is this fair 2 an agent?

[kimesha]

i would like to start looking 4 fixer uppers & forclosures with the help of a real estate agent. i will ask the agent to try an negotiate the seller to pay commision but if not & if the sale is profitable enough i will pay the 3%. now if i find a property on my own can i ask the agent to still assist me thru the paperwork for a 2% commision?

[Themortgagerx]

why would you want to pay a real estate agent to assist you. You can get your atty. to make the sales contract for you. they might charge you a few bucks extra. if you don't use an atty than get the lender to help you with one or look online for a standard real estate contract. if you buy a property for 100k you are going to give the agent 2k just for a contract of sale thats a lot

[kimesha]

i thought that if i signed a contract with an agent that i couldn't do any other deals without them. maybe i'm wrong.any real estate agents, help me understand this. thanks

[Themortgagerx]

i am not sure what kind of contract you signed with an agent. I would never sign something saying i couldnt buy property unless it went through them. Where i am only a seller signs a contract and they are only 3 or 6 months long and then it expires.

[kimesha]

well i haven't signed anything yet. i haven't found an agent yet which is why i'm doing my research as to what i can & cannot do. when you sign a buyers agent contract your aren't tied in any way?

[Themortgagerx]

i ne3ver heard of a buyers agreement. there are certian things. like if one realtor takes you to look at a house you cant use another to buy it. but plenty of times i hear from the realtors i kow that they take a client out for days looking at houses and the client ends up seeing a house and callign a different agent and buying it.

[Mr.fancypants]

My experience has been that most agents won't be excited about helping if there isn't any upfront commission. But if you remind them that there will be commission on the back end of the flip, they might be willing to wait it out. It's a matter of personal preference and attitude. You may be able to draft a contract with an agent that will allow them to do the upfront work as long as you use them in the end. Just ask the agent.

[kimdrake]

For a MLS listed property, the seller has a contract with the seller's agent to pay both the seller's agent and buyer's agent should the property sell within the specified time frame of the contract. The seller's agent advertises via the MLS to buyer's agents that he/she has a property available and the commission offered, typically 3%. For bringing a buyer into the deal, the buyer's agent gets paid by the seller, from the seller's proceeds. In the vast majority of cases, there should be no need to negotiate the buyer's agent's commission.

[homesource]

I agree with the last post, the commission is paid by the seller.  I also don't think it hurts to build a relationship with at least one realtor, to assist you with properties that are listed and to help you gain comps etc. on property you are looking at.  I wouldn't sign a buyers agreement though, because it can lock you in to working exclusively with a particular agent...but only for a small period of time 30-60 days.  They want you to sign because they don't want to show you property, and then have you make an offer without them or through someone else.  Best thing is to build that relationship I mentioned before and your "Realtor" will get taken care of through the seller's side.  

[NancyChadwick]

kimesha,

I'm a PA broker. In PA, we have something called a Business Relationship Agreement that is used with some buyers. People can fill in the geographic area or type of property they're looking for, a term for the contract, and if the seller doesn't pay the commission of the buyer's agent, then the buyer would agree to pay the agent $___. When a buyer signs that, they agree to pay the agent even if they don't use that agent buying the type of property during the contract term that is covered by the agreement.

Example: buyer signs one of these BRA's with an agent. Then the buyer walks into an open house without his agent and buys the property. The buyer is on the hook to his agent for whatever commission amount was spelled out in the BRA.

You don't have to sign this type of agreement. You can also limit it to one, specific property.

Nancy