My husband and I recently bought a house. It was our first time going through the (chaotic and expensive!) process — and we were admittedly a bit naive about a few things. Luckily, we have our parents, who we'd consult and ask questions along the way.
Right before we went into contract, while we were still negotiating the price of the house and calculating all the associated costs, I had asked my broker about any other fees we were forgetting. She said, "My fees are about $11,600, so add that to your closing costs."
"That stinks — and it's an added cost we really can't afford," I thought.
I guess I hadn't really thought much about it, but it made sense at the time that we'd pay the realtor. I mean, we were using her services, after all. So, I didn't question it. I just figured there was nothing we could do about it — and we'd have to suck it up and pay.
(Quick piece of advice: Don't believe ANYTHING, ANYONE tells you when you're buying a home. Question and negotiate everything!!)
The next day, I casually mentioned this to my mom. "Absolutely NOT!" she said. "The buyer almost NEVER pays the broker fee. That's the seller's responsibility." I did a quick Google search, which confirmed she was right (moms are always right!).
I emailed the broker back and called them out on it. "Yes, normally you wouldn't pay," she admitted. "But the seller said since you're getting such a great deal on the house, they'd like you to pay it."
I told her that we were not willing to pay it. If that was a deal-breaker, so be it (but we secretly hoped it wasn't, since we were already so emotionally invested). A few minutes later, I got a response: "Okay, the seller will pay the broker fee." BAM! We paid the realtor not a penny.
As young home buyers who were new to the process, I think we were being taken advantage of. Had I not told my mom, we could have ended up paying close to $12,000 that we didn't have to pay. And I can't even imagine how I'd feel if I figured that out later!
— Anonymous