Do you pay extra for a realtor?

Cilley · April 2012

I was wondering if you pay more when you hire a realtor or is their commission taken out of the listed price? We are looking for a new place and need to know if it is worth it to have one, or look ourselves. We have virtually no experience in house hunting and such. TIA

Juris11 · April 2012

Our realtor gets a commission which is paid by the seller out of the sale price of the home. The seller's agent is also paid a commission out of the sale price of the home. I think this is the norm, but I'm not 100% sure. It is for sure the way it works around here. We did not pay anything at all to engage the realtor.

candreco · April 2012

Realtors are paid a commission at closing, so you're not hiring them in the sense that you pay them per house visited, or for a certain number of hours. While it's certainly possible to buy a house without using a realtor, a decent one will be extremely helpful, especially if you're new to real estate. They should know the market, and what a fair price is, guide you through offering for a house and through the steps to closing, help you negotiate your contract with the sellers, etc. They'll also have access to more information on each house than is in a public listing. If you're just browsing, but it might be worth getting some recs from family/friends for one.

lil_jen051708 · April 2012

When sellers list their house for sale with a realto, the realtor gets a certain % of the sales price. So the buyers aren't paying out of pocket for a realtor. I will specify though, when we sold we were going to pay x% of the price. It did not matter if the buyer had their own realtor or used ours. Some buyer think that they save the sellers money (and be able to get the house for less money) if they don't use a realtor or use the same realtor as the seller. I would strongly recommend interviewing/asking for recommendations and hiring your own realtor to help you.

However, if the house you buy is for sale by owner, they do not always want to lay the buyers agent so there would be a situation where you might be responsible for paying for your agent but that is pretty rare.

Quiksilver620 · April 2012

Juris11:
Our realtor gets a commission which is paid by the seller out of the sale price of the home. The seller's agent is also paid a commission out of the sale price of the home. I think this is the norm, but I'm not 100% sure. It is for sure the way it works around here. We did not pay anything at all to engage the realtor.

this

brianabrad · April 2012

Our realtors commission will be paid at selling by the seller. However, it is always good to ensure that is written into the contract and when you sign a buyers agency, never agree to pay for commission or a retainer fee.

If you plan to buy new construction, ensure it is in the written contract. When we wrote the contract for our new construction home we ensured it was clearly stated the builder would pay the agent her 3%.

Do you pay extra for a realtor?

Re: Do you pay extra for a realtor?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards