A current client of mine recently thanked me for all the work I had been doing for her and asked me how much I was going to charge her once she settled on a home. I think that buyers are often a little bit shy about broaching this subject. We as REALTORS often forget to mention that it is the seller who pays our commission. Even with new construction homes in Northern Virginia, the developer will pay the agent's commission. It is a marketing cost to them and a right that you as homebuyers should always have.
Some homebuyers have asked me whether they could get a bigger discount if they didn't use a buyer's agent to represent them. In almost every case the answer is "no". The agent selling (listing) the home would actually make twice his or her normal commission in such a situation. The buyer would also miss out on having a local residential real estate expert negotiating solely on their behalf. When I negotiate for clients I fight for every penny as though it were my own. My negotiation skills alone are worth the commission I earn. Equally important is my management of the details. The low end of Northern Virginia real estate prices is around $300,000. To me that is a very large investment and there are too many costly mistakes that can go wrong when you don't have a highly competent REALTOR such as myself managing the transaction.
In summary, it doesn't cost you anything to have me represent you as your REALTOR. In fact it could cost you thousands of hard earned dollars not to have someone like myself representing you.
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