First of all, you should know that I have purchased exactly 1 house w/ an agent, and exactly 1 house w/o an agent.
The purchase w/o an agent was from a neighbor who also did not have an agent. So, I didn’t have a seller’s agent to deal with. We made the offer very easy. The seller got a check of a certain size and we, the buyer, paid for everything else.
For the purposes of this discussion, when I say “agent,” I mean a good agent who does their job.
Keep in mind – not all of the reasons below will apply to you.
WHY USE AN AGENT? – 3 reasons
The first reason to use an agent is – they save time. A good buyers agent will look at 12 homes and show you 3 of them. If you have time and know how to legally get into the houses w/o an agent (maybe ask the sellers agent to do it), then this isn’t much value. But, most underestimate the pain.
Also, not all of the web sites have perfect MLS visibility. Sometimes agents see stuff you can’t, or see stuff earlier than you can.
Agents know to ask for and what they can get away with. I can’t even expound on this because I’m not an agent. But, at some point an agent will say “you should ask for this” and you will get something you never thought you could.
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As far as getting a portion of the commission for yourself, just put it in the offer. The seller’s agent is used to giving up some of the commission.
Perhaps you could sign a contract w/ a buyer’s agent who would work for 1% if you find the house on your own.
Lastly – if you don’t have an agent, find a superb escrow officer and make using that officer part of the offer. Escrow agents understand the process as well or better than most agents, I think, and can explain how contingencies work, ways you can lose your deposit, ways to get out of the deal, etc. as an impartial party to the transaction.
Use your loan, escrow, and title people to the fullest extent. Every time you learn something new, ask them if it impacts the process at all – XBoxBoy’s heater, for example.
