Todd M. Bitts

I would be careful, too. Not to muddy the water, of course, but if you're going to talk to the neighbors be as sure as you can that they are being honest. Buyers love to brag about their success in purchasing a home and may very well inflate the incentives that were provided. And, as mentioned earlier, the incentives won't be found on any public record at the County. As for commissions? Every builder I've ever worked with would typically pay a "market rate" commission of 3% to the buyer's agent in order to remain competitive in the marketplace. Any negotiation(s) might be done with the listing agent, if there are multiple homes in the project, etc. Saying that, commissions are always negotiable. Because that's between the seller and the listing agent, that information would typically not be available. - Wed Apr 23 2008, 17:28