Is it wrong to ask a realtor to share commission? (Howe: for sale, real estate)

[LISAND]

I have been reading that a realtor can pay back to consumer out of the % he/she makes... is this ethical and/or true?

[FalconheadWest]

You can ask, but be prepared with a big, fat, NO. Some newbies will do it because they need to get their feet wet with some kind of cash, but your experienced agents who know how to actually do their jobs and negotiate well for you will tell you no.

[TurtleCreek80]

My question to you is, did the realtor fail to provide expected services during the sale of your home? If so (like s/he majorly botched negotiations or was always 2 hours late to appointments), then go to the owners/managers of the company she represents with a list of complaints to validate your request for discounted commission.

However, if s/he did their job and you just don't want to pay them for the commission dollars they worked hard for and deserve, too bad for you.

Maybe you could try listing with a discount brokerage next time, but in my opinion most times you get exactly what you pay for.

[Big G]

Originally Posted by LISAND

I have been reading that a realtor can pay back to consumer out of the % he/she makes... is this ethical and/or true?

It's a business deal like any other - of course you can negotiate the commission down. There are cases where the realtors eat last-minute costs out of their commission in order to get the deal closed.

Another example: After I sold my last house, the purchaser immediately turned around and re-sold it. (He had rapidly developing medical issues that made it impossible for him to move.) Due to the circumstances, his purchasing agent listed and sold the house for him commission-free.

OTOH, you usually *do* get what you pay for. (Or, in this case, don't get what you don't pay for.)

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by LISAND

I have been reading that a realtor can pay back to consumer out of the % he/she makes... is this ethical and/or true?

there are rare cases where the realtor will cut their commission by 1 or so % to make a sale. This, of course goes to the seller as the buyer doesn't make a commission and should only be used if there is no other way to get the sale together. Sometimes it appears Realtors make buco bucks, but people do not understand how the commisssion really works. If an agent works for XXX realty company, he/whe gets 1/2 of the commission, but a portion of that 1/2 goes to the company so it isn't what it sounds like. Add to that what the agent pays in monthy costs, yearly insurance, gas alone, etc. In some cases the realtor may work for a company that actually lets them keep the commission (their share) but these companies rent the space to a realtor. Plus the realtor has to pay for his/her advertising etc.

As an X realtor for many years, I would be pissed if a client asked me to cut my commission or give part of it back as a rebate. If I think it is the only way to save a sale, then I might willingly cut it. Or, as the one example, if I sold a home, and the buyer had to, for whatever reason turn right around and list it again, I would be glad to adjust my commission.

When we bought our present home the realtor paid for our home owners warrenty for a year: they had sold the home to the old owners, listed it, sold it and sold the sellers another house in the area. They are in business for themselves I will add.

Nita

[PopsGuysRule]

I recall a situation many many years ago, newly married, trying to buy first home. We used the GI bill (which entailed some major delays, at least in those days) AND we wanted to have certain things done PLUS have a certain monetary cushion, before we took the big final step. The owner agreed to those terms. The realtor was very clear on our agreement terms.
The sellers were selling the home of their deceased mother. At least once weekly, the realtor called us to see if we could shorten the time frame. She repeatedly said she felt so sorry for the sellers because the costs of escrow of course continued to rise.
Every time they called, I offered to retract my bid and let them move on to another buyer.
Every time, they said no.
I did NOT feel sorry for the sellers and I realize some of you would consider that mean-spirited and heartless, but... they were free to say no to our terms AND they were free to walk away from the deal even after the terms were presented. And I certainly did NOT feel sorry for the realtor. She knew far more about real estate and costs and deals than we did. All she had to do was say, "No, these sellers need something done sooner." and we would have moved on.
To me, unless there is an acute medical situation arising AFTER contracts are signed or a death in the immediate family that is purchasing or selling, the contract stays in place. This couple we bought from had many other options to follow. I always resented that realtor and her pity-pot-poor-me attitude.

[Spree]

When we sold our home in IL, we asked the realtor if she would take a 5% commision, rather than 6%. She agreed and it was written into the contract, saved us about $3300.

[Big G]

Originally Posted by PopsGuysRule

To me, unless there is an acute medical situation arising AFTER contracts are signed or a death in the immediate family that is purchasing or selling, the contract stays in place.

That was the case in my example above, and the guy still honored the deal. Amazing, really. To this day, I'm awestruck by the extreme classiness of my buyer. Even as he was dying, he went through with the deal, rather than just walking away and eating the penalty. He took on the hassle (and probably extra cost) of flipping the house, so that we wouldn't be hosed in closing on our new house. I'm not sure many people would do that in his shoes.

[loves2read]

not exactly like Big G's situation but we were looking for house for long time--like over two years off and on--
finally found one that really met all of our expectations the first day it was listed--we were the first viewers--went back to our realtor's office and put in contract right away--
we needed no mortgage approval which I think was big positive in our case

anyway--we went back and forth on price a little bit but they accepted our bid...
we had just scheduled the inspection in the 10 day option period and got a call from our realtor...
the sellers wanted to pull their house off the market...their son who was college age had collapsed at his job and been taken to hospital--he was diagnosed with brain tumor--
they wanted to get out of the contract even though they had no legal right to do so--nothing like medical emergency was written into their provisions--

I was so frustrated because we had tried three other times to buy a home and gotten there too late (this was when the market was hot) that I really did not want ot give that house up when they did not even have any type of diagnosis/prognosis---the son could have had benign tumor that would have been relatively easy to remove...or maybe not a tumor at all--diagnosis was done in the ER--

I know that sounds harsh and unfeeling--I just wanted to delay the option period for say 30 days until the sellers found out what was the situation...

my husband and our realtor thought that was not the way to proceed...
so we did backed out and released the option--we did take out a one year option to have right of first purchase IF they put the house on the market again--in case we did not find another house we wanted to buy...

I don't think they have put their house up for sale since--and I don't know the status of their son...
but it took us more than a year to finally find a house on the market we wanted and buy it...

regarding realtor's commission--a realtor does not get to keep all of the seller's or buyer's portion--part of it goes back to the office owner--the newer the agent the less s/he keeps...I think
which is one reason it is less likely to get realtor to reduce commission--it is not just his/her decision

[viviandynamite]

No, it is not wrong. In this market, it never hurts to ask.
Even some good agents share their commission with you. Good agents know how to create win-win, and sharing commission is one way to do it.