Does the seller pay the realtor fee? (appointed, real estate)

[vader747]

Both the buyer and the seller typically have realtors. Who pays the realtor fee? What percentage is the fee typically?

If the buyer is confident that they can do their own home search and negotiation then is a realtor recommended?

[JerseyStrong1]

Seller pays. Standard percentage is 6%. Many will do 5%. Half goes to buyer's agent, half to seller's.

Realtor is still recommended, especially if you don't know the answers to these questions. There's a lot more involved than just finding a home and negotiating a price. They will guide you through the process.

[davenj08]

If this is your first home purchase, using a realtor might help. If you have purchased a home before, you might not need one as most of the services that a realtor provides could be done by yourself e.g. home search can be done easily online. The only aspect where a realtor might do better is provide you comps of recent home sales, which I do not believe is available online for recent sales. Other important services are provided by an inspector and attorney so in my opinion, a realtor does not add much value.

But note that if the seller is selling using a realtor, you have nothing to lose by using a realtor. If you don't use a realtor, the seller's relator takes the full 5% commission. So effectively you are using your buy-side realtor for free as the seller pays for it.

I have come across a few realtors who genuinely know their jobs and markets and provide excellent help to the buyers. But a good 95% do not fall in the above definition and are not much help beyond unlocking the house, wait outside for you and then ask you "do you want to place and offer"?

[madjoyish]

I've been really happy with the agents at Redfin, which will give you part of the commission back as a refund. You can do the home search part yourself, but they'll still help you visit houses you like at your convenience and provide good comps and advice.

[stradivarius]

Originally Posted by davenj08

I have come across a few realtors who genuinely know their jobs and markets and provide excellent help to the buyers. But a good 95% do not fall in the above definition and are not much help beyond unlocking the house, wait outside for you and then ask you "do you want to place and offer"?

As a licensed New Jersey real estate agent, I'm disappointed to hear this. Above all, the ability to effectively represent clients' best interests while offering expert advice throughout the real estate transaction should be what matters most for any real estate agent.

[jaymoney]

We used a realtor as a first time home buyer and it was a great experience. We came in with a very tight budget to meet and location requirements that eliminated a few things he'd pulled for us to look at and as a result looked at a few others he'd known of. He was a great sounding board through the entire process and I'd easily use him to sell a house if the time came. He knew the area, knew what was available, the schools, restaurants, and listened to us when we were in a house to tailor our search to another location that would be closer to what we wanted.

It was a really great process for us and it saved us a lot of time just being able to talk over locations in his office before heading out. Since we literally paid nothing for it I can't figure out why a buyer wouldn't use a realtor if the seller already is. If it's FSBO that's another story, but if the seller is the buyer should as well and just make it easy on themselves.

[Ivan Putski]

I highly recommend you to find a good buyer's agent who has YOUR interests in mind (ie. make sure the agent you ultimately decide to use isn't representing the seller also). If the agent is also representing the seller, s/he will not have your interests in mind and will not be in a position to provide you confidential advice. In other words, you will NOT be properly represented.

I was involved in a 5 way bidding war for our house (estate sale) back in 2012 and our agent was instrumental in representing us. She updated us daily throughout the buying process and kept the selling agent in check. If the seller's attorney was slacking off, she would go to the attorney's office and hound him until he completed what he needed to complete. Our agent was priceless. No wonder she's selling $1m+ homes now.