Maybe. What does your contract with your listing agent say? And what does the offer say? (1/2 to listing agent. 1.2 to buyers agent?) The offer should spell out that buyer is a licensed agent, and also how much commission. And you can counter the terms in a counter-offer.

The commission is spelled in your listing agreement. Your listing agent will split the commission with the buyers agent (herself), what she splits with her broker is between them. For you, this is no different than an offer from another buyer.

When a real estate agent is the buyer, they get the buying agent's commission share. That in essence becomes a discount for the purchase.

In my area, the traditional commission is 6%, split 50-50. Yes, other things can be negotiated, but I'm keeping it simple.

Looking only at the buyer's side of a closing, for a purchase of 100, they would have a charge of 100, a credit of 3, for a net purchase of 97. For the seller, there's a sale of 100 and a commission of 6, 3 of which is paid to the selling agent and 3 of which reduces the selling price (in essence) on the debit/credit closing sheet that calculates what the buyer needs to pay.

The commission arrangement will not be spelled out in the offer. That is spelled out in the Listing Agreement which is between you, the seller, and the Listing Agent.

Lot of agents who purchase properties would rather just reduce the price accordingly and not receive commission from a personal sale.

Yes, I did confirm w/my selling agent that she would split the 6% commission w/the buyer which is also an agent. Nice perk to have! Anywho, the buyer is being picky about a few things in her offer, so this gives us a little more leverage.

ncrealestateguy nailed it. What you don't know is what the split is between the buyer/buyer's agent and her brokerage. She has an independent contractor's agreement with her broker. The commission goes to her broker, in this example 3%, and an unknown portion of the commission is remitted to the buyer/buyer's agent sometime at or after closing. Some brokers will sign an agreement to allow the agents portion of the commission to be applied to buyers costs at closing - this is common too.

Consider the merits of her offer without getting emotionally invested in how she makes her income just like you would with any other offer.

Your listing agreement was signed with the listing agency and is a separate contract. Don't cloud your vision just because the buyer is an agent too. I once had a seller get very angry because the buyer was an agent (not me) even though he received top, top dollar for his home. He couldn't see the forest for the trees. Don't fall into that trap.

I don't think it's about "getting emotionally invested" it's about knowing the details so you can analyze their negotiating position and make a counteroffer.

Curious as usual, but could someone who would take it into consideration explain what a buyers job has to do with selling a property? The only way I can think of is if you are planning on carrying the mortgage. Things are changing but the only reason off the top of my head would be a type of segregation perhaps to keep a blue, pink, or white collar person out of an area.

Maifleur, I think you missed what the OP was asking. The real estate agent with one of the offers wants to buy the house herself. The OP was asking if she would also get a commission if she purchased the OP's home.

In my company an agent is allowed to represent him or herself as a buyer and is due the commission any other agent would get. This should be of no concern to anyone else in the transaction.

linda is weedyacres the OP? The comment it's about knowing the details puzzled me as to why the detail of a person's employment would be of any concern to the seller. I was hoping that person would explain why they even took it into consideration. Others had already explained that any commission was in the contract that the OP voiced concerns. The only other thing the OP mentioned was that the buyer was a real estate agent.

Its simple. The seller is curious because it could change how he/she negotiates on the offer. If the agent will be making 20k on the sale of this house, she may feel she can use that to negotiate the offer. In my opinion, it shouldnt matter because the seller will be paying the commission with either offer anyway, but I believe thats why the seller is asking. It really is not about the persons employment, it is about the bottom line.

That's the thing: the bottom line doesn't change because the buyer is an agent. The commission is the same as specified in the listing agreement. The seller pays no more commission, nor no less, than if the buyer worked in any other industry.

Linda, are suggesting that the seller should pay less commission because the buyer is a real estate agent?

The seller's net is the same no matter what job the buyer has. The net is based on the sales price and the seller expenses including commission specified in the listing.

Denita, Im not suggesting anything. Just trying to clarify to maifleur who is asking about why they are concerned with the buyers employment. The post has really nothing to do with the employment and more to do with the buyer being the agent. I have been an agent for almost 30 years, bought and sold a few houses. Some I have reduced the price of the house instead of taking commission, others, I take the commission. If the seller was going to pay for another agent to bring a buyer, why wouldnt they want to pay if the buyer is the agent? They are still doing the job and getting the house to closing. End of story.

Then we agree that the job of the buyer has nothing to do with the sale/purchase of the property. I've been an agent for 40 years and have purchased my fair share of my own homes and the commission is not a factor in the negotiations.

It's just a fact that has to be disclosed. If you the Buyer are a licensed RE agent, whether you are acting in your own behalf or not, that's a fact that has to be disclosed in the contract. Or at least that's the case in California.

Yes, agent will represent herself as an agent, and get that side of the commission.

Hmm, a pretty interesting question. I think that he will not get commissions

Hi

I am a buyer and I was dealing with my realtor to buy a house‘ i asked my realtor to make an offer for this house and we where all good to go but 2 hr late he calls me and he told me the Offer it to low we have to go about $100.00 higher I told him no I can’t do that I have to let go.

so the Realtor wheat behind my back he toke this house for him self for the same offer we talked in the beginnin,

I am little confused here can he do that ? I need some advice please.

You're arguing about $100?

I do not have 40 years of experience but I have purchase and sold a few homes during my time in the military, and I'll say this: If the buyer is a agent who is representing themselves, that is absolutely a bargaining chip for you as the seller. If two deals come in with the same offer, I would entice the buyer who is also an agent to counter. In the Call it emotional, call unreasonable, call it whatever the heck you want. It's nothing personal at all, I'm just looking to get the maximum return on my investment. But in the end, it would just be wise to take the best offer, regardless.

I'd go even further and ask this:

If you were doing a "For Sale by Owner" are you expected to pay comission of a buyer who is an agent as well? I for one, would not.

While the buyer maybe a real estate agent, they probably work under a broker. For every sale that agent has, the broker gets a portion of the the agent's commission. The commission to the buyer agent should still be paid. Using it as a negotiating tool can be tricky as you have no idea what the split is between the buyer agent and the broker.

As others have said, the buyer's profession should have nothng to do with the deal. Did the Buyer offer full price, a lower price or an over bid? If the offer was low, you can make a counteroffer just like you would with any other buyer regardless of profession.

In California, the commission that is paid in a normal residential real estate transaction is always paid to the BROKER. The listing agreement you made when you listed the property is with the broker. The split between the listing broker and the broker who represents the buyer (through his/her agent) is specified in this agreement. The broker shares it with the agent according to their agreement- on both the listing and buying side. So, you see, this way, everyone has a little piece of your transaction!

All of this is complicated by the fact that all the brokers and and agents have a fiduciary responsibility, legally, to both the buyer and the seller. When an agent is the buyer that is problematic.

Thanks for sharing this informative information with us. Really got a very useful info from your blog. Keep it up. I really enjoyed reading this blog. How much commission does a realtor make in CA?

Commissions are negotiable.

Once, as an employed broker, I bought my own listing after two months of fruitless marketing. My employer didn't waive his commission. The only difference was the extensive disclosures I had to sign--that I had no special knowledge and no agreements in place for re-sale.

A couple years later, the backyard cliff gave way, dropping 20 feet of land into Lake Ontario 180 feet below. Fun selling that!

I sold my house to an agent and here’s what happened. We went into escrow and she asked for a reduction in the price by 2.5% instead of being paid a commission from my realtor. It was the same out of my pocket so I did it. The realtor then didn’t have to pay a broker fee because she is representing herself in the deal and she didn’t pay taxes on the commission because she didn’t earn one. I could have said no, then she would’ve taken her commission, paid her broker and paid her taxes. In retrospect, I should not have dropped the price the entire 2.5%, only an estimation of what she would net in the deal.

So realtor buyers do have an advantage in any deal!!! All these realtors don’t want to admit it on this thread. “Why should her job matter” bc a realtor can manipulate the system. And this is exactly why NAR and Keller Williams lost a class action lawsuit recently - requiring that sellers pay a buyers agent. It inflates home prices and allows realtors to get personal advantages.

Things will be changing.

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/nar-lawsuit-verdict-real-estate-agent-commissions/