Splitting the co-op on a new home.

[villiagepeople]

I didn't want to hijack the casero thread but I did want to know what you guys thought was a fair deal when buying a new house.  I have two cousins that bought new homes in irvine, unfortunately they didn't know or didn't think about kick backs when they walked in to check out new homes. So they didnt get one but since it was painless and stress free I figure a flat fee of $1000 is fair.  Specifically for me I'm looking at new homes in the low 500k range so I'm assuming 15k is the co-op.

 

[usctrojancpa]

I didn't want to hijack the casero thread but I did want to know what you guys thought was a fair deal when buying a new house.  I have two cousins that bought new homes in irvine, unfortunately they didn't know or didn't think about kick backs when they walked in to check out new homes. So they didnt get one but since it was painless and stress free I figure a flat fee of $1000 is fair.  Specifically for me I'm looking at new homes in the low 500k range so I'm assuming 15k is the co-op.

Remember that the commission contribution has to be done through escrow and can only be used for recurring and non-recurring closing costs (if the builder and lender allow it, most will).  There is no exactly amount or set percentage that most realtors will use, but it should go hand-in-hand with the amount of time/effort that was spent by the agent and the aggregate amount of the commission (because the commissions can vary significantly).  For example, an agent that shows you 20-30 homes before you settle on a new home should be able to keep more than an agent that only comes in to sign some paperwork at the new homes sales office.  That being said, on average I'd say a good rule of thumb would be 50% and up in terms of the rebate.

 

[villiagepeople]

Remember that the commission contribution has to be done through escrow and can only be used for recurring and non-recurring closing costs (if the builder and lender allow it, most will). 

learn something new every day, thank you.

so i worked with a realtor that wasn't professional (i guess that's what you get when you hire a "friend of a friend", but then again this is the 3rd realtor i've worked with and they were all pretty much useless, no offense usc,  but put it this way i've learned more on this board and the "other" housing blog board i used to visit than i've learned from the 3 realtors, 2 escrow companies, and 1 broker i've worked with in the past)... and i didn't like the service i got but he showed me no less than 30 homes... over a 7 month period... we never signed an agreement that he is my exclusive realtor or anything and we stopped looking in dec... is there anything wrong with just finding another realtor for this new home purchase... the second question is are there any realtor here that wouldn't mind working with me in this case?  or have i broken some sort of code of ethics by ditching the guy?

 

[irvinerealtor]

Remember that the commission contribution has to be done through escrow and can only be used for recurring and non-recurring closing costs (if the builder and lender allow it, most will). 

learn something new every day, thank you.

so i worked with a realtor that wasn't professional (i guess that's what you get when you hire a "friend of a friend", but then again this is the 3rd realtor i've worked with and they were all pretty much useless, no offense usc,  but put it this way i've learned more on this board and the "other" housing blog board i used to visit than i've learned from the 3 realtors, 2 escrow companies, and 1 broker i've worked with in the past)... and i didn't like the service i got but he showed me no less than 30 homes... over a 7 month period... we never signed an agreement that he is my exclusive realtor or anything and we stopped looking in dec... is there anything wrong with just finding another realtor for this new home purchase... the second question is are there any realtor here that wouldn't mind working with me in this case?  or have i broken some sort of code of ethics by ditching the guy?

I might suggest offering the guy that had shown you 30 homes a shot with what you think is fair first. (The Golden Rule, and all, you know.)  But if he's unwilling or unable to work with you, I think usc and I would both be up to earn your business.
Likewise I'd recommend SGIP for your lending. 

Your upside is that you have very good accountability with any of us, knowing that if we do you wrong, we'll certainly have a lot to lose from bad feedback to other potential clients/partners.
-IrvineRealtor

 

[usctrojancpa]

Remember that the commission contribution has to be done through escrow and can only be used for recurring and non-recurring closing costs (if the builder and lender allow it, most will). 

learn something new every day, thank you.

so i worked with a realtor that wasn't professional (i guess that's what you get when you hire a "friend of a friend", but then again this is the 3rd realtor i've worked with and they were all pretty much useless, no offense usc,  but put it this way i've learned more on this board and the "other" housing blog board i used to visit than i've learned from the 3 realtors, 2 escrow companies, and 1 broker i've worked with in the past)... and i didn't like the service i got but he showed me no less than 30 homes... over a 7 month period... we never signed an agreement that he is my exclusive realtor or anything and we stopped looking in dec... is there anything wrong with just finding another realtor for this new home purchase... the second question is are there any realtor here that wouldn't mind working with me in this case?  or have i broken some sort of code of ethics by ditching the guy?

No need for thanks.  Oh believe, I take no offense from you telling me that the majority of realtors are worthless because it's true.    Typically a buyers agent won't require you to sign an exclusive representation agreement (seller agents will obtain one) so if you didn't sign one then you are in no way obligated to that realtor and free to use whoever you want (if you really don't to use the last realtor you worked with).  I'm sure there are realtors would there that would be more than happy to work with you if you had a reasonable arrangement to split the buyer agent co-op.  Talk to a few realtors and go with the one that feel the most comfortable with.  As IrvineRealtor mentioned, he and I would be more than happy to discuss things with you further.  I'm positive that either of us would take good care of you....our online reputations depend on it. 

 

[usctrojancpa]

Remember that the commission contribution has to be done through escrow and can only be used for recurring and non-recurring closing costs (if the builder and lender allow it, most will). 

learn something new every day, thank you.

so i worked with a realtor that wasn't professional (i guess that's what you get when you hire a "friend of a friend", but then again this is the 3rd realtor i've worked with and they were all pretty much useless, no offense usc,  but put it this way i've learned more on this board and the "other" housing blog board i used to visit than i've learned from the 3 realtors, 2 escrow companies, and 1 broker i've worked with in the past)... and i didn't like the service i got but he showed me no less than 30 homes... over a 7 month period... we never signed an agreement that he is my exclusive realtor or anything and we stopped looking in dec... is there anything wrong with just finding another realtor for this new home purchase... the second question is are there any realtor here that wouldn't mind working with me in this case?  or have i broken some sort of code of ethics by ditching the guy?

I might suggest offering the guy that had shown you 30 homes a shot with what you think is fair first. (The Golden Rule, and all, you know.)  But if he's unwilling or unable to work with you, I think usc and I would both be up to earn your business.
Likewise I'd recommend SGIP for your lending. 

Your upside is that you have very good accountability with any of us, knowing that if we do you wrong, we'll certainly have a lot to lose from bad feedback to other potential clients/partners.
-IrvineRealtor

Points well made and I second the recommendation to contact SGIP for your lending needs.  Several of IrvineRealtor's buyers and my buyers used him with great success.

 

[socal78]

so i worked with a realtor that wasn't professional (i guess that's what you get when you hire a "friend of a friend",

Villagepeople... I'm just curious... what sort of unprofessional behavior are we talking here? As already suggested, it would be nice if it could be resolved but there are probably some things that can't be. Is it anything serious or can you to talk it out amongst the two of you? I once had a Realtor who had some rather "unsavory" practices and even asked me to lie and play along. I thought they were just joking but this person wasn't. It can come back to bite you. If that's their sort of style it may not be something you want to get involved in. There are some snakes out there. So, I can certainly understand what you mean if it can't be resolved but hopefully it's nothing at all like that. On second thought, maybe I'm reading it all wrong. You said he/she "wasn't professional". Does that mean he/she was not seasoned or you mean the Realtor was actually unprofessional?

 

[villiagepeople]

You said he/she "wasn't professional".

that was a poor choice of words... he was simply lazy... for example the little bit of info that irvinerealtor gave me was more info than my realtor ever gave... i always found my own homes, then i would go check out the place on the outside and then map it out... and then if i liked it, i would find the contact info, call the other realtor make sure we could meet and then he'd meet me there (after i've collected a bunch to see)... if the seller was at home or if there was an open house, we (my wife and i) would go alone... and before i made an offer i would do my own comps and yes i would ask... and ask... and not get anything so i would do it... actually that just happened once after that i just did everything myself... but this is not the first lazy agent i've come across, i've seen 4 in action, my first buy agent, my sell agent (and the buyer's agent) and this agent... they were all lazy... but i guess at least this one is not a complete idiot, or a crook or a liar which i can't is the same for some of the other realtor's i've had the pleasure to deal with.

sorry for the rant...

 

[socal78]

that was a poor choice of words... he was simply lazy... for example the little bit of info that irvinerealtor gave me was more info than my realtor ever gave...
sorry for the rant...

Oh, never be sorry. That's what this site is here for - information exchange (among other things.) I can understand why you & your wife must have felt frustrated. All things considered, it does sound like you've done an amazing job on your own so far, though. Kuddos to you for seeing to it that you are an educated buyer. In the sink-or-swim, you swam, and you became stronger for it. At least now, you have all the tools you need to verify that you are on the right track and the discernment to pick a qualified agent for the last step... "sliding into home" so-to-speak! I can see that writing it all out has helped you solidify in your own mind what you need to do next. Do keep us posted on how your new home purchase goes. And once you buy, you don't have to leave. You can talk about life in your new neighborhood here and share your tips with others who will use them. 

 

[irvinehomeowner]

that was a poor choice of words... he was simply lazy... for example the little bit of info that irvinerealtor gave me was more info than my realtor ever gave... i always found my own homes, then i would go check out the place on the outside and then map it out... and then if i liked it, i would find the contact info, call the other realtor make sure we could meet and then he'd meet me there (after i've collected a bunch to see)... if the seller was at home or if there was an open house, we (my wife and i) would go alone... and before i made an offer i would do my own comps and yes i would ask... and ask... and not get anything so i would do it... actually that just happened once after that i just did everything myself... but this is not the first lazy agent i've come across, i've seen 4 in action, my first buy agent, my sell agent (and the buyer's agent) and this agent... they were all lazy... but i guess at least this one is not a complete idiot, or a crook or a liar which i can't is the same for some of the other realtor's i've had the pleasure to deal with.

sorry for the rant...

To find a silver lining in this... at least you became quite knowledgeable with real estate.

I actually prefer to do a lot of legwork myself because I'm the one buying the home and I can't expect a realtor to know all my idiosyncrasies. Where I want the help of a realtor is to point out the pros/cons of the home/hood/area/city and then for all the technical stuff during the offer/counter/escrow process. First time buyers would probably need more hand holding as they aren't sure what they want but for more seasoned people, I think they want to be more involved in the homework.

But I may be the exception... there are probably non first time buyers out there who want the realtor to do EVERYTHING.

A tiered service (something IR and IR2 talked about a while ago) is one thing the RE industry should consider which I think would add more accountability... but I doubt will happen.