selling a house/co op question

If you find the buyer through a friend of a friend how does it work with the realtor?

Do you just send the person who is interested right to the realtor or do you get some sort of credit for finding the person?

In our case when we do sell the co op we will be bring lots of $$ to close

So not having to pay the full 4% for com to the realtor will help alot.

Also this person did not hear about it through MLS. My moms friend was talking about it to one of her customers and gave him my number?

Re: selling a house/co op question

It all depends on what you negotiate upfront with your listing agent.

You can try to negotiate an exception to your listing agreement if you sell privately, meaning the buyer is found through private channels and not as a result of your agent's marketing. However, most agents won't give a broad, open-ended exception. It can be hard to prove that the buyer came through private networking and not agent advertising/marketing efforts. If you have a specific person or people in mind, many agents will be willing to work with you on that. For example, I've had people say -- before they list the home -- something like "My neighbor's son has expressed interest in buying the house, but he's not quite ready yet. If he decides to buy it, can we work something out?"

Even if you do carve out an exception, the agent who lists your home will likely want some compensation, because the agent (and his/her company) is investing in marketing and other expenditures, and spending time working on your listing. Often, an agent will offer to give you back the percentage of commission they would offer to an agent bringing a buyer. So for example, if they take a listing at 5% and offer out 2% to cooperating agents on MLS who will bring buyers, they may only charge you 3% if you find the buyer on your own, rather than the full 5%.

If you've already listed and didn't carve out an exception (which sounds like the case), then you are contractually obligated to pay the full fee you negotiated in your listing agreement. However, your agent (and agent's broker, who is the ulitmate decision maker) may be willing to cut you a break given that you are selling at a loss. Realtors always want to have satisfied customers and get more referrals. It may also depend on how long you've been listed. If the agent just took the listing, they may be more willing to cut you a break than if they've been working on your listing for a year, doing frequent open houses and showings, paying for ongoing marketing, etc.

Good luck!

Re: selling a house/co op question

Re: selling a house/co op question

Happy to help!

If you do refer the buyer to the real estate agent, I think that would be the time for you to point out that this person came to you via personal channels and NOT through MLS or any of the other marketing efforts of your agent. You may want to broach the idea of perhaps negotiating a different fee arrangement if this buyer does decide to buy it, given that you don't have equity in the property and are selling at a loss. If you don't say it outright, you can plant the seed.

But definitely make it known that this is a personal referral to you, obtained via your own network, because otherwise the agent may assume the person came from advertising (it can be hard to prove the source of a buyer). Also, since you are looking to get a break on the fee, the agent may be more amenable to that if you take on the work of showing the buyer the property, rather than having her do it, the way she would normally do. She may be more inclined to take less if she is doing less work than she would otherwise.

I think the further along things get, the harder it will be for you to convince the agent to cut you a break on the fee.