Here’s an actual email received from my website www.halifaxrealestatechoices.com  on April 18 ( name changed and identifying info obscured).

Hi there, I am a first time home buyer and close to entering into a private sale agreement with a friend. He is selling a town house on ********* Court, near ******* Ravine Park. Since all of the homes on his street are identical, I am interested in meeting with a realtor to discuss what similar homes are selling for so I can determine if the price he is asking is reasonable. I think that it likely is, but I would like to speak to a professional before entering into an agreement. I was just wondering how much it would cost to meet with you for a consultation? This sale is quite time sensitive since he plans on listing with a realtor very soon if I don't buy. I can be reached any time at 902-880-****. Thanks! Peter.

How do you think most agents would respond to this?

1. Ignore it as not worthwhile?
2. Engage him and try to turn it into a sale by convincing him he should consider other properties as well (which offer a co-broke, of course)?
3. Slow dance him until the seller listed the property, thus ensuring a co-broke?
4. Try to convince him he needs a buyer’s agent’s services and should pay a percentage of the purchase price for that privilege?
5. Swallow your resentment at working for nothing and just freely give him the information he wants in exchange for goodwill and, hopefully, future business.

Interesting post today from an agent saying that a buyer asked her to rebate back 50% of her commission and how she said no. Tons of comments about how she did the right thing.

But there was one comment from an agent saying that "we get paid enough on the deals that do close to compensate us for the ones that don't."

But am I the only one who wonders how does the public feels about this??? Do you think they feel good about subsidizing the deals that don't go together?

The commission system is broken: the public knows it and deep down so do we only we don't want to admit it. The time has come to start charging a fair fee for the services we provide instead of a percentage of the sale. If done properly, the consumer pays fairly and we get paid well without all the commission shopping.

Am I crazy? Am I the only one who thinks that the reason we're hit up to reduce our commissions is because they're not fair. Any thoughts?

Is it a fair assumption that when working with buyers within the ACRE model a home buyer can expect the home to be reduced by the actual buy side commission that would normally be paid at closing since the buyer paid for his/her services all along? For example: If a home is listed for $410,000 and is negotiated by all sides to $400,000, can an amendment to the agreement of sale be drawn up to reduce the home to $388,000. (assuming a 6% commission) and be signed by all parties. Thus not only reducing the home price by the 3% after the final negotiated price but also affording a decrease in the amount of transfer tax needed to be paid by both sides?