How to Get Paid as a Buyer’s Agent in the Post-Lawsuit Market

Now, today's world in real estate is different. It changed with the class action lawsuit and the pursuant settlement and all of the regulatory changes and the structural changes in real estate all over the board. It's a little bit of a hot mess. And so if you're in real estate, I implore you to please read your emails and stay up to speed. What changed for the consumer is that in the past, before this crazy class action lawsuit, our Multiple Listing Service had universal compensation, which meant if an offer was made from the listing agent and thus the seller to cover the fee for a buyer's broker, there it was, all for one, one for all, transparent, disclosed, easy peasy, baked into the price. The changes to the structure of the business after the settlement mean it's just not quite that easy or transparent. But there are still a lot of listing firms and sellers that are willing to pay the broker's fee, but you're going to have to call and ask say, "Ringy dingy, what are y'all doing?" Before you get to that point though, we've got to back all of this up to the buyer consultation. Now, let me ask you this question. If you are an agent who works on behalf of buyers, what's your primary job? Is it to defend your fee? No, you need to explain it. What's your primary job? To negotiate the deal? That's not it. What's your primary job? Unlock doors? That's not it either. Your primary job as a buyer's agent is to get your buyer the house that they want. Period, end of discussion. Your fee starts to be something that gets worked out along that pathway between them getting started and them getting in the house that they want. Now, if you remember at all times, your goal is to get somebody else what they want. Now you're back in that consultation and you've explained who works for whom. You've also explained that if they select you as their buyer's agent, here's what they're going to get. What are they going to get? Are they going to get you on call 24/7? I hope not. Are they going to have you to unlock doors? I do hope so. Are you going to FaceTime them if they're unavailable? Are you going to get the septic maps and help with the lender and help and help and help and help? Of course you are. So you need to have a good concise list of what you do as a buyer's agent so that when they hear what your fee is, they can attach a value to the fee you're charging. If you're just spitting out a number and you're not doing anything for it, then I hope that that buyer chooses to negotiate with you at that time, upfront, at the beginning, at the consultation, or may not use you even. So at that time, You're going to say, I'm charging a dozen eggs. Dozen eggs, very valuable right now. The markets are wild on eggs. And the buyer says, are you worth it? I don't know. And then you go over your list of things that you offer to them. They say, all right, cool. We'll find a dozen eggs somehow, some way. We'll find it. Sometimes you're looking at a house where the seller has a chicken coop in the backyard, and they're going to offer you a dozen of their home eggs, most valuable eggs in the market. And that buyer is going to say, well, thank heavens they had home eggs. We're good. I don't have to think about it. Maybe that buyer's going to encounter a perfect house, but the seller says, "I don't have home eggs. I bought some of these commercial trash ones at the grocery store, and they're less valuable than home eggs." And so you have to talk to your buyer and say, "Look, they're only paying me in commercial trash eggs, but I'm cool with that." Or you've got to come up with the remaining value. Your buyer then has to understand they may be on the hook for some remaining value. Where are they going to get it? They got a friend with a farm? Are they going to bring in a bag of white lily flower to offset it. That's up to you and the buyer to decide. But your buyer has to know that scenario could happen. The seller might also say, "I'm allergic to eggs and we're not touching an egg. And so good luck, find some eggs on your own." In which case you go back to your buyer and say, "Look, you're going to have to figure this out because this seller doesn't have any eggs." The buyer is then in the position of, do I let go of the house because I don't have a dozen eggs or do I find it? It is the buyer's decision. And as an agent, your job is to help the buyer get what they want. Now, if the buyer is wildly in love with that house, but they're so allergic to eggs, they can't physically touch it themselves, your job in talking to the agent for the seller is to say, "Look, I've got a buyer and he can't touch an egg 'cause he's allergic, but he agreed to pay me a dozen eggs. So can you guys work with us?" And that way the listing agent can talk to the seller and say, "I think we've got a really good buyer here, but because of their situation, they don't have a dozen eggs and can't touch 'em." So can we work with them? It's all a matter of communication. Helping the buyer get what they want is one side's job. Helping the seller get what they want is the other side's job. They should all be looking for the best interest of the consumer and working things out along the way. Now, if your buyer has told you as an agent, "I don't want to see it if I can't make sure they're paying your fee," as an agent, I hope that you're going to look at them and say, "Let's figure out a workaround," because We're in a market where the house that you want is elusive, and I want you to get that house. Maybe they're going to find another way to compensate you. Is that to talk to an attorney about putting a third lien on the property? Is that to talk to their bank about closing costs and concessions? But figure all these things out, because it's important to find a way for the buyer to get what they want. And think about compensation as something that may have to be worked on in the background, but don't let it get in the way of the house. I do worry right now that we have agents that are potentially violating the code of ethics. They're violating some fiduciary standards by telling a buyer, "We're not going to look at that one because they're not paying me." You hear how gross that sounds? That's really gross. Instead, we should say, "They're not willing to cover my buyer broker fee, so you and I got to figure this out on our own." I think most buyers are reasonable. I feel most agents are honorable. Now's the time for us to show that with communication and with honesty, because the reality is this, y'all, the rules are probably going to change again. We are in a very litigious environment. We're in an environment of low inventory and high interest rates where we have enough buyers for some houses and not enough for others. And the markets are a little bit weird. That means You're more valuable as a real estate professional right now than you've been in a long time. So don't let go of your value, defend it, and be so savvy that you can help people figure out how to pay for you, if that's what they want. Because what's our job? Get the consumer what they want.