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- CORONA NICK
- Contributions:2218
I wouldnt use an agent if you already know what property you want, know a little on how to negotiate and if your confident of yourself... I would use the seller's agent.... I used the seller's agent when I purchased my home and I think I got a great deal.. ask alot of questions, Im sure the selling agent wont mind to answer every single one, truthfully...COUGH COUGH.... since they are also working for you..... to make the deal go through... I know I know... other agents on here will tell you ....NO the selling agent represents the seller... and that its not right for the selling agent to put their interests first.... BUT believe me it does happen.... more often than most agents will admit to.....good luck....
- buckeyecase
- Contributions:23
Would a seller's agent be more likely (subconsciously or not) to advise the seller to accept a lower offer, because they're getting commission on both ends of the deal?
- Robin Lynch, "robin398"
- Contributions:1935
Brokers will sometimes offer rebates to buyers or sellers - cash back at closing - to attract their patronage. But many state commissions have banned rebates, prohibitions that the Department of Justice has gotten overturned in some cases.
State legislatures have also enacted minimum service regulations, which prohibit brokers from unbundling services and charging a fee for each.
There are also more subtle forms of discrimination by traditional brokers. In one, "boycotting," discount brokers say that traditional brokers refuse to show their listings to clients.
State legislatures have also enacted minimum service regulations, which prohibit brokers from unbundling services and charging a fee for each.
There are also more subtle forms of discrimination by traditional brokers. In one, "boycotting," discount brokers say that traditional brokers refuse to show their listings to clients.
I would still like to know if those rebates are reported to the lender. If the seller pays 3% in closing costs and then the buyer gets rebated 1-2%, that is outside of lender's guidelines, which is, lender fraud if not reported.
- buckeyecase
- Contributions:23
Rebatereps says they report the rebate on the HUD-1 form. So in that case the lender would know about it.
- Kary L. Krismer, "Krismer"
- Contributions:2454
Redfin gives the buyer several options with the rebate, and I'm not sure all of them would show up on a Hud statement.
Redfin isn't really into legal niceties, so it wouldn't surprise me if they are doing it wrong. The were recently fined $50,000 by the NWMLS.
Redfin isn't really into legal niceties, so it wouldn't surprise me if they are doing it wrong. The were recently fined $50,000 by the NWMLS.
oh yikes Kary! I guess that answers my question. LOL
- Kary L. Krismer, "Krismer"
- Contributions:2454
The fine wasn't related to the rebates. It was posting negative freelance reviews of other agents' listings (without permission) and showing days on market without supporting information.
well, either way, you can see the "integrity" that they have.
- Ellen Chung, "echung"
- Contributions:2
We personally bought my condo using a ZipRealty agent--they are known for giving 20% of the realtor's commission back to the buyer. I have to say that I would never go that route again. Perhaps it was partly because it was during the real estate boom when buyers and sellers were asking for real estate assistance left and right, but once we found our property the realtor basically fell off the face of the planet.
It took her days to respond to our calls, she would no longer travel any further than HER home's neighborhood Target to meet with us, she suddenly had absolutely no time to meet with us EXCEPT for the day where she received the real estate disclosures she needed us to sign. It just seemed like once she identified the house and knew she was getting the commission, she stopped giving us any service, even minimal service. The nightmare did not end there. Upon completion of our deal, we were sent a survey by ZipRealty, which we filled out and mailed back. About a week later we received a very, VERY angry phone call from the realtor who basically screamed at us for giving honest feedback, claiming she had worked hard for us and we had no right to give negative feedback.
Thankfully since then I have found a reliable realtor that I love and use all the time--she is extremely responsive, communicative, and she works with us and for us from beginning to end. Now this is not to say that all agents working in ZipRealty are horrible, as a mortgage broker I've worked with other agents with the company and they were consistent with their work. I guess the experience itself just left me with such a bad taste in my mouth that I would never consider taking that route again. Oh, did I mention that the deal almost fell through because of her unresponsiveness? That may be an added reason why I shy away from "rebate-back" real estate agencies, just my experience.
It took her days to respond to our calls, she would no longer travel any further than HER home's neighborhood Target to meet with us, she suddenly had absolutely no time to meet with us EXCEPT for the day where she received the real estate disclosures she needed us to sign. It just seemed like once she identified the house and knew she was getting the commission, she stopped giving us any service, even minimal service. The nightmare did not end there. Upon completion of our deal, we were sent a survey by ZipRealty, which we filled out and mailed back. About a week later we received a very, VERY angry phone call from the realtor who basically screamed at us for giving honest feedback, claiming she had worked hard for us and we had no right to give negative feedback.
Thankfully since then I have found a reliable realtor that I love and use all the time--she is extremely responsive, communicative, and she works with us and for us from beginning to end. Now this is not to say that all agents working in ZipRealty are horrible, as a mortgage broker I've worked with other agents with the company and they were consistent with their work. I guess the experience itself just left me with such a bad taste in my mouth that I would never consider taking that route again. Oh, did I mention that the deal almost fell through because of her unresponsiveness? That may be an added reason why I shy away from "rebate-back" real estate agencies, just my experience.
- Jim DeCesaro
- Contributions:41
Ellen's story is a great reminder to every buyer or seller! There are many examples of transactions consumers can complete with little-to-no assistance, but using a dedicated professional can make all the difference (and that agent doesn't seem to fit the profile).
I am not saying discount brokers aren't professional; but I am saying consumers should educate themselves on what type of person they are engaging for transactions involving large sums of money.
I am not saying discount brokers aren't professional; but I am saying consumers should educate themselves on what type of person they are engaging for transactions involving large sums of money.
- teardowns dotcom, "Teardowns.com"
- Contributions:938
So many buyers are much more savvy these days, and most know basically what they want. Why not utilize e-agent level services at first until the buyer gets closer to a the offer & purchase stage?
I'm all for working smarter - and with the advances in technology and all the tools available to us, there is no reason not to simplify!
I'm all for working smarter - and with the advances in technology and all the tools available to us, there is no reason not to simplify!
- justmare59
- Contributions:4
I just came snooping around in here and felt I had to post. Never did before but here goes.
We live here in Fl and are selling our home which I have listed myself sorta..iggyshouse.com helped.
I was in Real Estate back in 90-95 so I do know some stuff...not much has changed since then except prices.
We just closed on a house in Georgia using Ziprealty and have nothing bad to say about the agent that was assigned to us. We had used Zips website for the past 6 months looking for houses up there. Their website is one of the best to use for searching RE. Once we found what we wanted to look at it, Barb drove us around in HER car, bought us Lunch, called us several times, emailed us several times and totally gave her time to us. I am looking forward to receiving my 2,600 rebate has it will come in handy in paying next months mortgage..since I have 2 now for the time being:( There is no strings attahced to the rebates.
Since using Zip, I have found buyside and they kick back 75% of their commisions! If these guys can take off, then they will truly capture the market, which will eventually force others to come off the 6%.
When I put 3% in my pocket in the early 90's it was on homes that we were selling for 65,000 to 125,000. At that time I thought I was kicking butt and making good money for what I was doing. Today selling the same house here for 300,000 and making 3% is INSANE! There is noway in hell an agent will ever be able to justify that to me. The work on a 300,000 home is no different then the work on a 100,000 home and 3% on 300 is way to much to pay..So I say to all sellers save 3% and list it yourself, you can now put it in MLS for free if you do your searching, and a ton of other sites for free, plus all the spiders from remax, zip,coldwell, etc pick up the MLS listing so your on 100 different websites.
Get rid of the clutter, tidy up and list it yourself and offer 3% to the buyers agent who will be the one to sell your home.
We live here in Fl and are selling our home which I have listed myself sorta..iggyshouse.com helped.
I was in Real Estate back in 90-95 so I do know some stuff...not much has changed since then except prices.
We just closed on a house in Georgia using Ziprealty and have nothing bad to say about the agent that was assigned to us. We had used Zips website for the past 6 months looking for houses up there. Their website is one of the best to use for searching RE. Once we found what we wanted to look at it, Barb drove us around in HER car, bought us Lunch, called us several times, emailed us several times and totally gave her time to us. I am looking forward to receiving my 2,600 rebate has it will come in handy in paying next months mortgage..since I have 2 now for the time being:( There is no strings attahced to the rebates.
Since using Zip, I have found buyside and they kick back 75% of their commisions! If these guys can take off, then they will truly capture the market, which will eventually force others to come off the 6%.
When I put 3% in my pocket in the early 90's it was on homes that we were selling for 65,000 to 125,000. At that time I thought I was kicking butt and making good money for what I was doing. Today selling the same house here for 300,000 and making 3% is INSANE! There is noway in hell an agent will ever be able to justify that to me. The work on a 300,000 home is no different then the work on a 100,000 home and 3% on 300 is way to much to pay..So I say to all sellers save 3% and list it yourself, you can now put it in MLS for free if you do your searching, and a ton of other sites for free, plus all the spiders from remax, zip,coldwell, etc pick up the MLS listing so your on 100 different websites.
Get rid of the clutter, tidy up and list it yourself and offer 3% to the buyers agent who will be the one to sell your home.
- justmare59
- Contributions:4
check buyside out:
http://www.buysiderealty.com/?RESPA=1
http://www.buysiderealty.com/?RESPA=1
- justmare59
- Contributions:4
"Get rid of the clutter, tidy up and list it yourself and offer 3% to the buyers agent who will be the one to sell your home."
Which is like I said to much to pay! BUT it's not to much when 3% is the total of what your paying, not 6%
Which is like I said to much to pay! BUT it's not to much when 3% is the total of what your paying, not 6%
- Naperville1965
- Contributions:62
We bought our present house using the seller's realtor. The contract just had to list a dual agency relationship.
We did all the legwork and found the house that we wanted. I wasn't going to pay $10K for a buyer's realtor to just do a half an hours worth of paperwork and sit at the closing to collet his cash.
Instead, I talked to the seller's realtor and explained to him that we would be willing to purchase without a realtor. We had all the pre-approvals, etc. ready to go. I then mentioned to him that I would expect some discount as well from the seller because I wasn't using a realtor, which would save the seller some cash.
In the end, we ended up getting a discount of about 2% (in addition to the dollars off that we negotiated). .5% paid by the realtor and rest by the seller.
We did all the legwork and found the house that we wanted. I wasn't going to pay $10K for a buyer's realtor to just do a half an hours worth of paperwork and sit at the closing to collet his cash.
Instead, I talked to the seller's realtor and explained to him that we would be willing to purchase without a realtor. We had all the pre-approvals, etc. ready to go. I then mentioned to him that I would expect some discount as well from the seller because I wasn't using a realtor, which would save the seller some cash.
In the end, we ended up getting a discount of about 2% (in addition to the dollars off that we negotiated). .5% paid by the realtor and rest by the seller.
- Naperville1965
- Contributions:62
By the way, I know that the buyer's agent isn't paid for by the buyer. But, it would have cost us in the sense that the negotiation room (and hence our cost savings in the purchase) would have been reduced.
You do realize that the listing agent ended up with all but .5% of the commission. Just because you say you aren't using an agent, doesn't mean the listing agent isn't getting paid what is agreed to in the listing contract. What you may not realize, is that if you had your own agent, you may have gotten more then a 2% discount.
- Alan May
- Contributions:4377
In our area, mature listings (those that have been on the market longer than 60 days) tend to sell for 94-96% of their list price statistically. We buyer's agents know that, while a buyer without an agent might not be aware of that...
... So Marci's right, working with a buyer's agent "might" have rewarded you with more than a 2% discount, AND as an added bonus, you would have been properly represented, rather than having to rely on advice (for the inspection issues for example) from an agent who was "contractually obligated" to represent the SELLER's interests.
... So Marci's right, working with a buyer's agent "might" have rewarded you with more than a 2% discount, AND as an added bonus, you would have been properly represented, rather than having to rely on advice (for the inspection issues for example) from an agent who was "contractually obligated" to represent the SELLER's interests.
Marci,
As much as we have tried to educate, people don't seem to get it.
The listing agreement is a binding contract to the seller and the commission % is legally enforcable. You skipping having an agent does not mean the seller has to pay less commission, it only means the sellers agent makes more money.
As much as we have tried to educate, people don't seem to get it.
The listing agreement is a binding contract to the seller and the commission % is legally enforcable. You skipping having an agent does not mean the seller has to pay less commission, it only means the sellers agent makes more money.
Exactly Carrie....and Almay, it's the same around here. Just out of curiosity I looked to see the stats in my area, and most of the ones that sold for asking price were a dual agency....guess we know who the listing agent works for.
- Mark Auger, "wildcoyote"
- Contributions:5
I believe real estate commissions are grossly over priced. Never have I seen a realtor work less for more money. Only maybe some Wall Street shamster.... when buyers and sellers finally figure out how to market and sell their own homes by them selves, then the real estate community will finally figure out commissions should only have been 1% on each side. It is ridicules to pay 6% of every home sold in the country just because realtors have cornered the market. example $900k home sells and the owner pays a $54,000 dollar commission; there is no way in Hail that the realtor worked for that money...they stole it.
- sjunkerg
- Contributions:3
We used redfin after finding a property we wanted to buy. The redfin agent was responsive and was doing about a deal per week which meant he was really efficient and had lots of experience. We saved a ton of money and were very happy customers. 6% commission is far too much for the services rendered in my opinion. You are essentially compensating the agents for all the time when they are not actively working a deal. It is a bit like paying your dentist for the time when he does not have any customers...
Needless to say, this works very differently in other countries and I have paid as little as 2.5% elsewhere when doing property deals.
Needless to say, this works very differently in other countries and I have paid as little as 2.5% elsewhere when doing property deals.
- Alan May
- Contributions:4377
<<You are essentially compensating the agents for all the time when they are not actively working a deal. It is a bit like paying your dentist for the time when he does not have any customers...>>
wow... I can't agree with this at all... the 6% (or whatever percentage you've negotiated with your agent/agency) is the compensation for the sale of your property... a large share of that goes to the buyer's agent/agency as incentive to bring a buyer (even buyer's agents don't like to work for free).
... you may feel that it's too much, and I can see that side of the argument, but you're definitely not paying us for our downtime.
wow... I can't agree with this at all... the 6% (or whatever percentage you've negotiated with your agent/agency) is the compensation for the sale of your property... a large share of that goes to the buyer's agent/agency as incentive to bring a buyer (even buyer's agents don't like to work for free).
... you may feel that it's too much, and I can see that side of the argument, but you're definitely not paying us for our downtime.
- Naperville1965
- Contributions:62
"You would have been properly represented, rather than having to rely on advice (for the inspection issues for example) from an agent who was "contractually obligated" to represent the SELLER's interests
Being properly represented by a realtor really doesn't bring me much comfort. And what are you talking about regarding inspection issues. Our contracts in Illinois spell out the timing and everything on that stuff. We hired an inspector. Had the seller's go through and do a few fixes and that was that. I did my own closing then at the title company.
All a realtor does is act as an intermediary when negotiating the contract. What else do they bring to the buyer once the buyer himself has decided the house he wants? I've negotiated hundreds of contracts in my like. I don't need some RE person doing that for me.
Being properly represented by a realtor really doesn't bring me much comfort. And what are you talking about regarding inspection issues. Our contracts in Illinois spell out the timing and everything on that stuff. We hired an inspector. Had the seller's go through and do a few fixes and that was that. I did my own closing then at the title company.
All a realtor does is act as an intermediary when negotiating the contract. What else do they bring to the buyer once the buyer himself has decided the house he wants? I've negotiated hundreds of contracts in my like. I don't need some RE person doing that for me.
- Alan May
- Contributions:4377
romi...
... they (we) were just attempting to put the pieced together, and share some thoughts... it wasn't clear from your post that you'd gotten 7.5% off, it sounded as though all you got was 2%, so we were just pointing that out.
... nobody said we were "exalted", or that you couldn't hold your own in math. And the legal contract, as you well know, isn't BS... but certainly the agent could have agreed to forgo a portion, if s/he chose to, because there was no buyer's agent to pay.
... beyond that, the name-calling is totally out of line.... attorney or not.
... they (we) were just attempting to put the pieced together, and share some thoughts... it wasn't clear from your post that you'd gotten 7.5% off, it sounded as though all you got was 2%, so we were just pointing that out.
... nobody said we were "exalted", or that you couldn't hold your own in math. And the legal contract, as you well know, isn't BS... but certainly the agent could have agreed to forgo a portion, if s/he chose to, because there was no buyer's agent to pay.
... beyond that, the name-calling is totally out of line.... attorney or not.
- Naperville1965
- Contributions:62
Not a matter of being an attorney. It's a matter of the condescending language between the two RE "professionals" up top.
- Naperville1965
- Contributions:62
Why is it that "The Emperor's New Clothes" keeps coming to mind . . .
- Alan May
- Contributions:4377
I didn't see it as "condescending", and I'm sure they didn't intend it that way... they were attempting to be informative. the two you referred to as "shrews" are two of the more level headed, friendly agents with good advice as I've seen here.
... as an attorney, having negotiated hundreds of contracts in your life, I'm confident you can handle your own sales and closings, probably better than the general public.
... but still, as an attorney, you should be above name-calling in an anonymous post. (that's what I meant about "attorney or not")
... as an attorney, having negotiated hundreds of contracts in your life, I'm confident you can handle your own sales and closings, probably better than the general public.
... but still, as an attorney, you should be above name-calling in an anonymous post. (that's what I meant about "attorney or not")
Romi, you are the one that said you got 2% at first. To suggest that everyone run out and use the listing agent is not great advice and I stand by that statement. There is no need for your name calling. Seeing how you think you are so much more educated than I, you should be a little more professional in my opinion.
Using a "rebate" buyer's agent
What other options do I have? I see companies like rebatereps will give 1% of their 3% commission back to the buyer at closing. What's the catch here? Can anybody tell me why I WOULDN'T want to go this route? Anybody care to share their experiences if they've gone this route? Any other similar "rebate" brokers out there?
To all agents out there, please don't take this as an insult either.
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