Just because an agent shows you a property does not mean they are entitled to a commission. The "showing" is a piece but that alone does not prove procuring cause. The agent has to be involved in a chain of events that leads up to the sale. If there is a break in the chain of events (i.e you fire your agent after they have simply shown you the property) there is a good chance your new agent would win in arbitration if the original agent takes it that far. If there is a contract in place between you, mary, and the original agent that does not mean that first agent will receive the commission if you work with someone else as the commission is governed by a separate cooperating commission contract via the MLS. You as the buyer may owe the original agent money (the agency contract is between you and that agent) but the second agent you choose won't be affected if in fact they can prove they were procuring cause in the deal.

Either way, you deserve to work with someone you believe has your best interests in mind, PERIOD, so don't feel pressured into working with an agent because of agency language or guilt. It usually ends badly. Your talking thousands of dollars for both a nominal and emotional investment.

Anyway, your original question was about the 10% off asking and I think you have gotten some pretty good advice here. basically, your agent could be advising you not to put that offer in for various reasons ... If your agent has a relationship with the developer direct i believe that should answer your question immediately.

Good luck!

Fri May 9 2008, 06:20

Whatever the reasons for the agent not to cooperate with you, he/she is still obligated to work for you not against you. So if you feel comfortable with your offer and want to lowball the seller why not? Your offer can get rejected, countered or accepted.
Generally the builders are more inclined to offer upgrades, closing costs, rate buy down, and or financing options. In their opinion if you get it cheaper than everyone else will want it too.
You can not really just have another agent put in an offer for you, because your own agent was the one to show you the property. You might be liable to pay for his commission out of your pocket.
Best of luck

Thu May 8 2008, 22:22

Hi. I would say to go for it; you never know. Maybe your agent doesn't want to due to a previous or existing business relationship with the developer. I have worked for some developers, and I know that we sold a home for 12%- 15% less than the original list price- of course it sat for a while. If the developer has 3-4 other condos he's trying to see at the same time, he might take you up on the offer. Most developers are assuming a 15%-20% profit margin (in normal markets), so at a 10% "rebate" they would still be at least breaking even- and "stopping the bleeding" some might say. Just my opinion.
Good luck,
Ken

Wed May 7 2008, 11:14

Your agent is offering logical insight as it is true developers usually do not discount prices as the variation of sold prices affects their marketing and investment numbers. That said, it is no reason you shouldn't indeed "try," which your agent should be more than happy to do (unless the agent you are working with actually works in the developers office? might change motivations).

Your options are:
Make the offer see what happens, if they don't accept wait it out and come back later with the same offer.
Hold off on your offer and wait it out.
Or, if you are in a position where you want to increase your price because you must have the unit, increase your offer price and perhaps add some concessions (sometimes developers will upgrade utilities and appliances, or you could try asking for a cash back at closing).

Good luck!

Wed May 7 2008, 10:01

Just to clarify.... I wanted to put in a bid that's 10% less than asking....

Wed May 7 2008, 09:34