So I spent months on my own doing research on har.com and found a house I like. And then got the listing agent to show me the house. What's the best way for me to get a chunk of that buyer agent's fee? Should I find a family/friend and have them stand in as my agent and then just give me most of it? And if I did that what would be a good percentage? I was thinking that giving them 1% should cover their taxes and also give them some easy profit for not doing much. And this assumes they are a broker, I guess, and don't have to split that 3%. Or should I just talk with the listing agent about it and try to get them to give me a cut? Or should I have the listing agent let the seller know and have them just lower the house price by 3%? Thanks.
Hahah. Yes. But unlike some of the people BmwM3 has worked with, I'm not asking for someone to do all the work and then try to stick this to them right at the end. I've done a lot of the work already and am up front with what I want them to do when I bring them into the transaction. Am I being off base on this?
Get a vietnamese broker and tell them that you will use them if they give you 2 percent back. They get 1 percent just for showing up. Thats what my realtor did. He even had the title company cut me the check when I closed.
Why don't you just make an offer on the house at a lower price and for the broker to get 3%? Otherwise, you can make an offer with the fee split between you and the other broker. It is legal in Texas for you as the purchaser to get part of the commission, but I think it is better to get a lower price.
I agree. I would like to get the lower price so it would reflect in my taxes too. However, it just seems like most listing agents see this as an opportunity to get more than 3% instead. I was trying to get a feel on what the best course of action is for this situation.
Well the commission that the seller is paying is in the contract that the seller signed with the listing agent. So the commission to be paid is a fixed %. However if you have an agent working for you and the agent agrees to give you back some commission then it can be deducted from the sales price. Why not just offer what you want to pay for the house? Let the seller and listing agent work out the commission.
Yeah, I could do that. I'm just trying to figure out the easiest way to achieve it. The seller might be willing to accept a lower price if he knows he only has to pay 3% commission. Of course that's assuming the listing agent is willing to change the contract from the standard 6%. I'm curious though. How do real estate agents normally view something like this? Is it something they frown upon? Would it be easier to just do it in the background by going through my own agent who would will pass the commission on through?
The easiest way would be to find a family friend/Realtor who is willing to give you back a part of the commission. Let the title company include it to what you have to bring to closing. Is this located in Houston? What area of Houston?
Yeah, it's beginning to seem like this might be the easiest course of action. The house is on the north side... Spring.
