One of the most frequent questions I have been asked over the years by home buyers is “Should I Buy A Home Directly From The Listing Agent?” While no answer is correct for every situation, I would say that, in most cases, the answer to this question is “no”, you should not buy a home directly from the listing agent. You may be thinking though “won’t I get a better deal by cutting out the middle man?” In reality by going to the listing agent you are in fact NOT cutting out the “middle man” because in 99.99%* of the listings in the MLS the Seller will pay the SAME commission regardless of who sells their home, therefore, there is NO savings to the seller when you buy from the Listing Agent, just MORE COMMISSION to the Listing Agent.
Think of buying a home without a buyer’s agent representing you like going to court without an attorney….when the other side has an attorney. That’s basically what you are doing when you buy a home without being represented by a buyer’s agent…the “other side” (the seller) has professional representation and someone that has a legal obligation to represent them and get the best deal possible for them (the listing agent) and you have no one with a legal obligation to make sure you get the best deal possible.
Find Out More Here – DontBuyFromTheListingAgent.com
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(*a search on 10/11/14 of the MLS (MARIS) revealed 18,218 residential listings and of those, only 25 had a “variable rate” commission meaning the seller would save money if the listing agent sold the home)