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Answers (21)

- Kristin Hicks, "KristinAHicks"
- Contributions:7
Commission is never regulated and always negotiable between seller and
buyer's agent. Do be prepared to pay a commission though - agents selling FSBO's end up doing most of your work to insure the property closes. The responsibilities are lengthy and most in the public are unaware of the extensive duties of the Realtor, so be reasonable (3%?).
buyer's agent. Do be prepared to pay a commission though - agents selling FSBO's end up doing most of your work to insure the property closes. The responsibilities are lengthy and most in the public are unaware of the extensive duties of the Realtor, so be reasonable (3%?).

- Jeff Byrd, "Jeff Byrd"
- Contributions:16
Your bigger issue my be getting the atttention of agents with buyers rather than just how much you offer them. Agents get many e-mails and flyers on a daily basis. Most of these are just extra paper time wasters and end up right in the circular file or the deleted message file. Keep in mind when they have an active buyer the go directly to the most comprehensive source of properties avaiable, the MLS. If your property is not here your exposure to the majority of serious buyers is reduced to very few and many of those don't quailfy or they are looking for bargains. Rememebr you both can't save the same commission. If you are already willing to pay a buyer side commission why net get the advantage of getting in front fo the highest number of serious buyers out there by working with a REALTOR? This in addition to everything else they bring to the table may help you make the move you want to make.

- Scott Rheinhart, "Scott Rheinhart"
- Contributions:1
Working with a FSBO requires that your agent will have to handle many of to duties that a listing agent normally handles. I feel the 2.7 to 3% would be a fair commission.

- Morteza Ameli, "Peji Ameli"
- Contributions:43
when A home is listed through an agent and is on the MLS the Seller Broker pays out 45% of the commission contracted with the seller. for example if the contract says 7% the buyers agent will get 3.15% of that commission. Now most contacts are in average either 6 or 7% with the sellers so I would recommend ranage of 2.7%-3.5% now you can go higher or at times you can add Buyers agent Bonus if you have the money to spare and you want to move it fast. For example 2.7% of the sale price buyers agent commission with a 5K agent bonus if closed by a specific time frame. Make the time frame at least 90 days from listing.

- Michael Emery, "MikeEmery"
- Contributions:7278
Okay guys, check the date on this one. January of 2009.

- William H Adams III, "William Adams"
- Contributions:16
Commissions are always negotiable you will just have to talek to some agents and find out what they will charge

- Joe Niece, "Joe Niece"
- Contributions:15
Offer to pay him more then he will get on another home and it will show that you appreciate the work that he is doing. I really have no problem with people trying to sell their own home. If you have the time and it works for you, great. If it does not work for you, hire an agent. If you get an agent to put and offer on your home with a buyer, ask him what he is willing to take. If it seems high, ask several agents if they will take care of the paperwork for you for a price you think is fair.

- realestateguru101
- Contributions:2
[content removed by moderator for being a personal attack]
3% would be good, but honestly, and I'm not saying this because I'm an agent, you should find a Full Service agent to help you out.

- Larry Brinkley, "ArRealtor"
- Contributions:5
Having a buyer's rep take care of all closing matters would justify a higher commission paid to agent. Say if you were willing to pay 2%, and the agent wanted 4%, have the agent negotiate/counter the buyer in (which they represent) an extra 2%. If the agent does not get it, the agent does not get it. A good agent can negotiate 2%. Understand the Power of Pursuasion.
**All information deemed to be reliable*

- Ron Touchette, "Ron Touchette"
- Contributions:69
In order to meet with a successful result you need to pay attention and be involved throughout the process. With that said the extra work: You need to be ready and able to, 7 days a week, 12 hours a day, show the property, answer questions about the property, send out marketing information regarding the property, follow-up on leads and prospects for the property. Since the Seller has no one minding the store, (assuming that the Seller has a job and life), the Buyer Agent has to provide everything as well as inform the Buyer that there could very well be problems closing, as is the case with FSBO a good share of the time in my experience. The fact is, if the Seller is representing themselves they most likely do not have RE experience and will not be able to effectively do and provide the work and timely information required to ensure that the limited Buyer's available today will choose their home! That is not to say that the Seller is not very capable and good at what they do, it is to say that they are good at what they do, which since they are not a licensed Agent is probably not in the real estate industry. Real estate is a job, it takes work, effort, skill, and experience, just like every profession and the people who provide these services earn their living from their job. If you want the job done well pay the people who do the job well.

- Jeff Konstant, "jkonstant"
- Contributions:1970
Before you attempt to sell it yourself, go to www.trulia.com and read everything written by one of their posters who goes by rockinblu. He wrote an excellent blog on the subject. He used to post here but I do not know why he left.
It will be well worth your time to read and follow his advice.
It will be well worth your time to read and follow his advice.

- Connie Wildasinn, "Connie Wildasin"
- Contributions:1178
just like you don't work for free ... neither does a buyers agent... so make it worthwhile, price it right and get it sold... 4% is a good start... money well spent and better than reducing the home ten's of thousands because the Realtors are not showing and you are not able to fully market the property to all the buyers out looking... good luck

- Chris A. Lewis
- Contributions:208
3% is fair

- SoCal_Engr
- Contributions:5651
Where do RE agents charge 7% on a sales contract? I've never seen or heard of more than 6% for residential real estate...and often less (dual agency clauses).

- stacy torrey, "bridgekeeper"
- Contributions:91
Other notes when I go to a fsbo I get more then 3% it is about 4% to 5%. Why you ask? I do much of the work the seller dose not do. There is much to do in the process of getting a home to the closing table. Its not as easy as fsbos think.

- stacy torrey, "bridgekeeper"
- Contributions:91
I as a selling agent and buyers agent know how much work it takes on either side. In the past I have done short sales that take 5 x the amount of work a normal listing would take. Then get cut for the work done. I charge 6 to 7% for my full service product. The buyer agents want to see 3 % for their time. Keep in mind they dont get all that money. Most large brokerages have large split and nickle and dime the agents on fees. Then they have to pay taxes on it as well.We as agents dont make as much as you think. We work very hard for what we make and dont get paid until it closes. But have to drop alot of money to market a home. Most fsbos are over priced. They do not run good comps, have the home pre inspected before listing or staged by a professional home stager. All 3 are important. A good agent will get the home sold if you listen to them.

- Daniel Bennison, "kcmetrorealty"
- Contributions:26
I am a real estate agent and I know that most agents would not think of settling for less than 3% or 4%. Most listing agents charge 6 or 7 percent and then split it with the buyers agent, so for a buyer's agent to represent the buyers and work with the homeowners, they will expect more. It would definately behoove you to offer at least 3% and maybe $1,000 for their time. Believe me when I say it will be money well spent.

- Dave Jones, "DaveJonesRealtor"
- Contributions:258
Ron said it best. The commission is negotiable, but be sure to have it worked out in writing FIRST.

- Ron Touchette, "Ron Touchette"
- Contributions:69
Where a Buyer's Agent shows the home and does all of the paperwork required to offer and close a deal the Agent should recieve the customary coop compensation which in MN is ranging between 2.5 % and 3.00% as compared to the bulk of the listings offferd on the RMLS system. Keep in mind that as an Owner/Seller you are not obligated to offer any coop compensation, you get to choose. Keep in mind that many Agents are reluctant to shop for sale by owner homes because it often ends up that the Selling Agent does all of the work that normally a Listing Agent would perform. So if you want to get the most bang for your buck offer a good commission, make it very attractive for a Buyer's Agent to WANT to show YOUR home first!

- Mark Malave, "Mark Malave"
- Contributions:172
I would pay 1/2 the commission that an agent would charge to list your property. Somewhere between 2 and 3 percent.
In a for sale by owner scenario, what commission percentage should I expect to pay the buyer's agent
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