How Exclusive Buyer Agents Get Paid (And Why It's a Better Deal For You)

Home buyers enlist the services of exclusive buyer agents without any out-of-pocket expense.

As with most other real estate transactions, an exclusive buyer agent receives payment from the seller’s proceeds when the house sells.

One difference is that we don’t negotiate a rate with you; we accept the previously established co-op commission. Other agents, on the other hand, may ask for a greater commission and expect you to pay the difference out of your own pocket.

How The Home Buyers, Inc. Gets Paid

When a listing firm agrees to market a property, sellers enter into a “listing agreement” which binds them to pay a co-op fee to both the seller and the buyer agents. And, as stated, The Home Buyers, Inc. accepts that fee without asking you to pay anything else.

This type of cooperative agreement can put the home buyer at a disadvantage. It creates a strong incentive for the listing agency to also find the buyer. And that provides the motivation for an agency to urge its agents to guide home buyers to homes it also lists.Even though an exclusive buyer agent receives payment the same way other agents do, the exclusivity winds up protecting the home buyer.

The fact that an exclusive buyer agent never lists homes creates the objectivity home buyers can rely on. Thanks to the exclusive arrangement, home buyers can also be confident that there is never an incentive or legal obligation for their agents to reveal anything to the seller. (Note the state law requirements as stated in the Agency Disclosure).