If RE Agent contacts me with buyer

[Mike Nelson]

I am working on my first Rehab and am looking to start putting the property on the market. What are some things I should be prepared for If a real estate agent contacts me with a buyer? I know what I need to get for the house, but I am not sure how I should negotiate a commission for the agent? It is my interpretation that once a reasonable commission is agreed, I tag that onto the sale price, therefore passing the cost to the buyer. Thoughts? Thanks!

[J Scott]

Sounds like you should probably have an agent representing you in this transaction, as it's clear you're pretty new to this.

To answer your questions:

Are you planning to list it on the MLS? If not, it's unlikely that any agents will be bringing their buyers to you, as most agents don't want to deal with FSBO sellers.

If you are planning to list it on the MLS, that means you'll either have a full-service agent or you'll use a flat-fee listing service. If you list with a full-service agent (my recommendation for this one), they'll take care of all these details. If you go with a flat-fee listing service, you'll be required to disclose what you'll pay to the selling agent (the buyer's agent) prior to them ever seeing the house. And then you'll be held to that.

But again, it sounds like you're new to this, which means you're probably not ready to deal with all the aspects of selling a house (dealing with agents/buyers/showings, negotiation, contracts, coordinating inspections/appraisals, dealing with closings, etc), and you certainly don't want to leave this all up to the buyer's agent.

So, find a great listing agent to handle all this for you...