> The buyer doesn't bear the cost at all, so why not utilize that convenience? The buyer is (typically) the only one bringing money to the table at closing. Th

> The buyer doesn't bear the cost at all, so why not utilize that convenience? The buyer is (typically) the only one bringing money to the table at closing. They're paying for that convenience one way or the other. (To partially counter this, I negotiated a rebate of the commission I was paying [as a buyer] on our current house purchase. IIRC, the check I got back was four figures and started with a 8.)