S.T. - In most cases, the buyer agent fees are paid by the listing commission from the seller. The seller and the seller's agent agree to pay a rate, like 5% or 6% when the house sells, and the listing agent pays a portion of that percentage to the buyer's agent. If there is no buyer's agent, the listing agent keeps the entire 5 or 6%.

You should always have a signed agreement that spells out what the agent is going to do for you. It sets the level of expectations of what the agent does and what you are expected to do when buying a house.

Finding an agent can be the hardest part. I recommend talking with friends/family in the area and get recommendations of agent's they've used, or if you need, I can refer an agent in that area. You can reach me thru my website if you need a referral to an agent in the area.

Thanks

Daniel

Thank you Daniel. One more question if you don't mind. Who pays for the buyers agent in NC? We never had a signed or verbal agreement with the agent that was helping us, so I assumed it was included in our offer. Is that assumption wrong? And really what is the best way to find a good buyers agent in a small rural area?

S.T. - for comps, you should be looking at closed comps, as thats what they are likely to be looking at. Comparing the closed comps to the active comps can give you an idea of where market conditions are headed. I'm not surprised they won't share the appraisal, I wouldn't expect them to, you'd have to get your own. Looking at the active comps you provided, it does look like it maybe priced high. Just like owner sellers, sometimes a RELO will overpice a house, and won't budge. If they paid $395K for it, then they will not want to sell if for less (rememeber, they are a for profit company, and are not eager to take a large loss on a property)

If you truly think it is overpriced, then I would recommend telling the selling agent you are firm in your price, as thats what the market dictates the price to be, and to contact you when the seller is willing to accept that price. And then move on and find another house that is priced better for the market. Just make sure you have a buyer's agent to help you with your search.

Good luck.

Daniel

Thank you so much for answering. There is a little more information I know. They do have an appraisal that was done without any local comps (went outside of County), but will not share that info with buyer. There has NOT been a CMA done for this property by the realtors or RELO. Owners relocated in June and had it listed for at least 90 days. RELO just recorded their deed in early December, and they paid 395K according to deed. Acreage is 4.92 which there are some comps with more and some with less. Heated square feet including finished basement is 2740 according to tax card which is in line or less than the comps I've pulled. There have been NO recent sells in the county and I'm only comparing with current listing prices.

I have included a link to the comps I've found - please take a look.

The RELO company has likely had appraisals and CMA's done on the property, and are likely pricing it based upon those factors. It's been on the market a long time, and they've reduced the price 15% from their original asking price, so they are realizing they need to lower it some, but they may have been given values that support their price.

It sounds like you don't have a buyer's agent representing you. You need an agent to provide you with a CMA (even if there aren't nearby houses, you can find comps by expanding search criteria and making adjustments for those factors) or you could hire an appraiser to determine the value.

For example, let's say that a similar sized house sold for $300,000 but didn't have a basement. So your agent or appraiser would make and adjustment for the house you are interested in having the basement. Now depending on if the basement is finished or not, it would impact how much value would be given to the basement.

If you truly think that the house is overpriced, you need to present evidence that backs up your offer. As for Truila saying the current asking price is 61% higher then the area, how much larger is the house for the area. If it's 50% larger then the area's average size, plus has a basement, then it's asking price being 61% higher then average isn't that far off.

So what all my ramblings above comes down to is you need a professional opinion (from a real estate agent or appraiser) that values the house independently of what you and what the RELO companies thinks it's worth, and if you think thats a fair value for the house, then present the offer and provide the seller with that info.

Good luck in your house search.

Daniel