gregorygarver.com

[JackMeehoff]

I heard that if you visit a sales office, you should put your agent's name down, not yours, otherwise the agent cannot get their commissions. Is that true? Can I use that as a bargaining tool with the developer if I don't use a buying agent? Or if I do use an agent, can I negotiate some sort of rebate from the agent since I have basically located the property on my own?

[Jae]

You sound very confident that you can negotiate on your own behalf. I say GO FOR IT! Most people don't have the knowledge, skills or ability to negotiate on their own, that's why they use agents.Red Adair said: "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur."FYI, Buyers do not pay commissions, Sellers do. You can be sure if anyone is going to "save" that commission, it won't be the buyer....it will be the seller, or in this case the developer. The paid staff at the model homes are probably not on a full commission, but a salary, to keep builder expenses down.Some developers only pay 1/4 percent to buyers' agents anyway, so how much do you think you would rally save?If you want a company that routinely rebates some of their hard earned commissions to the buyers, call Zip Realty.You don't sound like a very "loyal" buyer to me. If you are not working with an agent, then you won't be utilizing the help of a Professional. If you are, then you owe them the respect for what they do, to get paid for those services.

[copguy]

Good agents do a lot more than *locate* property. That's only a small part of scouting a location. What's traffic like? How far to the grocery store? Neighborhood noise levels? Overall desirability? More important, how does it compare to competing properties? Just as important, what's the physical condition of the property? In the case of new construction, are the construction techniques used known to have bad consequences down the line? A few months ago, I found vertical cracks already forming in a brand new high end development - not just green wood around the windows.Not to mention that developers have their own contracts. Do you know what it all means? Do you know standard procedure in your area?If all you want is someone to help handle negotiations, most agents will ask for less money - but you'll need to agree that that's all they're doing. It's fine with me and every other agent I know - we're making more money per hour for less liability.People who buy from developers (or anyone else) without an agent of their own in their corner are fresh meat for their agents. That's why developers try so hard to cut buyers agents out (in markets where sellers have more power instead of being desperate for every potential buyer, many developers will refuse to work with outside agents altogether)