I really recommend instead focusing on finding a good agent. Good agents hustle, negotiate, and can get you access to off-market deals. Easily worth the few thousand in commission.
+1. I tried redfin - the agent was pretty incompetent. We ended up going with a family friend who was similarly inept. Both options offered a refund, and both options lost us a house because they didn't fully understand the process.
Wow :O
It’s a gimmick, don’t fall for it. A good agent will make or save you more than whatever the commission is. Are you buying or selling?
Buying.
If you are buying a new home then going with a agent who gives you portion of commission is worth to check. Since most of the contract with driven by sales agent. But, if you buying a resale I would highly recommend to go with a experienced realtor as they can help in you negotiating contingency and finding a right home with their connections.
You are buying a million dollar house. Is it really necessary to save that 3% when it can help you achieve your goal?
850K condo lol. Yes 3% is a lot, especially when I'm doing my search with the support of a family member who has been a realtor on another market for ~30 years. I've tried a few agents so far and guess I haven't found anyone who has blown me away so I feel the commission-back could potentially make a lot of sense.
This market is a different beast than most, and this particular moment in time is particularly volatile. Having an agent who knows how to evaluate properties, construct a competitive offer, and knows exactly where the balance of power lies between buyers and sellers in THIS market at this moment in time is huge. Agree that most agents aren’t worth the commission, but the rockstars are worth their weight in gold. I’ll happily give them the 3% when they’re calling contractors, contacting the county, and reaching out to assessors to evaluate the value of the changes I want to make on each property.
You and I are probably going after different housing types. I'm targeting a condo that's ~10 years or younger, I won't be making any changes on the property, and planning to hold for only ~5-7 years. If I have done my research properly which I believe I have I don't particularly see the value a full-service realtor would bring but always open to be proven wrong. I've been exploring using some full service agents in parallel with my approach and to date the ones I have explored have definitely been quite wrong in their recommendations. At this stage I trust my family member infinitely more than the agents who have been alongside this research, but of course always happy to be proven wrong.
All of the above being said I now understand and see the value of having a full service agent. I am very happy with my agent.
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I've only ever seen this happen when the realtor is family/friend.