I agree with Karen (below). Also, it is illegal in California to be a licensed RE agent and not have your license "hung" with a broker.

Ed,
Thanks for clarifying your question. Of course, you can negotiate whatever you want in your contract, but that does not affect the commission the seller pays. The seller pays his agent. If there is a buyer's agent, the seller's agent pays him or her a commission, but if there is no buyer's agent, the seller's agent keeps the entire commission. There is no savings for the seller.

Ed,
This is cut and dry and no real grey area...just options on the road you wish to take.

1) Commission and asking for closing costs REALLY having nothing to do with the other in this case. The commission is paid to the listing agent and they set forth what is done with it based on the agreement in the contract. How much you ask for and the seller accepts at closing is a choice

2) Sure you can represent yourself, you just have to note that you are doing so under agency and then ask for closing that is equal to the amt that you would have taken if you were hanging your license somewhere. BUT there is no need to say anything about commission, let the listing agent decide if she will give the seller a break because she is only representing one side. Do I recommend you representing yourself ....never!!!, especially if your not up on the forms, recent legal changes and not fully immersed int he business !!! However you do have that choice and you should definitely use legal counsel. But quite honestly, why bother, just let a good buyers agent represent you and get a deal with closing costs paid.

I wish you the best and hope you get what your looking for on this deal!

best,
Lisa

Ed, I would agree with the previous answers. Representing yourself is difficult at best. I am a full time professional Realtor and still hire another Realtor when buying or selling personal property. You must work under a licensed Broker in California. You can certainly represent yourself as an individual, but you run the risk of losing more than you gain in my opinion. Transaction coordinators will do the paperwork but not direct you.

Ed, I would have to agree with Karen. First of all, you need to know that you are well represented. Get good representation, if you have a good agent they can save you a lot of money right off the bat. Many agents would be happy to give you a referral , find a good one and ask. They can also try to negotiate closing costs or points- it's happening in most of the cases near my area. By the time you pay for an attorney, a transaction coordinator, etc you won't be that far ahead anyway!

Patti Phillips
800-680-9133

Go back to your RE books. The commission is negoiated between seller and listing agent/broker. It is their contract and has little bearing on the buy side. You make whatever offer you want (asking for buy down and closing cost), it will be up to the listing broker to decide if he wants to reduce the commission to help the deal go thru. You may be surprised, they may accept without the commissions being reduced.

I would recommend though that you check CA law and/or wit a RE attorney. Can CA RE licenses be active without being hung with a broker? I know in NV it must be or it is inactive.

It might be worth your while to go ahead and get a buyers agent to help represent you! They are free to the buyers.

HI Ed,

You may not like my answer. I would skip the lawyer, the transaction coordinator and find a good local realtor to represent you. Since you are licensed, that person may be willing to pay you a referral fee which you could use towards your closing costs.

Best of luck,

Karen Miller

I am not asking to be paid a commission I am simply asking the seller to pay closing and a point off mortgage. (buyers sometimes reuest this when there is a full commission) and since they so not have to pay a buyer's agent I believe this to be a reasonable (and legal) request

Ed

Commission belongs to the broker (Realtor or not), the agent receives compensation according to their independent contractor agreement with the broker.

You may want to double check CA law before you go further.

Best of luck