the commission (before taxes and expenses), and their broker won't ever take less than their share. Make sense? Perhaps the seller will pick up most of the cost anyway.
Otherwise do it on your own - assuming you're not contractually obligated.
One other thing: If you negotiate and 'beat up' the seller on price, you can pretty much forget about much in terms of concessions after the inspection. Play fair/aggressive, but with respect and you'll find the home of your dreams. Good luck!
You already have established a realtionship with the local agent and the agent had worked hard on your behalf, so why not use them again?
The Seller and you as the Buyer will be protected and represented in a fair and safe transaction.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrminsky
We have been working with a realtor for a few months already. My wife and I had made an offer to buy a house in our neighborhood but we just could not come to an agreement with the seller.The house was aboslutely stunning, but it had some drawbacks as well (not large of a backyard, small master, etc) On our last offer, we ended up $6000 away from buying the house. To our surprise, the sellers did not agree to our "final" offer. Basically, the seller was asking $400K and we had offered $360K. They countered at $390K and we countered at $373K. They countered at $387,500 and we made our "last" offer at $379K. They countered with their "final" at $385K and that was the end of that..
Many of you might question walking away from a house (of that price) for $6000 (eventually $3K) , but based on comps, we did not feel confortable going above $373K let alone $379K. The house is in the same neighborhood where we are currently renting and keeping the kids in the same schools and friends would have been worth the extra "premium". We just could not believe the sellers and the realtors would not work it ($$$, commissions) to get this deal done. Keep in mind these back and forth counters were extremely stressful and quite intense (one week of no sleep) ...We never personally questioned our realtor about "giving" a little because it is really not our call to question someones income. However, We were quite dissapointed with the overall process and the inability of our agent for not "get it done". As a final attempt our realtor called to say the Seller was willing to "meet us half way. The deal should have been done wihtout having to call us for one "last offer" However, we decided to walk away because of frustration, greed, and overall value. We had sold our house in Florida last year, and all I can say is that being a seller in this market is not fun. We could not wait to sell our house. We now feel like we have the upper hand as a buyer.
Having said all that, another neighbor found out we were interested in buying in our community. They put is touch with another family who is thinking about selling their home as well. We went to see it and we loved it. It happens to a better house and we would not be settleting for anything. The question now is what do we do with our realtor if we end up negotiating with the seller. We are not sure they are interested in paying a commission. IT would be a BY OWner situation with us unless tehy eventually list the house with a realtor. Those conversations have not taken place yet not any offers have been made... We would hate to screw a realtor of their commissions. Yet, We were a little unhappy with our last experience. We would not mind getting a better deal, especially when you consider the times we are living. SHould we offer a 1% comm. out of our pocket for overlooking at the deal and makin sure the paperwork is done properly? Would that be insulting? We think a 3% comm is unrealistic when we are the ones who found the home...... We could easily say nothing other than "thank you" but we found the home on our own. We want to do was right, but when we look back at how our last deal ended, we were quite dissapointed how the nobody was willing to compromise... and here were....... Pehaps things work for the better.. What do you think? Thanks
We spoke to the seller about this and he said "are you willing to pay 3% higher for the house?" ..... Exactly what we had in mind. We discussed it with the seller and he said the same thing we would have said.... We told the seller we would be interested in the house assuming of course with can agree on terms. In addition we discussed the idea of getting the agent involved since we had been working with her and it only seems ethically correct. If a seller had a number in mind and an agent was involved bottomline might be different for both parties. We would would never pay more than market price to begin with and would love to pay less if possible. We both agreed that a 2% commission might be reasonable enough assuming she is OK with it otherwise, there will be none.... We want to be fair, yet we understand that she did not "bring us together" and a 3% should not be warranted...
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Using Real Estate Agent
