Would Buyers Pay Their Buyer Agent?

I have never had a situation that the buyer had to pay my commission, so I can't give an opinion on that topic based on experience. I have seen listing agents offer higher commission or a selling bonus but I don't think they are effective. I think it's better to offer a buyer an incentive than the agent. I would not push a house on a buyer just because of a higher commission.

I think buyers are becoming more educated due to the internet, however I think that makes our role even more important. We can go online to look up information on virtually anything and get an answer to a question, but is it the correct answer?

I think it's our job to sit down with the buyer before we show them houses and explain what our job is, how we get paid, what the buying process is, explain our skills regarding writing contracts and negotiating, then they will see our true worth. Of course there are some who will still think they can do it on their own, but the consultation will hopefully weed them out so we don't waste any time with them.

I hope you had a Merry Christmas!

AS a rule, I help the buyer write my commission into the offer contract.  I do NOT look at compensation when giving listings to my buyers, and I have never had a problem getting the compensation I request (keeping in reasonable, of course).

Keep your buyers by reminding them what you get paid for - a local attorney got terribly burned on his purchase that he handled himself - and he works with contracts all day, every day!  More savvy buyers don't mean professional buyers.

Kathy, I know agency laws vary from state to state...therefore, the clarity of buyer agency compensation has variance too.  However, asking a buyer to pay compensation directly is unneccessary and usually detrimental to the transaction.

Let's face it, the commission of both agents is ALWAYS paid by the buyer.  The location of the commission on the buyer or seller side of the HUD-1 does not determine where the funds come from.  Typically, the buyer (in my market at least) gets a mortgage.  Most of the time, the buyer wants to maximize their leverage at the time of purchase...particularly with our recent interest rates.  So, what is the advantage of taking this priviledge away from the buyer by expecting the buyer agent commission to be moved from the seller to the buyer's side of the HUD?

What is important is to make your client, whether buyer or seller, understand who represents who.  Once your client is clear on agency obligations, it is imperative that we work to the benefit of that client with all the skill and knowledge that we can bring to the table.  In my experience, my internet-enabled clients are more likely to see my skill worth compensation. 

In commercial transactions, it is a very different story.  Those clients are often leveraging the purchase in a totally different fashion.  Also, the research and representation of a commercial buyer is quite different.  The experience of buyers paying directly for buyer agency is much more common in this aspect of the business.

We have had over half of the buyer clients we've worked with gladly offer to add our fee to the sales price when the seller was not compensating the buyer's agent. People will pay for service if they see the value in it. If you can show the buyer that you can save them money and reduce their risk, they will pay for it most of the time.

You guys have made alot of valid and valuable points.  I have yet to see the buyer paying C/C though.

For a while here when the market was hot there were listing in the MLS for $1.00 commission and they were selling.  I never had the pleasure of dealing with one of those so I don't know how the commission was handled.