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That 3% that the seller 'pays' for is really yourself paying for it. You could probably negotiate that fee away if you didnt have a realtor on your side for ex

by mahyarm 10y ago

That 3% that the seller 'pays' for is really yourself paying for it. You could probably negotiate that fee away if you didnt have a realtor on your side for example

lettergram 10y ago
Probably, but I did play super hard ball in negotiations with the builder. Without the realtor as the intermediary, I think we would have paid more. Basically, the realtor provided a barrier between the builder and my wife who super loved the property. The realtor also had a relationship with the builder, so when I asked the builder to do X, I got a response super quick at 11:30 at night. Don't underestimate the value of having connections. FYI my house appraised at like 10% higher than I purchased it, so we did get a deal.
avn2109 10y ago
>> "Because I am the buyer I had to pay her nothing... the seller pays..." This is literally the second most breathtakingly naive comment I've ever read on the internet.
- lettergram 10y ago
  As I pointed out in a seperate comment... If I am willing to pay Y for an item, regardless of who is involved in the transaction then it doesn't matter if a percentage is taken. i.e. if Y = Y x 0.97 + Y x 0.03, who cares? Now you might say I could have negotiated that 3% off, and I'd argue that's probably not true. I seriously lowballed the builder on the sale, the only reason I think I got it was the relationship the builder had with the realtor. The builder has incentive to give a discount to a realtor, as he has 50 other houses he has to sell. She also has an incentive because the quicker she can get me to buy a house, the less she has to show, i.e. the more she makes per hour. All of this isn't exactly explicit, but in my case, the realtor and I discussed this. It was actually quite refreshing and definitely worked in my benefit as I picked up my house for around 10%+ less than the people around me. The realtor was similarly happy because I only took around a day of her time, and the builder was happy because he was in serious need of cash flow.
  - clarky07 10y ago
    > builder was happy because he was in serious need of cash flow. You can't imagine a world where that was more important to him accepting your offer than the realtor bringing the offer to him? > The realtor was similarly happy because I only took around a day of her time So, for a single day you paid maybe 6-15k or so (guessing 200-500k house * 3%). Don't you think maybe that's a bit much?

by mahyarm 10y ago

That 3% that the seller 'pays' for is really yourself paying for it. You could probably negotiate that fee away if you didnt have a realtor on your side for example

lettergram 10y ago

Probably, but I did play super hard ball in negotiations with the builder. Without the realtor as the intermediary, I think we would have paid more. Basically, the realtor provided a barrier between the builder and my wife who super loved the property. The realtor also had a relationship with the builder, so when I asked the builder to do X, I got a response super quick at 11:30 at night. Don't underestimate the value of having connections. FYI my house appraised at like 10% higher than I purchased it, so we did get a deal.

avn2109 10y ago

>> "Because I am the buyer I had to pay her nothing... the seller pays..." This is literally the second most breathtakingly naive comment I've ever read on the internet.

lettergram 10y ago
As I pointed out in a seperate comment... If I am willing to pay Y for an item, regardless of who is involved in the transaction then it doesn't matter if a percentage is taken. i.e. if Y = Y x 0.97 + Y x 0.03, who cares? Now you might say I could have negotiated that 3% off, and I'd argue that's probably not true. I seriously lowballed the builder on the sale, the only reason I think I got it was the relationship the builder had with the realtor. The builder has incentive to give a discount to a realtor, as he has 50 other houses he has to sell. She also has an incentive because the quicker she can get me to buy a house, the less she has to show, i.e. the more she makes per hour. All of this isn't exactly explicit, but in my case, the realtor and I discussed this. It was actually quite refreshing and definitely worked in my benefit as I picked up my house for around 10%+ less than the people around me. The realtor was similarly happy because I only took around a day of her time, and the builder was happy because he was in serious need of cash flow.
- clarky07 10y ago
  > builder was happy because he was in serious need of cash flow. You can't imagine a world where that was more important to him accepting your offer than the realtor bringing the offer to him? > The realtor was similarly happy because I only took around a day of her time So, for a single day you paid maybe 6-15k or so (guessing 200-500k house * 3%). Don't you think maybe that's a bit much?