[MN] How to Get Hourly Realtor?

[Jon D.]

I'm sure I'm not alone in being frustrated with realtors. My most recent experience I knew exactly what property I was after (like most investors its just a numbers game) and figured it would be a quick and easy purchase (depressed market no other bidders). My realtor didn't have to do a bunch of showings or anything so I engaged him in a rebating deal. I offered him a fixed minimum and if it something gets discovered as a time sink he can take an hourly minimum. He didn't want that and instead countered that he'd just rebate half and I accepted. 

Well a major item was discovered in inspection, etc. (unit has had an issue with flooding and likely fix is extremely expensive). Sure enough because realtor commission structure basically incentivizes him into working against me (I effectively get stuck with 2 sellers agents instead of 1 for me) and keeps trying to downplay it in order to get a deal done. I have to turn to a client who I know buys property likely with these issues and he tells me to probably run from this. I actually decide to make a generous offer reflecting some of the cost to fix, seller scoffs, and my buyers agent acts like a wounded puppy to make me feel bad for wanting to revise my offer in any way over a place that has an expensive flooding problem. Also if you think I just have a "bad realtor", I've met many and he's probably one of the nicer more reasonable ones, but I do feel like the realtor commission incentives even make a good realtor at least a little difficult to work with. Even if something like is fixable with a better commissioned realtor the problem is that I wouldn't know them out of the gate so its not like I could actually trust them until after a few transactions they proved they weren't just always very biased into me saying yes on a deal (regardless of whether its good deal or not).

Is it really too much to ask for letting a realtor take a high hourly rate out of the commission and rebate the rest? In the low chance a deal doesn't go through I'll just roll the hours spent on that one into the next one and the rebate to me on that one shrinks? Its really weird that realtors will agree to like $50-100 from another realtor to help do a showing while one of them is on vacation, but offer them a much higher hourly rate in a rebating deal and so many act like I'm destroying their industry.


I'm a business owner who pays current staff very generously. I also frequently bonus/tip extra when I know someone has given me more useful information than I'd expect or for putting in extra effort. I prefer to put much of my surplus earnings into investment real estate over the years and looking for a long term realtor that has a decent head on their shoulders and while I think all pay structures have their pro's and con's... I'd prefer much less conflicted than the current set up. Note: I'd also rather not get my own license... I am rather busy and I am willing to pay well to outsource certain items.

Any suggestions on finding a realtor that would agree to something like this is appreciated. If you are a realtor in the MN (Twin Cities) market and you're open to a relationship like this feel free to private message me.

[Russell Brazil]

Sounds like you are asking for top notch service from a discount professional. 

The really good agents are not out there looking for an hourly pay or to do rebates....the top ones have so many people begging to work for them that they have way more business than they can handle.

All real estate agents are not created equal, and Im by no means saying all full priced ones are good....but definitely the good ones are not discounting because they have no need to.