Agents Beware

Written by Posted On Sunday, 08 October 2017 13:35

The Problem with Discount Buyer’s Agents

There is a brewing problem in the world of real estate, and it goes by the name of the discount buyer’s agent. A buyer’s agent, as you are likely aware, is a real estate agent who represents the buyer during the home buying process. While it is possible to gather a lot of information on your own on the web these days about the residential market, a buyer’s agent is still a valuable commodity. This agent will show you homes, sort through the market to find the best fits for your needs, find out about homes which may not be listed yet, and more. It is a lot of work, and the hard work that is put in will benefit the home buyer in the end.

A Dirty Game

Sadly, many home buyers are trying to cut out some of the money that a standard buyer’s agent earns at the end of the process. Once a home is selected and the offer is about to be written up, some buyers will demand that the agent give a rebate back to the buyer out of their own commission. If the agent does not agree, the buyer may threaten to leave a bad review, or to work with a different agent entirely to close the deal.

Needless to say, this is an unethical practice and it undermines everything that real estate agents have to offer the average home buyer. Legitimate, hard-working buyer’s agents put in a lot of time helping their clients find the right property and settle on the perfect offer – to cut them out of the deal, or cut down their percentage of the deal, at the last minute is simply wrong.

Agents to Blame

Not only are the home buyers who engage in this practice taking part in an unethical practice, but so too are the discount buyer’s agents trying to game the system. These individuals will often tell a prospective client to use another agent which can easily be found off of websites like Realtor.com or Findourpad.com – a legitimate agent – to show them homes, only to come back to the discount agent when the time comes to make an offer. This means that the discount agent receives the commission in the end, while the standard agent did all the legwork.

So what can you do? Simple – be ethical with your real estate dealings, and encourage others to do the same. Find a legitimate buyer’s agent at the start of your home buying process and stick with him or her all the way through to the end. Their commission is going to be more than worth it to you in the end when considering the hard work and effort that went into getting you a great deal. 

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