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You’re overthinking this. Don’t use an agent if you don’t want. Come to an agreement upon price with a seller. I don’t think you’re going to find a seller who agrees to link those two facts.
A FSBO seller will.
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A FSBO seller will.Erstwhile Dance Theatre of Dayton performer cum bellhop. Carried (many) bags for a lovely and gracious 59 yo Cyd Charisse. (RIP) Hosted epic company parties after Friday night rehearsals. -
Call it whatever you want. Buyer and seller come to a price. You can say it's because I don't have an agent or because we both like the Redskins.Comment
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You’re overthinking this. Don’t use an agent if you don’t want. Come to an agreement upon price with a seller. I don’t think you’re going to find a seller who agrees to link those two facts.
If a seller (non FSBO) won't discount the offer price due to not having to pay the buyer's agent commission, then it does not make sense to do the work of an agent for "free." maybe I am missing what you are saying here....Comment
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Call it whatever you want. Buyer and seller come to a price. You can say it’s because I don’t have an agent or because we both like the Redskins.
Well, the motivation to list FSBO is to avoid the agent's commission. Every FSBO seller is keenly aware of the potential savings.
When I was looking I didn't sign with a buyer's agent specifically because I knew that I might find a FSBO listing.
I did my research and knew the market value of the homes I visited. I also knew that the overwhelming majority of sales involved a realtor and realtors here typically earn 6% commissions. Therefore, the market value of a FSBO home ought to be about 3% less than one involving a realtor (assuming buyer and seller agree to split the difference).
If I signed with a buyer's agent, the FSBO seller would have to agree to pay the agent out of sale proceeds (unlikely) or I would have to write another check. Either way, my price was going to be higher if I signed with an agent and purchased a FSBO listing.Erstwhile Dance Theatre of Dayton performer cum bellhop. Carried (many) bags for a lovely and gracious 59 yo Cyd Charisse. (RIP) Hosted epic company parties after Friday night rehearsals.Comment
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we were renting a home and had lived in it for five years and just paid the landlord cash for it. no realtor involved.Comment
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imagine i list my home for $400. say it’s a fsbo. you come in without an agent and offer $375. i say $385 and we agree. was that because of fsbo? the four bedrooms? the hot tub? the half acre? the mediocre schools? the 2% property tax? or because you have no agent? yes, all of the above. it’s a holistic price. everything’s included. i don’t care as the seller what you attribute to what part of the deal. we agree on a price... that’s it.
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imagine i list my home for $400. say it’s a fsbo. you come in without an agent and offer $375. i say $385 and we agree. was that because of fsbo? the four bedrooms? the hot tub? the half acre? the mediocre schools? the 2% property tax? or because you have no agent? yes, all of the above. it’s a holistic price. everything’s included. i don’t care as the seller what you attribute to what part of the deal. we agree on a price… that’s it.
Do "middlemen" increase prices? Can prices be reduced if middlemen are eliminated?
Consider two worlds: In one, a realtor takes 6% of every sale price. In the other world, there is no realtor so the seller keeps the entire sale price. The houses and all other economic conditions are identical. Will sales prices be identical in those two worlds, or will they be higher in the first world?
If you think they will be identical, I don't know what to tell you.Erstwhile Dance Theatre of Dayton performer cum bellhop. Carried (many) bags for a lovely and gracious 59 yo Cyd Charisse. (RIP) Hosted epic company parties after Friday night rehearsals.Comment
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At the moment we are shopping houses and do not have a buyer's agent.
I'm hesitant to get a buyer's agent since I don't see the value. In theory I'd like to negotiate an added discount for avoiding a buyer's commission. If that is unavoidable, we'll just have to decide which agent friend of ours we want to give a $15k-$25k gift to.Comment
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I have bought both a new construction home and a "used" home without a buyer's agent and looking back I definitely REGRET both decisions. To recap what others have said:
1. Usually sellers with agents are committed to paying 6% no matter what as Joanna and CM said. I think it is foolish to think that 3% (or even half of it) will wind up in your pocket under any scenario. The owner wants to sell for as much as possible as so does his/her agent. You are putting yourself at a big disadvantage for no particular benefit.
2. Many FSBO folks are not using agents either because they are cheap or foolish. Many list their homes above market and aren't as willing to negotiate on price to begin with because they have a hard time letting go of their preconceived notions of what their house is worth. This isn't a great recipe for negotiating (to your headache point).
3. Someone mentioned "Make me Move" but I would argue those folks have usually set a price much more than 6% above the sale price of "traditional" transaction for a similar property.
4. A good buyer's agent is worth every bit of that 3% that the seller's agent would otherwise keep. It hot neighborhoods many homes are sold before the listing even hits MLS and agents who specialize in that part of town often have an inside track. If there is quite of bit of interest in a desirable property the buyers with experienced agents will have an edge over you. For areas that aren't hot a good agent can likely save more than 3% by some combination of negotiating a lower sale price, getting concessions on the price through the inspection process, and directing you to reliable and reasonably priced contractors in the area to make repairs, etc.
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At the moment we are shopping houses and do not have a buyer’s agent.
I’m hesitant to get a buyer’s agent since I don’t see the value. In theory I’d like to negotiate an added discount for avoiding a buyer’s commission. If that is unavoidable, we’ll just have to decide which agent friend of ours we want to give a $15k-$25k gift to.
In theory it should be doable to get their agent to write the sellers a $5-10k check to sweeten the pot for you, but it does make the COI a lot more conspicuous.Comment
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Across the board, yes. In your particular transaction, I doubt you'll be able to convince a seller to give you an extra 3% after you and he have already agreed upon a price. Go ahead and try it and let me know how it goes.Comment
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In theory I’d like to negotiate an added discount for avoiding a buyer’s commission. If that is unavoidable, we’ll just have to decide which agent friend of ours we want to give a $15k-$25k gift to.
this was my thought originally too, but then you need a real estate attorney (paid by you) to draw up the offer and help with the negotiation part. Or would you do your offer without an attorney? I would not feel comfortable doing that by myself. Then, if you are unable to reach a "discounted" price with the seller, then you are back to going with an agent AFTER you have already paid the attorney fees for the initial offer negotiation.... and by that point, another buyer may have bought the house?
like i said, we are not quite ready to buy a house - so i would be very interested in how this goes for you! I have pretty much come to the conclusion that unless we go with FSBO, then we will need to get a realtor. But, I do not want a realtor until we have found the house we want. Just do not want to do house searching again with a realtor....Comment
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In theory I’d like to negotiate an added discount for avoiding a buyer’s commission. If that is unavoidable, we’ll just have to decide which agent friend of ours we want to give a $15k-$25k gift to.
this was my thought originally too, but then you need a real estate attorney (paid by you) to draw up the offer and help with the negotiation part. Or would you do your offer without an attorney? I would not feel comfortable doing that by myself. Then, if you are unable to reach a “discounted” price with the seller, then you are back to going with an agent AFTER you have already paid the attorney fees for the initial offer negotiation…. and by that point, another buyer may have bought the house?
like i said, we are not quite ready to buy a house – so i would be very interested in how this goes for you! I have pretty much come to the conclusion that unless we go with FSBO, then we will need to get a realtor. But, I do not want a realtor until we have found the house we want. Just do not want to do house searching again with a realtor….
The seller's agent can write up the offer (and will offer to be a "dual agent" if you choose, at least in my state). You can then have an attorney review the offer agreement with you to make sure everything is ok and that you understand all of the particulars.
That's what I did. The attorney's fee was de minimis.Erstwhile Dance Theatre of Dayton performer cum bellhop. Carried (many) bags for a lovely and gracious 59 yo Cyd Charisse. (RIP) Hosted epic company parties after Friday night rehearsals.Comment
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“dual agent”
i am glad that the dual agent worked for you, but i would definitely not want to go this route. the seller's agent has a major conflict of interest in this situation and i would always feel that they were on the side of the seller as that is who is paying him/her.Comment
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“dual agent”
i am glad that the dual agent worked for you, but i would definitely not want to go this route. the seller’s agent has a major conflict of interest in this situation and i would always feel that they were on the side of the seller as that is who is paying him/her.
I agree. I would never rely on that agent. That's why I hired a real estate attorney.
However, the offer sheets for home purchases are standard. If you let the seller's agent use one of the standard forms for the offer it simply saves money. You have your lawyer review it with you and explain any points that you don't understand. Then you're good to go.
If you ask your lawyer to draw up the form it will cost you an arm and a leg, but you receive no value.Erstwhile Dance Theatre of Dayton performer cum bellhop. Carried (many) bags for a lovely and gracious 59 yo Cyd Charisse. (RIP) Hosted epic company parties after Friday night rehearsals.Comment
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