Great answer Anthony.
Did you miss the part that the agent HAS a customer interested? IE he reps a buyer...
Read the question

my suggestion is, if you sell it yourself, no agent should get a commission, unless they bring a buyer ready willing and able. Hope this helps you

Anthony J. Crecco
914-269-8184

Generally, agents don't take their buyers to FSBO properties unless the buyer has signed an exclusive right to represent, in which case the buyer has agreed to pay the broker's commission (which in today's market is usually 2%), or they feel they can negotiate with the seller to pay their commission (at 2%). But to ask you to pay 5% commission when he has not marketed the property or listed the property on MLS, in my opinion, is outrageous. If his buyer did not sign an exclusive right to represent, it would be fair to pay the broker 2% commission, because the agent brought you the buyer, who otherwise might not have seen your property.

Sally Griffiths
Weichert, Realtors
914-419-2655

It is negoitiable, but you should be clear as to what it will be in advance. IT cannot be a net number, that is illegal (called a Net Listing) IE...I am asking $100,000 what you get over that can be your commission.

Also if you allow several agents to show it as an open listing, be consistent in the prices you allow it to be offered at, nothing looks worse than several agents listing a property at different numbers.

Selling a Co-op is not the easiest or quickest sale. You should consider the agents time in negotiating, but you have every right to offer them whatever you feel is fair.

As others have said, in the long run, having an agent represent you would be wise for you would get the best possible price for your home.

If you are one of those folks who loves to sell and negotiate, do it on your own, but if not, consider asking for help.

Best of Luck,
-Cathy
cmatier@century21mulvey.com

Stephanie

You have the right to refuse to pay any commission. You can tell the buyer to pay his agent himself and not from your proceeds. Having said that keep your focus on your bottom line. The number that you will walk away with after paying all of your selling expenses. If that number allows you to pay a fee to a buyers agent for suppling a buyer with an offer that is acceptable, then negotiate that fee. THERE IS NO STANDARD FEE. You are only obligated to pay what you agree to pay. Hire a real estate attorney to review any agreement before you sign.
The buyer's agent is not on your side.

Fran and Mark Redding
Prudential Fox & Roach, Realtors
1010 Stonyhill Road
Yardley, PA 19067
215-321-3307 Direct
215-208-7169 Cell http://www.franandmark.com

Hi Stephanie,

The prospective buyers agent is hoping that you are too stupid/ignorant to double-check things - and take their word for how it works. Please note that they do NOT REPRESENT YOUR INTERESTS - NOT ONE LITTLE BIT. They will work against you and for their client (and obviously for themselves since they are asking for 5% up-front ... ah greed!)

Most commissions now are about 5%. Generally half goes to the buyers agent and half to the sellers agent. Since you ARE the "sellers agent" - you are not going to give away your half and there's no reason to give them any more than they would normally be due.

So you can offer them 2.5% since they are bringing the buyer to you (they split the 2.5% with their broker - so they get 1.25%). It's possible the agent in question IS their own broker - and therefore they get the full 2.5% - the info on their card probably gives it away.

You might consider going as high as 3% if they bring a highly qualified buyer to your door and a good offer price. But, that's as high as you should go.

Anthony is dead on - if you are going to sign anything, make it darn clear that the agent ONLY gets a commission if HE brings you the buyer and NOTHING otherwise.

hi. you can negotiate and offer what you feel it is worth, from a value standpoint. usually if you get the buyer there is no commission. hope this helps

"in this market where the standard commission is 5%,"

I don't know anything about Commissions being "standard" but all commissions are negotiable.

If the "standard" is 5% that's an amount that is usually divided between two agents, listing agent and buyers agent.

The buyers agent in this case appears to be already negotiating and is shooting for the whole pot.

As Gail pointed out they represent the buyer. It would be interesting to know if his client is aware the deal going forward hangs on 5% the agent wants, because I'll bet if there is a Buyers contract/agreement it calls for a 3% or less Commission?


"You CAN negotiate and SHOULD negotiate...they are representing the buyer."
Good advice! In this Market they are probably gambling that you are desperate to sell.

As Many agents have said, you could always ask the Broker where the agent works if that's their "standard commission" for a buyers agent.

If I was not in desperate need of selling I think I just might pass on conducting business with an agent that would request 5% as a Buyers agent. Do not see how that request serves the agents client in any way.

You might enjoy this thread for reading about Commissions and the opinions of agents of what it Commission should be to motivate them (the agents) to show buyers the property for sale.
http://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Selling/Can_low_commission…
It's a long one so just jump to the beginning (believe it's page 9-10 now) It covers showing FSBOs, filtering listings and what they expect to be paid in Commission by sellers.

Good luck, Dunes

Commission is always negotiable; the agent is working for the buyer --you really should have have your own representation.

Anna

They cannot play both sides in NY.

You CAN negotiate and SHOULD negotiate...they are representing the buyer. If you had been listed with an agent, the buyer's agent would only be entitled to part of that commission.

The agent is representing the BUYER ... not you. Unfortunately you did not hire a Realtor to represent you and you are now left on your own to negotiate commission and price.

Hi Stephanie - Yes, you can negotiate your commission unless you have agreed in writing to the stated commission. Selling a home is always a very complex transaction with many components. You are now just realizing that the buyer's agent may not have your best interest in mind. I don't know the laws of New York, but there is a good chance the agent bringing the buyer to you may have signed an agreement with that buyer to represent him/her as a "buyer's agent" to the exclusion of anyone else - which generally means his legal responsibility is to his fiduciary - the buyer. As a FSBO seller, you are basically on your own. If you continue to sell as a FSBO, I would recommend you obtain legal counsel to make sure your interests are not compromised. The amount of commission has nothing to do with how they will act; it depends entirely on whom they legally represent. Good luck.

My answer has two parts:
Your side of it: First of all, if you are selling your home FSBO, you can pay or not pay whatever you like - it is your decision.

Secondly, as it sounds like you already know, in this market where the standard commission is 5%, it is generally split 2.5% for the seller's agent and 2.5% of the buyer's agent. Are you expecting to have no agent represent you during the entire transaction? If you do not want nor expect any representation in any way, then, I assume, you would only be paying the buyer's agent portion of the commission - 2.5%. If the agent is asking for 5%, is he/she offering to represent you as your seller's agent? If yes, you may want to get a contract stating that he/she will have YOUR interests in mind during the negotiation - that she will be working as your agent, not the buyer's agent. Otherwise, if you are listing FSBO and it is her buyer client, why would you be paying her the seller's side, too?
Keep inmind that if you don't want to even pay the buyer's agent side of it, then she needs to get the commission from her buyers. That can be very difficult to do in this market. Buyers are not willing to pay an extra $x,000 for a place simply b/c it is FSBO.

The agent's side of it: The truth of the matter is most people who list FSBO don't truly understand all that a seller's agent would do for them. There can be a LOT of footwork, multi-tasking, paperwork and negotiating involved - that's why we get paid. Often, in a situation where there is a buyer's agent but no seller's agent, the buyer's agent has to work extra hard b/c in some situations she has to act as both buyer's and seller's agent. (Getting documentation, filing with the town hall, dealing with inspection, dealing with attornies, etc.) So I might understand why she is asking for full commission. Also, let me reiterate that getting a buyer to pay the buyer's agent commission is sometimes very difficult to impossible. Although it is not right nor legal, some agents simply will leave a FSBO house last on the list of homes to show simply b/c they don't want to deal with trying to get commission out of their buyers.
IMO, the right thing to do is pay buyer's commission and maybe kick a little more for the extra work he or she will have to put in. But it is totally up to you - that is your prerogative as a FSBO.
GL

Sure you can negotiate. It's your property. And I would suggest you negotiate it. Often, in such situations, a FSBO will agree to pay half of whatever the normal/standard/negotiated/regional rate most often is. (There is no set rate; it's all negotiable.)

Don't be skeptical as to whose interests they would have in mind. They'd be representing the buyer, not you.