Can I Dictate My Buyer's Agent Commission Percentage If Seller Is Paying?

Since others have answered about how the commission is determined between sellers and their agents, i won' comment on that. But you did ask if you would get a better or worse deal without a Buyer's Agent (BA).

That depends. A BA SHOULD negotiate for you and handle most of the details for you. In principle, this is what their job is. But in practice? Maybe not. I have seen one local company submit offer after offer on my properties, ALL agents say they are BAs, but I have only seen one actually try to negotiate a better deal for her buyers. I have had others say the buyer wanted them to ask for a certain thing or give me a certain paper, but they then say "I'm not gonna do that cuz it will probably kill the deal and I need the money too bad."

Seriously.

BAs are people, too, with their own bills and worries, so many will not actually work in YOUR best interests, but in their own.

I have seen them use white-out to remove something from the inspection report to keep the buyer from backing out. I have had them write lower offers then submit a pre-qual with the full amount they are qualified for, and end up costing their buyers a LOT more money.

So some WILL work for you, others won't, no matter what their contract says. They don't realize how much liability they are opening themselves and their brokers up to!

Whether you really need one depends a lot on your knowledge of the market. If you feel confident in knowing what you will offer, then use a transaction broker or neutral party. They still have to shuffle the paperwork for you, but they cannot give advice. If you try to cut out the commission of any agent, though, don't expect to find anyone who will work with you in any manner. We all have families to feed, too!

You do not pay the commission and you do not negotiate the buyers agent commission. The contract to sell the house is between the seller and the sellers agent, the BA commission is stated in the listing information.

A buyer's agent works for you, not the seller. If you decide to work with the sellers agent, their primary responsibility is to the seller, not you.

Finding the house is the easy part, getting it to the closing table is where the work is.

Legally, all commissions are negotiable.

Theoretically, most of them are not.

They way that the buyer's agent gets paid is this: The listing agent gets paid 6% at the closing table (typcially), then the listing agent SPLITS his/her 6% with the buyer's agent...that is how they get the 3%.

All houses that are listed by an agent typically have some of a buffer in the price in order to pay for the agents involved.

If you think that you are "doing all the work" then you need to do more research on just what we have to do in order to sell a home.

I NEVER reduce my fees (unless it is a small closing-table squabble) because some buyer doesn't bring a Realtor...why should I? They can get a Realtor to represent them if they want...no one is stopping them.

That is how we MAKE money.

you have no say if anyone's commission if you are the buyer - it's negotiable between the seller and listing agent - 6% is standard and it gets split between buying and selling agents - no one is going to work for you for free - and it's not going to save you anything anyway - the seller is still going to pay 6%

YOU - as the buyer, are not paying anyone's commission - that is all paid out of the seller's proceeds

and commission doesn't get added to the price - it is deducted from the selling price - if you bid 100,000, the seller actually gets $94,000 (simplified) - the 6,000 automatically goes to the RE agents

No, the commission is already contracted between the seller and their agent. Nothing you or your agent does can effect that contract, it is legally binding and can not be altered.

Finding a house is not half the work, it is about 5% of it, most of the work is in the closing.

In most states the buyer agents commission is predetermined by the seller, in his agreement with the listing agency. That is a contractual agreement, and can not be breached by you trying to negotiate a lower commission for your agent, (nor quite honestly is it very ethical).

Your agent can offer to "giveback" a part of her/his commission, but that is really their decision.

They're telling you true. It's not up to you. The seller has it worked out by listing it. And you SHOULD definitely use your own agent in the transaction (don't be fooled into using their agent as a transaction broker).

Reasonable to expect somebody else to pay for you to sell your house?

Absolutely not. Expect to be laughed at.

NO Since you are not paying it you have NO say