At our weekly sales meeting one of our agents discussed a recent situation that occurred while showing a home to her buyer.  They were out in an adjoining county where a gentleman came up while they were viewing another home to talk about the property he was working on.  The sales agent wasn't certain if he was a construction worker, however; as it turned out he actually was the owner of the property.  The potential buyer was interested enough to view the home and to put an offer on paper for the purchase of the property.  After the client wasn't sitting right at her desk, the realtor had another conversation with the seller as regards the payment of commission as his property was a For Sale by Owner.   He replied that the price he quoted didn't allow him much wiggle room & didn't see how he could then pay a real estate commission for the sale of his home!  After a good bit of discussion and her efforts to shame him in expecting a complete stranger to work for free, he reluctantly did agree to pay an equitable sales fee.  At the conclusion of their negotiations the transaction sadly fell apart, but the aggravation of a builder expecting an agent to work for free lingered. 

How much simpler a transaction and negotiation is when the fees are established from the start and no one is put into the position of having to implore another to be paid for services rendered!  In our state of GA, we have a separate form that addresses the commission issue, which we have been using for a few years.  Previously, the commission was a part of the Purchase & Sales Agreement for all parties to be aware of on the contract itself.  I'm not so sure that separating the topic of real estate commission on another document simplified our efforts. 

The solution for me the Buyer's Agency Agreement that clearly spells out that the agent doesn't work for free.  Many agents are uncomfortable telling the buyer up front what a Buyer's Agent is and what we do to earn our commission, and many seasoned agents are conditioned to believe that the seller always pays the commission.  In today's age of internet discount shopping, everyone wants to buy at the cheapest price and to sell for the most money, myself included!  But I gladly pay for services if/when someone can explain the value of those services to me and show me why it is to my benefit to use those services, especially if there is a good chance that another person (the seller in this case) will pay for my services.  Further, if I can't  negotiate my fee, how can I negotiate the best price for my seller OR buyer?  I for one have never been embarrassed that I am being paid for my job, nor how much!   I earn every penny, and if you don't believe me, I have several testimonials that I will be happy to share with you, just give me a call.