No, you do not pay a commission fee.

Oooooooooops.....................

As the BUYER, don't be concerned about the professional services fee because it is nearly always paid for by the seller.

Start looking seriously....

Good luck

If you do not use the Realtor you will be in a very strong position to negotiate 3% more off the price than if you had one that was going to get that. It is kinda of the difference between take out and dining in. You have to pay extra for the exact same thing just to sit down. If you want to save on your meal just take it home. It will taste the same.

Ah I see, I misread the question originally. The contract that seller has with the listing agent is between the seller and the listing agent, a buyer is not a party to that contract and as such has no influence over it. As a buyer you pay a price, that's all.

The contract between listing agent and the seller may specify that the agent will reduce their comission if they are getting both sides, or it may not. A listing agent may also be willing to reduce their comission to increase the "net gain" to the seller to make the deal go through, or they might not.

However as a buyer you just pay whatever price you want and hope your offer is accepted, weather you have a buyer's agent or not doesn't change this.

No. You save 3% off the finalprice of the house when you do it by yourself. Smart move because the bank, lawyers and other will do most of the work. You just need to pick a place and price.

As a buyer you do not pay comission to buyer's agent (unless the seller is a fsbo who refuses to pay comission) the buyers agent gets paid by the listing agent. Some people look at it as buyer paying though, since the buyer is the one footing the bill in the end. (of course, since seller doesn't get that many the seller looks at it as their loss, i.e. the seller pays) it's one of the more amusing debates about rel estate.

If you want a deal you should check at Portland Home Auction.

Your hunch is right. In general, you do not pay fees for Realtor services if you are not represented by an agent. The exception to that is if you have signed a Buyer Broker Agreement, or exclusive agreement with an agent to represent you that specifies the agent's fees whether you use them or not, including if you decide to pursue a property on your own.

Typically a buyer's agent gets their fees paid by the listing agent (it is specified as the BAC in the listing on MLS - BAC = Buyer's Agent Compensation.

Of course, the inverse of this question is a different story - can I get compensated with a fee if I do not have an agent and am unrepresented? Now Jenerra, trust me, I know that is a different question that what you asked. But bear with me for the sake of completing this answer, the answer to the 2nd question is "No, you have to be licensed in the state of Oregon to receive a commission for real estate services."

I wholeheartedly agree with the other real estate professionals on this board - as a buyer you should never go into a transaction without a real estate professional looking out for your best interests. They will help you find a property, will complete a CMA (comparative marketing analysis) to determine the appropriate value, the will write the offer, educate you on the process, negotiation the deal, work with you on the inspection, negotiate repairs (including recommending contractors to assess the impact of magnitude of said repairs), and will project manage the deal through a successful close (including working with the lender, the title/escrow fees, etc.). When it is all said and done, every home buyer should have a Realtor on their side and their fees are typically covered by the listing agent - even better for the buyer! Hope this helps!

Jenerra,

As a "buyer" it is customary to NOT pay any fees for professional services. This is normally paid for buy the seller of the property.

So do not hesitate to find an agent to support your real estate interests..........

Happy house hunting

Hello Jenerra,

I am sure you know by now that you don't pay a fee if you buy a home WITHOUT a Realtor, and you would only pay a fee to a Buyer's Broker if you have a Buyer-Broker Agreement- which would usually only come into play if you were to purchase a home when no cooperative buyer agent fee is offered by the listing broker or the unrepresented seller.

:A Word of Advice; it is never in your best interest to purchase a home as an unrepresented buyer. There are too many risks and ways for a buyer to be taken advantage of in a real estate transaction; sometimes not intentionally but still there may be details that you, as a buyer may not know to ask about. There are many details a Buyer's Agent will be sure to cover on your behalf; the Realtor you choose must enter into a fiduciary agreement with you to look out for your best interests throughout the entire transaction.

If you are looking for an professional representative , you should consider a Realtor who has a high level of customer service, willing to go the extra mile on your behalf. For instance, if you would like recommendations of my service and an interview with some of my clients please feel free to ask. In the mean time, you can go to http://www.qualityservice.org. Add my name and Portland, Or as the city. You will see that I have a perfect 5 rating and have been awarded the Platinum service award.

I wish you well with the search for the right agent. Of coarse I would love to help you; however, there are several other good agents to choose from right here on Trulia. You can check our profiles and contact us for interviews if you so choose as you look for the right one to serve you.

Best of home buying to you!

Sincerely,
June Lizotte, Realtor
Providing REAL Service
Prudential NW Properties
6400 SE Lake Rd., Suite 200
Portland, OR 97222
jlizotte@prunw.com- email me directly
503-310-8032 - call me directly
http://www.junelizotte.com

Hi Jenerra. I just answered another question you had. Generally, you never pay a commission to a Realtor as a Buyer and you can probably get this in writing from your Buyer's Agent. Buyer's Agents are paid by the cooperating compensation (cc) of the Listing Broker if they are members of the MLS. In our area, we have a going rate of 6-7% commission to the Seller depending upon the level of service. Then we factor into that the cc, generally we have a 60/40 split, with 60% going to the Listing Broker (not Agent) and 40% going to the Selling Broker. If it's the same Broker for both, then it's generally a 50/50 split. We have to factor in the fact that our Broker generally gets a cut (anywhere from 20% up to 75% depending on the rate each Realtor has agreed to with the Broker) unless you are a 100% Agent in which you pay a steep fee each month for your office and the services of the Broker.

I have been a Realtor for 12 years now and the only time a Buyer ever paid a fee for my services was when we found a FSBO who flat out refused to pay more than $1000 in commission. My Buyers knew how hard I had worked for them (they relocated here) in locating and narrowing down properties as well as helping them with their transition to our city and decided to pay me an extra amount (although I had NA on the form of the Buyer Agency Agreement that detailed the commission they would owe me).

I recommend to all my friends and family to be represented in every transaction.

Hi - I just answered a different question you posted on short sales.....answer to this one is that 99.99% of the time the seller pays the commission and the buyer does not. The only rare instance where a buyer would owe a commission is if you were using a buyer's agent to purchase a FSBO and the seller refused to pay a commission. In that instance there would have to be an agreement between you and your Realtor regarding the commission. If you don't already have a Realtor that you plan on working with - I am one of a 3 member team of Realtors, as well as I am also a Loan Officer.....we would love to help!

Kelly Gebler
Real Estate Broker & Residential/Commercial Loan Officer
Commonwealth Real Estate Co. & Sunset Mortgage Co.
Ph: 503-516-1637
Email: LetUsGuideYouHome@comcast.net

J
In most cases, from the buyer's perspective, the Realtor who represents you is paid by the seller via the listing agent's broker.

I would suggest that you sit down and talk with the Realtor that you select as your representative and ask for an estimate of funds required to purchase a property. This will also provide you with an opportunity to see if you and the Realtor get along.

Good luck.

If you have not signed an Exclusive Buyer's Agency agreement with your first agent contact, you are not liable to pay a commission to anyone.

If the listing is in the local MLS, most (99%+) buyers are not charged a commission. The commission to the listing and buyer's agent is paid by the seller. So, if you have the listing agent write the offer on your behalf, he/she may keep all the sales commission paid by the seller (depending on the agreement between the seller and the listing agent). They aren't necessarily obligated to reduce the total commission if a buyer's agent is not involved.