Avoiding RE agents when dealing with new construction

[barista]

Hello,

Is there a way to avoid using an RE agent when purchasing a new house? We visited a site and they already had an agent there who offered to work as a buyer's agent but I don't see why I should pay him 3% (or may be even more) for just being there when we were on the site.

Has anybody tried dealing with the builder directly? Do they generally work with you directly?

Thanks -

[mukoh]

Builders will not work with buyers directly through contracts. Only through spec levels/upgrades. Good luck avoiding any agent or bringing redfin around. You already probably registered with the site as having had no agent at the time of viewing.

And you are not paying the agent 3% the builder is paying them.

[barista]

Thanks for the reply. Fortunately We didn't register them yet and have no plans to do so. And even though the builder pays the agent eventually, the wmoney sort of comes from my pockets. Buyer is the only one who eventually pays in an RE transaction.

I know there are contracts but with the builders getting so desperate these days I was wondering if they would be open to working with the buyers directly.

[ira s]

You could also use a real estate attorney instead of an agent. Marc Holmes is one, posts on here at times and charges far less than an agent does.

[mukoh]

The agent will still get door fee or whatever else they have with builder.

Once again the money paid to agent is a debit to seller not to buyer.

[Civil Servant]

This seems like a nice little racket for the agent. I once met a girl who worked as an on-site sales agent for a developer (she is now in a different line of work) and she hinted that the way in which she got her job perhaps had not so much to do with her qualifications. But if the arrangement is aboveboard, what's in it for the developer to work with a designated agent rather than an attorney, a Redfin agent, etc.? And couldn't there be a conflict of interest on the part of the agent, if he or she was also in a position to freelance and could steer clients to the developer's properties? It doesn't smell right.

[Thomas B.]

Technically speaking, there are no conflicts of interest when an agent is aligned with a developer. The agent is there for the seller, even if it is a buyer's agent.

I would serious think about using an attorney or Redfin. There are several specialized attorneys that work on a flat fee basis in the Seattle area. The way it works is that you don't pay anything to the attorney until the sale goes through (depending on the attorney). Once the price is paid for the home, 6% is taken from the purchase price. The seller's agent gets 3% and the attorney gets 3%. The attorney takes out his flat fee and gives you the rest of the money. I really don't know why anyone would use a realtor to buy a home. You could save thousands using an attorney or Redfin, especially at these median prices.

[Charles Dean]

Definitely no way to deal with the builder directly. Builders do not want to talk to buyers at all. As others said before, use an attorney, Redfin, or find a buyer's agent elsewhere who will give you a redfin-like deal. Agents aren't usually unwilling to negotiate on their own commission, as long as everyone is upfront about expectations.

[barista]

Thanks for all the replies folks. Yes getting an attorny or redfin to represent the buyer is what I had in mind. But I was thinking of getting rid of the sellers agent as well but apparently that seems a difficult thing to do.

I am not buying a home in next 6-8 months anyways, just wanted to evaluate what options I had.

[Civil Servant]

One more question about new construction -- I know people who have bought it and, they insist, paid the 1.8% excise tax. A colleague says it's right on her transaction documents. I thought this was a hit to the seller. Are the rules different for new construction?

[ira s]

The 1.78% excise tax may be on documents the buyer has that shows the seller's side of the transaction, but, new construction or otherwise, it is the seller who pays the excise tax.

[mukoh]

Excise is on the HUD always as debit to seller, just like sales/agents/ commissions.