When you do not have a buyer's agent

[scgraham]

Originally Posted by muse1110

Do you save money which would normally go to the buyer's agent? we've been told by one realtor that we would save $10k on a particular home without a buyer's agent. We were told by another realtor that is impossible, that the company who lists the property will get their percentage no matter what.

We were told that in North Carolina, you save no money by representing yourself (the risks involved in this choice are another subject).

The onsite agent is the builder's agent; this person is contractually bound to promote the builder's interest.

But for the sake of truth, let’s assume that this builder has agreed to offer a discount of some sort because the buyer has chosen not to be represented by a buyer's agent. Questions to ask:

- Why would the builder waive the buyer agent’s fee in spite of what has just been shared on this thread?

- Is the builder trying to save the buyer money or himself?

- How does the buyer really know that it is the buyer agent’s fee that is being saved?

- Is the buyer able to discern the contractual details of the transaction to confirm that indeed the commission has been waived and saved? Or is it just smoke and mirrors?

- Is the discount that is being offered something that could have been negotiated anyway? Or perhaps even more with an experienced buyer‘s agent? Who is looking out for you?

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by DanielChang

That is also negotiable. When you sign the buyers agency agreement with your agent, the terms of the commission are spelled out.

There are enough very good buyer agents who will negotiate a zero commission from the buyer. Especially in this economy.

[ijustlivehere]

Originally Posted by tsmithgolf2000

With the amount of money your going to spend I would recommend using a buyer's agent. There might be isolated instances where you can get the rebate on the buyer's agent commission but the majority of the time it will go to the sellers/builder's agent. I learned this the hard way. The first house I purchased I didn't use a buyer's agent because I was buying a new spec home that was about 60 days from being completed. As part of my initial offer I stated I would not bring in a buyers agent and I wanted that discount. We ended up getting what we wanted price wise but at closing I noticed the sellers/builders agent got the full 5%. If I had to do it over again I bet I would have gotten even a better deal using a buyer's agent. So the next house I purchased I used a buyer's agent and I was glad I did. Good agents have a lot to offer. Problems arise when buying/selling houses and good experienced agents have seen it all and are able to diffuse alot of these situations. Plus builders want to please the buyer's agents because they know that word of mouth is everything, they want the buyer's agents to bring more buyer's back to there houses to purchase them.

We purchased our current home (back in 2008) without a buyer's agent, and negotiated 2.4% of the purchase price after we negotiated the final price, which was approximately 50K under tax value. We had our attorney to look over the final contract, and there was some verbage that had to be corrected, but all in all it was definitely worth it to save that amount up front even after the final purchase price of our home. Talk about instant equity in your home, between the price and discount!

[grassby]

Most buyers are unlikely to have the professional knowledge and experience of a good buyers agent who is legally and morally obligated to promote the interests of the buyer. This service is usually free to the buyer because the agent is usually compensated out of the commission paid by the seller. One exception is when a house is sold by owner, though even in that situation sellers often compensate the buyers agent.