BiggerPockets

If a Buyer, such as myself, has no Buyer's agent, can I get the Listing Agent to rebate the Buyer's agents Commission back to the Owner, then have this money used to pay the Closing Cost ?

I am contemplating putting an offer in , contingent upon the Buyer's agent commission being rebated back to the Owner, then this money will be used to pay closing cost.

I am thinking this is somewhat common for experienced investors, but I am just guessing .

So , my question is, can I get the Buyers commission rebated back to the owner, then this money is used for closing cost ?

I have come to the conclusion I have no use for a Buyer's agent, I just dont need the hand holding, or the negativity.

I will simply contact the Listing Agent for a showing, after having checked out the House and neighborhood on my own.

I am guessing the Listing Agent will attempt to say this is against their "Code of Ethics" or some other crappy story.

So, if anybody has experience with this concept , please post, and let me be wiser from your experience , and hep me smooth out my presentation to the Listing Agent .

thank you for any and all comments

.

You can request anything you want. Whether or nor the seller accepts is up to them. Understand that you are not part of the listing contract. The listing contract is between the listing agent and the seller. You cannot come into the picture at a later date and rewrite the terms of a contract that you are not a party to.

A contingency in your offer based upon the commission agreed upon in the listing contract that you are not a part of just muddies the water. You are better off to not mention it in the offer, but just make your offer asking for closing costs. If your offer is good/strong/realistic, any agent with common sense will make it happen. Whether that means they cut the amount that the seller agreed to pay them is up to them and the seller, not you.

The Code of Ethics has more to do with the agent doing the right thing, not with how you write your offer. Such as representing my client, and their best interests. And not putting the interests of you, a customer ahead of my client. Just because the seller does not accept your offer does not mean I am doing something wrong. The attitude that agents are doing something wrong by representing the interests of their clients is often based upon not understanding agency and client/customer relationships.

Eric,

I had a friend as if they would lower there price by 3% and the agent wouldn't do that. I am assuming because that means the listing agents % shrinks. It might not effect the seller because either way they are paying that out. But it will effect the listing agent.

Lets say listing agent gets the offer for 500k, if it went through they'd make 15k. But if they reduced the price by 3% to 485k they would only receive 14.5k commission. Its only a $500 hit....but they still complained.

I never ask to reduce the commission of the agent. I rather have the agents greed by getting both sides of the commission to work for me by telling the seller this is the best offer you are going to get in the current market. If the agent does not, and I end up walking away, the next guy that comes around who does have an agent ends up reducing the sellers agents commission via shared split.

However, you should ask for anything you want in a contract. If the agent says the seller will not accept that, have the agent present the offer and to have the seller sign a document saying they saw the offer and are declining it. I had to threaten the sellers agent before with a complaint to the local realtor board for not wanting to present my offer.

Happy investing.

Great advice, but still difficult to get doen. I had an agent who I sent an offer into for a short sale, and the agent NEVER presented my offer even though he has a legal obligation to do so. The problme in my situation was, how do I "PROVE" the agent did not present the written offer? I can't and therefore a complaint is only my word against his.
Taking it one step further and requesting that the seller's agent have the seller sign a doc stating he/she saw my offer wouldn't get done either if the agent was unwilling to present my offer in the first place.

If you all have any ideas to verify and or prove if the seller did or did not present a written offer, please share your thoughts. I would love to bust this jerk!

How do you bust jerks, where do you send the compliant?

Justin,

All realtors are licended by a state agency so you can complain at the state level such as in TN, we have the Tennessee Association of Realtors. Also, many realtors are in various associations that are area specific. For instance, in Memphis TN we have the Memphis Area Association of Realtors otherwise known as MAAR. These associations have a review board and can place fines and recommend pulling licenses. If you want to find one of these associations, just google your states name and the words associations of realtors.

If you cannot prove the agent did/did not present an offer, how do you know they did/did not present it? Why would an agent not present your offer, risking losing their license, listings, reputation? Does not make sense.

Just because an agent doesn't cut their commission doesn't make them greedy. If you feel that way, then you are closer to being a lib then you think

Rob

The first thing that strikes me when I read some of these posts are the greedy people who point fingers at the other side. Yes we know your not greedy, after all your going to give the seller full market value for their property. but you only need to pick the pocket of the sellers agent to do that.
As one poster said get your license if you want the buyers agent share.

I'm familiar with both sides, I have been an investor since 1955 and an agent since 1965.and working mainly with other investors. Frankly I can't stand a greedy investor and now days more of them seem to be showing up. But those I know with the greatest net worth would never fall into the greedy category.

Are you a greedy investor because you want a fair profit on your investment, of course not. When I act as an agent I want fair pay for my time and knowledge and I set the rate for that profit the same as I do as an investor. Plus if I represent a seller it is his pocket I'm concerned with not yours, what you want is not the issue and I'm sure at the prices your offering I will have no trouble meeting or beating your offer no matter what kind of saviour you think yourself to be, The truth is your probably making an offer as a buyer you wouldn't accept as a seller.

I see your point but don't agree. How would it possibly not be in the seller's best interest?

It is not in the sellers best interest because they need to get the most for the property, whether it is a short sale or not. By the seller accepting the cold hard facts that they must do a short sale, they have admitted they are screwed. Now the next question is how much are they screwed. The agent's job is to minimize the screwing of the seller. Considering the plethora of training agents can get regarding short sales, many are trained or have resources available to them that will ensure they can succeed in a short sale situation. If you could become trained/experienced in short sales, so could the agent.

The agent is licensed and legally and ethically bound to protect the best interests of the seller. By turning the fate of the seller over to an unlicensed, unknown entity, he is putting all his trust in you. I am not sure how my state's real estate commission would feel about me abandoning my client to an unlicensed person/entity.

I would not do it because of the potential liability for my client and myself is too high. Not because I think your offer is good or bad in my opinion. The final accepted price/contract is up to the seller (bank in this case). I will advise what recent comps are, what is realistic, what terms of the contract are not in their favor, etc. Whether or not they accept the facts, I cannot control. I can only advise and try to protect my client.

Again it boils down to understanding the agent is suppossed to represent his/her client and you are not a client but you are a customer. There is a difference.