Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Discount brokers/buyers agents who provide a rebate to buyers is very common now. There is a whole company (Redfin) that works on that model.
My current agent who is great and has been showing us houses since May 2016 and also has helped us bid on 3 houses had not agreed to provide any rebate from the get go. We were fine with. But as we shop more we have realized that in this market our budget is not taking us far and hence we need to stretch. And in this stretching we need every dollar possible. So now we think a rebate from the agent will be helpful for us and add a bit to our stretch budget
I am going to talk to the agent tomorrow to provide a rebate or let us work with someone else. After working with her for 5 months and taking up her time, we feel very guilty about doing this and questioning ourselves.
Discount brokers/buyers agents who provide a rebate to buyers is very common now. There is a whole company (Redfin) that works on that model.
My current agent who is great and has been showing us houses since May 2016 and also has helped us bid on 3 houses had not agreed to provide any rebate from the get go. We were fine with. But as we shop more we have realized that in this market our budget is not taking us far and hence we need to stretch. And in this stretching we need every dollar possible. So now we think a rebate from the agent will be helpful for us and add a bit to our stretch budget
I am going to talk to the agent tomorrow to provide a rebate or let us work with someone else. After working with her for 5 months and taking up her time, we feel very guilty about doing this and questioning ourselves.
Is this unethical or wrong?
Probably not unethical but it's a pretty scummy move. It makes you a type C.
Type A: Tells you they're after your money and are telling the truth.
Type B: Tells you they're not after your money but they're lying.
Type C: Tells you they're not after your money and they're telling the truth but, because of circumstances, they believe they are justified in going after your money.
I wonder if one of those rebate brokers would have hauled you around for 5 months, written three failed offers and still been willing at this point to continue working with you when your budget is obviously not as rich as your appetite.
Discount brokers/buyers agents who provide a rebate to buyers is very common now. There is a whole company (Redfin) that works on that model.
My current agent who is great and has been showing us houses since May 2016 and also has helped us bid on 3 houses had not agreed to provide any rebate from the get go. We were fine with. But as we shop more we have realized that in this market our budget is not taking us far and hence we need to stretch. And in this stretching we need every dollar possible. So now we think a rebate from the agent will be helpful for us and add a bit to our stretch budget
I am going to talk to the agent tomorrow to provide a rebate or let us work with someone else. After working with her for 5 months and taking up her time, we feel very guilty about doing this and questioning ourselves.
Is this unethical or wrong?
Yes, both. If you want to do that, of course you can. But just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. You haven't just take up her time, by the way, she has spent money on gas and other things. Plus, as I'm sure a bunch of the agents on here can attest to, no, giving buyers rebates is not very common now.
__________________
When I post in bold red that is moderator action and, per the TOS, can only be discussed through Direct Message.
Scummy idea. Totally scummy. And if a rebate of a couple of thousand bucks is the difference between buying a housecand not buyinga house, you're in deeper financial do-do than you realize and can't afford to be a homeowner.
Discount brokers/buyers agents who provide a rebate to buyers is very common now. There is a whole company (Redfin) that works on that model.
My current agent who is great and has been showing us houses since May 2016 and also has helped us bid on 3 houses had not agreed to provide any rebate from the get go. We were fine with. But as we shop more we have realized that in this market our budget is not taking us far and hence we need to stretch. And in this stretching we need every dollar possible. So now we think a rebate from the agent will be helpful for us and add a bit to our stretch budget
I am going to talk to the agent tomorrow to provide a rebate or let us work with someone else. After working with her for 5 months and taking up her time, we feel very guilty about doing this and questioning ourselves.
Is this unethical or wrong?
What do you mean by bid on a house? Make an offer?
If your agent is great, and still working with you after 3 failed bids, stick with her.
If you budget is stretched it means you are looking for homes that are over your budget and you have to look in other areas, cheaper or smaller homes or ones that need updating.
Is it wrong or unethical? If you have to ask you know the answer.
If you're that financially stretched, maybe you should just quit looking to buy a house altogether...or look to buy a much cheaper house, perhaps a fixer-upper that you can repair over time.
I agree with others. My advice would be to tell your agent how much you appreciate all she's done for you and that you'll highly recommend her to others (if true), but that you've decided to rent and save awhile longer.
Let's explore for a second why you didn't win on one of those three offers. We can't tell what market you are in. Are you bidding below market and asking for closing costs? How many homes has this Realtor shown you? What specifically will a rebate do for you?
You do know rebates are given post-closing and not used at the closing table? Or, are you asking for a concession AT the table, which is not the model.
Think this through. If you were an experienced agent, would you go to Redfin, hoping to make it up on volume? Maybe 1 in 10 solid agents would give it a try. The rest are new agents, selling cut rate service, and you, are getting what you are paying for.
I agree, there could be an issue with the agent, but are you listening and following their advice? You know that advice is diminished with RF (as a general rule)? You could have a different showing agent for every home you see. Do you drive and preview each home before viewing? Do you need the Realtor to provide financing options? Is this your first home? Break it down, be honest with yourselves and figure out what is not working or you may get more of the same.
You are actually quite lucky your agent is still working with you. Last time I looked at houses, the realtor dropped me after I rejected one home we visited, and told her outright from a group of emailed listings that the homes weren't what I was looking for. I guess I was too much of a "bother". Mind you, we hadn't made any bids or offers, either. Just looked at ONE house that I didn't like, and rejected some listings she emailed me. She stopped answering my emails.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
