Agents Paid Hourly Rates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I keep seeing here that people are paying buyers' agents hourly rates or flat fees. Can anyone recommend an agent that they used with these terms? Or what brokerages will do this? I haven't had any luck finding an agent who will work for an hourly rate. Thanks.

Just understand you will likely be expected to pay that hourly rate whether or not they close a house for you.

So if you spend 10 hours looking for houses and don’t find anything you like or if you lose a bid, you will owe $2,000 is the hourly rate is like $200 (which would be on the low side).

Why would I need someone to babysit me at home showings for $200/hr? The whole point of the flat fee is that they only do the necessary.

+1

If you really, really need a babysitter for each and every showing, then commission is probably the better option.

[Anonymous]

15:38, your trusted friend is using that against you. There is no way in hell I would pay 3%, it hasn’t even been the norm for some time.

Shop around. Business is business and I would not sign anything; ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:flat fee of $200 to write a contract is better.

Realtors are not allowed to write a contract because they can't practice law. What realtors do is fill in the blanks in the existing standard contract for you.

There's no reason to pay a realtor to do this when you can easily do this yourself. Just have the listing agent show you the house at no charge to you as the buyer. The seller is already paying the listing agent to do this. Then complete the very simple form yourself and submit it to the listing agent. Many times the listing agent will even offer to help you do this (at no charge to you).

Is there some special law about real estate brokers not drafting contracts? Because anyone can write a contract - that is not "practicing law"

You can write a contract for yourself (just like you can represent yourself in court), but a non-lawyer can't do it for you because that is practicing law. Agents and brokers who are not lawyers are only allowed to fill in blanks, not write contracts.

https://www.nar.realtor/magazine/real-estate-news/law-and-ethics/what-constitutes-the-unauthorized-practice-of-law

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the current expectation for using a buyers agent now? I'm looking this fall but the idea that I'm going to pay 2-3% out of pocket to a realtor for a $2M house is pretty rich.

Depends on the location. $2M gets you a semi-renovated older house or a 10 to 15 year old house in Arlington. Builders are now offering 1% to a buyer agent. Could you save another year so that you could get a $2.5 to $2.8 new house and get the builder to rebate the 1% to you? The builder's agent can write the contract for you.

I have been calling agents in MD and DC before I show houses and have not had one instance where the seller is not paying 2.5 percent commission(except one listing that was offering 3 percent). And I have three listings right now-all three offering 2.5 percent.

Call the new homes agents in Arlington and ask what the buyer agency comp is. One is even offering $5,000.

the comp is what the BUYER agrees to pay you now, buddy. eventually trying to negotiate your fee with the seller directly against your client’s interest is going to get you into hot water. I would never sign a contract where the buyer’s agent could decide which homes to show me based on what the seller offers for buyer agent comp, if that is what you are doing.

What if the buyer agrees to pay me nothing but the seller will pay me 2.5%. What shal I do Wizard Of Not A Clue?

[Anonymous]

We bought using an hourly realtor (Spicer Realty). You can save a ton of money if you're buying a more expensive house (particularly in the $1mn plus range. Yes, you pay a lot to get taken to showings and stuff, but we still got a large rebate (enough to furnish 3 bedrooms of our house) since they don't take the full 3%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Buyers Agents is a DMV thing. They never really were a big thing.

When I moved to DMV was so confusing why a buyer agent was in the transaction. It made buying and selling so much more complicated and served no purpose.

Compare my housing buying in NY. Went to an open house. By myself. Buyer was getting divorced and very interested in selling quickly. I had a 7 month pregnant wife and very interested in buying. Towards middle of open house I threw out an offer to realtor, verbal. She said close enough let me text seller, he just went up the block to coffee shop during open house. He came back, as open house was ending we talked directly to him. Little back and forth with him and me. We decided on price. He said would throw in lawn furniture, BBQ, hoses, trash cans as moving to a condo. He wanted a 30 day rent back but he would pay our mortgage for that month.

We shook hands and we exchanged lawyers names and info. Done deal.

This isn’t the case. Real estate attorneys, however, aren’t always the norm. I prefer both, but that’s just me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to avoid all the big brokerages like Compass, Long & Foster, WFP, etc. Agents there have to follow strict orders on their commissions.

Agent for one of these big brokerages. We have no "orders," much less strict ones. We are told to be straightforward and transparent, and to negotiate our own commissions and know our value. That's it. Conspiracy theories abound.

OK, maybe not "orders," but there is definitely an implicit agreement among agents at the big brokerages that they are not to go below 2.5% commission. Think of it this way -- brokers see every contract that their agents are on, so brokers know if agents are not getting at least 2.5%, and brokers can certainly fire/terminate/sever the relationship with any agent who isn't willing to stand firm on commissions.

OP really needs to look at small brokerages if they want someone who will negotiate on rates, because agents at the big brokerages somehow all know that they're not allowed to budge. It was this way before the settlement, and I'm not surprised it hasn't changed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I keep seeing here that people are paying buyers' agents hourly rates or flat fees. Can anyone recommend an agent that they used with these terms? Or what brokerages will do this? I haven't had any luck finding an agent who will work for an hourly rate. Thanks.

Just understand you will likely be expected to pay that hourly rate whether or not they close a house for you.

So if you spend 10 hours looking for houses and don’t find anything you like or if you lose a bid, you will owe $2,000 is the hourly rate is like $200 (which would be on the low side).

Why would I need someone to babysit me at home showings for $200/hr? The whole point of the flat fee is that they only do the necessary.

+1

If you really, really need a babysitter for each and every showing, then commission is probably the better option.

But you can't see a home without an agent outside of open houses. Or am I missing something?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the current expectation for using a buyers agent now? I'm looking this fall but the idea that I'm going to pay 2-3% out of pocket to a realtor for a $2M house is pretty rich.

Depends on the location. $2M gets you a semi-renovated older house or a 10 to 15 year old house in Arlington. Builders are now offering 1% to a buyer agent. Could you save another year so that you could get a $2.5 to $2.8 new house and get the builder to rebate the 1% to you? The builder's agent can write the contract for you.

I have been calling agents in MD and DC before I show houses and have not had one instance where the seller is not paying 2.5 percent commission(except one listing that was offering 3 percent). And I have three listings right now-all three offering 2.5 percent.

Call the new homes agents in Arlington and ask what the buyer agency comp is. One is even offering $5,000.

the comp is what the BUYER agrees to pay you now, buddy. eventually trying to negotiate your fee with the seller directly against your client’s interest is going to get you into hot water. I would never sign a contract where the buyer’s agent could decide which homes to show me based on what the seller offers for buyer agent comp, if that is what you are doing.

What if the buyer agrees to pay me nothing but the seller will pay me 2.5%. What shal I do Wizard Of Not A Clue?

The SELLER cannot agree to pay you anything without the buyer’s agreement. Talk about no clue!!! That’s not your money. It would be extremely unethical if not illegal if you made a side-deal with the seller’s agent without telling the buyer.

If buyer’s agents are really this dumb remind me again why I need one? Geez.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buyers Agents is a DMV thing. They never really were a big thing.

When I moved to DMV was so confusing why a buyer agent was in the transaction. It made buying and selling so much more complicated and served no purpose.

Compare my housing buying in NY. Went to an open house. By myself. Buyer was getting divorced and very interested in selling quickly. I had a 7 month pregnant wife and very interested in buying. Towards middle of open house I threw out an offer to realtor, verbal. She said close enough let me text seller, he just went up the block to coffee shop during open house. He came back, as open house was ending we talked directly to him. Little back and forth with him and me. We decided on price. He said would throw in lawn furniture, BBQ, hoses, trash cans as moving to a condo. He wanted a 30 day rent back but he would pay our mortgage for that month.

We shook hands and we exchanged lawyers names and info. Done deal.

This isn’t the case. Real estate attorneys, however, aren’t always the norm. I prefer both, but that’s just me.

this is almost exactly how we bought our house in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to avoid all the big brokerages like Compass, Long & Foster, WFP, etc. Agents there have to follow strict orders on their commissions.

Agent for one of these big brokerages. We have no "orders," much less strict ones. We are told to be straightforward and transparent, and to negotiate our own commissions and know our value. That's it. Conspiracy theories abound.

OK, maybe not "orders," but there is definitely an implicit agreement among agents at the big brokerages that they are not to go below 2.5% commission. Think of it this way -- brokers see every contract that their agents are on, so brokers know if agents are not getting at least 2.5%, and brokers can certainly fire/terminate/sever the relationship with any agent who isn't willing to stand firm on commissions.

OP really needs to look at small brokerages if they want someone who will negotiate on rates, because agents at the big brokerages somehow all know that they're not allowed to budge. It was this way before the settlement, and I'm not surprised it hasn't changed.

Oh so they’re still colluding to fix prices? 😂 You guys really are idiots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I keep seeing here that people are paying buyers' agents hourly rates or flat fees. Can anyone recommend an agent that they used with these terms? Or what brokerages will do this? I haven't had any luck finding an agent who will work for an hourly rate. Thanks.

Just understand you will likely be expected to pay that hourly rate whether or not they close a house for you.

So if you spend 10 hours looking for houses and don’t find anything you like or if you lose a bid, you will owe $2,000 is the hourly rate is like $200 (which would be on the low side).

Why would I need someone to babysit me at home showings for $200/hr? The whole point of the flat fee is that they only do the necessary.

+1

If you really, really need a babysitter for each and every showing, then commission is probably the better option.

But you can't see a home without an agent outside of open houses. Or am I missing something?

You can represent yourself. If a seller’s agent refuses to show to me because I am not represented, that’s going to result in a bunch of complaints to the licensing board and AG from me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I keep seeing here that people are paying buyers' agents hourly rates or flat fees. Can anyone recommend an agent that they used with these terms? Or what brokerages will do this? I haven't had any luck finding an agent who will work for an hourly rate. Thanks.

Just understand you will likely be expected to pay that hourly rate whether or not they close a house for you.

So if you spend 10 hours looking for houses and don’t find anything you like or if you lose a bid, you will owe $2,000 is the hourly rate is like $200 (which would be on the low side).

Why would I need someone to babysit me at home showings for $200/hr? The whole point of the flat fee is that they only do the necessary.

+1

If you really, really need a babysitter for each and every showing, then commission is probably the better option.

But you can't see a home without an agent outside of open houses. Or am I missing something?

You can represent yourself. If a seller’s agent refuses to show to me because I am not represented, that’s going to result in a bunch of complaints to the licensing board and AG from me.

What? Of course you can. The listing agent meets you at the house and shows it to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spicer Realty will do this. No experience with them.

Spicer has always done hourly. I'm talking about agents who have started working hourly since the lawsuit.

We used them prior to the lawsuit in 2019. It is not a great system for a first time home buyer who needs a lot of hand holding and searching. But, if you have already identified the house you want and need their help to make an offer and guide you through the process, they were great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I keep seeing here that people are paying buyers' agents hourly rates or flat fees. Can anyone recommend an agent that they used with these terms? Or what brokerages will do this? I haven't had any luck finding an agent who will work for an hourly rate. Thanks.

Just understand you will likely be expected to pay that hourly rate whether or not they close a house for you.

So if you spend 10 hours looking for houses and don’t find anything you like or if you lose a bid, you will owe $2,000 is the hourly rate is like $200 (which would be on the low side).

Why would I need someone to babysit me at home showings for $200/hr? The whole point of the flat fee is that they only do the necessary.

+1

If you really, really need a babysitter for each and every showing, then commission is probably the better option.

But you can't see a home without an agent outside of open houses. Or am I missing something?

You can represent yourself. If a seller’s agent refuses to show to me because I am not represented, that’s going to result in a bunch of complaints to the licensing board and AG from me.

What? Of course you can. The listing agent meets you at the house and shows it to you.

Is there a fact sheet or consumer guide somewhere that spells this out? We reached out to a listing agent but she wouldn't show us the house without an agent. This is so frustrating as a buyer.