Not every agent is the same. Some prefer to list homes for sale, some like working with buyers, most work with both, but they are still not alike. Experience, knowledge of the market, homes, land and prices, and negotiation skills these all vary from one agent to another. The real estate market is about to take a new turn as buyer agent fees are becoming the responsibility of the buyer and will not necessarily be covered by the seller as they have been in the past.
Home buyers will be asking a new question soon.
"What do you charge to represent me as a buyers agent?"
Because of the way real estate has worked for a very long time, it generally was not a question that got asked very often because the listing broker shared the compensation with the buyers agent. Even when buyer agency was introduced making the buyer a fiduciary to the buyer agent the listing broker still compensated them from the commission charged to the buyer, even though the price was paid by the buyer. Some agents in markets with discount brokers charged a higher rate than that offered by these discount brokers and their buyers had to cover those costs at settlement or negotiate some sort of concession from the seller to cover the extra cost.
I am not sure why mortgage companies who have basically covered the cost of the buyer agent for ever, now say that buyer agent fees cannot be included in the mortgage. They always have been, why not now the buyer agent fee is being split out and potentially has to be paid by the buyer. If the buyer through their agent negotiates a seller concession to cover the cost, they will still be covering the cost of the buyer agent.
The belief is that by making this something that has to be negotiated, the cost will drop. There may very well be some agents who are willing to work for a lower cost, but this is often a hard business, and there are lots of things that can go wrong during a transaction. At those times you will want a professional agent who has experience and knows what to do to keep the transaction on track. If you can negotiate a lower fee think how that agent will negotiate for you on price and terms. An agent needs to know their value and be able to explain that to you clearly.
You also will gain value through this agent's contacts and address book of contractors, mortgage providers, title and settlement companies, real estate attorneys, trust and estate attorneys, landscapers etc.
So, in answer to your question I will charge buyers a two and a half percent success fee of the value of the property plus a flat fee broker fee. Sellers can still offer to cover the cost of the buyer agents, where they do not, we can negotiate a potential seller concession toward closing costs, for example on a $100,000 priced home we might offer $102,500 with a $2,500 seller concession to cover the buyer agent fee. Where this can not be negotiated, you the buyer will be responsible for that buyer agent fee, it might be a gift from a relative even who is helping you buy the house.
Homes will still be sold, and you will want professional representation, because those transactions where you don't may very well cost you. We see it often with clients who purchase new construction without representation and who do not know what they should be asking, believing the site representative represents them when they actually represent the builder. In the same way, the listing agent represents the seller and their fiduciary responsibility is to the seller, to obtain the best price and terms for them.
So, why not make sure you also have the same sort of representation, give me a call today if you are buying on or around the Main Line or Chester County and lets set up a meeting to discuss how we can work together. Contact Nick Vandekar, Selling the Mian Line and Chester County with Realty ONE Group Advocates, where we advocate for you, office 484-237-2055, cell or text 610-203-4543, email Nick@VandekarTeam.com.
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