Splitting a fee with a realtor on new construction

[William Walker]

I'm currently looking to purchase a new construction house. I've gone through the preapproval with a lender and don't have an realtor so the lender recommended one to me. Since then the realtor hasn't done anything other than send me the MLS. I've literally never met the realtor, I called her about a lot and she told to call the listing agent to find out more about the property. I've never signed a contract with the realtor either.

So I found a new construction neighborhood (outside of the MLS) and have met with the person that works in the model home. We have looked at lots and I would be picking the lot, picking the home design, and picking the upgrades. The person that works for the builder has told me specifically that if I don't work with a realtor, it makes no difference to me financially. I won't get any incentive from the builder to not have a realtor. But if I use a realtor then the builder will pay them commission, I'm assuming 3%. I'm look at houses in the 350-375k range so 3% would be over 10k. This all brings leads to the question of, can I just use a realtor that is willing to split the commission with me? Get rid of the current realtor that I have and find someone who basically just says "I'm his realtor" and gets a big chunk of money. Are there any legal issues that I should be aware of? I was thinking that I would have a small contract with the new realtor that lays out who gets what % of the commission, and I'm assuming the builder pays the realtor and then the realtor would pay me.

[Wayne Brooks]

Ask for “upgrades” equal to, or a little less than the commission.