I had no idea my questions would get so far into the nitty gritty of commissions. But wondering if we can follow up on the case where the person buying represents themselves and is not an agent, and does not work with a broker. Assume in this case that the buyer has found the property through websites, etc and is prepared to do a good bit of the leg work. (ie arrange for inspections, deal with escrow, etc)
How open do you think most agents will be with an offer that rebates the buyer’s commission back to the seller? Can the offer specify that since the commission is agreed upon by the seller and their agent before the buyer ever enters the picture? Would the seller’s agent be likely to discourage the seller from taking such an offer, since a buyer without an agent is likely to be seen as a negative by the seller’s agent, and if you’re rebating the commission to the seller, what’s in it for the agent?
If the seller’s agent is not receptive to rebating the buyers commission back to the seller, isn’t the buyer then better off going with someone like redfin that will at least rebate some of the commission to the buyer?
As a second topic, if a buyer is making an offer without an agent, what’s the best place to get the necessary forms? In particular I’m thinking about the purchase contract, and disclosure forms. When I sold my house in 2004 I had to fill out pages of disclosures, and I’d like to be able to hand similar forms to the seller. I know some disclosures are required by law. I looked on the San Diego Association of Realtors site, but it looks like they won’t sell you forms unless you have a license.
