Be gentle. It’s my first time.
While I am waiting for an agent to get back from the Seahawks’ game to look at the offer I just presented, I’ll try giving this a whirl.
I stole the Title line from Steve Miller “Take the Money and Run” to explain something you may (or may not) find to be of interest. That is, how can you get the Real Estate Commission into your pocket. Whether or not you should or should not get it, is not going to be discussed here. Let’s just assume you want it, and that is reason enough for me to describe how you may or may not be able to get it.
Let’s assume that if a real estate commission is involved, that you are either a buyer or a seller of real estate. If you are a seller, well that’s easy. You simply negotiate the fee and you get to keep the money. Trick is to get the best agent for the least money. Most think that they need to take the worst agent to pay the least money by signing up with some cheap service. NOT TRUE! All real estate commissions are negotiable with the seller, always.
I think it’s a crime and a shame that most sellers think they can’t get a top agent, without paying top dollar. I think it’s a crime and a shame that sellers think they have to go to those who advertise low fees, to get low fees. I think it’s a crime and a shame that sellers think they can’t get a really good agent, if they want to save money. Do you really think builders pay top dollar? Do you really think builders get less than superlative agents? They can do it; so can you. There is no set fee. All commissions are negotiable.
That’s the easy part. Now for the hard part.
How does the buyer get to “Take the Money and Run!”. Not quite as simple. Especially if you want the cash in your pocket, rather than an adjustment in the price of the home.
First, the basics. The contract that determines the Buyer Agent’s fee is already signed by the seller before the house ever gets in the mls. The Buyer Agent represents you and doesn’t even know the seller (usually), but the seller is the one who put the Buyer Agent’s fee into the asking price. Technically the Buyer Agent is not paid by the seller or the buyer. The Buyer Agent is paid by the Listing Company, and if the buyer takes the money from the seller, the Listing Company may still have to pay the Buyer Agent, even if that money went directly from the seller to the buyer. The Listing Company may have to pay, what they promised to pay in the mls, simply because they promised to do so. Now if that makes no sense to you whatsoever, I’m not surprised. But it’s the truth and one of the reasons why it is hard for a buyer to go around an agent they have “used” to see property.
That being said, let’s get back to the subject at hand “Take the Money and Run!” Understand that the amount of money you can receive is limited by your lender, not by the real estate agents or the seller. If you get any money, it has to be shown on the closing sheet and your lender can and does “disallow” it at the last second. So just when you thought you were going to put the money in your pocket, the lender says “No you can’t”. Getting money “off the sheet” is illegal. It’s called lender fraud. The person committing the fraud would be you the buyer, not anyone else, so be careful.
Jeez, they don’t make it easy for buyers to negotiate their agent’s fee do they? Well it can be done, and I have done it successfully and legally, but not easily.
But the Seahawks just WON!! and I have to go finish negotiating that offer. I’ll take this up again later.
Thank you for your time…and remember…be gentle…you’re my first.
