I have heard and seen some agents are willing to drop 1-2% of their commission to close a deal. Have you done this? When a client asks you to lower your commission how do you respond? Thanks for your help!

It would really, really, really depend on the people involved, the circumstances, and the amount of commission involved.

If I were going to walk away with $12,000 commission myself, I would be willing, if needed, to lower my commission a little. However, it would have to be very very much a last resort...and I would have to like my clients a LOT. I would not want to give the idea that my time and effort is worthless and my compensation should be considered the first thing to go on the chopping block.

I added up my expenses for the coming year, and making modest guesstimates on gas, and not counting promotional stuff like mailings and business cards, and not counting my auto insurance, I come up with at least $10,000 needed *just to break even*

Why should I chop my commission every time someone who's spending $600,000+ on a vacation home decides I make too much money....especially when I work my *** off for my clients?

I would rather do something like pay for a home warranty, or some other thing to ADD to the deal - technically, it is robbing Peter to pay Paul, but it makes me look more like a giver than a loser.

My goal is to make my service valuable. I suppose it's easy to expect a do-nothing agent to cut their commission...but I don't want people thinking that I have such a poor sense of my own value to the transaction that my hard-earned compensation is non-essential.

I have before. I was still going to make a good chunk of money, they were underselling the house, I wanted it sold, and not to expire, and I didn't lower it by a full precentage, I lowered it by just enough to break even for them. I also have lowered commission so my buyers could buy a house at a lower price. Once again I liked these people a lot, times were hard for everyone, and the pay off for me has been great, got lots of referrals. But under most circumstances I don't. I try to explain to people who want you to list the house for 5, that they are hurting themselves to do that because it lowers the co-op and in this market that is selling suicide.

No I will not. I charge my rate.

When asked to reduce mt fee I tell the potential client thats the same as "your boss asking to be paid for the honor of working for him". I have to make a living, this is what I do.

Think my fees are to high? Find somebody else to list your property, Im cool with that. I state my fees upfront on the phone and try to avoid the trip to do a presentation.

I've done it only once, don't regret it, but don't want to make a habit of it. I reduced my commission by .25% or .5%, I forget, so it wasn't a huge amount. It was actually my idea. It has to be the right situation and I have to really, really like the people or have a good reason to do it.

Just a suggestion . .

What often happens is that the client or the other side asks you to cut your commission by $XXXXX to put the deal together.

Here's the problem: Usually that amount is a significant percent of your earnings.

Why not agree to a reduction divided among the buyer, seller, other agent and you?

For instance, say the difference is $4000. It would not be unusual to see both agents asked to eat $2000. But, on a $200,000 home with a 6% commission, that reduction amounts to 33% for each agent.

Instead, divide the amount. Buyer goes up $1000. Seller cuts price $1000. Each agent goes down $1000. Much fairer.

I think we too easily give up our piece without asking for shared sacrifice.

I reduced my commission on my first deal. The seller was a friend from my former job and it had been listed for about a week before I got a call from a buyer to show it. They made their offer through me, so I was getting both sides. They were about $2k apart on price. The seller needed a certain amount to break even, but the buyers didn't want to go any higher. Since it was someone I knew and he was in a tough situation, I offered, he didn't ask. I was getting both sides of the deal that hadn't cost me anything to market (the 1st ad hadn't even run yet), so I didn't feel like I was sacrificing. I'd do it again, but it would have to be the right situation.

I recently took a buyer to a new home development, signed a contract for a $390000 purchase with 5% coop. After we signed the contract the buyer stayed to talk to their lender. While he was waiting the new home rep took him to another home to show him the standard package (flooring, tile etc.) While they were there she told hom how they had to put in a rear yard to sell it because "there are not a lot of buyers these days"

Needless to say when he got home he called me and told me how disappointed he was that I didnt negotiate a yard for him. So I call the new home rep and she tells me that she is upset with me because I am trying to negotiate a new deal after we signed the contract.

Go figure, I ended up splitting the $4000 rear yard with the builder. She was upset with me!!!!

REO Seller - the new home rep is a complete and utter idiot.

I don't know if I ever flat out reduced my commission, but I opened my checkbook plenty of times when something got screwed up. Sometimes it was my fault, sometimes it was the other agent's fault, but I never made my buyer or seller pay for someone else's mistake - that's what they hire me for - to make sure things go smoothly. I found that other agents would rarely take responsibility for their screw-ups, so I preferred to simply take care of the problem. Many times I didn't even tell my client that I did it.

Once I tossed my whole commission into the pot when I mis-measured a house and it didn't appraise. My sellers had to come off their sales price by about $10k because I included a 500 sqft finished attic in the square footage that "didnt count" according to the appraiser.

When I do short sales the sellers are flat out broke and can never pay for conventional closing items.Sometimes the buyers have it and sometimes they don't.

Usually as a last resort I split some cost with the buyers agent only a few hundred apiece.In this scenario it's not about discounting anything it's a deal about to die over a few hundred bucks.This is common in short sales with the seller barely having money if at all to relocate.

I think a short sale would be different than just a typical sale...

Jennifer - what you are doing (opening your checkbook) is to me more powerful as an agent - you are adding something, rather than agreeing to let them take something away from you.

It's purely psychological, but I think it leaves a better impression of the realtor at the closing table - one with the power to get the deal done, vs. one that's been knocked down a peg or two...kwim?

If the transaction is already in escrow, and something comes up and needs to be negotiated, I might split a cost, or even eat it completely if it was something I could have controlled, just to get the deal to close.

But if you're asking about cutting your commission just to get a listing, my answer is always the same, "No, any other questions?"

My standard is 6%, and sometimes go up to 7-8% (always keeping 3 and giving out more to the selling agent). If you're in a declining or down market, you're doing your clients a disservice by offering them a lower commission IMO.

In 20 years, we've contributed once, for less than $100. It was a very specific situation.

Otherwise, no - we don't buy things for people, we don't "kick back" commissions, we don't fix other people's mistakes by using our own money, etc. Too many agents just jump in and throw money at something because they think it will be easier, when in reality it's not.