Thomas J

I'm not a real estate professional, just a home owner who will probably buy and sell again in the near future.

I respectfully disagree with Mr. Jarvis. Do you think that the agent will have done sufficient and quality work to justify a $20,000 comission? (This means the house is ~ $670k) If not, then I think a rebate or negotiated commission is acceptable. They didn't help you find the house, since you looked for months on your own. For an average salaried professional earning $80k, this is 3 months of work, or roughly 500 hours of work. Will your agent put in that much time? Have you just met with the agent and are still evaluating them?

From your own research on the internet, how much lower are houses in your area going for below the asking price? If they are already going for 5-10% below asking (and sometimes much more in some parts of the country), then you could offer a lower price just by market conditions and not because of the negotiating ability of your agent. Could you ask several agents what their best price commission is, either % of flat rate, would be for them to manage the deal on a house you have found on your own? There may be agents willing to do the transaction for a fixed or per hour rate. It also depends on how much you want the house in question. If you are willing to walk away if you can't agree on a price with the buyer and/or a commission with the agent, then you have the power. If you want the house at almost any cost, then you have less power. Another way to negotiate would be to say that they can have 5% of the difference between asking and selling price, as an incentive for them to negotiate harder to get you a lower price.

Personally, I think it is unreasonable that real estate agents have not lowered their comissions in a market with rising home price or on more expensive homes. It's hard to believe that they do twice as much (and earn twice as much comission) on a $300k home versus a $600k one. - Wed Sep 17 2008, 04:07

I'm just a home buyer (not a real estate professional), and I guess I thought that a real estate agent would know about short sales and potential impacts on the seller and the possible financial obligations. Or at least let the seller know they should contact a real estate attorney prior to entering a short sale. - Mon Sep 15 2008, 02:31