[quote=Fearful][quote=urbanrealtor]If I know the commission is $10k no matter what, I am going to push for $380k because I know that is more likely to get the deal done (and me paid) than if the price is $420k.[/quote]
You don’t want to push for too low of a price, because then the deal won’t get done because the seller will refuse. You don’t want to push for too high a price because the buyer may refuse.
Buyer’s agents walk the fine line between the two. They try to talk the seller down and the buyer up, to varying degrees depending on the individual.
The best buyer’s agents strike a wise balance, knowing that the true benefit to their actions comes from future sales from referrals.
Sadly there are plenty of not-so-wise buyer’s agents. I dealt with one that constantly pressured me to compromise my position in order to get the deal done.
However, they generally do not push for higher price to earn more commission. If anything, they push for higher price in order to get any commission at all![/quote]
Your points are well-taken. Recently, I was brought in by a buyer who was firing his agent. In the end, he told several mutual acquaintances (we know each other socially) that I was not aggressive enough. This was frustrating to me because I never had the chance to negotiate. I was brought in after the deal was fully in contract. The buyer wanted to walk it back significantly but there really is no way to do that barring the foundation being powder. It definitely taught me a lesson about managing expectations.
