You find a home in Colebrook, a camp in Pittsburg, or a property across the river in Canaan. The listing agent’s number is right there. If you call that agent and make an offer without hiring your own, will you get a better deal?
Going directly to the listing agent doesn’t automatically lower the purchase price or your closing costs. To see why, start with what the seller has already agreed to pay.
What happens to the brokerage fee if you buy unrepresented?
The seller’s listing agreement sets out what the listing brokerage gets paid. Some agreements provide for a higher payment to the listing brokerage if the buyer is unrepresented. In that situation, the seller could pay the same total amount they would have paid if the buyer had their own agent.
Say a seller agrees to pay $7,500 to the listing brokerage and $7,500 to the buyer’s brokerage in a sale with separate representation. If that same listing agreement calls for $15,000 to the listing brokerage when the buyer is unrepresented, the seller’s total brokerage cost is $15,000 either way. In this example, the listing brokerage receives twice as much and its agent still represents the seller. The buyer gets no automatic discount or credit.
Those numbers are hypothetical. Brokerage compensation is negotiable, and the result depends on the agreements and the terms of the offer. You can also ask the seller to contribute toward your buyer agent’s compensation as part of your offer.
Who helps you evaluate the deal?
The listing agent represents the seller. They can answer questions about the property and communicate your offer. If you’re unrepresented, you’ll decide what to offer, what to investigate, and what terms to ask for.
That can matter when you’re looking at a North Country camp advertised as having year-round access. Who plows the road? Who pays for it? What does the deed say about access? The answers may affect how much you’re willing to pay or what you want to verify before committing. A buyer’s agent can help identify those questions and work them into your offer where appropriate.
What should you compare before deciding?
Purchase price and credits. What price and seller credits are actually on the table?
Representation costs. What would your buyer’s brokerage charge, what might the seller contribute, and what would you owe?
Contract terms. What time and protections will you have to investigate the property, arrange financing, and address concerns?
Work you’ll handle yourself. Who will review comparable sales, negotiate changes, and keep track of deadlines?
If you’re deciding whether to buy with your own agent in Coos County, New Hampshire, or Essex County, Vermont, our Buying Unrepresented guide walks through the questions to ask before you make an offer. You’ll find it on our Buyer and Seller Guides page.
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