Reduced Realtor Commissions?

[Tracy Thompson]

We noticed an ad last week on Bigger Pockets for locating Realtors that would discount their commission by 1 1/2%  Did anyone notice this ad or know the company name?  Thank you!

[Russell Brazil]

Originally posted by @Joe Splitrock:

@Tracy Thompson in my experience when trying to get deals done, my realtor and their relationships with other local realtors has been an advantage. I am not a realtor, but I suspect realtors frown on these discount brokers. Realtors are going to be less excited to work with discount brokers or FSBO.

As a buyer, I would not work with a discount broker. It is a fast moving market, so you want your agent to have financial incentive to make it happen.

I am curious what @Russell Brazil would have to say about this. 

 I just closed a deal where we got $200k off the list price. I had 2 deals last year that were both $100k under list.  I had another client last year where I was able to get their house bid up $50k above list, then when they bought their new home. Which was new construction I got them about $40k in free upgrades and $20k in closing costs. I had 3 offmarket deals last year that were brought straight to me because of who I am, so my buyers get access to exclusive properties.

I was able to get these done both because Im good at what I do....but also because of my relationships in the market place and my reputation in the market for getting deals done and not having flaky clients.

So do I think Im worth whatever I get paid? Yes I do. Do I ever give discounts? Absolutely. But not the extreme discounts talked about here.  I usually give repeat clients a discount on the list side. Rarely on the buy side, but I did give a credit a couple weeks ago on the buy side to make the deal happen.

One thing many people are overlooking here though is 99% of agents are not empowered to actually give a credit.  That decision belongs to the broker, and not the agent.  I can do pretty much what I want because of the volume of business I do, but technically I am supposed to get approval from the broker.

Discount brokers have a place in the market. Not every one needs an agent. But there is a large gap between what most agents offer and what I offer. I also love being on the other end of a deal from a discount inexperienced agent. Those guys just get torn up by the sharks like me.  They typically are not in the industry that long either, so Incan really push the limits with them too.