 Posted 8/22/2007 7:06:18 PM
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I've been presented with an offer for my house that on it's own would be acceptable. But the prospective buyer is a real estate agent, and they tell me they expect to receive the 2.5% buyer's agent commission I've offered through the MLS. The commission, on top of their below asking price offer, takes a big chunk off of my asking price.
Is it realistic for a buyer to get the buyer's agent commission? It seems to me that they are either the buyer, or the buyer's representative, but they can't realistically claim to be both entities.
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Posted 8/25/2007 9:01:12 AM
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| Jeff - If you are willing to pay the commission if the agent brings a buyer, you are getting the same settlement check as if the buyer is the agent. What's the problem. What if the agent brings an offer with only his wife's name, or brother, or cousin or The Agent's name, LLC. What difference does it make? You still get the same $$$$$. And now the real question: What's more important to you, how much you get or how much the agent gets? Secondly, if the agent is not the broker/owner of the agency, the agent most likely will have to pay the broker/owner their part out of his pocket. And, if the agency is a franchise, he will have to pay the franchise fee which usually runs 6% to 10% of what the commission should be. Don't be selfish. Give him his 2.5% and take your money and run!
Marvin Shelley, Broker
Wesy Fork AR
(479)879-2989
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Posted 8/27/2007 6:35:45 PM
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Thanks. This was a situation I hadn't thought about before it was presented to me, so I wasn't sure how to handle it.
The offer would have been acceptable if it had come from a buyer not using an agent - it was below my asking price, but not below my minimum acceptable offer. When the commission was thrown on top of it, the price was well below what I considered acceptable. If a buyer were to show up with an agent I'd gladly give the 2.5% so long as the offer and commission remain above my minimum acceptable price; I have a bottom line price I'll accept regardless of how it is reached.
I was asking to see if this commission was something I could negotiate on. As a matter of fact the agent offered to split the commission with me. Unfortunately they still came in several thousand below my lowest acceptable offer. We shelved the negotiation for the time being, but they'd like me to inform them if I get an offer, and they now would like to come out and show the house to a relative of their's. Since the house has only been listed about two weeks I'm planning to stick to my acceptable price range, because I priced it several thousand below what several agents said they would list it at.
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