{"id":569,"date":"2006-10-26T19:53:11","date_gmt":"2006-10-27T02:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=569"},"modified":"2006-10-25T15:22:01","modified_gmt":"2006-10-25T22:22:01","slug":"home-buyers-how-to-horsewhip-your-buyers-agent-to-get-to-a-reasonable-fee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/569\/home-buyers-how-to-horsewhip-your-buyers-agent-to-get-to-a-reasonable-fee\/","title":{"rendered":"Home buyers: How to horsewhip your buyer’s agent to get to a reasonable fee . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

Even though I have yet to persuade a home buyer to whipsaw sellers using my strategy<\/a>, I thought I would pass along a tip for buyers on getting a better deal from your buyer’s agent — no matter where you might happen to be.<\/p>\n

I happens that I have a friend who is moving soon, but not to Phoenix, alas. He took my advice and asked the question — “How much do you charge?” — of a potential buyer’s agent. The answer he got in return was rich in tap-dancing but not in results, so I wrote a model follow-up, shown below, for pressing the point.<\/p>\n

Before we get to that, we need to consider some issues.<\/p>\n

First, a rebate from your buyer’s agent may not be lawful in your state. I consider this absurd and obscene, but your state’s Association of Realtors may be keeping your state legislature as a special pet.<\/p>\n

Second, if homes sell for lousy money where you’re buying, don’t get cheeky. A 3% commission on a $60,000 house is eighteen-hundred bucks. I consider that starvation wages, a clarion call to local Realtors to “find your passion” elsewhere.<\/p>\n

But, third, a premium price is only justified for a premium product. If you’re buying investment real estate, you should pay Jeff Brown<\/a> whatever he wants. But ordinary buyer’s agents are not a scarce commodity — too much the contrary. If a prospective agent huffs and puffs that he’s worth more because he charges more — press on. If an agent really is too busy to work with you, she might actually be worth more money — but she might not be able to deliver the value anyway.<\/p>\n

But: Right now, the world is crawling with underemployed Realtors. If one won’t make a deal, the next one will — if you<\/i> are willing to negotiate to hang onto your own money.<\/p>\n

Here’s the language that I wrote, which you can easily adapt to your own circumstances:<\/p>\n

Dear Realtor:<\/p>\n

I do anticipate working with a buyer’s agent when I make my move. However, I believe I am justified in regarding myself as “a bird in the hand” for several Read more<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even though I have yet to persuade a home buyer to whipsaw sellers using my strategy, I thought I would pass along a tip for buyers on getting a better deal from your buyer’s agent — no matter where you might happen to be. I happens that I have a friend who is moving soon, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,6,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-569","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-blogging","7":"category-disintermediation","8":"category-marketing","9":"category-real-estate","11":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":519,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/519\/the-seller-really-pays-for-the-buyers-agent-definitely-not-when-the-buyer-pays-out-of-pocket-but-what-if-the-buyer-really-did-pay-for-the-buyers-agent-from-the-buyers-side-of-the-hud-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":569,"position":0},"title":"The seller really pays for the buyer’s agent? Definitely not when the buyer pays out of pocket. But what if the buyer really did pay for the buyer’s agent from the buyer’s side of the HUD-1?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"October 7, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"There's a lot of discussion of Buyer Broker compensation going on around the RE.net, and I want to draw attention to it while I can. I have some further thoughts of my own, but I'm not sure I'll be able to get to them today. It's Saturday, after all. One\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":144,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/144\/the-buyer-can-and-should-negotiate-the-buyers-agents-compensation\/","url_meta":{"origin":569,"position":1},"title":"The buyer can — and should — negotiate the buyer’s agent’s compensation . . .","author":"Greg Swann","date":"July 28, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"My phone hasn't rung yet, but my ears are already burning. My column in today's Arizona Republic: Buyer should negotiate compensation for agent. (A more-permanent link.) This is Ardell's turf, of course, although my take on The Big Picture is somewhat different. In any case, I expect to have my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing"","block_context":{"text":"Marketing","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/marketing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":236,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/236\/how-to-exterminate-a-cowbird-a-comedy-in-three-acts\/","url_meta":{"origin":569,"position":2},"title":"How to exterminate a cowbird — a comedy in three acts . . .","author":"Greg Swann","date":"August 23, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Act I -- Why Realtors hate discount listings... People think ordinary on-the-ground Realtors hate discount listings because of the discount. That's may be true of many real estate brokers, but real-life Realtors have two much better reasons to hate discount listings. First, the Buyer's Agent will have to do all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disintermediation"","block_context":{"text":"Disintermediation","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/disintermediation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":296,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/296\/securing-the-home-buyers-place-at-the-table-how-two-simple-reforms-can-finally-result-in-a-full-uncompromised-form-of-buyer-representation\/","url_meta":{"origin":569,"position":3},"title":"Securing the home-buyer’s place at the table: How two simple reforms can finally result in a full, uncompromised form of buyer representation . . .","author":"Greg Swann","date":"September 6, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Executive summary: This is long, and it's written (I hope!) for ordinary people, not real estate professionals. But I want for real estate professionals to be aware of this argument, because I think it solves several of the knottier problems affecting our industry. Here's a quick summary of the essay:Buyers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Enduring Interest"","block_context":{"text":"Enduring Interest","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/enduring-interest\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9250,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/9250\/with-mls-listings-available-everywhere-on-the-internet-why-do-you-need-a-buyers-agent\/","url_meta":{"origin":569,"position":4},"title":"With MLS listings available everywhere on the internet, why do you need a buyer’s agent?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"July 18, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"This from my Arizona Republic real estate column (permanent link): Here's an intriguing question: Given that it's so easy to search for homes on the internet, why do you need a buyer's agent? Face it, if you use the MLS search tool on my web site, you're seeing exactly the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disintermediation"","block_context":{"text":"Disintermediation","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/disintermediation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":533,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/533\/for-sale-by-owner-sellers-can-help-move-real-estate-market-into-new-buyers-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":569,"position":5},"title":"For-sale-by-owner sellers can help move real estate market into new buyers’ world . . .","author":"Greg Swann","date":"October 13, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"I gripe about the meager little 350 words I get in my column in the West Valley sections of the Arizona Republic. What I want is 1,500 words on page one of the Sunday Buiness section! But today's column (permanent link) is an example of how 350 words can effect\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing"","block_context":{"text":"Marketing","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/marketing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}