Can Seller negotiate buyer to pee agent fee

Question

Hey Guys,

While many of you may know that, if theres a seller's agent and they find a buyer for a property and the deal closes, ultimately the commission will come out of the sales price and the seller receives less money in the end. I wanted to ask if the seller can negotiate if the buyer can pay the agents fee and the seller retains the majority of the Money. Is this possible as long as both parties agree.

Wayne Brooks · Answer

No real value or savings....any buyer will just add the fee to purchase price in their mind, when negotiating.  Also, additional cash out of a buyer’s pocket is not something most financed buyers are looking for.

Bruce Lynn · Answer

Possible.  Not uncommon in commercial deals, each party pays their own.  On residential much less common and maybe even detrimental to the deal.  It can also depend on your listing agreement.  Often buyer and seller commissions on residential are set when the listing agreement is signed and it is advertised in MLS.  My thought is at that point it is probably too late to renegotiate commissions when he has been advertised.

Maybe you could negotiate alternatives such as buyers to pay all closing costs, or buyer to pay seller's 2021 property taxes.

Sam Leon · Answer

I guess I am not getting the picture here.  The seller does not typically have contact with the buyer unless through their agent, so this will be like the seller's agent, with the blessing of the seller, goes to the buyer and say hey can you pay more to cover my fees?  Why would the buyer agree to that if there is already an executed contract?

Or are we saying there is a contract signed by the buyer but the seller has not agreed due to a price gap, and that price gap happens to be the amount of the commission, and in order to save the deal, the seller's agent is trying to get the buyer to cover his/her fees instead?  But if that's the case what is the difference between getting the buyer to pay his fees instead of getting the buyer to increase his bid?

Dave Carter · Answer

@Mark Abdelmessih

It can be done. We’re in the process of selling a flip that we’re losing a little bit of money on. We listed FSBO and stated in the listing that sellers shall not pay real estate agent commissions. Basically, if you want to bring an agent into the mix, you may, at your expense. We’re under contract with a buyer with no agent.

I love our realtor but we’d lose an additional $15k on this house if realtors were involved.

Irene Nash · Answer

Agreed with @Wayne Brooks, while commission arrangements are negotiable, from a strategic standpoint I believe it's better to include the amount of the buyer agent's fee in the price of the home. You stand to lose more net revenue by eliminating buyers who don't have the cash to pay it themselves, and forcing the agent and the clients to have a big conversation about it is not appealing to either party. Most homes include the price of the buyer's fee in the list price, so it means you're comparing like to like when you evaluate your home's pricing.

Russell Brazil · Answer

Commissions are always negotiable.

Can Seller negotiate buyer to pee agent fee

Most Popular Reply