Why should I get a buyer's agent?
I already know a couple homes I would like to make an offer for. But I don't understand why I should have a buyer's agent. If both seller and buyer agents are paid by commission from the home sales, why should buyer agents negotiate the lowest price possible? Why would they work harder to be paid less? Isn't asking the seller agent to help me with the proccess better? Since the commission only goes to 1 person, I can negotiate for lower price.
I bought my place without a buyers agent and made the sellers agent work for both of us. Got a lower total home price, and also think the process was much smoother with less middlemen. Recommend doing the same if you already understand the area and what you’re looking for.
It's called Dual Agent and for most cases it hurts one of the two parties. Buyers in most cases.
I did the same thing as a buyer and it worked out well. In a competitive market that you know, it's a leg up that makes a difference.
You’re right in that the buyer’s agent would make slightly more money if the sale of the house is higher, but most buyers agents get business through referrals and their reputation. If they don’t negotiate or do their best to represent their party’s interest, they won’t get good reviews and referrals from their clients which would hurt their bottom line. However I would still advocate to get a buyer’s agent. The listing agent already convinced the seller that 6% is going to commission (at least in the state I was licensed for) regardless of whether there is a buyers agent or not. In the cases there are not, the listing agent gets all 6%. Real estate agents know ins and outs of the neighborhoods and have done hundreds of transactions so they know the agent you work with, possible ins with the properties in the neighborhood, and unless you have bought and old similar quantities, it is likely you’ll be at a disadvantage when coming into a home sale. So I would still recommend a buyers agent since I’m basically not paying any more money.
Read this for reference: https://www.wired.com/2005/05/realestate/
I wouldn’t suggest you to go with buyers agent because if there are any issues with the house, your agent will mention about it. If you go by the buyers agent even the issues which needs to mentioned will be not mentioned. Dont think for 20-30 grand which you are going to pay over 30 years for a house. Based on my experience
These days, it should not be a requirement. You find the house yourself.
Redfin agent? Aren’t they cheaper?
it is penny wise pound foolish. you could save 1-2% on the commission and overpaying by a huge margin. plus the single agent will try to cut corner, minimize/hide problems to make the sale. they pocket double commissions so they are very motivated. second if you seem to not trusting your buyer agent in the first place. then find one you trust instead of suddenly trusting a random agent just because you save few k on the commission.
I agree with above, while it might not be as necessary as before to have a buyer's agent, there is no guarantee that you can negotiate a better deal without your own agent. Plus their goal is to get you to buy sooner rather than later, not to get you to pay more (the incremental commission on a higher price is generally negligible, the cost of you not buying because you are unhappy with them or the price you are paying is giant -total commission lost).
yup, op insinuated his agent has no interest in getting him the best price which is wrong. any agent values the relationship for this purchase and future transactions (buyers often have a house to sell in parallel). say he gets op to buy at 950k vs 920k to maximize the 3% commission. that is merely $900 gain. while this sale could generate 27k of income. furthermore, it is a misconception the agent’s job is to get best price. No, their job is to buy the house the customer selected at the price the customer is willing to pay and make sure all due diligence are done.
It’s borderline unethical work these agents are doing. Sellers agent won’t talk to you but only to your agent so they can do “deals”. There was a lawsuit on mls as well (google for it). Hope these suckers are eliminated soon.